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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Terry Price Visits With The Media
1/21/2009 | Football
How have they first few days back at Ole Miss been?
It’s been very hectic, but it’s been good. It’s obviously very good to get here. There’ve been a lot of things I’ve had to do in transition like signing the paperwork and becoming an official employee of the University. Today, I spent some time earlier, and will spend the rest of the afternoon, really meeting the players. Spending a little more time with them and getting to know them on more of a one-on-one type basis. It’s been a busy last few days but it is definitely exciting to be back here.
When did you get back to
I drove in Monday night and Tuesday was my first day in the office.
How much have things changed from when you were here 10 years ago?
Everything has changed, which is for the better. You go back and think about how it was in the 90’s and look at it now, it is like a completely different place. The University has dedicated a lot of time, effort and money into making these facilities as good as anywhere in the SEC. I think it has paid off without a doubt. It’s a beautiful place from a campus point of view. There are plenty of new academic buildings up, but the athletic facilities are second-to-none. This indoor facility is a thing of beauty and it is as good as anywhere in the country.
What connections did you have with the current staff to get a shot at this job?
I knew a lot of people on the staff. I’ve known Coach Markuson throughout the years. I’ve respected him for the job he’s done. He’s been a great offensive line coach. I’ve respected the things that Houston (Nutt) has done over time. He’s been an outstanding coach, not just in the SEC, but one of the best coaches in the entire country. Coach Nix and I go back years and years. I’ve known him for 10 years, if not more. He’s been a good friend of mine for a long time and an outstanding football coach. We’ve obviously had a very good relationship over the years.
Is there pressure in taking over a defensive line that was so successful last season?
If you are a football coach, you take on challenges. I’m just excited about having a chance to go out there and coach a bunch of big defensive linemen. I’m excited about the opportunity. For me, it is going to a clean slate this spring from a personnel point of view. I’ve told them all the same thing, everybody starts from scratch. I’m looking forward to seeing them in action this spring and seeing what they can do. I’ve told them all that I’m not going to have any preconceived notions. I want to see who steps up and who gets after it. The attitude and effort that they give in practice will be a big key in determining how the depth chart turns out.
Have you coached an entire defensive line before?
I’ve coached all four before in the past. I’ve done both. I coached tackles here my first spring at Ole Miss. I’ve coached ends for quite a while. I coached an entire defensive line when I was at
What does Greg Hardy coming back add to the defensive line?
It’s hard to say. For me, I’m not going to have any preconceived notions about how the players are up front. I’m going to evaluate what I see during spring practice. I think it is a mistake to come in here as a new coach at any position and have a preconceived notion of what a guy can do or how good he can or can’t be. I’m going to judge them by their performance during the spring and that’s how I will truly evaluate these guys.
What were your impressions of Ole Miss last season when you were coaching at
They’re a very talented football team. One of the things we noticed as a staff was that they were a complete football team. You didn’t see a lot of weaknesses. On offense, their offensive line was very strong. They had big tight ends, fast receivers, good runners and a big-time quarterback. Defensively, I know our offensive coaches commented on the speed and how hard they played on defense. It was just a team that really didn’t have a lot of weaknesses. As the season played out last year and they finished as strong as they did, that really proved to everybody that there weren’t many weaknesses on the team. They played well and Coach Nutt did an amazing job of bringing this team together and helping them finished as well as they did last season.
Does having previously known some of the other coaches benefit the staff’s chemistry?
I think that’s a plus. It’s not a situation where I am meeting all of these guys for the first time. Many years ago, when I was a freshman in college, Coach Shibest was a senior at
What will your recruiting territory be?
We haven’t had a chance to discuss that right now. I’ve spent more time in-house than I have out of the building like most of the coaches are right now. I’m sure that is something that will be discussed after signing day. Right now, I’m going to do whatever they ask me to do and see whoever they ask me to see. I’m sure after signing day, a recruiting area will be assigned to me.
I know you talked to Marcus Tillman, how have the players responded to you so far?
It is always a positive meeting when you get a chance to meet players for the first time. I’m excited about it and I hope he is too. I’ve seen a very positive reaction so far. I still have to meet quite a few more guys later on this afternoon. I met them as a group last night. I will talk to them more individually today. It’s been a very positive first meeting with a lot of these guys. It’s a process. They’ve known me for two days now, so they don’t know a lot about me. As time progresses, they will get a chance to know me a lot better, I’ll get a chance to know them a lot better and we will get a lot of work done in spring practice.
Are you going to have to make some adjustments to your coaching style to fit coach Nix’s defense?
The bottom line is you have to play physical, fast, get off blocks on the run and rush the quarterback. Those fundamentals at all levels of football are important for a defensive line, so those are the important things. Coach Nix has done an outstanding job and he has some things built in that he will want me to do with the defensive line and that’s what we’ll do. We will talk a lot more about the true x’s and o’s when signing day is over with. Whatever we need to get done upfront and however he wants it done, we will get it done.
Have you had a chance to look much at the defensive line recruits?
We have looked over the board some and looked at who we have coming in and who we are targeting right now. You can’t comment directly about recruiting, but they have done an outstanding job this year. They’ve got some good players coming in and they are working on some good players. This staff has done a great job of recruiting players this year.
