The University of Mississippi Athletics
Matt Luke Weekly Press Conference
9/24/2018 | Football
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Ole Miss Football Coach Recaps Kent State Win, Previews Trip to LSU
Ole Miss Football Head Coach Matt Luke met with the media Monday after looking at tape of the win over Kent State. He also addressed the upcoming matchup against LSU (8:15 p.m. CT, ESPN). The full transcript can be found below.
Opening Statement…
"Happy to be 3-1. Looking to really build off of the positives from last game, especially defensively—15 tackles for a loss, seven sacks—I thought that was a positive thing we can grow off of. Offensively, in the second half, I thought we played really well. I thought the O-Line played one of their better games after watching the tape. They played really well."
Injury Report…
"Coming out, we are pretty healthy. A.J. Brown did tweak his hamstring. The prognosis has been good moving forward. I think it's very minor. He'll run around some today. I think he's probable. Josh Clarke has a high ankle sprain. He's going to be out. Ken Webster, hoping to get him back to full speed this week. Then Benito Jones is going to be probable. He played some. He wasn't 100 percent, but he did play some. He'll be probable going forward."
On this weekend's game at LSU…
"Excited about the opportunity to play another top-five team on the road at night. It'll be a very challenging atmosphere. Excited to go out and play in the Southeastern Conference. We're looking forward to the challenge."
On Jordan Ta'amu's shoulder…
"We shut him down yesterday and didn't let him throw. So he had yesterday and today fully off. He'll go out there and practice tomorrow. His shoulder loosened up in the second half and it wasn't an issue. We rested yesterday, we'll rest today as well. He won't do much, then we'll go out there and he'll be full go tomorrow."
On the play of his freshman defenders…
"There is some growing pains there. Keidron Smith has done really well. I've been very pleased with him. Kevontae' Ruggs, he'll run around. He's very active. Then Jacquez Jones kind of has a nose for the football. He's more of an instinctive player. He also showed up and made some plays. You want to see them getting better. Every once in a while, they'll flash and be really good. But then the next play it won't be what you think. We'll continue to bring them on. But the only way you can do it is through playing and getting experience, and they are getting better."
On Charles Wiley and Markel Winters…
"We challenged everybody to play a role—find what you can do to help the football team. They really stepped up. They did a good job at getting off the ball and attacking. They didn't wait. They weren't reading, they were getting off the ball and attacking. That was good to see. Moving forward, that will help. Then when Benito and Josiah Coatney get healthy, it will just give them more confidence to give us quality depth. Them having the mindset to attack and not sit back on their heels. If we're going to make a mistake, let's make a mistake attacking, and I thought they did a good job at that."
On LSU…
"Watched them a lot last night and early this morning, trying to get a feel for them. They're very good defensively. They're good on all three levels of the defense. Good up front, really good linebackers, very long and very good in the secondary. They're a very good defense. I think you've got to be very smart with the football. We have to protect the football. We need some high-percentage throws so we can get on schedule and get the rhythm that we need offensively. On offense, they're big up front. I think Joe Burrow does a great job at managing the game. He's a capable passer—can hit you vertically. They have two really big backs. They have Nick Brossette, and he's 220 pounds. Then the other guy, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, eh kind of reminds me of Scottie Phillips. He's 5-9, 210 pounds, really active. He hit some big runs last week. Very good at running back. Then they have a good tight end who is a good blocker, then they'll get him out on play action. We have to be disciplined with our eyes so we don't lose him in man-to-man coverage in the run game when they throw their play action."
On playing against a big LSU offensive line…
"Keep attacking. Just being in the right place in the run fits and linebackers showing up when they need to be. They can't hang on to double-teams forever. Just doing the little things it takes. We just need to go play good, sound football. Just be consistent and play good football. You have to do that on the road. And obviously be good defensively stopping the run. Offensively, take care of the football. Be sound on special teams."
On Tylan Knight…
"He's doing a lot of things that people aren't seeing on special teams. He's going down there on kickoff coverage. He almost blocked a punt. He's factored into the game. But it was good to see him get a carry late in the game. You saw that spark and how physical he runs the ball for his size. He finishes going forward. He's like a little pitbull. He's physical and tough. He provides a spark. So I think you'll see his role continue to grow."
On Knight's recruitment…
"Well when you go and base it purely on height and weight, you probably don't offer him. But you're looking at a young man who won a state championship, was the 6A player of the year in Mississippi, MVP of the Mississippi-Alabama All-Star game, sooner or later, you have to realize you can't judge the size of his heart and what he brings to the table. If you ask any coach, who is the best player on the field? It's Tylan Knight. Sooner or later, you have to say hey, we're going to take a shot at this guy. When you're at the University of Mississippi, and he's the best player in Mississippi, I think he deserved a shot. And I think that's shown."
On D.K. Metcalf…
"D.K. has been very steady. I've been very impressed with his selflessness. He plays on our special teams. He plays kickoff return. He had a penalty, but he went and downed a punt. He's just very unselfish. He makes those plays. He's hard to tackle when he has the ball in his hands. The play he made on the post over the middle, the one-handed catch, that really sparked us. You almost get spoiled by it because of how good he plays. You're just used to those guys making those plays, and they keep on doing it. I'm impressed with his consistency. He's doing it game in and game out."
On Elijah Moore…
"He took advantage of the opportunities he had. You could see his quickness, his change of direction. It's good to get him that experience. That way he feels more comfortable moving forward. If A.J. gets tired or if he has an injury, he can step in there and get going, especially with Floyd Allen out with a hamstring. But I thought he did a really good job of taking advantage of his opportunities."
On improvements in third-down efficiency…
"It wasn't great early, but I thought we got better at it. We make it an emphasis in practice week in and week out. We threw a curl route in there, picked up a blitz and threw the ball on time. You have a limited amount of time to throw it. Everything has to be on time. You have to be good, not only on the O-Line, but also at tailback, picking up the blitzes and the things you see on third down. I did see an improvement there. That was one of the things we were looking to build on, so that was good to see."
On the play of his tight ends vs. Kent State…
"It had been a little unfortunate. Through the first three games, we had some plays, some wheel routes that were covered, a ball that was tipped to Octavious Cooley over the middle, some just off of Dawson Knox's hands. So it was really good to get him involved, because he is a weapon. It was just the way it played out, but I think you'll start to see them more and more moving forward. He is a good matchup in some things that we do."
On going small on the D-Line…
"You can in some situations. Obviously, what you gain in some areas, you lose in others. In some games, it's a matchup. So when you play spread teams that like to throw it, the quicker guys help. But when you play a big team that likes to run it, that won't be as good of a matchup. I think we can use it in certain situations, and those guys will have confidence. It's more about those guys having confidence to go in there and give you quality snaps, go in there and attack and don't let what you can't do stop you from doing what you can do. Those guys can get off the ball, they can attack, so that's what we'll try to utilize them for."
On similarities between LSU and Alabama defensively…
"It's a different scheme. I would say LSU is a little more of an attacking front, where Alabama just holds point. It's hard to move those guys. I would say the secondary there are some similarities because of their length. It's a little bit different scheme up front. Both are very good defenses as you'll see week in and week out in this league. They do a great job and we're going to have to do a really good job of having high-percentage passes and then have enough in the run game where we don't get on our heels. We have to stay in attack mode and be aggressive in the run game."
Opening Statement…
"Happy to be 3-1. Looking to really build off of the positives from last game, especially defensively—15 tackles for a loss, seven sacks—I thought that was a positive thing we can grow off of. Offensively, in the second half, I thought we played really well. I thought the O-Line played one of their better games after watching the tape. They played really well."
Injury Report…
"Coming out, we are pretty healthy. A.J. Brown did tweak his hamstring. The prognosis has been good moving forward. I think it's very minor. He'll run around some today. I think he's probable. Josh Clarke has a high ankle sprain. He's going to be out. Ken Webster, hoping to get him back to full speed this week. Then Benito Jones is going to be probable. He played some. He wasn't 100 percent, but he did play some. He'll be probable going forward."
On this weekend's game at LSU…
"Excited about the opportunity to play another top-five team on the road at night. It'll be a very challenging atmosphere. Excited to go out and play in the Southeastern Conference. We're looking forward to the challenge."
On Jordan Ta'amu's shoulder…
"We shut him down yesterday and didn't let him throw. So he had yesterday and today fully off. He'll go out there and practice tomorrow. His shoulder loosened up in the second half and it wasn't an issue. We rested yesterday, we'll rest today as well. He won't do much, then we'll go out there and he'll be full go tomorrow."
On the play of his freshman defenders…
"There is some growing pains there. Keidron Smith has done really well. I've been very pleased with him. Kevontae' Ruggs, he'll run around. He's very active. Then Jacquez Jones kind of has a nose for the football. He's more of an instinctive player. He also showed up and made some plays. You want to see them getting better. Every once in a while, they'll flash and be really good. But then the next play it won't be what you think. We'll continue to bring them on. But the only way you can do it is through playing and getting experience, and they are getting better."
On Charles Wiley and Markel Winters…
"We challenged everybody to play a role—find what you can do to help the football team. They really stepped up. They did a good job at getting off the ball and attacking. They didn't wait. They weren't reading, they were getting off the ball and attacking. That was good to see. Moving forward, that will help. Then when Benito and Josiah Coatney get healthy, it will just give them more confidence to give us quality depth. Them having the mindset to attack and not sit back on their heels. If we're going to make a mistake, let's make a mistake attacking, and I thought they did a good job at that."
On LSU…
"Watched them a lot last night and early this morning, trying to get a feel for them. They're very good defensively. They're good on all three levels of the defense. Good up front, really good linebackers, very long and very good in the secondary. They're a very good defense. I think you've got to be very smart with the football. We have to protect the football. We need some high-percentage throws so we can get on schedule and get the rhythm that we need offensively. On offense, they're big up front. I think Joe Burrow does a great job at managing the game. He's a capable passer—can hit you vertically. They have two really big backs. They have Nick Brossette, and he's 220 pounds. Then the other guy, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, eh kind of reminds me of Scottie Phillips. He's 5-9, 210 pounds, really active. He hit some big runs last week. Very good at running back. Then they have a good tight end who is a good blocker, then they'll get him out on play action. We have to be disciplined with our eyes so we don't lose him in man-to-man coverage in the run game when they throw their play action."
On playing against a big LSU offensive line…
"Keep attacking. Just being in the right place in the run fits and linebackers showing up when they need to be. They can't hang on to double-teams forever. Just doing the little things it takes. We just need to go play good, sound football. Just be consistent and play good football. You have to do that on the road. And obviously be good defensively stopping the run. Offensively, take care of the football. Be sound on special teams."
On Tylan Knight…
"He's doing a lot of things that people aren't seeing on special teams. He's going down there on kickoff coverage. He almost blocked a punt. He's factored into the game. But it was good to see him get a carry late in the game. You saw that spark and how physical he runs the ball for his size. He finishes going forward. He's like a little pitbull. He's physical and tough. He provides a spark. So I think you'll see his role continue to grow."
On Knight's recruitment…
"Well when you go and base it purely on height and weight, you probably don't offer him. But you're looking at a young man who won a state championship, was the 6A player of the year in Mississippi, MVP of the Mississippi-Alabama All-Star game, sooner or later, you have to realize you can't judge the size of his heart and what he brings to the table. If you ask any coach, who is the best player on the field? It's Tylan Knight. Sooner or later, you have to say hey, we're going to take a shot at this guy. When you're at the University of Mississippi, and he's the best player in Mississippi, I think he deserved a shot. And I think that's shown."
On D.K. Metcalf…
"D.K. has been very steady. I've been very impressed with his selflessness. He plays on our special teams. He plays kickoff return. He had a penalty, but he went and downed a punt. He's just very unselfish. He makes those plays. He's hard to tackle when he has the ball in his hands. The play he made on the post over the middle, the one-handed catch, that really sparked us. You almost get spoiled by it because of how good he plays. You're just used to those guys making those plays, and they keep on doing it. I'm impressed with his consistency. He's doing it game in and game out."
On Elijah Moore…
"He took advantage of the opportunities he had. You could see his quickness, his change of direction. It's good to get him that experience. That way he feels more comfortable moving forward. If A.J. gets tired or if he has an injury, he can step in there and get going, especially with Floyd Allen out with a hamstring. But I thought he did a really good job of taking advantage of his opportunities."
On improvements in third-down efficiency…
"It wasn't great early, but I thought we got better at it. We make it an emphasis in practice week in and week out. We threw a curl route in there, picked up a blitz and threw the ball on time. You have a limited amount of time to throw it. Everything has to be on time. You have to be good, not only on the O-Line, but also at tailback, picking up the blitzes and the things you see on third down. I did see an improvement there. That was one of the things we were looking to build on, so that was good to see."
On the play of his tight ends vs. Kent State…
"It had been a little unfortunate. Through the first three games, we had some plays, some wheel routes that were covered, a ball that was tipped to Octavious Cooley over the middle, some just off of Dawson Knox's hands. So it was really good to get him involved, because he is a weapon. It was just the way it played out, but I think you'll start to see them more and more moving forward. He is a good matchup in some things that we do."
On going small on the D-Line…
"You can in some situations. Obviously, what you gain in some areas, you lose in others. In some games, it's a matchup. So when you play spread teams that like to throw it, the quicker guys help. But when you play a big team that likes to run it, that won't be as good of a matchup. I think we can use it in certain situations, and those guys will have confidence. It's more about those guys having confidence to go in there and give you quality snaps, go in there and attack and don't let what you can't do stop you from doing what you can do. Those guys can get off the ball, they can attack, so that's what we'll try to utilize them for."
On similarities between LSU and Alabama defensively…
"It's a different scheme. I would say LSU is a little more of an attacking front, where Alabama just holds point. It's hard to move those guys. I would say the secondary there are some similarities because of their length. It's a little bit different scheme up front. Both are very good defenses as you'll see week in and week out in this league. They do a great job and we're going to have to do a really good job of having high-percentage passes and then have enough in the run game where we don't get on our heels. We have to stay in attack mode and be aggressive in the run game."
Players Mentioned
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DE
/ FootballThe Season: Ole Miss Football - LSU (2025)
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