Coach Cutcliffe talks about the Independence Bowl

Dec. 10, 1999

We're excited about the opportunity to go to Shreveport again. I was down there Monday. They are excited about the matchup, just as we are. I think we have two great programs with great traditions. I think it's going to be an exciting ending to the century of college football. I think it's quite significant that we are playing the last football game of this century.

We haven't started practice yet. We'll be starting practice when they finish their finals. We're looking forward to a great challenge, playing a really fine Oklahoma team.

What are your impressions of Oklahoma?

I haven't been able to watch the tape, to be frank. I've been on the road recruiting. Our coaches who have been off the road have looked at the tape and broken it down. We've got it in our computer and in our system. I have read a lot about Oklahoma and looked at a lot of different things - their lineup and other things I could gather information from. I know that this is a really fine Oklahoma team. They're very strong on offense, that has been obvious to everyone. They throw the football extremely well, and they play really well in the kicking game. They are an outstanding team from that standpoint. Defensively, they have been very productive. They are explosive on offense, and their defense is able to get them back on the field. They are really one of the best teams we have played all year.

Talk about your practice schedule.

We start Dec. 15. We'll be working day sessions during that period of time up until Dec. 22. We'll break practice then and reconvene in Shreveport on Dec. 26, and work until game time down there.

Talk about the layoff between games.

I don't think it's a major issue. I have been doing this a long time, and I think the rest is good for them after a long season of playing that many games. We're finally going to have some people feeling better. We're going to get some people healthy. We're going to get out on the practice field and get a lot of work against each other. We'll do some small scrimmages, so we can gather the speed of the game. Certain teams are affected different ways. We've had a lot of guys who have played a lot of snaps, and I think we'll pick up close to where we left off. They are working on their own right now. So it's not like we're not doing anything.

Talk about Bob Stoops.

Bob Stoops is an outstanding football coach. He was an outstanding defensive coordinator at Florida, where I became more familiar with his defensive teams. His teams are always very aggressive and willing to play man-to-man coverage. They do an outstanding job of stopping the run. Obviously at Oklahoma, they've done an excellent job in every phase of the game. He's one of the most respected coaches in the business. I know we'll play a well-prepared, very aggressive football team.

Will you be looking more at Oklahoma or working your young players at this point?

Everybody takes the opportunity to work young players. They'll have certain drills and certain periods toward the end of practice to be more attuned to getting the young players work. You do benefit from the preparation for a bowl game. We'll certainly use that time.

Did you get your practice routine from your days at Tennessee?

This is something we developed over a period of time while I was at Tennessee. We had the good fortune of playing bowl games every year. We've done it a lot of different ways. You find a way that you're comfortable with, and certainly I think the best thing we can do for our team right now is afford our players a chance to finish strong in school. I don't feel like we need to be out there trying to gather a practice and having a partial squad. People who have tests can't come, so we're going to let them get through with their tests. Then, hopefully, we can totally focus on our preparation in football. By going to two-a-days, we kind of experience the camp atmosphere where our focus is totally on what we are doing on the practice field.

What effect do you think the departure of OU offensive coordinator Mike Leach will have on their team?

I don't think it will have an impact on the team. The team has played the season in that system, and I certainly know how successful they have been. I would assume they would maintain the same schemes. It's always tough to lose a coach, but any system at any program is bigger than one coach. Mike Leach did a great job, but I don't think it will have any effect on them one way or the other.

Talk about Romaro Miller's health.

He has continued to rehab and is getting much better. I've been out of town, so I haven't seen him running. But in talking with our trainers, everybody is making progress. Joe Gunn, Romaro and Armegis Spearman are making progress. We hope we'll have everybody back and at full strength.

Talk about Kendrick Clancy.

I really think this time will help Kendrick Clancy. He is another young man who, for the whole last half of the season, has really been hampered with an ankle injury. It's frustrating to him, because he has never been hurt before. This rest will be critical for him, and I would hope that you will see a full-speed Kendrick Clancy back.

Kendrick Clancy is a playmaker and a disruptor. I think he's one of the finest defensive lineman in the country. It's really unfortunate for him and us that he hasn't quite been himself. I'm hoping that we see a full-speed Kendrick. I hope that we can get him back at 100 percent.

What does the bowl mean to recruiting?

I think all high school and junior college prospects will be aware of who's playing in bowls and who doesn't. It just keeps your name in front. It's another television game, and exposure is a real positive thing for your program. You really can't think of anything that is negative from a recruiting standpoint or building toward next year. I hope that we grow accustomed to that. We are one of four teams in our conference that has played in a third straight bowl, so not everybody gets to do that. That's a big deal and something that can really have a positive effect in the long run on recruiting.

Talk about last year's Independence Bowl.

We were real fortunate. Miracle might be a good description of it. It's a great tribute to our squad. They were very focused and very attuned to what we are doing. It's a great tribute to the staff and what the staff is able to accomplish in preparation for the bowl game. And, certainly it's a tribute to our administration that allowed us the opportunity to come in and get organized, have what we needed to have, expedite getting the staff hired and all the things that had to happen so quickly under those circumstances. A lot of things had to come together for us to have that opportunity to play as well as we did. Now we have the challenge to go out and play better, because we are certainly playing an outstanding opponent.

Are you relaxed?

I don't know if we are relaxed. I kind of like the sense of urgency. I don't know if you ever want to get relaxed. I enjoyed the hustle and bustle a year ago. We had a sense of urgency, but I like to think we can maintain that same sense of urgency in preparation. It's always this time of year with bowls game, a lot happens in regards to recruiting, preparation, players about to finish up a semester - doing their coursework and getting their finals done. So there's always a lot happening, and I like it that way.

Was last year's Independence Bowl the foundation for this year's success?

I think it certainly helped us lay a foundation for our off-season program in the winter. I think it was important for the juniors who were the rising seniors to win that game. It catapulted us into a good off-season program and a real positive spring practice. It was a confidence builder for this staff. That particular situation, that particular bowl game certainly had an effect on our 1999 team.

Everybody got excited. It rallied the Ole Miss people. It was great crowd, which I expect again. It was a real positive time coming out of a real turmoil. There was turmoil in the program, and I think it solidified a lot of things.

Are there any similarities between Ole Miss and Oklahoma?

Obviously, both have first-year staffs. From a playing standpoint, defensively I think we are similar in a lot of ways in our schemes. Offensively, we are quite a bit different. They have lived with throwing the ball 500 times, and we lived by the run for the most part. So that's the obvious difference for the most part. I think we are powerful teams that have a lot of weapons on offense. We are two teams that try to play the kicking game well. We play extremely hard on defense. I think, from that standpoint, you will see some similarities.

Have you and your staff discussed the Y2K possibilities?

No, not really. I don't what I'm going to do. We will be done playing, so if the lights go out in the press conference, that will be ok. We'll make it through the ball game. I'm not one of those people who foresee problems, and I may be wrong in not paying more attention to it. I think it's a great place to close 1999 and this century.

Talk about Deuce McAllister.

Deuce McAllister is the best all-around back that I've been around. He is still improving. I think he can really be special. I think he's going to challenge himself to do that. There are some areas that I really think he can take issue. He's just a multi-talented player. He's got great hands, great speed and great size. He has a really good knowledge for the game. He's a really smart football player, so you can do a lot of things with him. He can line up at wide receiver and tailback. He's the most versatile player that I've been around. I'm excited about what the future holds for Deuce. This is not to downplay Joe Gunn. He is as productive a back as I've been around, and just an outstanding player. Both of those guys got All-SEC honors, and I think that's a great tribute to both of those young men, Coach Bisaccia and our offensive system.

Talk about playing both guys.

I don't know if there is a formula. I think they both realize that if a guy is hot, you go with the hot football player. What's great is to play a fresh football player. A fresh Joe Gunn or a fresh Deuce McAllister is better than one of them being tired. That's the benefit of having two players of that caliber at one position.

Talk about Tutan Reyes.

Tutan Reyes deservedly made Second Team All-Southeastern Conference, which is a great tribute to him. Anybody who watched us play knows we had a very productive left tackle. That young man has worked very hard. Quietly, he has had an outstanding season. I really smiled when I saw Tutan Reyes on that Second Team All-SEC. It is much deserved, and he is an all- conference type of player.

Talk about playing for Paul "Bear" Bryant.

Coach Bryant influenced a lot of us growing up in the state of Alabama about our love of the game and the importance that we all put on the game of football. I would say that Coach Bryant, along with my high school coach and my older brother who also coached, were the reasons I thought coaching was a great profession. He certainly had an effect on me. Every Sunday on the Alabama football playback, Coach Bryant's show, I came running from whatever I was doing. I might have been pretending to be Gail Sayers or somebody outside playing football, and I'd leave that football game and come right in to here the Chimes and watch his show and listen to his comments. It had a profound affect on me. Being at the University of Alabama, the best thing that happened to me is not playing, but being there and doing what I could do to help the coaches and assist as a student. I was able to watch him work and pay a lot of attention to the assistant coaches there. I watched his organizational skills and how he conducting the kind of practice that I think is important to conduct. All of that had a profound effect on what I wanted to base my philosophy on as a coach. So many of those things I hang my hat on today.

What effect will this game have on the 2000 season?

You certainly are always hoping to win the bowl game, because it's the last game you play. The significant effect is being back together practicing with all of our returning players, building on something. Getting to a bowl game for a third straight year has an effect on the 2000 team. We're going to set goals, and we know we can reach those goals. We know where we are trying to head as a program. I think it establishes that we're not just trying to have a team, we're trying to build a program. That doesn't happen overnight. Playing in the bowl is a springboard for the next season, disregarding the outcome of the game.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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