Colorado Head Coach Mike MacIntyre on coming to the Valero Alamo Bowl
“We’re extremely honored to be able to play in the Valero Alamo Bowl. It’s exciting. I love the area of San Antonio, when I was coaching for the Dallas Cowboys we had our training camps down there, it’s a great area. Our young men are excited, we’re the last team to go to a bowl in the big five conferences so we’re excited to end that drought. Our young men are excited about playing a very excellent Oklahoma State team. It’s pretty cool, this is the first time since Colorado left the Big 12, that we’re playing a Big 12 opponent, so I know all our fans are excited about that.”
Oklahoma State Defensive Coordinator Glenn Spencer on coming to the Valero Alamo Bowl
“On behalf of Mike Gundy, who is bouncing around the country right now, I want to thank the Valero Alamo Bowl it’s a great honor. We’re excited to be headed back down to the great city of San Antonio. I’ve been at Okahoma State for nine years now so I was part of that 2010 team that came down there, and had a great week, got to play a great Arizona team that played well. The hospitality is unbelievable, it just so happens I’ve been that area recruiter down there for us since I’ve been at Oklahoma State, so we love San Antonio especially. I think half of my defensive starters are from San Antonio, so I’ve got a fond recollection, I’ve got fond memories, love going down there, and I just know from the last time our players have always said its one of the favorite bowls we’ve ever been to. Of course to play a great Colorado team isn’t going to be as fun. Coach MacIntyre well-deserved of the national awards that he’s getting, what he’s done with that program is remarkable and I want to congratulate him and say how much the Cowboys are looking forward to coming down.”
Coach MacIntyre on turning around the Colorado program
“It’s very exciting, and of course a lot of hard work, of course it all goes back to our players and our assistant coaches that have worked so hard. They’ve blocked out all the noise, put one foot in front of the other I always like to say it’s the three P’s: persistence, passion and prayer. Put them all together and just keep doing it over and over. Get a lot of young men that set high expectations and try to reach them.”
Coach MacIntyre on the health of quarterback Sefo Liufau
“I think he’ll be fine for the bowl game. He hurt his ankle, hopefully he’ll keep progressing on that. I think he’ll be fine.”
Coach MacIntyre on coaching his son sophomore wide receiver Jay
“I enjoy coaching my son, he’s a good player number 1, number 2 it’s fun to be around him. As a college coach you’re so busy, I know Glenn has kids, Mike has kids, you don’t get to see them quite as much as you like, you miss a lot of their games when they’re growing up. Now I get to see him every day in practice and see all his games, so that makes it special.”
Coach Spencer on recruiting in San Antonio
“I think its catching on now, sorry to say that its catching on now because 5, 6, 7 years ago everyone thought that all the players were in Houston, or in the Dallas area and I went down to San Antonio. Probably because I was the new guy on staff so they through they’d throw me down there where there weren’t many players and just let me flounder around, and it turns out these guys Jordan Sterns, Vincent Taylor, Raymond Richards I lose track of them all. You guys down there should be proud, it goes back to the coaches and the commitment they made in that area. The competition is phenomenal, when you get a Steele or a Judson or Reagan or I can go on, and those teams that get out of conference and into the state playoffs that’s huge and that area should be proud. We keep coming down there and we’ll keep turning over stones and try to keep the pipeline going.”
Coach Spencer on playing former Big 12 opponent Colorado
“First I’ll tell Mike, I don’t think he needs to rush it with that quarterback, they really need to nurture him back and hold him back…just kidding. When I first got here Colorado was still in the conference I remember making the trip up there and how pretty it was, I love the town of Boulder. A lot has happened since then in the Big 12 and all they’ve done is gone off and struggled for a while, it proves what a good man, the right man will do. If you get that in the situation, with those facilities, in that area of the country I think you’re going to do well and Mike’s done that. They’re a well-balanced team, looking forward to getting back off the recruiting trail after this week, and watching the tape. Mike and I go back, we both played football at Georgia Tech together, so we’ve got a history there and our families have spent a few years together up in Black Mountain at FCA camps – he’s a dear friend I can’t wait to meet him down there and see his family again. Again, it’s just neat how this things worked out.”
Coach MacIntyre on the senior class getting to its first bowl game
“Our young men are really excited, all they’ve heard since they got here is ‘get to a bowl game’ and they’ve done that. They’ve resurrected our University of Colorado football program, it’s been this senior class and our fourth-year juniors that have done it. So, I’m really excited about seeing them being able to run out that tunnel playing in a bowl game and enjoying that moment.”
