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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Houston Nutt Press Conference: 10.11
10/11/2010 | Football
Oct. 11, 2010
Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt met with the media on Monday and discussed the Rebels' upcoming battle against No. 8 Alabama.
"It was good to see everyone back yesterday after a good open date. We got some good work in yesterday. A lot of our guys who have been injured were back on the field yesterday, and that was a good feeling. Charles Sawyer, Marcus Temple, and just about everybody except for Johnny Brown was out there. We should have everybody out there by Tuesday as we get ready for this strong team."
"It was a good game. In the kind of league we're in, anybody can beat anybody. That was a tough environment. I challenge anybody in the country to go play their schedule and see what happens one out of three times. They're very tough."
On the Western Division race:
"It is all jammed up. There are a lot of good football teams. Anybody can win. Its tough. This western side is very, very difficult. We're right in the middle of it. Usually, Alabama has been so far ahead of everybody, but now its different. LSU and Auburn are undefeated, but there is still a lot of football left."
On your depth at defensive end:
"We are looking at a couple of different scenarios. We want to challenge Wayne Dorsey to be at his best and get going. I think he has improved. We're trying to build depth. Between Cameron Wiggam and LaMark Armour, we're always trying to have the right chemistry. We're always going to play around eight guys, and keep them fresh and fast."
On the secondary:
"If they're back, I'll feel really good. I'm hoping that they're going to stay healthy and keep going. We haven't had contact, but they moved around well and were fresh. I'm excited that they're back on the field. Now they can take the next step and do a little form tackling on Tuesday and we'll see how that goes. It looks good right now."
On the advantage of a bye week:
"I have seen bye weeks work both ways. When you've been in this league long enough, you see them go both ways. What I mean is that sometimes bye weeks are disruptive. In our case, we needed it because we have never had this many concussions and injuries. We had a lot of things happening, so we needed it. It came at a really good time for us. Each team is different, but I'm glad we had a bye week. We know what kind of atmosphere we're getting ready to walk into. We know the environment and how good they are. Nick [Saban] and their football team is good and we know that. I'm excited about our guys being back on the field. They were excited about being out there, and we know now we're going into the teeth of our schedule.
On injuries of Enrique Davis and A.J. Hawkins:
"They are not back. They were out there in shorts, but aren't full speed yet. We'll see how it goes. We're not counting them out, but we just don't know yet. They didn't practice yesterday."
On the 8 pm kickoff:
"I don't know if there is that much of a difference. There is a lot of time during the day leading up to the game. If you had your choice, you would like to play a little earlier. We don't have that, so we just have to deal with it and get ready to go. Our guys like playing at night. Eight o'clock is a little late though."
On his reception at local high school football games:
"It was great. That is another good reason to have an open game. That way, we're able to go out and see good high school football on Friday nights. There is nothing quite like it. Those guys play with a lot of passion and enthusiasm. The reception from the coaches and people in the stands was really good. It was a good Friday night."
On Alshon Jeffery's game against Alabama:
"The South Carolina film showed that they played a perfect ball game. What I mean by that is that they executed what they wanted to do. They threw it up to a big, tall receiver, and he made some unbelievable plays. He made some great catches, including the one-handed catch when he was completely covered. Their running back played hard. They had it going, and did a really good job. They did a good job on special teams, and did not let Trent Richardson get going. You just can't help Alabama. They do such a good job on their special teams with kick and punt returns. The South Carolina receivers were very good, and that is one of the reasons that they won the ball game. The bottom line was that they made plays."
On Nick Saban's running game:
"We know that there is a Heisman Trophy player in Mark Ingram, and Trent Richardson is not far behind him. We fully expect the ball to be in their hands. They have good receivers, too. Marquis Maze and Julio Jones are real weapons. You have to be careful when you try to overpopulate that line of scrimmage. You have to pick and choose your times. I fully expect the ball to be in the hands of those guys a lot."
On D. T. Shackelford:
"He has been a pleasure to coach. He has been raised by great parents. He made a 4.0 in the spring semester. He is everything you want in a student athlete. I'm really proud of how he has adjusted. He had to play early as a freshman. He fought through some injuries. He comes to work every day with a tremendous attitude. He always wants to help the team. There is nothing like him."
On team improvement and chemistry with Masoli:
"I feel like we've made a lot of progress. I wish we could start over today. We have gotten better. We got back to fundamentals and got back to doing the little things right. You can never take that for granted. I think we're tackling better and are being more physical. You have to as you get into this conference stretch. We are taking care of the ball better. We have to keep winning the turnover margin. I feel like we've improved a great deal. We have to keep improving though. I think that the chemistry between Masoli and the team has always been there. He is a guy we haven't had to worry about. He has earned his way in with hard work and tremendous attitude. He wants to please and fit in. He is a play-maker."
