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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Houston Nutt Media Day Press Conference
8/5/2008 | Football
As part of 2008 Rebel Media Day, Ole Miss head football coach Houston Nutt met with the media Tuesday morning at the Indoor Practice Facility team meeting room.
OPENING COMMENTS
We are really proud of yesterday’s first practice, and I think it goes back to your off-season. I have to give a lot of credit to Don Decker and his staff, because with the heat you can tell how well they trained and worked out the entire summer. I was proud of that. The freshmen are good. They are going to be very good one day. They showed athleticism. We threw a lot at them yesterday, and you always check to see how they respond in different scenarios, different situations. I was really proud of how quickly they picked up, how athletic they were and just a great attitude they had. Of course I know it was the first day, but I was really proud of the first day, and now we have to build on that and keep getting better and really depend on our leaders, guys like Jason Cook, Mike Wallace, Jamarca Sanford, Michael Oher and Peria Jerry. We have to really lean on those guys. I’m excited to get back to work again today.
Q: How quickly can guys that were not here this summer catch up?
That’s tough. It’s a little bit unfair. You can tell the ones that have been here and then you get a guy like Patrick Trahan, who is so talented and so natural going through drills and has great strike ability. You can just tell by the way he tackles the dummy. You would give anything if they were here. But to answer your question, I just feel like a guy like that, we’ve got enough time to get him ready and I think Demareo Marr is the same way. We just have to be smart, because you don’t want him with an I.V. You don’t want to run him off the field. So we have to be smart and pick and choose, because he got winded by the first half of practice because he was so excited and anxious. He was going so hard, but he hadn’t worked out because he has been doing a lot of school work.
Q: Does Kermit Tyler get the team over its scholarship total?
I think right now it does, but eventually we’ll be able to get a medical. I think there is some paper work involved so right now it probably does, but that’s ok. We are in good shape numbers wise and of course you would like to sign 30 or 35, but with the way scholarships are I wasn’t going to be close to 85 my first year anyway. My intentions were to have 25 qualified ready to go. We just about got there and we would have. This is just a very freak incident. I’m glad our doctors and Tim Mullins did a good job and they did the blood work and found it.
Q: Do you get a sense of rejuvenation among the players this year?
You know we do. I think we started with our fans this summer when we went to Rebel Club meetings, Alumni Meetings. They are filled with hunger and enthusiasm, and it filters down to our players. I could tell the very first meeting when I left the theater after the press conference and came in this room for my very first meeting and I felt it. I saw a lot of hunger in their eyes, how much they want to please and how much they want to win. And so I’ve just been really proud of their passion, their attitude each day coming to work.
Q: What similarities do you see with Michael Oher and Tony Ugoh of the
Michael probably has a little bit bigger body, but they are very similar. The feet, the athleticism, the agility are very similar. The thing I want Michael to do is to just be a little bit more dominating. I want him to dominate his guy that lines up across from him. I want to make sure that guy is eliminated so he doesn’t make the play and that’s the way it should be, and he is practicing like that. I have been very proud of how physical his nature has been, and I don’t think he has always been like this especially this spring. We felt like he could be much better, but at the end of the last week of spring practice we felt like he really came on. So to answer your question, I think there are a lot of similarities just got to keep going, keep working and dominate your guy. If you look at his body, you will see a big, 6-5, lean, 315 to 320-pounder that is in excellent condition. Again Coach Decker has done an excellent job. He is stronger than he has ever been. He has more confidence now. He is bench pressing more now than he has ever bench pressed, so I’m excited about his season.
Q: Talk about the fan support you had this summer.
It has reenergized me. I’ve been very thankful they have been there, they have shown up. We’ve had gymnasiums that were full, cafeterias that were full, conference centers that were full and full of a real spirit and attitude of hey we want to get behind this football team.’ So it really excites us as a staff and as players, and as I told them last night when we met, the last thing I said was you have a lot to be thankful for. You’ve got a lot of Ole Miss family that has written to me, faxed me saying that hey we’re coming, we’re back and we’re excited,’ and so it makes you want to work harder, makes you want to give more, And that’s really the message that you’re trying to get to your team is its for the people that are there. They are coming to support you, so it’s only fair that you give them all that you have and that is what we are trying to get done right now.
Q: What do you see in Jevan Snead, and what are your expectations for him?
Jevan had a very good spring. He makes good decisions. He can get us out of the bad play. He’s very accurate. He has a strong arm. Along with being a good decision maker, he is accurate and those to me are two key components to being a very good quarterback. A decision maker, a guy that we’re entrusting. We’re putting the ball in your hands Jevan.’ I just think he is another one whose body is much stronger. His body is much different than when we first met him, and it’s tough laying out. He hadn’t played and that’s the only thing he hadn’t done is play, and it really helps going against the speed of the game. We have to go against speed, gut on gut, against our first defense a lot right now, so I think its good and he’s getting better. We’ve have got to put him in some situations, keep bringing him along. Coach Austin will keep bringing him along, and he has a lot of high expectations for him.
Q: How much of an impact do you think Jerrell Powe can make this year?
That’s a hard question, because I don’t know. I’ve never seen him play. I have heard a lot of people talk about him and I’m excited. I can’t wait for us to put on the pads, but I’m glad he is out here with us. I’ve been real proud of his work ethic. The first I met him he was 386 pounds. He is 340 today and again the strength and conditioning people did their job now we have to do our job. What’s going to be the most difficult thing is going to be fundamentals of football part of it, because he hasn’t been around it and he hasn’t played in a long time, so we’ve just got to bring him around. Everybody was expecting him to play yesterday and be ready to go the first day of practice, but you just can’t do that. Get the fundamentals back and take little baby steps.
Q: Have you given any thought to October 25?
I have. You can’t help but think about it. I’ve been asked that quite a bit, but I have a lot on my mind and that is my players and
Q: Do you feel better about overall depth than you did in the spring?
Better than the spring. In fact, there are still a few positions that I am concerned about with injury. You’ve got to have some depth in this league, but we are better and we’re probably going to have to count on some of these freshmen and newcomers, but we do feel better.
Q: Who on both sides of the line has the ability to dominate the opponent?
Reid Neely is a guy we expect a lot from. He has worked hard and he has that big body. Bradley Sowell and John Jerry. John Jerry is another one that we haven’t gotten to work with him, because of whatever sickness and injuries that he had this past spring, so he’s behind a little bit. You’ve got some big bodies like Darryl Harris, Daverin Geralds and Rishaw Johnson. We have a lot of big bodies and you want to keep bringing them, and I think when you talk to Coach Markuson I think that will be the first thing that he will tell you. We’ve got to be more physical, more dominant and we’ve got to get better in the middle.
Q: What about the defensive side?
Peria is the motor and the speed that you want, and we want everybody to follow that. Those guys have gotten much better learning how to play. Coach Rocker has done a good job introducing the way you play, and Emmanuel Stephens is a newcomer that was here last spring had a good spring. Marcus Tillman has really bought in and he’s had a really good summer. We’ll get Ted Laurent back hopefully here in three or four weeks, but here’s the guys that really need to come on: Lawon Scott, Jerrell Powe and LaMark Armour. All these guys have got to continue to step up. They have to be much more physical and play on the pad level with some leverage.
Q: Can you talk about your running back competition?
Cordera Eason and Derrick Davis both really took off right where they left off in the spring. We’re real proud of them. They are in good shape and they understand they’ve had 15 practices over these guys. These three guys that you’re talking about, I always love to see what happens against the big guys, and they didn’t flinch and that’s what you love about these new guys that they’re very competitive. Devan Thomas did some good things. Enrique Davis, Brandon Bolden they are all talented, but what we’ll find out here as we go through these practices is the grind, the ware and tear, when we start throwing the play book at them. Who’s going to start feeling sorry for themselves, who’s going to step up, who’s going to go through those aches and pains and who can handle it. So we’ll know in five to six days who can handle it.
Q: How would you describe your offensive philosophy and how has it evolved over the years?
I’ve always believed to have a good offense you’ve got to do a good job. You’ve got to execute. It takes 11 players to make one play work where one guy can make a tackle, but on offense you’ve got to have 11 guys and that’s never changed. You’ve got to be a physical team in this conference, but what you have to do is have that balance where they can’t make you play left handed, they can’t over populate the line of scrimmage. So we’ve always had that and then you have to go with what you have, you have to go with your team whether you’re at Murray State or Boise State or when we first got to that other school over there. Right now what we have here is a guy like Jevan Snead and a big offensive line that we’re teaching to be more physical in the run game, and then you have a good group of receivers. So you’ve got to get the ball to your play makers so we’ll do what they do best.
Q: Can you tell that Patrick Trahan will be an impact player in the SEC?
I think so. I don’t want to jump out there too quickly. We’re talking about a two hour practice and that is the first time I had ever met him besides the visits, so I don’t want to say all of a sudden that he’s the SEC impact newcomer of the year, but what we do see is him going through bags and you take a second glance. Sometimes when players go through bags they don’t excite you, but when he goes through bags to tackle the dummy he should get you excited. He did me and that’s what I’m talking about, so you feel like you know everything you’ve seen on film. Now after two hours of practice I feel really good about Patrick Trahan. Now is he ready to go play
Q: What will stay the same and what will be different in the philosophy you brought from
What’s going to stay the same is this heart. One heartbeat. Perseverance and attitude. You want your team to be a great fourth quarter team, a team that finishes. It’s kind of been our theme song, hey let’s finish. Let’s finish our homework, let’s finish these bleachers, let’s finish in the training room, let’s finish in the tutor room. Everything to me relates to the classroom and to football. There is a direct correlation. The guy that is going to turn in his homework is the guy that we’re going to be able to count on when its 3rd and 8 and so all that part won’t change. The thing that changes is now you have different names, you have really the same types of problems with different names and you’re trying to piece together these different components. You’re trying to fit this puzzle together and you start with your seniors and now you find out who your playmakers are, you find out who you’re going to entrust. I’m going to put this ball, the most valuable possession we’ve got; we’re going to hand you the ball. Who are those guys? We feel like Jevan Snead is one of those guys, we want him touching the ball every play. We trust his decision making. So that’s where it all starts. But to answer your question, the philosophy and all those things are from other schools. I don’t think that part changes too much, but you are trying to take these young men where they can’t go by themselves and where they haven’t been in the past three or four years. That’s the thing that we’re fighting. The thought of did you win an SEC game last year, how many of you had the experience of a bowl game? Those questions they can’t raise their hand and so that’s our major hurdle. If something goes bad, you’ve got to have a short memory. It’s what is next and so that’s what we’re really trying to work hard on and we handed that baton to our seniors and said hey this is your football team we’re counting on you to do that. To lead our team we need that attitude, that commitment, that sacrifice and that’s what we’ve been trying to preach to them.
Q: Why did you decide to do classroom sessions in the morning and practice in the afternoons?
That’s a good question. I've really kind of gotten away from two-a-days about three or four years ago. With the heat the way it is, and the humidity here in Oxford, it’s a little stronger than I’m accustomed to and I don’t think it does a lot of good when you have 10 or 11 players in the hospital with IV’s, when your first-teamers are not practicing, so I think with this wonderful building we’re going to take such advantage of it. We’re going to have a great classroom setting every morning and really correct our mistakes and then get ready for a full, give me everything you have, don’t hold anything back practice once a day and really try to learn from film and classroom in the morning. For the last three or four years we’ve done it that way and felt good about that and you kept people on the field. Here’s what is different. We used to come in and say, who is going to pass the conditioning test? Who has worked out all summer? Now I know who is in shape, I know who’s been working out, I know who’s been here, so I had a feeling Patrick Trahan wouldn’t be ready, because he’s been doing homework all summer. He says he’s been working out a little bit, but we know it hasn’t been the rigid schedule of what we do in the summer, so I think this is the best schedule to keep them fresh and it keeps them going and now they can really give it to us once a day.
Q: Are you confident and comfortable in your receiving core?
We are because of the depth and because of the lack of depth on the other side in the secondary. We asked Marshay Green to move over and boy he had a tremendous attitude about it and he really loves the team. He is still learning, but I love the way he competes. The same way with Jeremy McGee when we moved him over as well. So that’s two guys right there that gives you two good athletes, and we have two more with Cassius Vaughn and Dustin Mouzon. It develops a little bit of depth right there and it gives Tyrone some nickel and dime packages and some extra DB packages.
Q: How do you keep yourself and your team focused with all the expectations and pressure on this season?
I love football. I love this setting and what I mean by this setting is I love that these 18, 19, 20 year olds when I come into this room each night and look into their eyes, I love that they haven’t been down that road to Atlanta. They haven’t experienced a bowl game. To me it energizes me, it energizes me when I think about the fans you were talking about earlier, about how their hungry and starving. If you get up everything morning saying I hope we win, I’m just not built that way and I want our players to have fun. It’s the greatest game in the world and I want them to have fun. It’s a baby boy’s game the first day you put your pads on in the YMCA league, it’s that kind of game and I think sometimes we can make it too hard or too complicated. It’s a great game, it’s a fun game, its tough, so that’s what I live through them and try to make them a better person and a better football player, and the best team you could possibly could have and go compete in the SEC, the highest toughest conference in America.
Q: Can you talk about Coach Nix and his personality and what he brings?
I’ve know Tyrone Nix for a long time being on the other sideline. I watched him when he was at Southern Miss. I watched him when he was at
Q: Were you ever worried about the transition with Kent Austin since you hired him sort of cold turkey?
I was really never worried because the guy I coached with before, David Lee, who’s the quarterback coach with the Miami Dolphins, who recruited Kent Austin to Ole Miss, I felt like I knew him. So watching him from afar and watching what he has accomplished, there was no doubt in my mind. There are very few I feel like are true quarterback coaches, that truly coach fundamentals and understand how to bring a guy from getting a snap to taking the first step, to a three step, to a five step. There was no question in my mind on that part because of David Lee and what he said, and because his attitude is so good and brings so much. He brings so much to the table with his knowledge of the passing game and what you find out when he gets here he believes in running the football, he believes in play action, he believes in waggles and boots. It was a good mix, a good fit.
Q: Where is the most overall talent on this team compared to your last few years at
The last couple of years the biggest things we could say next’ a little easier, and when I say next I’m talking about the depth. You have spots here. Defensive line I feel good about, the receivers I feel good about, but there are also some positions you get nervous about. He can’t get hurt, he can’t get hurt, he can’t get hurt, so that is what is so important about this camp compared to previous years. We’ve got to bring the newcomers, the freshmen and the new people up in a hurry. So I’d say depth.
