Football Weekly Press Conference 09.07

Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt met with the media on Monday and discussed the Rebels' season-opening win at Memphis and plans for the upcoming bye week.

Opening Statement

It's always good to win the first one. I was really pleased overall with the effort of our team. We're going to really take this week to get much better. There were some missed tackles and missed assignments. There were some protection breakdowns and some of the decisions we made weren't good. I loved the effort our defensive line put on their quarterback, especially early on. Our kicking game, overall, was very good. I was really proud of Andrew Ritter. That is a real weapon, whenever you can put the ball in the endzone as many times as he did. We executed at times, where everybody did their job offensively. When we did that, we scored. We were 6-of-6 in the red zone. We really finished strong. There was a bad quarter in there - the second quarter - where we stopped ourselves. We can't wait to correct that, we are watching the film right now. I want to really give Memphis credit. I thought Memphis was really improved from a year ago. They have good looking athletes at just about every position and I expect them to win a lot of ballgames. Jason Jones may have torn an ACL, we are checking him right now, giving him an MRI. That really hurts us special teams-wise. Greg Hardy's swollen ankle - I really appreciate his effort to want to get back on the field. He competed hard. Ted Laurent has (a sore) ankle. We have a lot of bumps and bruises, but nothing real serious besides Jason Jones.

Why did Rishaw Johnson go in on the third and goal play?

Against a 300-plus pound guy, who is about 6-foot-6 or 6-foot-7, it gave us a little bit of a bigger body in there. Overall, we thought Brandon Green was very physical during the game. I thought he did some good things. In the trenches there in the tight formation, he was going to be up against a guy much taller and bigger, so we just added a bigger guy in there.

What is Rishaw Johnson's status these days?

There are games he is going to have to hold out, but we get to determine those games. We will go by that.

How did you feel the freshmen played?

Awesome. I am really proud of them. Andrew Ritter, Jesse Grandy, D.T. Shackelford, Joel Kight, Pat Patterson - he will continue to get more and more (action). Those guys did really well. It was Ferbia Allen's first time to play, a redshirt freshmen, and he did outstanding. This a good group, which we knew. I am excited about how much they will grow and how they will be much better. We will be talking about them again and again as the season progresses.

How did Bradley Sowell do in his first career start?

He did some good and some bad. He did some good things, but he has to be much more physical. The pocket collapsed a little bit. It is a tough assignment on the edge now. That was his first go around, to see the speed of the game, that was his first time on that edge. It isn't easy, and we knew that going in. He's just got to get better, especially with the pass protection. His run blocking was better. He has to be more physical. It was a hot day and we had some guys that were gassed. I think he will improve and will get better.

Is the flu going around the team?

We do (have the flu going around). I think we have about 12 to 14 guys right now. It is kind of going though our team right now. That's one of things we are scared of. They are checking it out right now. It is a fever, which isn't a good sign, and throwing up. Jacarious Lucas got sick and Clayton Moore got sick, and he was in the room with Jevan (Snead). It is a spreading deal, you know how that goes. Hopefully we get this thing done this week. Good timing really.

How did Johnny Brown perform?

He was feeling a little sick, but he was outstanding in a lot of areas. We expect that out of Johnny and Kendrick Lewis, two veteran guys. Johnny has played a lot of football for us and he was outstanding. He had that interception, which was a big turnaround even though we didn't score. That ball kept them backed up. He was physical. He's a good player. He had to get and IV at halftime. He is a warrior and fought through it.

How does Fon Ingram improve the secondary's depth?

He's the guy that we really needed to come on, since the two guys we signed are not here. We really needed him to step up, along with Derrick Herman, who is still coming. Fon gave us a big lift. His play was the play of the game, to get that momentum on our side when we are struggling. Putting that game at 17-7 going into half, it was a huge play. He got better and much more comfortable as the game went on.

Is there anything about Bradley Sowell that makes you think he can't do the job?

There is nothing we are scared of. The thing that concerned us was the experience. When you are out on the left side, it is a man's job. It's not easy. We knew it would be like that for the first time. He just has to continue to work real hard to get better. There will be a lot of good one-on-one time this week. We will put him against the best on our team, and there is nothing like going against our guys. That gives you a great look.

Thoughts on Bobby Massie.

He's come a thousand miles. We would have given anything for him to be here this summer and to have gotten a little bit of a head start. He is coming. He's a guy who we are going to keep working really hard, and keep developing. There will probably be a time during the year that we will need him. He didn't play very much (against Memphis). Probably about six or seven plays and he was on the PAT/field goal team.

What was Greg Hardy's status against Memphis after the injury?

We were just basically asking how bad his ankle was and if he could go. He was wanting back in the ballgame. I think that is a great sign when a guy wants to get back in there. He's been a playmaker for us and he has a great attitude. We just have to keep him healthy.

How did the cornerbacks hold up against Memphis' tall receivers?

They did a good job. Cassius Vaughn, Marshay Green, Jeremy McGee and Marcus Temple all did a good job. Anytime you go against tall weapons, your goal is not to give up the big play, and we didn't. They really competed hard, stayed in position, and fought for the ball when it was in the air. I was really proud of them.

What happened during Jevan Snead's struggles?

It was a combination of everybody. The pocket collapsed, so then he couldn't fully focus on the downfield read. The routes weren't exactly where they were supposed to be. So now you have a problem compounding into another problem. It is all 11 of us. When we have 11 guys doing their job, it is amazing how quickly we can score. We can be a very explosive team on offense. When we have about seven guys doing it the right way, it is a collapse or a mistake. What we want to get out of it is don't compound the problem. When we do miss a block or the pocket collapses, don't add to the problem, don't force it. What you love about Jevan is that he never hangs his head. He says 'yes or no sir' and takes the next snap with great focus. He comes back. He led our team that last quarter. It was awesome. He did just an excellent job of getting us in the right plays, throwing the ball to our guys, and executing. It is a little bit of all of us, it isn't just one guy. When you get 11 guys doing it right, you're in the endzone. We've got to get to that. It was the first game and that's what you feel good about. We will take a 31-point road win. I've seen a lot of teams struggle in Memphis. It is a super bowl when you look at a Conference USA team getting to play the No. 8 ranked team, and all of the publicity we had. That is what is encouraging to me, how our guys handled it. They never hit the panic button. They really performed well and finished strong at the end. There is still a lot of improvement to be made.

How many do you expect to miss this week due to the flu?

It is too early to tell right now. I expect at least 10 to 12 of them to miss this afternoon's practice. I'm just worried about how this thing spreads. It spreads pretty fast with everyone being so close in the same room and same locker room. Tim (Mullins) has done a really good job of getting guys isolated. We went to Jacarious Lucas and put him a private room instead of having a roommate when we got to Memphis. Clayton Moore didn't make the trip because of the flu symptoms he had.

On Clayton Moore's contributions.

He did an excellent job for us on the scout team. He really prepared us well. That isn't an easy assignment and he did a good job.

Does having two games in a six day period change how you spend this week?

We will talk about that as we go through the week. See who is bumped and bruised and how sick we are - all of those things come into play. I do want our guys to be much more hydrated this week. I thought we did a good job about 48 hours prior to the game. That was the hottest day we had experienced during the entire camp. It makes a difference. I understand there were people in the stands who had to go to the hospital, just watching the game. It was very hot, very difficult. All of those scenarios will be checked, so we can see what the best plan is to make sure everybody is healthy and ready to go. We have 11-straight ball games after this open week.

How did the linebackers perform?

I just expect so much more from Jonathan Cornell, Allen Walker, Patrick Trahan and Lamar Brumfield because they have been around. They did good, not that they did bad, but I just expected them to be more physical. The thing is, when you move them out and do that spread game, it takes them out of their (element) a little bit. As far as D.T. Shackelford and Joel Kight, it being their first times, I am really fired up about their play. But they are young. It's not that I'm down on Patrick Trahan or Jonathan Cornell, but I know they are so much better than the way they played. It's not like they had a lot of busts, they had a couple missed tackles but they made some plays. They are older guys, have been in the system, so we just need them to always be at their best.

What did you think of Jerrell Powe's performance?

He was outstanding. He's in the best shape he's ever been in. He gets vertical push, and that's a bad headache for that center or guard. He brings it. I love his passion and energy. Just the way he was sprinting down in the fourth quarter, leading the pack to get to the other end, shows you how he feels about his conditioning. I still think there were three or four times that he took plays off, and he didn't realize it until he watched the tape today. We don't want him taking one play off. When he does play, he plays. He is a real threat in the trenches for us.

How do you rotate your defensive linemen?

We don't sit there and say 'you're going to get this many plays, and you are going to get this many plays.' It's just a feel thing that Coach Price and Coach Nix work out during the week. We do know which eights guys are going to play. When you look at it, it is pretty much even. Greg Hardy had 36 plays, Kentrell Lockett had about 40, Marcus Tillman had 52, Emmanuel Stephens had 30, Jerrell Powe had 40 and Ted Laurent had 36. It is pretty much even except for Marcus Tillman.

Are you planning on holding Greg Hardy out of practice?

The way it looks today, at least for a couple of days.

How do you plan on developing the "Wild Rebel" throughout the season?

You just want to use a formation that creates a little diversion and some problems to slow down fast defenses. You want to slow them down. There are some things that we worked on that we still have, and will continue to work on. You just want to pick-and-choose your spots. There were a few times yesterday when we thought about doing it, but just decided not to. When you watch the film, if we would have executed what we had in, we would have been fine. I'm talking about really only one quarter. You see why the pros have four preseason games, to work out all of the little kinks. We don't have that. You don't have the luxury to scrimmage very much either because we are scared - you don't want to lost three or four Jason Jones' because you will get thin in a hurry. We have more things (to put in). I feel good with Dexter McCluster, Brandon Bolden and Jesse Grandy, guys like that, running it. You will see it as it goes.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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