“I’ve probably done this 1,000 times.”

Oklahoma State star halfback Ollie Gordon II won’t miss any time after being arrested on suspicion of drunken driving on June 30, head coach Mike Gundy said Tuesday.

“He’s going to play,” Gundy told ESPN at Big 12 media days in Las Vegas. “I’m going to do what we think is best for Oklahoma State football. And I think it’s best for Ollie to play. If there’s any punishment for him, it’s going to be 50 carries in the first game.”

According to reports and a probable cause statement, the officer spotted a half-full bottle of vodka and a half-full bottle of tequila as Gordon was being pulled over for swerving and driving 82 in a 65 mph zone. Gordon is the reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and won the Doak Walker Award after rushing for 1,732 yards and 22 total touchdowns in 2023. He released a statement apologizing for his actions Monday.

Gundy said during a panel discussion that in making a decision about punishing Gordon, he had to do what was best for “Ollie, our university and our team.”

“Is suspending him for one game really going to matter? I don’t think so. Maybe suspending him for six games? Maybe that would be enough, but I don’t think it’s fair to everybody else on our team, and I have to take them into consideration,” Gundy said. “Ollie is a great person who made a mistake.”

“In Oklahoma, the legal limit is .08 and Ollie was .1, and I did some research and it was based on body weight. Without getting into the legal side of it, I was like, really, two or three beers or four — I’m not justifying what Ollie did, I’m telling you what decision I made — well, I was like, I’ve probably done this about 1,000 times in my life, and that’s fine. I got lucky, people get lucky,” Gundy said.

Gundy later clarified his views in a post on X/Twitter.

Announced as participating in media days before his arrest was announced, Gordon was made available Tuesday, which Gundy said was a decision left to Gordon and part of steps taken to ensure he learns from the situation.

“We can say these guys are not employees, but they are employees. These guys are getting paid a lot of money, which is great, but … they have to be able to face the situation and take responsibility for their actions,” Gundy said. “I told him, ‘We’re going to take you (to Big 12 media days), we’re not going to shield you from all the questions, you’re going to face everybody there and you have to give the answer that you think is best for you. And hopefully you can learn from this and … it helps you for the rest of your life.’”

Media days will continue Wednesday with appearances from the remaining schools, including Colorado’s Deion Sanders, Baylor’s Dave Aranda and Houston’s Willie Fritz.

Find more college sports coverage from the Dallas Morning News here.