Three-Point Stance: Gundy on NIL, Midwest five-stars, Sooners
Has Oklahoma State Mike Gundy reversed course on his outspoken stance against NIL? Clint Cosgrove weighs in on that and more in today's Three-Point Stance.
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1. Mike Gundy changes stance on NIL.
Long-time Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy was not shy about his dislike for the new NIL era of college football over the summer and reportedly even went as far as speaking negatively about players getting paid in front of a group of boosters. That stance is polar opposite to what we heard from Gundy during his press conference on Monday when he cut a reporter off before she could finish her question about the importance of putting money into facilities versus using it toward Name, Image and Likeness.
"Don't build it, put the money in the bank," Gundy said. "I'll save you the time to ask the question, was I right? Put the money in the bank and spend it on NIL. It's just the future, and I'm not saying I agree with it, I only know the sign of the times."
Gundy's stance on how much he dislikes NIL doesn't seem to have changed much, but his understanding of its value in today's world of football has changed and his willingness to evolve with the current state of college football should be applauded.
After losing a number of transfers in the off-season, some for NIL reasons according to Gundy, the Pokes head football coach knew he had to change his approach moving forward. He may not approve of NIL, but he has evolved with the times and that alone will give him a great chance at continuing to be one of the longest-tenured coaches in college football.
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2. Midwest's 2023 five-stars are thriving.
The Midwest produced three five-star recruits in the 2023 class in quarterback Dante Moore, offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor and defensive end Adepoju Adebawore. The early results have been incredibly impressive and unless something drastic were to change, it looks like all three could very well live up to their billing as potential future first-round draft picks.
Merely starting at quarterback as a true freshman in the Pac-12 is a feat in itself and although there have been some rough stretches – see the Utah game – the early results are extremely promising for Moore. He is leading a 4-1 UCLA team that just knocked off then-No. 13 Washington State on Saturday. Moore has completed 69-of-130 for 1,139 yards and nine touchdowns with four interceptions.
Proctor earned the starting spot at left tackle for Alabama during fall camp and has shown signs of improvement each week. Earning a day one starting spot on the offensive line at Alabama is a monster feat and after his first five games the Iowa native had nine knockdown blocks in 290 snaps, highlighted by his play against Mississippi State where he had two knockdown blocks and did not allow a single QB hurry or sack.
Adebawore has made some big plays for the red hot Sooners while tallying production on the stat sheet in all six of Oklahoma's wins. At the season's halfway point, he has six tackles, three TFL's, 1.5 sacks, two QB hits and one pass deflection.
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3. Brent Venables proving to be the man for the job.
I'll never forget the passion and excitement Brent Venables put on full display when doing an interview with Adam Gorney on the Rivals National Signing Day Show shortly after he was hired as the head coach of Oklahoma. He had so much fire in him, his excitement was contagious and he reminded me exactly of the type of coach I'd like to play for when I was coming up as a young football player.
I had no question that he would achieve a ton of success at Oklahoma if he could simply get his team to play with the same fire and love for the game as you could feel through the camera that day from him.
Then Year One of the Venables era came around and the Sooners massively underperformed during a rough 6-7 season that included losses to six unranked teams and ended with a Cheez-It Bowl loss to Florida State. I started to wonder if Venables was a better motivator and coordinator than he would be as a head coach, but the players and coaches in his locker room never wavered and Venables has unquestionably proven to be the man for the job.
The Sooners are undefeated and ranked No. 5 halfway through Year Two of the Venables Era. Oklahoma is playing as well as any school in the country and killing it on the recruiting trail as well. And according to the ESPN Power Football Index, Oklahoma has the best chance of making the playoff and winning the national championship out of any team in the country. The future looks bright in Norman to say the least.