Football Weekly Press Conference 09.14

Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt and quarterback Jevan Snead met with the media on Monday and discussed the Rebels' home opener against Southeastern Louisiana.

Houston Nutt

Opening Statement

It was good to get everybody back out yesterday. It seems like it had been a long time since we had a practice together. I think we just had two or three that weren't there, so that was really good. They are still a little sluggish and there are still a few lingering effects. We can tell they have been away from ball and are a little bit out of shape. We are anxious to get back going this week and get ready to play again.

Q: How is the team's conditioning after some players being out sick last week?

You can tell that they hadn't been running. Some of them are still coughing and stuff like that. They are still a little sluggish. We got a good practice out of them yesterday. I didn't condition them afterwards, I thought they needed rest. We will hit it really hard this week starting tomorrow.

Q: With the schedule and illnesses, had the start to this season been tough?

I think the toughest thing is routine. Our guys are used to routine. We have an excellent routine and our guys have had a hard time getting in that routine because we played on Sunday. Then we play on Saturday and then we are going to play on Thursday. We will truly get in our routine, where we practice on Sunday and go through everything the way they are used to, after the South Carolina game. It is what it is. This is the schedule that we have and we have to make the most of it. It is a little different because we can't get into that routine.

Q: Do you expect any players to play fewer snaps because of fatigue?

I think they will turn it around quick. They have to get back on the field and get back to running. This is the first time that they have run in seven days. We have been pushing them pretty hard - we went about an hour and half yesterday. It was hard for them to catch their wind a little bit. We got into good shape towards the end of camp and then we had the first game. All of the sudden we get sick and it just throws you off a little bit. We will be okay. We just have to get them going this week.

Q: Did you get a chance to watch any of the games this weekend?

I watched ball from the moment I woke up - all day and all night. It was a great football day. Thank goodness I have a good wife that understands I can flip the channels during this time. When you watch football, you see how fast and physical our conference is. The SEC is and awesome conference. I enjoyed watching USC vs. Ohio state and Michigan vs. Notre Dame. I watched a little bit of every game that was played.

Q: Do you like it better now that most all SEC games are on television?

It is always good to see. It's harder just watching it on television then when you have it on film. We will see all of those games when we get ready to play those guys in our full-week preparation. It is just good to see other teams. What they are doing and how fast they are. Things they do offensively, defensively and special teams-wise.

Q: How have you seen Marshay Green develop?

Marshay just keeps getting better. It took him a while early on since he was naturally always an offensive player. He jumped over to defensive for us - a very unselfish move and he got better and better. Who would have thought at this point last year that he would be the MVP of the Cotton Bowl. I think he just got better and better and it has carried over with confidence this year. He is one of our leaders and that is why he is voted a captain.

Q: What has been Marshay Green's biggest adjustment he has had to make?

The biggest thing is your eyes. Playing the ball with your eyes and getting your head turned around. He's used to being a guy that runs routes and knows where he is going. Then all of the sudden you flip it over and he is covering some of the fastest athletes in the country. He has to be able to stop on a dime, get his head back and play the ball in the air. All of those things were challenges for him but he got better and better as the season went.

Q: What are the main areas you are looking to improve on from the first game against Memphis?

Offensively - I think we can block better, run better routes and throw better. I think our total execution can get better, and our players know that. From start to finish - the way we break the huddle, take the time of scrimmage - you want to be on automatic pilot. When everybody knows what to do and everybody does their assignment. We want to be a better executing team and not stop ourselves. We want to be an offense that stays on the field by not stopping ourselves. Defensively - I think we can tackle better. Special teams - there are two or three things that we showed them. If we get this block and that block, we have a change to have bigger plays. It's just overall improvement in every phase and getting better.

Q: Will you try to rotate some of the younger guys in this weekend?

You are always trying to win the ball game. I would like to, but you can never plan for how many players you are going to play on Saturday. We have to go win the game first. You want to play as many as you can, and get them out there to get some experience. There is nothing like that. It's just hard to prepare for that. Especially with our guys being out, it seems like it has been a long time since we have been together as a team. We have to get better as a team, starting with the first team. We are more concerned about getting our first team going and we will worry about that second and third team as we go.

Q: Is it possible to get ready for two games at one, or do you just take one game at a time?

I don't like doing that. We like taking it one game at a time, as old of a cliché as that may sounds. You look at every Saturday and you see what happens. Florida International gave Alabama all the fits they could handle in the first half. It was the same thing with the Florida State vs. Jacksonville State game. It is just a different world now. There are a lot of athletes all over the country. You better take them one at a time. It's just the way it is. There just aren't many similarities (between SELA and South Carolina), so we are just trying to go one game at a time and the best we can be. The number one priority is just getting our team back healthy and getting ready to play.

Q: What is the status of Greg Hardy's ankle?

It is still swollen. He stayed here all weekend to get treatment. He is moving a little better, but he has a very swollen ankle. It is swollen, discolored and he has a ways to go. He is working at it, and hopefully we can get him back soon. He is probably very doubtful for this game.

Q: How important is it to get through the first few games injury-free?

That is the thing that every coach asks for, to somehow stay injury-free, especially after the first two or three games. It is very difficult. You never know how that ball is going to fall and how it is going to play out. We always tell our guys that they are one play away. The next guy has to practice hard and be ready. That is what is very difficult, to keep depth at every position.

Q: How is Jevan Snead handling everything that he has been hit with in the past week or so?

I think he is awesome - very resilient. He is always a guy that comes to work. If you look at it, it was really three plays for him in the second quarter (against Memphis). I thought his second half was outstanding. He checked very good all throughout the game. The one pass that he is always so accurate on is always a little sprint-out, a dash, and there is no way that I thought he would every overthrow that one, and that was the one he overthrew to cause an interception. I think with the pressure, the new line, especially on the left side, and the things he was dealing with, I think he has handled everything pretty good. He came right back to work yesterday. He has a tremendous attitude and is just a tremendous person.

Q: Was the play that Greg Hardy got injured on an illegal play?

We did get that confirmed by the SEC officials that is should have been called. You can't motion in from outside-in and go block below the waist. That is totally illegal. I hate that happened, but Rogers Redding agreed that it should have been called. I don't know if they were going after him, I hope they weren't.

Q: What are your expectations for Markeith Summers?

We have very high expectations for Markeith (Summers). He is a guy that gives us a real threat - deep. I was glad that he caught the one pass of a touchdown. I think he is only going to get better. He realized that we are leaning on him a little bit. We have Shay Hodge and Dexter McCluster, we know about those guys. Between Markeith and Lionel Breaux, those are the next two guys that have to come through for us and have to go play. Athletically, they can do some things for us.

Q: Has the redshirt situation been resolved yet?

It is still kind of a work in progress. We are going to try to sort out the sickness first. Hopefully everybody is well and we can get on with it. Right now winning is the first priority and we will just kind of let that play out.

Q: What does Cordera Eason need to do to keep improving?

He just needs to keep running hard with his pads over his toes and protect the ball. I thought he did some good things starting out (against Memphis). Between (Brandon) Bolden, (Cordera) Eason and (Enrique) Davis, those are three older backs that have been running and practicing hard. They understand what we want so I am excited about those three. Then we have a younger group behind them. Cordera is probably one of our best pass protection guys as well. He does a good job on screens, so he has a big role. It is just hard to play everybody. There aren't that many balls to go around. You give it to the one that has a hot hand, that is running the hardest, and that is going to take care of the ball for us.

Q: What are you expecting from Southeastern Louisiana?

Southeastern Louisiana offensively - spreads you out every which way with a lot of different formations. They try to get the ball to different receivers and they do have a good running back. It is really more basketball on grass where they are trying to spread out everyone, get some open space and throw screens. We have to make sure we do a good job of hustling and covering all of our bases. On defense, they haven't been a big blitz team, they have been more of a zone team. It has been hard to tell from the first few teams they played because they have gotten a lot of turnovers and haven't been on the field very much. They are more of a 4-3, cover 4 and zone. They play a lot of zone and may blitz here and there.

Jevan Snead

Q: How are you feeling after being sick?

I feel good. I got sick there at the end of last week, but I feel like I've fully recovered and I'm ready to get going.

Q: Has it been hard to get in a rhythm with the unusual start to this season?

It is kind of funny having the off week the second week and playing on Sunday. With everybody getting sick, it has all kind of worked out. I'm just excited that everybody is getting back healthy again and I'm ready to start practicing.

Q: Do you expect the team to be fatigued after many players being sick?

I'm hoping that everybody will be 100 percent. I expect some of the guys that got sick at the end of the week to be a little sluggish at first, but I know as far as myself and a bunch of players that I've talked to that everybody is feeling great. Hopefully we will just get back into the swing of things.

Q: Do you have a routine to get yourself back on track after having a bad play?

No not really. I just try to see what I did wrong on that play and try not to let it happen again. You have to have a short memory as a quarterback and just be able to more onto the next play. That is what I try to do.

Q: Do you feel that the offense has something to prove after that first game?

Not necessarily something to prove, but I know we can play better. I expect to play better and expect to get better every week as an offense and as a team. I think we will do that.

Q: Did your grandfather get to see you play very much before passing away?

He got to see a couple games. Unfortunately, his health started declining and he didn't get to see as many as he would have liked. He got to see a few and he got to see a lot on television. I know he really enjoyed that and I'm glad he was able to watch them.

Q: Is the hardest part about getting back into your routine more mental or physical?

As far as timing with receivers and everything like that goes, that is one of the things we worked really hard on in the summer. I'm not too worried about that. I know these receivers and those are one of the things that I feel will come back as soon as we really start practicing hard again. I'm not too much worried about that. As a team I think coming off this sickness we need to make sure we are mentally prepared. I'm sure the coaches will have us prepared.

Q: What do you think this group of receivers is capable of?

I can't say enough about our receivers. They have really done a great job stepping up - some of the younger guys. There are no limits to what they can do. We have a lot of talent and as I long as I get them they ball I feel like they can make big plays.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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