.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
The University of Mississippi Athletics
Matt Luke Weekly Press Conference
11/12/2018 | Football
<i class="icon-video"></i> Matt Luke Press Conference<i class="icon-video"></i> Wesley McGriff Press Conference<i class="icon-video"></i> Phil Longo Press Conference
Head Football Coach Previews Final Road Game of the Season
Ole Miss Football Head Coach Matt Luke met with the media Monday to recap the Texas A&M game and look ahead to the Rebels' final road game of the season, a matchup with Vanderbilt in the Music City (6:30 p.m. CT, SEC Network). The full transcript can be found below.
Opening statement…
"It was obviously a disappointing loss on the road to keep battling and finding a way to have an opportunity to win games in the fourth quarter and coming up short. The message, we just have to find a way to finish in the fourth quarter and make the plays that you have to make to win games. I was very pleased with the way our guys kept fighting with all the adversity. They keep getting up off the mat to keep battling. The object of the game is to win, and that's what those guys want. They're coming up short, they're disappointed, frustrated but we have 10 more days left to pour into it to find a way to get that win in the fourth quarter. We're going to pour everything in to these last 10 days to keep these guys fighting and competing and find a way to win this thing in the fourth quarter."
Injury update…
"Coming out of the game, Jordan (Ta'amu) will be even better this week. This week, he came out healthy, and he'll be even better moving forward. Scottie Phillips, he sprained his ankle, he's going to be day-to-day. I don't know if he's going to be back or not. There's still some swelling in there as of this morning, but we'll try to get him ready to go. Braylon Sanders was not able to go. He just couldn't push off to be effective, but I think we'll have him back this week. A lot of bumps and bruises on defense, but there weren't any major injuries. All of those guys will be available."
On Vanderbilt…
"Moving onto Vanderbilt, tough place to play. I have a lot of respect for Coach Mason, what they've been able to do. Their running back is a very good player, senior quarterback, they can get their tight ends involved in it because they're so good in the run game. Defensively, they have a senior linebacker, (Jordan) Griffin leads their team in tackles. Josh Smith their defensive end is another senior, good player. We'll definitely have our work cut out for us with an SEC game on the road, but the main thing is we have 10 days left. Let's finish this thing the right way."
On fourth quarter mistakes and offense…
"I think when you're not winning games, there's a lot of things you go back and point to, there's opportunities to win football games. We can't miss field goals. We can't turn the ball over in the red zone. Those things are glaring when you're not winning games. We just need to find a way to get off the field defensively, not give up a deep ball. There's stuff all over, it's not just red zone. Every play is critical and you don't know when those are going to happen. A lot of things happened. There are some issues with depth, with injury, but the object of the game is to win it in the fourth quarter."
On the onside kick decision in the fourth quarter…
"Under two minutes, I wanted to make sure we had an opportunity to at least get the ball back. If you kick it to them, and you never even have a chance to get the ball back, then you're questioning that decision. I wanted to at least have an opportunity to get the ball, and if we didn't, I still had those three timeouts and had an opportunity to get it back even if we didn't get it. I wanted to make sure we had an opportunity to get the ball then."
On different phases of the game and playing together…
"I think you do feel that way, because we get a turnover on defense, and then we have a penalty and don't take advantage of it. When a break comes our way, we do not take advantage of it and play as a team better. I think that comes with experience, and there's a lot of different reasons why. You can't look at it and just say 'we're not playing well together,' you have to look at the tape and find out why. These next 10 days we have to take advantage of every break we get. If we get a turnover, we need to take it and go score. If we have the ball in the red zone with a chance to go up 10, we need to take care of the ball and go up 10 into halftime. There's a lot of things we can do better to help us win these last two games."
On Isaiah Woullard and Eric Swinney's play in Scottie Phillips' absence…
"They did well. There were some things on the perimeter. You miss Scottie's feet some, but very impressed. Isaiah (Woullard) broke some tackles. He did put one ball on the ground, he's got to be better with ball security, but proud of the way he stepped up. Eric (Swinney) got six or seven plays and did well when he was in there."
On the defense's play early in the game…
"They gave us an opportunity to win the football game, and they battled, they competed. The tough part in the third quarter was they gave up a drive, got the turnover for a touchdown, and had to go right back out there. They drove down again, got the turnover and had to get right back on the field again. They were on the field the whole third quarter and wore down. That's where your depth issues start showing up and some of the injuries start showing up. I liked the way they fought and competed. If they continue to do that and give us opportunities to win games, I think it's going to pay off."
On difference in preparation with two games in 10 days…
"The only thing we'll do a little bit different is after this game, some of the staff will fly back so they can get a little preparation time instead of bussing back with the team. I'll ride back with the team, and some of the staff will fly back. Then you have to start backing off of them a little bit as far as pads are concerned. A little bit less good-vs-good, a little bit more taking care of their bodies. Then we do have a bunch of injuries too. We started backing off a little bit last week, and that'll continue."
On A.J. Brown switching from slot to outside receiver…
"Been around a lot of great receivers here at Ole Miss, for him to be the all-time leading receiver, that's a pretty special accomplishment for him. He's been very unselfish—playing inside, playing outside. He's very versatile. That will do nothing but help him going forward, his ability to do a bunch of different things. He makes plays outside, if you put him inside, he'll make plays there too. Really proud of what he's been able to accomplish. His attitude has been outstanding. I know he'll want to finish things the right way. He could care less about individual awards. He wants the team to do well. I am very proud."
On the targeting call on Dawson Knox…
"It's tough. It's a tough rule. Any time a kid's out there playing hard and leaving it all out on the field, that's a tough penalty. It is what it is. We're not the only people it has happened to, it's a tough call for everybody. He'll be ready to go in the second half. Octavious Cooley will have to step up, Jason Pellerin will expand his role a little bit at tight end. He'll have to be ready to go in some short-yardage situations at quarterback as well."
On Markel Winters' status and the pass rush…
"Markel will have a chance. I'm not ready to say he's going to play. He will practice this week. I'll probably be able to give you an update Wednesday, but he'll be out there practicing, and we'll try to get him back. He obviously brings a little bit to the pass rush, getting on edges. That's what we need to do is just get on edges a little bit better, use our speed and not run down the middle of guys and get home on third down."
On A.J. Brown reaching the all-time receiving mark in less than three seasons…
"It's pretty amazing because some of the guys he passed were four-year guys. It's a tribute to him and how hard he works. Obviously the offense helps, how much you get targeted in the offense like that, but you still have to go out there and make those plays. For him to do it in such a short amount of time says a lot about him as a player."
On the targeting rules…
"The bigger issue is player safety. That's where all of this stems from, trying to keep guys safe. Every rule that is made is in the interest of player safety. Sometimes there are the unintended consequences that happen. When you make a rule, you have to follow it. You can't make exceptions. That's where the issue comes in. Those guys work at it, they try to review it. They try to get it right. Sometimes it is frustrating. We might have to look at it, some different parameters to put on it. But the way the rule is now, you have to live with some of that stuff."
On intent in targeting calls…
"That's where you start to get into subjectivity. That's not my job. I'm worried about these last 10 days and trying to get two wins. They may be able to make it. But if it does get subjective, then that gets hard too."
Opening statement…
"It was obviously a disappointing loss on the road to keep battling and finding a way to have an opportunity to win games in the fourth quarter and coming up short. The message, we just have to find a way to finish in the fourth quarter and make the plays that you have to make to win games. I was very pleased with the way our guys kept fighting with all the adversity. They keep getting up off the mat to keep battling. The object of the game is to win, and that's what those guys want. They're coming up short, they're disappointed, frustrated but we have 10 more days left to pour into it to find a way to get that win in the fourth quarter. We're going to pour everything in to these last 10 days to keep these guys fighting and competing and find a way to win this thing in the fourth quarter."
Injury update…
"Coming out of the game, Jordan (Ta'amu) will be even better this week. This week, he came out healthy, and he'll be even better moving forward. Scottie Phillips, he sprained his ankle, he's going to be day-to-day. I don't know if he's going to be back or not. There's still some swelling in there as of this morning, but we'll try to get him ready to go. Braylon Sanders was not able to go. He just couldn't push off to be effective, but I think we'll have him back this week. A lot of bumps and bruises on defense, but there weren't any major injuries. All of those guys will be available."
On Vanderbilt…
"Moving onto Vanderbilt, tough place to play. I have a lot of respect for Coach Mason, what they've been able to do. Their running back is a very good player, senior quarterback, they can get their tight ends involved in it because they're so good in the run game. Defensively, they have a senior linebacker, (Jordan) Griffin leads their team in tackles. Josh Smith their defensive end is another senior, good player. We'll definitely have our work cut out for us with an SEC game on the road, but the main thing is we have 10 days left. Let's finish this thing the right way."
On fourth quarter mistakes and offense…
"I think when you're not winning games, there's a lot of things you go back and point to, there's opportunities to win football games. We can't miss field goals. We can't turn the ball over in the red zone. Those things are glaring when you're not winning games. We just need to find a way to get off the field defensively, not give up a deep ball. There's stuff all over, it's not just red zone. Every play is critical and you don't know when those are going to happen. A lot of things happened. There are some issues with depth, with injury, but the object of the game is to win it in the fourth quarter."
On the onside kick decision in the fourth quarter…
"Under two minutes, I wanted to make sure we had an opportunity to at least get the ball back. If you kick it to them, and you never even have a chance to get the ball back, then you're questioning that decision. I wanted to at least have an opportunity to get the ball, and if we didn't, I still had those three timeouts and had an opportunity to get it back even if we didn't get it. I wanted to make sure we had an opportunity to get the ball then."
On different phases of the game and playing together…
"I think you do feel that way, because we get a turnover on defense, and then we have a penalty and don't take advantage of it. When a break comes our way, we do not take advantage of it and play as a team better. I think that comes with experience, and there's a lot of different reasons why. You can't look at it and just say 'we're not playing well together,' you have to look at the tape and find out why. These next 10 days we have to take advantage of every break we get. If we get a turnover, we need to take it and go score. If we have the ball in the red zone with a chance to go up 10, we need to take care of the ball and go up 10 into halftime. There's a lot of things we can do better to help us win these last two games."
On Isaiah Woullard and Eric Swinney's play in Scottie Phillips' absence…
"They did well. There were some things on the perimeter. You miss Scottie's feet some, but very impressed. Isaiah (Woullard) broke some tackles. He did put one ball on the ground, he's got to be better with ball security, but proud of the way he stepped up. Eric (Swinney) got six or seven plays and did well when he was in there."
On the defense's play early in the game…
"They gave us an opportunity to win the football game, and they battled, they competed. The tough part in the third quarter was they gave up a drive, got the turnover for a touchdown, and had to go right back out there. They drove down again, got the turnover and had to get right back on the field again. They were on the field the whole third quarter and wore down. That's where your depth issues start showing up and some of the injuries start showing up. I liked the way they fought and competed. If they continue to do that and give us opportunities to win games, I think it's going to pay off."
On difference in preparation with two games in 10 days…
"The only thing we'll do a little bit different is after this game, some of the staff will fly back so they can get a little preparation time instead of bussing back with the team. I'll ride back with the team, and some of the staff will fly back. Then you have to start backing off of them a little bit as far as pads are concerned. A little bit less good-vs-good, a little bit more taking care of their bodies. Then we do have a bunch of injuries too. We started backing off a little bit last week, and that'll continue."
On A.J. Brown switching from slot to outside receiver…
"Been around a lot of great receivers here at Ole Miss, for him to be the all-time leading receiver, that's a pretty special accomplishment for him. He's been very unselfish—playing inside, playing outside. He's very versatile. That will do nothing but help him going forward, his ability to do a bunch of different things. He makes plays outside, if you put him inside, he'll make plays there too. Really proud of what he's been able to accomplish. His attitude has been outstanding. I know he'll want to finish things the right way. He could care less about individual awards. He wants the team to do well. I am very proud."
On the targeting call on Dawson Knox…
"It's tough. It's a tough rule. Any time a kid's out there playing hard and leaving it all out on the field, that's a tough penalty. It is what it is. We're not the only people it has happened to, it's a tough call for everybody. He'll be ready to go in the second half. Octavious Cooley will have to step up, Jason Pellerin will expand his role a little bit at tight end. He'll have to be ready to go in some short-yardage situations at quarterback as well."
On Markel Winters' status and the pass rush…
"Markel will have a chance. I'm not ready to say he's going to play. He will practice this week. I'll probably be able to give you an update Wednesday, but he'll be out there practicing, and we'll try to get him back. He obviously brings a little bit to the pass rush, getting on edges. That's what we need to do is just get on edges a little bit better, use our speed and not run down the middle of guys and get home on third down."
On A.J. Brown reaching the all-time receiving mark in less than three seasons…
"It's pretty amazing because some of the guys he passed were four-year guys. It's a tribute to him and how hard he works. Obviously the offense helps, how much you get targeted in the offense like that, but you still have to go out there and make those plays. For him to do it in such a short amount of time says a lot about him as a player."
On the targeting rules…
"The bigger issue is player safety. That's where all of this stems from, trying to keep guys safe. Every rule that is made is in the interest of player safety. Sometimes there are the unintended consequences that happen. When you make a rule, you have to follow it. You can't make exceptions. That's where the issue comes in. Those guys work at it, they try to review it. They try to get it right. Sometimes it is frustrating. We might have to look at it, some different parameters to put on it. But the way the rule is now, you have to live with some of that stuff."
On intent in targeting calls…
"That's where you start to get into subjectivity. That's not my job. I'm worried about these last 10 days and trying to get two wins. They may be able to make it. But if it does get subjective, then that gets hard too."
Players Mentioned
WR
/ Football
TE
/ Football
TE
/ Football
TE
/ Football
RB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
RB
/ Football
DE
/ Football
RB
/ FootballPRESSER | Caleb Odom (04-16-26)
Thursday, April 16
PRESSER | Izaiah Hartrup (04-16-26)
Thursday, April 16
PRESSER | Antonio Kite (04-16-26)
Thursday, April 16
PRESSER | Pete Golding (04-14-26)
Tuesday, April 14