Jaren Kanak ASU postgame
Oklahoma Sooners WR Gavin Freeman meets the press after OU's 73-0 win over Arkansas State on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023.
Transcript
00:00 I know what's going on and I still have a lot to learn, like you said, but getting out
00:05 there on game day and finally seeing stuff click and understand why I had to do this
00:08 and understand when I messed up and why, it's cool to be out there and get that first-hand
00:12 experience.
00:13 Were you able to take a moment and just, I'm sure that's something that you and Danny
00:16 playing alongside each other, talked about for a long time, were you able to kind of
00:21 soak it in?
00:22 Yeah, most definitely.
00:23 I mean, me and Danny were talking to each other before the game saying, "This is what
00:25 we've been talking about, this is what we've been working for in the offseason, let's go
00:27 out there and fly around and be us," you know what I mean?
00:30 So it was definitely a cool thing in the moment and I'm just excited, looking forward to the
00:33 future.
00:34 Chitral, a question about the team.
00:35 You guys did pretty good last year in the opener and gave the fans a lot of reason to
00:39 hope and be excited about things.
00:41 Did today feel different than even that in terms of setting the tone for an opener?
00:46 Yeah, I mean, winning the opener and setting the tone, that's one of our biggest goals.
00:49 Like I said earlier, we're worried about being Oklahoma this year and not beating Oklahoma
00:53 and playing to a nameless, faceless opponent every week and trying to go 1-0 every week.
00:57 So setting the tone like this with an opener and just going out there and being ourselves
01:00 is definitely a great starting point that we're excited about.
01:03 How intense was it over on the sideline in the second half, keeping the shutout with
01:07 some of those other guys in there?
01:09 Yeah, for sure.
01:10 First of all, super pumped to see a lot of guys get a lot of reps, a lot of different
01:14 people going in.
01:15 And so just keeping that intensity and not letting our foot off the pedal and just finishing
01:19 it out and stomping it out, that was one of the biggest things that we were trying to
01:22 focus on.
01:23 You could just feel the energy on the sideline.
01:26 Everybody was playing like it was still 0-0 and nobody was letting up.
01:28 So that was something we were super pumped about.
01:30 Pretty excited for Kobe.
01:31 It seemed like he was all over the field in the third and fourth quarters.
01:33 Yeah, for sure.
01:34 Like I said, Kobe and all those other guys, they got a bunch of reps.
01:36 We're super excited to get a lot of guys rolling in and playing a lot of good football.
01:41 We get a bunch of different guys in and they're still playing to that standard that we talk
01:44 about and they're all still playing like they could be taking the first team reps.
01:47 You know what I mean?
01:48 So that's what we're excited about.
01:50 You've played for a year now and you've been at this position for a while now.
01:54 Did it feel more like football than last year where you were constantly learning, constantly
01:57 trying to pick things up?
01:58 Yeah, most definitely.
01:59 Like I mentioned earlier, I started seeing things a lot more on the field and knowing
02:04 when I messed up and why I messed up or why this play was good for me or where I'm supposed
02:07 to be.
02:08 It's easier to see and easier to diagnose on the field now.
02:10 I'm super excited about how the game is slowing down for me.
02:13 So you talked about how this game kind of sets the tone for the season as a whole, but
02:17 those couple plays that Gavin made on the front end, how did that set the tone for this
02:20 game in particular?
02:22 Gavin Freeman?
02:23 Yeah, I mean just starting off like that.
02:25 You know, it was last year his first touch, he scored, and this year his first touch he
02:29 scored as well.
02:30 That's something that we're super excited about.
02:31 You know, just him individually, just what he brings to our team and how freaky athletic
02:35 he is.
02:36 You know, we call him G-Freaky just because of how freaky athletic he is.
02:38 So you know, we're super excited about how he was able to set the tone today and super
02:41 excited about him going into the future.
02:42 Is that the kind of stuff, it seems like he does that every week at practice.
02:45 Is it almost not surprising now that you just almost expect he's going to do something crazy?
02:49 Oh yeah.
02:50 I mean, when they posted that video of him hurtling Key on the, you know, Key obviously
02:54 let off, so no hard feelings for that.
02:56 But it's like you can see on the side, like everybody was just standing like this, like
02:59 yeah, like he does this all the time.
03:01 Like we're so used to seeing him doing these crazy things in practice, like, you know,
03:04 it's like when he does them in the game, it's just like, alright, well, let's, you know,
03:07 game habits, or practice habits, game reality.
03:09 That's what he is every day.
03:10 Britt was talking about the cohesion of this defense.
03:14 Just first time out this season, what's it like just playing alongside each other?
03:17 Yeah, for sure.
03:18 We're just a really tight-knit unit.
03:20 We love each other.
03:21 We love to play for each other.
03:22 You know, we've been through a lot together, you know, you two in the defense, and you
03:25 know, even those new guys coming in, they came in and they got right with the program,
03:29 and you know, they understand the standards, and they love what we're working towards.
03:32 So there's a lot of cohesion out there, and we all love to fly around and play for each
03:35 other, which is really important, and something we've been developing the past eight months,
03:38 and you know, the past two years now, the guys have been here last year as well, but
03:42 you know, it's something that's really important to us, is developing that tight bond.
03:46 The first time you came out, Kip came in behind you, did he go to Mike, like he's listed as
03:52 the backup Mike, or did Danny slide over?
03:54 Danny was playing Mike, and Kip went to Will.
03:57 Okay.
03:58 What's the deal there?
03:59 It's just easier for a young guy to take on Will, or?
04:03 No, not necessarily.
04:04 I think it's just, we're just rotating different guys, different spots, different backers,
04:07 to see who can do what, and you know, probably get Danny some Mike film as well, for that
04:13 reason.
04:14 I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off, you've got a great vantage point for the D-line,
04:18 to see what those guys are doing up front.
04:20 What did you think of their performance today?
04:21 Yeah, obviously when the D-line is doing their thing, it makes the game a lot slower for
04:25 us, so we're really excited about what they brought to the game today, and how they flied
04:29 around and played fast and hard, and violent.
04:30 It seemed like you guys were really down to earth.