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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Houston Nutt Press Conference: 09.05
9/5/2011 | Football
Sept. 5, 2011
Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt met with the media on Monday and discussed the Rebels' season opening loss to BYU and this week's opponent Southern Illinois.
Opening Comments:
"There was no class today so the players came in and watched film on their own. It was such a fine line. We beat ourselves. We have to learn from it. It starts with taking care of the ball. Some younger guys have to step up for us. Everybody can do better. Everybody can block better. We can run routes better and catch better. We can do all the little things better. I feel like we can be a good team. Defensively, we played very well. We still can get better in some of those areas. It's a new week. There's nothing we can do about that one as much as it hurts. We gift wrapped a few things to help a good team win, but we have to move on and learn from it. I'm anxious to get back on the field tomorrow. We had a good practice yesterday. I am anxious to get going on Southern Illinois."
On Aaron Garbutt:
"For his first time out he was very good. There were a few things we have to correct, but he played hard and really chased the ball hard. He did a good job in pass coverage and as a run-stopper. He is only going to get better. I feel really good about Aaron."
On the injuries at running back:
"Right now we took a real hit at the tailback spot. Jeff Scott has to get ready to go. We talked about it really hard yesterday. Right now we have Jeff Scott, Devin Thomas, and we'll probably move Korvic Neat back to the running back. Tomorrow we'll work with Cody Prewitt and Chief Brown. We have to get a couple more guys in there ready to go because we are so thin."
On the quarterbacks:
"We will start Zack Stoudt. We will keep practicing the other two but most of the reps will go to Zack. He will start the game and we'll see how everything else flows as far as practice. We'll see where Randal Mackey is. Right now we'll go with Zack."
On spur position:
"The first game I thought Garbutt did very well. That's the first time he's played that position. He was physical and made some tackles and plays for us. He'll get better as he goes. He's a guy that has to help us in the pass and run. I think fundamentally he will get better as we go."
On Brandon Bolden's injury:
"It's a slight fracture in the ankle area. It's hard because you don't put a cast on it. He'll be in walking boot for at least a couple weeks. I don't know after that. It hurts."
On offense with running back injuries:
"Zack can throw the ball well. His best friend has to be the tailback. We have to have somebody to help him as a supporting cast with tight ends and receivers. We will depend on these backs. We won't shy away from them. We'll go right along according to plan using the play book trying to give us the best chance to win by getting the ball to these guys."
On freshman wide receivers:
"I was excited about their focus all throughout the week. They are very mature. Donte Moncrief, Nick Brassell and Tobias Singleton all had excellent camps. When they get to the game they see the speed of it for the first time. That wasn't a warm-up game or a preseason game, it was a real football game. They lost their jitters and nerves as the game went along. When they played without the ball they did a good job. Nick will be the first to tell you that he very rarely drops that ball. I don't think he will again. I was proud of how hard they played and competed."
On Enrique Davis:
"I'm hopeful, but he won't practice this week. That's what is difficult. My experience says that when you don't practice it is hard to play"
On Zack Stoudt:
"His strength is his arm. He studies and knows the play book. He is a little older and you can tell he has had a few snaps coming from a junior college. He didn't get rattled and knows where to go with the ball right now. I think that is the biggest difference right now. Barry Brunetti did some good things and should have been 3-3 passing. He had a dropped ball. As far as knowing where to go with the ball, especially if something breaks down, Zack knows where to go. He has always been very cool under pressure."
On the running game:
"I was disappointed in some of the blocking and there were times when somebody didn't hit the hole. It is a combination. If those older guys would have been healthy I would have liked to see what would have happened. There were a couple of plays that were blocked up. Overall, I know our offensive line can do better, but we played against a very good defense."
On Southern Illinois:
"All you have to do is watch the film to know that they are a scary bunch. This is a good football team. They have a couple transfers, some good tailbacks and a fast receiver. Their defense will blitz all night. They are really quick. We have a real challenge this week. We don't have time to feel sorry for ourselves. Our players have a real challenge in front of them. Our players and coaches felt we should have been 1-0. You can't do anything about that right now and we have to get ready for Southern Illinois and be 100 percent focused."
On Kentrell Lockett:
"He got 49 snaps. The more he played, the better he played. He started feeling confident in his leg and he got in the flow, especially after the second quarter. I was proud of that. We need him and I look for him to continuously get better."
On the defense:
"There were some drives they could have gotten off the field sooner. There is no way that they are satisfied. They are happy with the way they competed. That is the way I feel about it. They played extremely hard against a veteran team. You can't rest on that first game."
On Mike Marry and Charles Sawyer:
"Mike Marry was a physical, physical linebacker for us. His only mistake was not catching the fullback in the flat on their passing plays. I love his attitude and effort and the way he competes. He is going to be a solid linebacker for us. I thought Charles Sawyer did an awesome job playing safety for the first time after moving from cornerback. He set the defense up and played the ball with his eyes. I thought we were going to win the game when he took that ball back 96 yards. That was a good move by our defensive staff. He feels it now and has a lot of confidence."
On the quarterbacks' abilities:
"The one thing I knew with a big offensive line and big backs was that Stoudt could hand the ball off and have play action plays. It's hard to turn down a playmaker like Brunetti. He is going to be an excellent quarterback. Randal Mackey is very elusive. That mobility helps you, especially in our league. I think we are going to need them all.
On Carlos Thompson:
"I look for him to get back in the mix this week. He's been hurt a bit. He kept his weight on this summer and is right around 250 pounds. He'll help us at the end position and will get back in the rotation this week."
On play calling with different quarterbacks:
"It was the first time Brunetti played on this level. We were being a little bit conservative. I was hoping our run game would get going. We wanted him to get in the groove. A few times with coverage I think he got confused. I still have a lot of confidence in him. He's going to be fine but he's just young."
