Will Baizer
Staff Writer
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2015
- Messages
- 890
Per Strong in his press conference today, Senior OG Kent Perkins will be suspended for one game following his arrest for driving while intoxicated. That game will be Oklahoma State this weekend.
On top of this he'll do counseling, community service, and face additional internal punishment.
It appears Alex Anderson will be replacing him.
Kent Perkins will be addressing the media later on in player availabilities.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is the transcript of Kent Perkin's media availability
Opening statement:
I want to apologize to my team, my coaches, my family, all my loved ones, anybody that's ever looked up to me. I made a mistake, and I really apologize for that. That's not me. That's not my character. That's not what I'm about. I'm just ready to gain the trust back from those people, and I know I disappointed a lot of people, and the biggest thing right now is I just want to move forward, forget about this mistake. I'm a leader on this team. I need to act like that on and off the field. I'm just ready to put all this behind me and start moving forward.
On if he addressed the team:
I addressed the offensive line, and Coach Strong, he addressed the team.
On what he told his linemen:
You know, I have a lot of good friends on this team, and that's what I said. I said, you know, all the guys, you know, they were contacting me and saying, you know, we love you, and all the support, keep your head up, things like that. It just let me know like they had my back, you know, in this time. You know, it hurts even more because I feel like I let them down. I know this: I have a lot of good people in my corner. You know, I'm not going to -- this will never happen ever again.
On the conversations he has had with Coach Strong:
Well, when I talked to Coach Strong, you know, the biggest thing is I don't like to let people down. I don't want no one to feel disappointed. I think that hurts the most. You know, Coach Strong, we talked, people make mistakes, and he said, you're young, and I know this isn't your character. The biggest thing is I'm glad that he understands that this is only a mistake and this is not something that I just do. It was a stupid mistake, and I'm just glad that he understands that that's all it was, that that's not who I am as a person.
On how fortunate he feels that something worse didn't happen as a result:
I'm really grateful that I didn't cause injury to somebody else, you know. I mean, it's crazy what happened, and I'm just thankful to God that nothing physically happened to me or anybody else.
On how this can turn into a positive:
I believe it's going to be motivation because now I feel I have even more to prove. I have to gain that trust back, so I have to work even harder. I'm honestly fired up to earn that trust back from all the people that I let down.
On his reaction to his punishment:
You know, you never like not being out there with your team. I'm willing to take whatever punishment. It was my mistake. I did it. I'm willing to take all full responsibility for the consequences, and right now do my best on and off the field to help my team while they're on the field and just get ready.
On the biggest thing he has learned:
The biggest thing I learned from this is I know what's important. I'm not a guy that goes out, you know. I'm going to take from this that being a leader, being the older guy on the team, I have to set that example. I didn't set that example. But going forward, I'm going to do a lot of things right. I'm going to strive to do a lot of things right.
On if the younger players can take anything away from it, i.e. that it's okay to go out but everybody kind of needs to watch out for each other:
Yeah, yeah, just like we take care of each other on the field, we've got to take care of each other off the field. I mean, that goes for anywhere. That goes for going out, that goes for going to the mall with your friends, just hanging out with each other, always having your brother's back.
Last edited by a moderator:
