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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Press Conference: 09.08
9/8/2014 | Football
Ole Miss football head coach Hugh Freeze and senior quarterback Bo Wallace met with the media Monday to discuss the Rebels' upcoming home opener against Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday (SEC Network, 3 p.m. CT).
Head Coach Hugh Freeze
Opening statement...
"I watched the film, and I'm excited about a lot of things that we did really well. There are still things we have to improve on to compete in this conference, but I'm excited to be 2-0 and 1-0 in the conference. We played two pretty good teams and learned a lot about ourselves in the first two weeks. There were a lot of great plays by individuals Saturday. Obviously, Bo Wallace had one of his better games since we've been here. He made very few mistakes, and his receivers played well. We were able to run the ball enough to keep us pretty balanced, so we made improvement there also. Defensively we could have fit some runs better early on. We didn't fit them exactly right. We got that fixed. We were very good on third down on both sides of the ball. That was very encouraging. The defense was very good in the red zone. Offensively, we didn't complete two drives in the first half, and we have to get better at that. We had penalties that hurt us and a drop that hurt us. We had a couple bad decisions that hurt us there, too. We talked a lot about that at halftime. We finished two drives in the second half. It was exciting to see us finish the game. In our first two years here, we would have a lead in some games and come out after the half and slop through it. Even when you put the subs in it would get kind of sloppy, but this game didn't go that way. Our subs came in and played well. Our defense set the tone with the first possession of the second half. I asked them to give us a stop, and they did better than that. They got a pick six, and I'm very happy Cliff (Coleman) got to experience that. He's a young man who when I first got here there was no way he was going to make it with us, and he's really turned into one of my favorite kids that I enjoy coaching, so I'm happy to see him have success on the field, also. We have a big game with Louisiana-Lafayette in our home opener, and it's always great to play here in front of our fans. I know they'll show up and be very supportive, and we owe them to put a product on the field that's very exciting. There's no question in my mind the bull's-eye that will be on our chest for this week with the group from Lafayette will be huge. We expect to get their best shot and we have to be prepared for it.
On newcomers against Vanderbilt...
"The first name to pop in my mind was Ryan (Buchanan). He was very comfortable. He didn't look rattled at all for his first SEC game. There are some things that don't come natural that came natural for him. We threw him in there thinking we'd run the ball some, and the first two runs we called he sees he has the outside screen and pulls up and throws them like he's been doing it for weeks, so he really seemed composed. He's hard on himself. I like that, like that about quarterbacks. He missed a play there on the fourth down when they brought the house, and we had Jeremy (Liggins) open for a touchdown, and he missed it. It's not something we have shown him. I haven't shown him that look, so I take as much responsibility, but it bothered him. I like what I saw out of him. I thought Eugene Brazley made some really nice cuts in the run game. Rod Taylor played physical and fast. He doesn't always know exactly what to do, but there's no question he's an athletic kid who plays physical and fast."
On Eugene Brazley earning extra opportunity in the near future...
"That's tough to say. It's not that the others played poorly. We're blessed at that position, and we have quality depth. We're not afraid to play him. If there's something we can get him ready for, we'll look at that. I lean on Derrick (Nix) for a lot of that, and we try to play to the strengths of the kids, but he was very good on the inside zone plays with the jump cut."
On Quincy Adeboyejo's consistency...
"I'm really pleased. I don't want to jinx him, but he's catching it well with his hands. One of the best plays in the game the other day was a little stop route on the sidelines when Ryan threw it to him in the corner. The corner broke on it and it could have easily been picked if the receiver doesn't work hard to beat him back to it, and Quincy did that exactly. He's been very consistent in the first two games, and we're very excited. We need him to play that way."
On Christian Morris...
"He's not ready today, but the pedal will be pressed all the way to the floor to get him ready to back up both tackles."
On offensive line...
"We're trying to get better at what we do. I'll say this again, and we still have a ways to go with improvement as I'm sure most schools do, but week one we didn't prepare our kids properly for what they were going to see. I don't put too much into the offensive line against Boise because they weren't prepared. They were prepared this week and there was some good and some bad. We have to continue to work on them understanding what we are facing and getting better at their technique, but there were a lot better things up front against a good defensive line."
On Louisiana-Lafayette...
"I'm very familiar with what they do having played in that conference with them. Their quarterback is very talented, and they have talent around him with receivers and running backs and offensive line. They are very balanced, and they do a lot of the same stuff we do. We should be able to give our defense a good look. They are a good football team, no question. They didn't play their best the other night. They turned it over and put them in bad spots, but I know we'll get their best, and just a couple years ago they either beat Florida or had them right to the wire. From being in that conference, I know how it is for those kids to get a chance to play in these arenas and these games. I know Mark (Hudspeth) will have them ready and it'll be a good game."
On red zone offense...
"We'll mix it up all year. We'll come up with a package of the week. I'm my own worst critic, and I look at our red zone the other day, and I wouldn't change but one call. We have to coach better at what we're doing and make sure our kids understand how to do it. We had some really good calls. We just shot a video for SEC Film Room, and there were a couple we went through. You can see we had a shot at a good play if we executed it right. We have to continue to ask our kids to do what they can do and schematically come up with a good plan. It'll always be a mixture."
On Cody Core...
"It's his first chance and first opportunity. He didn't all of a sudden become talented. It's time now with Ja-Mes (Logan) and Donte (Moncrief) gone, it's time for a kid in the program to step up now and have his chance, and he's used that. Also Laquon Treadwell is helping him. Just because Laquon doesn't catch a ball certainly doesn't mean he's not doing his part. Several of the big plays Cody has had the defense has chosen to keep a two-high shell there, and it's opened some other things to the field."
On SEC quarterbacks...
"Not surprised at all with how well they've done. If you go back to SEC Media Days that was the buzz around there, and I kept saying these coaches aren't sitting around and not recruiting other quarterbacks. There will be many quarterbacks that given their chance will do very well. I'm not surprised."
On injuries against Vanderbilt...
"We lost Matt Brown for about six weeks. He fractured his fibula. That's the only injury we had."
On DeVante Kincade...
"DeVante was 50-50. In the red zone, one of the things we had called -- he's a freshman and hasn't played before -- he got out there and forgot what we signaled and gave a ball to a guy we weren't blocking for. That's kids. You're dealing with 18-year-old kids, and they make mistakes. Then he comes in during one of our packages and rips the ball out there to a quick screen to Quincy (Adeboyejo) for a first down and looked like a million bucks doing it. I don't think it's a talent issue. He just needs time to get more comfortable, and he has value he can add to us. There's no question."
On Ryan Buchanan's running ability...
"He can run decent enough. He's probably like Bo (Wallace). He's a better athlete than people give him credit for. We're not gung-ho running the quarterback all the time anyway. There's time for it, and you can recruit kids like DeVante (Kincade) who don't mind doing that, and Ryan saw the opportunity on some of our read stuff, and he turned them into very positive plays. We have to work on his sliding a little bit. He took a shot right to the head he didn't need to take, but he's adequate as a runner for what we're going to do."
On Collins Moore...
"Collins won't be back this week. We'll give him this week, so we have the open week."
On Sammie Epps...
"I hope he can redshirt. His punishment is over. He's doing really, really well in practice. You go down there with him and Dayall (Harris) and String (Damore'ea Stringfellow) and our defense is happy when you get the scout team look because they have three guys that are wearing them out. It's really helping us prepare; same for (the offense). I've never had a week like last week where the scout team did as good of a job as that. Breeland Speaks and Garrald McDowell and Victor Evans and those guys are giving us great looks. D.K. Buford and those guys are helping us get prepared."
On Evan Engram...
"I'd like to continue to do exactly what we're doing with him Saturday. It didn't surprise me. I see him every day, and he's such a talented kid. What a great kid he is. He's a tough matchup for linebackers, in particular. He's just a solid player. He was doing that last year as a true freshman until he broke his ankle, so I'm excited about his play. We have to find a way to get him more breaks. We're wearing him out too much early in the game. We have to work on getting him a break a little bit. We're very excited about Evan."
On Carlos Thompson getting playing time...
"He'll have to earn it. Those guys are playing well. Channing (Ward) is playing well. John Youngblood is playing well. Fadol (Brown) or C.J. (Johnson), they are all playing well. He'll have to earn it, but it's always good to have depth and keep a good rotation going. It gives us a longer guy. It may result in Marquis Haynes being more of a third-down guy and Carlos being more of a first down and second down guy, playing to their strengths. It depends who we are playing, but we'll certainly try to play to their strengths. We're glad to have him back."
Senior Quarterback Bo Wallace
On whether his game was as clean as he thought it was after watching film...
"It was in the passing game. In the run game, there was one in the red zone that if I wanted to score I could have if I would have just pulled it. That's somewhere we have to get touchdowns, not just points."
On offensive improvements in the red zone...
"We can't have negative plays down there. We can't have penalties like we had Saturday. Other than that, I felt like they missed a call on Laquon (Treadwell) on what I thought probably would have been a touchdown. We had a good plan down there. We just have to execute it."
On offensive line...
"I think it's good that we were able to play so many. We just have to develop some depth. If somebody goes down, that's a thin spot for us. As many bodies that we can have that can produce for us is a plus."
On how teams are covering Laquon Treadwell...
"He saw some one-high a lot during the Vandy game. I don't think many people are going to press him. I think they're scared to press him. Each team will have a different plan for him. Hopefully he's going to catch more than he caught Saturday."
On home opener...
"We're always excited about being at home. I know the freshmen are excited. The guys that are coming in, this is their first experience with the Walk of Champions and things. I'm excited for those guys to get to experience that. Hopefully we come out and put a good show on for our crowd."
On whether or not he's playing his best football ever...
"I'm just relaxing and playing ball. I don't think it's the best I've ever played or anything like that. I'm just trying to put points up and trying to win games."
On Cody Core...
"I've always thought he could be a good player for us. I think it's just his opportunity. He's surprised me with how well he is (running) after the catch. He made some good moves after the catch in the Vandy game. I've always known he was able to play ball. It's really not a huge surprise."
On knowing offense doesn't have to score a lot of points to win...
"We don't really think about it. We know we have a great defense. They keep getting us possession. At the same time, our goal is to put it in the end zone every time we touch it. We don't worry about what they're doing or if they have a shutout. We're trying to put it in the end zone every time we touch it."
On other passing options when Treadwell is covered...
"Evan (Engram) is such a mismatch for people. If they want to guard Laquon like they're playing with the two-high stuff, Evan is going to find the seam. Quincy (Adeboyejo) struggled during camp with drops and things, but he's done a great job of catching the ball. Those guys are going to continue to make plays. I just have to make sure I get them the ball."
On Vince Sanders...
"He's going to be Vince every Saturday. He's going to be reliable. He's going to make big catches. I wish people talked about him more. He's just so consistent that he kind of gets lost in the shadows of it. He's one of the top receivers on this team. I have as much confidence in him as I do Laquon or any of those guys."
