Mike Gundy Isn’t Too Concerned About Players Using Social Media

In case you haven’t heard by now, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney recently re-instituted the team’s annual social media ban, which went into effect back on August 3, the first day of camp. The band will remain in effect until the end of the season, which will apparently have such devastating consequences as leaving defensive tackle D.J. Reader in the dark about what’s happening outside of Tigers football, since social media is how he gets most of his information about the world.

Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy, who is actually a good friend of Swinney’s, was asked about the topic of social media during Monday’s appearance on the always-eccentric Jim Rome’s radio show. Gundy took a much more relaxed and level-headed approach to the matter:

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“Just in my opinion and our coaching staff’s opinion, it’s just not really a direction we want to go,” Gundy said. “We’re going to try and educate them and talk to them about what’s positive and the negative and things to stay away from, and try to go that direction. You know, we have 132 players on our team. To try and regulate or put a stop to that for us here, we just don’t have the manpower to handle that type of situation.”

Gundy was also sure to note that social media is no longer some kind of fringe annoyance that carries little relevancy.

“…There’s no question that the internet and the urgency and how immediate information can get out there has changed the perception and the way that the media or people like yourself work, because when something comes out, people start chasing it. And it may not be as true as what it should be. So, it’s been a huge factor for us in recruiting and the everyday lifestyle of a college football player.”

If there ever was any apprehension from Gundy towards social media, it’s most certainly gone by now, as his recent uptick in Twitter activity has shown.

You can listen to the interview in it’s entirety, which also touches on subjects such as Mason Rudolph, the defense’s speed, and how strange 2014 was here.

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