'I Think We’re Further Ahead Than We Have Been In The Spring, Considerably Further Than Last Year': Cowboys Put On Pads For First Time This Spring

Head coach Mike Gundy met with the media Tuesday in Stillwater to discuss spring practice and the Cowboys’ first day in full pads. Here are some of his comments:

 Head Coach Mike Gundy

 On the wide receivers:

“Like every other position, experience and reps is something that we feel like you can't really replace. You learn on the run, and we've got a lot of maturity in that role. This is an interesting position this year because we have a lot of maturity and then we have new guys. There's not really any fillers, so we need the veterans to stay healthy and bring the young guys along throughout the season.”

 On development compared to past springs:

“I think we’re further ahead than we have been in the spring. Considerably further than last year… So, we’re able to move along much faster. It’s interesting to watch the high school players and how they evolve over the spring. Their heads are spinning right now, but we’re getting good effort from them. They’re in good condition, which it’s not easy to come out of high school and then pick up a tempo at this pace. They’re coming along. They definitely get an advantage being here and understanding they can make more of a movement in June and July.”

 On offensive line depth:

“We’ve got a couple guys that aren’t going to get as much contact this spring with repairs over the offseason, so there’ll be plenty of reps for those guys to go around. The one advantage that we have now is there’s a lot of reps in spring football. Our ones and twos and threes get reps.”

 On newcomer AJ Green and the running back room:

“What we need him to do is bring a physical, mature presence that allows our younger backs to develop. I feel good where we’re at depth-wise at that position, but those guys can go down fast. We needed a mature guy, and he brings that to the table. So far, he’s done really well.”