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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Nutt Weekly Press Conference
10/13/2008 | Football
Opening Statement
We started good yesterday for preparations against Alabama. We had a good off week and had some time to get better and heal a few guys, but also get better fundamentally. It was a chance to give some freshmen some time. We face a good ball club that is very talented and well coached. They do a great job, especially on defense. They chase the ball. They do a very good job at not giving up anything big. Offensively, they do a very good job of running the ball and are very physical. They have a physical back and an excellent receiver in Julio Jones. The guy that is the trigger man is John Parker Wilson. He makes very few mistakes and is a leader who will execute. So when you take both of those things and a good special teams, you have full day. (Javier) Arenas does a good job with kick returns, punt returns and that's one of the reasons why they are 6-0.
Q: Talk about the Greg Hardy rumors about being kicked off the team.
A: My phone blew up this weekend about his "dismissal," and his mom called me to ask if it was true, and I told her absolutely not. I would probably tell Greg first and then the mom for sure. All that didn't happen. He had a great week last week.
Q: Was it in practice or with his attitude that Greg Hardy had his best week?
A: Practice. He's been working hard and trying to get better. His attitude was very good. He's doing fine.
Q: John Parker Wilson seemed inconsistent last year. Talk about the difference in that Wilson and this year's Wilson.
A: I've never really seen him as inconsistent since I have played against him. He's always been very accurate and always does a good job of handling the ball club. He has a good offensive line protecting him. They are a physical offensive line so he can hand the ball off. Then the big-play, go-to guy is Julio Jones.
Q: Can you compare Terrence Cody to someone you've seen this year? How will the offensive line do against him?
A: Nobody is like him. A guy that weighs that much and is still very agile, a run stopper and does a good job of holding his gapnot too many people have moved him. He's just a good football player. We have to do a great job of being physical and get our pads down. It's going to take a couple of our guys. We are going to have a couple of double teams on him.
Q: Talk about Alabama's run defense.
A: They are not giving up many yards whatsoever. Clemson, Georgia, Kentuckythey haven't given up much. They do a great job of really controlling their gaps with their defensive line. They have outstanding linebackers with (Rolando) McClain leading that group. They have big linebackers. Their safeties can fill in a hurry, and their corners are very physical. They have a very physical team. They've got 11 people that are very physical, and they know how to play and stop the run, so we have to do an excellent job of maintaining, keeping your feet and being extremely physical.
Q: Talk about the secondary against the pass against South Carolina and what they need to do to get better.
A: South Carolina was very hot and made some throws to two good wide receivers. Again, we just need to get pressure and play the ball with our eyes. We just have to try to keep getting better with the little things. The biggest thing is when we do apply pressure is that we have to get there, and our defensive backs have to do an outstanding job of playing with our eyes and being in great position.
Q: How is your relationship with Nick Saban?
A: We go back to when he first went to LSU. We don't spend that much time together, but each year we meet in Destin, which is really where our relationship formed. We have the same agent, so he and I have got to know each other. I think a lot of him. He does a really good job.
Q: What are the challenges of stopping someone big like Julio Jones?
A: That's the toughest thing. You have a guy that can run, stands at 6'4" or 6'5", and knows how to handle his body when the ball is behind himjump balls, crossing routes, post corners and all those thingsyou always worry, especially when you have smaller corners. It's just an outstanding weapon to have. We signed a guy like Melvin Harris who gives our defensive back a great look every week. You can't coach height. You just have to do it. He does an outstanding job of when that ball comes down, to be there and play it.
Q: Why was South Carolina able to get free and get some big runs?
A: They got us a little off-balanced. Basically it was just a draw and nothing really fancy to it. We are playing for the pass and they hit us with a draw. Nothing really to it. They bounce a power outside, and we had the right call on them, but we miss the tackle, so they break. That's the thing, you can't miss tackles. You have to be where you are supposed to be because athletes are too good in this league, and they will turn four-yard gains in to 14-yard gains or 20-yard runs. That's awfully difficult. You can't do that.
Q: What's the status on Cassius Vaughn?
A: Cassius is going to be fine. He was up here yesterday ready to go.
Q: Do you think the open week will be good for you?
A: Sometimes I would rather play all the way through, but that's the way the schedule turned out, so you have to take advantage. I think it helped us to get a couple of guys healed and take a break from the grind. It helped us catch our breath, and now we are ready to go for the second half of the season. It's like a brand new season, and you are starting with the No. 2 team in America. You can't beat that.
Q: With as much as you like to run on your teams, are you jealous of the running weapons that Alabama has with being one of the top rushing teams?
A: Yeah, but I know that we are going to get ours with time. Where we are located and with the facilities we have, it won't be long, so I'm excited about that. But to answer the question, I'm used to seeing our team up there as being the No. 1 rushing team. When you have that, you can have both. When you have a good rushing game, you can have an outstanding play-action team because they have to stop your run. It makes people commit to stopping the run, and that's when you get Julio Jones one-on-one.
Q: This game will showcase two great left tackles. Talk about Andre Smith and Michael Oher.
A: Both of them are very good. Andre Smith is a big guy who has been there a long time, or seems like he has, and is a big, dominant blocker who can block you for the run and does a great job of blocking the blind side of the quarterback for pass protection. Michael Oher has really come on and has improved. I think Coach Markuson has done a great job with him. I think every scout that has come in has said that he is more physical, sees how much harder he is playing with the speed and the tempo at which he plays. I'm excited about Michael. I'm looking for him to have a better second half of the season. When you look at those two in warm-ups, those are the type of guys that you would say that SEC left tackles are supposed to look like.
Q: Do you feel that the guys have a lot of energy coming into the game?
A: I want our guys to be up every game. I think we have had a lot of energy and have been up for every game except one. Coming off the Florida game, it just didn't feel like our energy was at the same level against South Carolina, especially on defense. Other than that, our guys have really played hard and really could be sitting at 5-1 or 6-0, but that's just what if. You really have to do the little things to be sitting at 6-0. That's the point we are trying to get to.
Q: Are you disappointed that Alabama isn't No. 1?
A: That would have been fine. I always love to see the SEC get as high as they can get, but all those things will take care of itself. Alabama is a really good football team and could easily be No. 1, but Texas after their showing and beating No. 1 Oklahoma probably deserve it right now.
Q: With all the talent in college football, does it come down to the team that makes the least mistakes?
A: No question. It's the team that makes the fewest mistakes during that time period. It's not the best player. It's the best team, and the team that plays the smartest, makes the fewest mistakes, takes care of the ballthat's the team that is going to win no matter who you play. You look at Florida, and they did an unbelievable job of handling LSU. We all know how talented LSU is, but you look up and it's 51-21 against an outstanding team. It's mistakes, momentum, penalties and all those things combined. It's who is making the fewest. That's the team that is going to win.
Q: Did Greg Hardy do anything wrong in the South Carolina game besides the lack of effort?
A: No, not at all. Coach Rocker, like all of us, is still learning about these guys and you are trying to push buttons. Greg wasn't the only one. It's just our level wasn't the same as we have consistently been playing. Every Saturday in this league, you have to be on a high level just to win a ball game. We expect so much from Greg Hardy because he's a difference maker, and he's on the cover of Sports Illustrated one week and we want that guy to come back. We want him to come back every Saturday. He wasn't the only one, but we put so much on him because we expect so much from Greg. You are just trying to make a difference in his life. You want him to do all the little things correctly, but that's everybody involved. Overall, I was really disappointed in everybody. Of course, each coach handles his 10 players the way I want, which is you treat each as if they are your son and expect them to play 100 percent with the passion and energy they have and lay it on the line every single play. When they don't do that, we are going to demand that from them. You have to do that. You have to play like an Ole Miss Rebel, and that's every single play. It's not just sometimes or when you feel good. It's every time you step out on the field because it's a privilege to do so.
