OSU: Cowboys Coach Dan Hammerschmidt Talks Safeties

The Oklahoma State football team wrapped up a two-hour practice session Friday morning, dressed in full pads at the Sherman E. Smith Training Center. After practice, safeties coach Dan Hammerschmidt shared his thoughts.

On Friday's practice:

"I thought it was good. I thought it was a little better than yesterday. I thought we were a little sluggish to start yesterday's practice, but we had some guys flying around and doing some good things. (Kenneth Edison-McGruder) made some plays. Jerel Morrow played well yesterday so that's two days in a row for him. I thought they were bouncing around pretty well."
 
On safety Jordan Sterns:

"He always looks good. My issue with him is always going too much. When he leaves the field, he jumps out there, back pedals on the cement, runs out there and tackles poles…You've got to just slow him down and make him take a break. We've just got to keep him rolling. He's always an effort guy, he's tough, he's a leader. My issue with him is just slowing him down."
 
On having safety Derrick Moncrief available this season:

"He'll be good. He knows the system now, he's making some plays. He's still a little bit behind, but he's catching up. He is a smart kid, and he's going to help us a lot, depth-wise."
 
On the strength of the safeties:

"I think it's their work ethic. It's their work ethic and their experience, obviously, are two of their biggest strengths. As a coach, you like a bunch of guys that are working hard, that have already done the work in the weight room, that have got a little bit of experience. Obviously, you've got to keep bringing the young guys, but to have an experienced group that works hard and gets along, as a coach, at least you can mold some things out of that."
 
On what he's preaching to his players:

"Just to stay consistent. Also, the other thing is to have fun. There are times when you grind and there are times when you're going to have to buckle down and get after your teammate. There's a lot of grind time in this business all of a sudden with the summer workouts. When they roll the ball out there and it's time to go play in a team period or a game, it's still got to be like we're nine years old playing Pop Warner. It's still got to be fun…There's so much grinding involved in trying to win a championship and all of that. You've got to remember that this is still a game."