What OU football players, coaches said at media day for Cheez-It Bowl vs. Florida State

Marvin Mims knows the name on the front of his jersey carries significant weight in college football, even when that team has a .500 record.

So, the OU receiver isn't expecting No. 13 Florida State to look past the underdog Sooners in the Cheez-It Bowl.

"Everybody wants a shot at Oklahoma," Mims said Monday. "No matter how the season is going, when they play Oklahoma, they are going to bring their best."

The Sooners (6-6) face the Seminoles (9-3) at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.

Here's a highlighted transcript of what OU quarterback Dillon Gabriel, receiver Marvin Mims, linebacker DaShaun White, defensive end Ethan Downs, offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby and defensive coordinator Ted Roof had to say to reporters at Cheez-It Bowl media day in Orlando:

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OU quarterback Dillon Gabriel

Q. What do you know about Florida State and their defense and what you will be going up against on Thursday?

[They are] really talented. A lot of good players, and they play very well. Pretty familiar with my guy, Tatum [Bethune], so good to see him again. Like I said, a lot of talented guys, and they played really well this whole season.

Q. Did you pay more attention to them when McKenzie Milton was there and have you talked to him much about this matchup?

Yeah, I have, of course, watched FSU and his time there. Pretty familiar with that. Year-to-year personnel change and likewise, scheme. Just watching this year and familiar with his time, and the things that he kind of went through.

Q. What do you know about Florida State and their defense and what you will be going up against on Thursday?

[They are] really talented. A lot of good players, and they play very well. Pretty familiar with my guy, Tatum [Bethune], so good to see him again. Like I said, a lot of talented guys, and they played really well this whole season.

Q. Did you pay more attention to them when McKenzie Milton was there and have you talked to him much about this matchup?

Yeah, I have, of course, watched FSU and his time there. Pretty familiar with that. Year-to-year personnel change and likewise, scheme. Just watching this year and familiar with his time, and the things that he kind of went through.

Q. What do you know about Florida State and their defense and what you will be going up against on Thursday?

[They are] really talented. A lot of good players, and they play very well. Pretty familiar with my guy, Tatum [Bethune], so good to see him again. Like I said, a lot of talented guys, and they played really well this whole season.

Q. Did you pay more attention to them when McKenzie Milton was there and have you talked to him much about this matchup?

Yeah, I have, of course, watched FSU and his time there. Pretty familiar with that. Year-to-year personnel change and likewise, scheme. Just watching this year and familiar with his time, and the things that he kind of went through.

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OU linebacker DaShaun White

Q. How much different is the defense you guys are running now compared to what you did earlier in your career, and have the guys gotten more comfortable as the year has gone on?

Yeah, it is definitely different. It is a lot more complex. We do a lot of different things. We do more, but I think just as the season has gone on, I think you can see how much more guys are getting comfortable the in scheme. Just really knowing where other guys are at, I think that's the most important thing. Just knowing where your help is at. Sometimes you can get out of place and do too much, not knowing that you have got a teammate literally three feet to the right of you. So, just sort of knowing where your help is at, knowing what leverage to play, what angle to attack plays with is really important.

Q. How much do you soak in every bit of this week after a long career at Oklahoma? What would it mean to end your time at OU with a victory?

I've been soaking up quite a bit, trying to enjoy all the little moments, the moments that might pass you by just riding in the bus with my teammates, laughing, stuff like that.

A win would be really big and I think just not even just for the seniors about you just for the morale of this program and just sort of kind of how this year's went. It's been a rough year, it's been up and down.

But I think the way you finish anything is tremendously important, and so how we finish this is going to be like anything else. You want to finish the right way, you want to finish with pride, you want to finish with -- I mean, just want to finish the right way. We are really focused on that.

Q. How much do you soak in every bit of this week after a long career at Oklahoma? What would it mean to end your time at OU with a victory?

I've been soaking up quite a bit, trying to enjoy all the little moments, the moments that might pass you by just riding in the bus with my teammates, laughing, stuff like that.

A win would be really big and I think just not even just for the seniors about you just for the morale of this program and just sort of kind of how this year's went. It's been a rough year, it's been up and down.

But I think the way you finish anything is tremendously important, and so how we finish this is going to be like anything else. You want to finish the right way, you want to finish with pride, you want to finish with -- I mean, just want to finish the right way. We are really focused on that.

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OU defensive end Ethan Downs

Q. Ethan, what's the team mindset been going into the postseason? I know the regular season wasn't everything you guys hoped but what's the mindset going into the postseason?

Coach Venables will tell us that a season is like a roller coaster. Like Coach Roof mentioned, the highs and lows. You can't jump off the roller coaster. You can't give up.

We are telling a story with this season of, it really feels like life: You get punched, you get knocked down, you get right back up. Sometimes you are on a high, and a lot of times you are on a low.

We are trying to show our perseverance and what we are made of. We are trying to show our heart by getting back up and fighting. Even when it doesn't look like we've had such a great past, we are trying to give people home for the future.

We are playing for more than just 7-6, which looks a lot better than 6-7. We are playing for the future the program and the people that have been through the program and the coaches, Oklahoma's reputation. There is a lot on the line.

Q. Just on the quarterback, Jordan Travis, is there another quarterback like him that you've faced that helps you guys prepare to face another like that?

I am not sure. He is probably the most talented on his feet that we have seen, being able to run sideline-to-sideline and get the ball to where he needs to be. He has a great ball, as well. He can throw short. He can throw deep. He has great run reads. He is super talented, one of the top quarterback in the nation and it is a great challenge for us and the D-Line to test our skills even more to get better.

It is an opportunity to get better and to see what we are made of, even this late in the season. Doesn't matter, you know what day it is, like there is an opportunity to get better, an opportunity to finish and face the challenge and attempt to conquer it.

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OU wide receiver Marvin Mims

Q. What would you describe the first season like under a new coaching staff and where you guys are going?

It was definitely a drastic change, two years under Coach [Lincoln] Riley for me, and then adapt into a new coaching staff third year, a bunch of new players, a lot of old faces leaving, so it definitely a whole new experience.

I feel like as a first team under Coach [Brent] Venables, I feel like we responded pretty well to all the demands, the way he wanted his program to look, his culture to be.

Just for the future with the younger guys coming up and all that stuff, it's going to look real good. Just from the off-the-field stuff, on-the-field, guys getting used to it this first year, and now people knowing what it looks like in year two and being able to lead the young guys and help them come up.

Q. Winning is the ultimate goal, but how much does pride play a motivating factor for this year's team since there has not been a losing season since 1998?

Not even thinking about the losing season, but how we are going to finish off as a team. This year has not gone the way we wanted it to, but at the end of the day, we still have one more game to be able to set the record straight and go out and play against a really good football team. So looking forward to it.

Q. Throughout your career, Oklahoma has been the higher-ranked team and team with more prestige. And now, the roles are reversed right now, Florida State has had a good year and you guys have struggled a little bit. Do you guys embrace the challenge to be a perceived underdog for once?

Yeah, I kind of look at it the same way as I have my past two years. Honestly, especially playing in the Big 12, everybody wants a shot at Oklahoma. No matter how the season is going, when they play Oklahoma, they are going to bring their best. Especially if we are down, they want to get their win, and they want to get their shot. If we are up, they want to get that upset and stuff like that.

Last year, when we played Oregon after Coach Riley left, we were the underdogs against them, too, and we went out and had fun and played football. There is a lot of pride in that game for sure without a head football coach.

Same for this game, too. We are just going to let it loose, have fun. Really good football team other side of the ball, and just go out there and just -- it's the last game no matter what, just play.

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OU offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby

Q. How big of an opportunity is this for Jovantae Barnes? And if Marcus Major is not one hundred percent, what are the strengths of the running backs remaining on the depth chart?

It is a great opportunity for Jovantae. Again, going back to what we talked about earlier, we have guys that are capable, and we have got guys that are going to play really well on the 29th. I look forward to those guys doing what they can to help us win.

Q. What does it say about the kids that decided to get on the bus and come out here and play this game this week and participate in the bowl?

Yeah, for us, when we got on that plane. We knew it was a great opportunity to go out and compete one more time, and that was special and unique for us. We wanted to do this together. The guys that got on the plane. They had a couple great days of practice and had great bowl prep. The guys that are ready to go compete.

Q. Wonder about the progress D.J. Graham has made since moving from running back to wide receiver. Is he someone that could he see time in the Bowl game at his new position?

Yeah, D.J. has done well. He has continued to impress on the practice field, create an opportunity. We will see how the game plays out, but D.J. has done a really good job and excited about where he is at and where he is going.

Q. Are you fully confident Dillon Gabriel is coming back next season, and what are your expectations?

Fully confident he is going to play really well on the 29th, and then we'll go from there.

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OU defensive coordinator Ted Roof

Q. With how much Florida State has grown from last year to this year, is there any benefit that you and Coach Venables have looking at the film from last year?

They are such a different team this year as far as how they play. It is a much different team and just a lot of production from a lot of different areas. So, we have a lot of respect for them.

Q. Peyton Bowen, how unique was his flip to OU and what is the tone of the coaching staff?

Unique, very unique. Certainly, our staff was extremely excited about it and happy to get it and look forward to him coming in and starting the process and becoming a college football player.

Q. They have seven or eight consecutive games registering over 200 yards. Is it something schematic or personnel? What is it about the Florida State running attack that seems to be standing out to you?

Certainly, they have a wonderful scheme. They know how to stress a defense and put people in conflict. They have a very physical offensive line that knows who they are targeting. Then you have great backs, and a quarterback that can run, too. It is all encompassing. It is not like one thing. It is an all-encompassing deal. Again, it is a real challenge. That is top in the league and they are one of the best in the country.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma football: Sooners talk about Cheez-It Bowl vs. Florida State