WATCH THE VIDEO: Impassioned Head Coach Defends Player

Monday, September 24th 2007, 10:52 am

By: News On 6

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy made an impassioned defense of backup quarterback Bobby Reid on Saturday, repeatedly calling him an athlete who does ``everything right'' and insisting that a change at the position wasn't a result of Reid being ``scared.''

Gundy, often screaming during a 3 1/2-minute rant that pre-empted any postgame comments about the Cowboys' 49-45 win against Texas Tech, expressed disgust at a column in The Oklahoman suggesting the team's switch to Zac Robinson as the starting quarterback was ``less about Robinson's play and more about Reid's attitude.''

Click here to watch coach Mike Gundy defend his player during a press conference.

``Here's all that kid did: He goes to class, he's respectful to the media, he's respectful to the public and he's a good kid. And he's not a professional athlete, and he doesn't deserve to be kicked when he's down,'' Gundy said.

Robinson, who'd come in after Reid was injured in the first quarter of the Cowboys' Sept. 8 win against Florida Atlantic, took over as the starter prior to last week's 41-23 against Troy.

Reid had thrown for 191 yards with one touchdown and one interception in a 35-14 loss at Georgia and started off slow before his undisclosed injury the following week against Florida Atlantic.

Robinson threw for the same number of yards 191 in his first career start against Troy and then completed 16-of-32 passes for 211 yards and one touchdown against the Red Raiders. Robinson also ran for two touchdowns, including a 48-yard scramble, on Saturday while Reid lined up as a wide receiver on a handful of plays.

``If you want to go after an athlete, one of my athletes, you go after one that doesn't do the right things,'' Gundy said. ``You don't downgrade him because he does everything right and may not play as well on Saturday. And you let us make that decision.''

Mike Sherman, The Oklahoman's sports editor, said the newspaper stands behind the columnist and the content of the column.

``If Oklahoma State has any specific problems with it, I'd be happy to address it and to hear it, just like any other story,'' Sherman said.

The article stated that Reid had not always handled his nerves well and that his slow starts had put the Cowboys in some early holes, including some they dug out of with Reid ``wielding the biggest shovel.'' It also called Reid the ``most talented quarterback'' on the team and indicated Reid was ``nicked in some games and sat it out instead of gutting it out.''

Gundy said the article was brought to him by a mother, and he called ``three-fourths'' of it inaccurate.

``Where are we at in society today? Come after me. I'm a man. I'm 40. I'm not a kid,'' Gundy said. ``Write something about me or our coaches. Don't write about a kid that does everything right, that's heart's broken and then say that the coaches said that he's scared. That ain't true.''

Click here to see Rusty Surette's report on OSU campus reaction.

Related story:

9/22/2007 - Impassioned Gundy Defends Reid And Rips Newspaper

"The Oklahoman" newspaper article that enraged OSU head football coach Mike Gundy on September 22, 2007.

Source: www.newsok.com
Click here to see full article.