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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Grove-Side Q&A: Kent Austin
4/8/2008 | Football
This installment of Grove-Side Q&As features Ole Miss offensive coordinator Kent Austin. Questions were sent in by fans through OleMissSports.com in recent weeks and touch on a variety of topics. Grove-Side Q&As are a regular feature on OleMissSports.com and provide Rebel fans interactive opportunites with some of the key figures in Ole Miss athletics.
Q: What adjustments will have to be made from a CFL style offense to one dictated by NCAA rules?
There are obviously real differences between the two styles of football, not the least of which is the size of the field and the extra man. In addition to that, the amount of movement you can use up in the CFL is limited down here, but at the end of the day what can we do? The passing game, in particular, can be transferred because our passing game requires the receivers and quarterbacks to understand coverage and to be able to adjust what they do based on how the coverage is being taught defensively. So those concepts will transfer down here.
Q: How will the tight end position be used in the new Ole Miss offense?
The tight end position will be more multi-faceted. We use him both with his hands down and off the line of scrimmage. He will be used as a traditional tight end both in the running game and passing game and will also be used as an H-back type player. We will move him around and line him up in different positions based on his skill-sets and ability to learn. They will have to understand what we ask from that position.
Q: Who are the leaders on the team and who are the up-and-coming stars on offense?
We are still figuring that out right now. At this point, certainly our quarterback needs to be a leader. Jevan needs to be a leader, as leadership comes with that position. I think that throughout the rest of the football team, we are still waiting to see who will rise. I can tell you this about leadership: I believe, and the rest of the staff believes, that leadership is pearl. You don't just anoint one guy as a leader. We want as many leaders as we possibly can have, and I think everyone can lead on every level, regardless of your position or hierarchy so to speak.
Q: Will there be any use of the spread offense?
Absolutely. I was using five and six receivers back in '89 and '90 as a player. The in-vogue offense was in a lot longer than people realize. The entire coaching staff believes that you have to do multiple things. You have to have multiple personnel groupings, formations and be able to use motion effectively. I think if you cubby-hole it into one thing, then you have to have a lot of talent in order to win. We are going to mix up our personnel groupings, our formations and run a lot of different things.
Q: How much of the offense will you hope to have installed by the end of spring practice?
The foundation of the offense will be installed this spring, but certainly we aren't even close to getting everything in; especially in the passing game.
Q: Who will call the offensives plays?
That's still to be determined. Right now, that will probably be Coach Nutt. I understand that I have to earn the trust of everyone on this staff, not the least of which is my head coach, who has not worked with me before. So to me, who calls the plays is as important as having a solid game plan of which the plays come from. The game planning and having our players understand what we are trying to accomplish in the game plan, is more important than actually play-calling itself.
Q: Is Cordera Eason looking like our starting running back, or do you think the freshmen will contribute heavily?
I don't know. Right now Cordera has a shot at being our starting running back. I have no idea how the new guys are going to perform, how quickly they will absorb the offense, how well they can transfer the concepts from the class room to the field and just how physically-talented they will be when playing against SEC caliber players.
Q: Have you and your family become a part of Coach Nutt's family yet?
Yes. It is very easy to do that with Coach Nutt. He believes in family, is very warm and has a great heart. That is one of the reasons why I came here. I wanted to work for a man like coach (Nutt), who is not just a great coach, but has won. He is an outstanding individual and understands the value of family both on a personal level and also throughout the team and his coaching staff.
Q: How much misdirection will you have in your offense?
That is certainly an aspect to every good offense and we will have the same. We'll have two-way goes in the run game, as well as two-way goes in the passing game. We're going to have a lot of flexibility in our offense to put our guys in a position to be successful. We will teach our guys to, in most cases, not throw away a play.
Q: Were there any other players that you all considered to do the "wild rebel" formation, or was Dexter McCluster the first choice?
There are others but at the end of the day, Dexter had the best combination of skills, and it just doesn't mean physical skills. You have to have the ability to handle the snap count, as well as the vision to read the defense and the defensive front. When you combine all of that together, obviously he is physically talented, but when you combine all the other stuff, it takes a special guy to do that. He was the best fit.
Q: How is Jevan Snead's foot speed?
Jevan is not a blazer, but he has the ability to get out of trouble. The best thing that Jevan has is pocket presence. You don't have to be a super talented athlete, in that position, to buy time in the pocket and still be able to have the vision to see what is going on around you. Jevan has the ability to keep his eyes down field.
Q: How different is coaching at the college level than at the professional level?
At the professional level, it is strictly football. As the head coach last year, it was about piecing the puzzle together, from a personnel stand point and from a coaching staff stand point, to give us the best chance to win on the field. At the professional level, you have more time with the guys and also have more meeting time. The guys are obviously more mature. Depending on the make up of your team, you might have less peripheral things that you have to deal with on the pro level than you do on the college level, and certainly you have recruiting that takes up a lot of time.
Q: What will it take to have a dominant running game to go with our passing attack?
Both compliment each other. I don't believe that you run to set the pass or pass to set the run. However, you must do both effectively because both help each other. It starts up front. We have to be more physical up front and be able to knock people off the line of scrimmage. But we can help that by doing things in the passing game like reading from the pass and doing things that can help our offensive linemen have success. We have to be able to blend a running game with our passing game, in the most effective manner possible, to make both more affective.
