The University of Mississippi Athletics
Postgame Quotes vs. Texas Tech
9/1/2018 | Football
Ole Miss 47, Texas Tech 27
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OLE MISS HEAD COACH MATT LUKE |
Can you talk about Scottie Phillips did for you today?
"The word I've been using is cautiously optimistic, because I've seen a lot of really, really good things in the spring and in fall camp, but it was good to see him. He has short, quick bursts, but he also has the breakaway speed that he can finish it when he breaks the line so really, really pleased to him have some success. Want to see us be a little bit more efficient in the run game. Good to see us break those lone ones, but I think we can be a little bit more efficient and then add that to our receiving core. I think that would be a recipe for success for us."
How do you fix the four red zone field goals?
"It was negative plays for us. You know, we've got to eliminate negative plays in the red zone. The last one, I thought we did a really good job of taking a lot of clock there in the fourth quarter so very, very pleased with that one. The three in the first half, no doubt. That's what we talked about at half time was finishing. Let's finish on third down. Let's finish in the red zone. Those are the things we needed to do to be successful."
What did you think of your run defense in particular?
"I was proud of them bowing their necks especially on those two fourth downs late. I was happy to see us. The one in the end zone, three guys diving at the ball, the ball coming out, multiple people around the football, I think that was huge. There was a couple times we got gassed there, especially in the second half. So we really got to work on trying to get some guys in there staying fresh."
How would you describe what your receivers did today?
"The thing I really am impressed by is how they play for each other. A great example is (DaMarkus) Lodge coming back and blocking for A.J. (Brown). They double covered AJ on the second play of the game where DK was able to get a one-on-one matchup. How they complement each other is really, really special, and we just want to continue to build on that."
What were your thoughts on the way that Jordan Ta'amu managed the game?
"I thought he did a good job. There were a few RPOs he might have held on to it a little bit too long early in the game. He was trying to make a big play down the field. He protected the ball and we're very, very proud of that."
In the third quarter, it seemed that Alan Bowman was able to get into a rhythm. What did you have to adjust to handle?
"We're a tempo team ourselves. So you see when a temp gets going, you can't sub, and then they kind of got rolling on us, and they got us a little bit on our heels. Again, getting off the field on third down, that's the big key that way they can't get in the tempo."
Any update on Kevontae' Ruggs?
"No, I think he left the game early with a head injury, but I will find out more here right after."
Was there anyone else that didn't come back?
"Yeah. I've got to check on Jalen (Julius), maybe Alex Givens and then Kavante, but when I leave here, I'll go check and make sure."
Texas Tech QB McLane Carter went out early. They do what they do in the passing game, but did bringing in a freshman change your approach or anything that you guys did defensively?
"For a first game, and they didn't announce the starters, so you prepare for all three anyway. But him and the starter were very similar, and I believe the other young man was more of a runner. So it was very similar to the game plan we had for the starter."
The team is new and old. Did that change the way you prepared?
"I think it's big. It gives you some positive momentum. What I've been preaching to them is that we get 12 opportunities together. That's what we get, and we want to take it one at a time and take advantage of the time that we have together. We do have a good mixture. We have a lot of guys who have played a lot of football. We've got some youngsters that obviously learned a lot today. There will be a lot for that we can improve on from week one to week two, but that's part of the beauty of playing a really good opponent in week one. You can find out a lot about where you are."
With so many offensive weapons on your team, how nice was it to see Jordan Ta'amu get to all of them and spread things out for you?
"Coach Longo does a great job with his offense and certain plays aren't designed to go to certain people. It's just that we go to space, and if they want to double team one then we're able to go to the other. So I think that's pretty unique, but it did work out with a lot of balance and that's good."
You already talked about RB Scottie Phillips. It looked like he struggled a little bit in the first two series of the game, but once he got in a rhythm he had more success. Did you all do anything different schematically or was it just him finding his footing?
"No, a little bit early, I'm sure maybe some nerves, but we didn't do anything different. We stayed with our game plan, and the thing he was able to pop them inside on some big runs. And credit the o-line."
Scottie Phillips had several big runs. On some of the runs where maybe he didn't get what you guys were looking for, did you feel like it was close at times? You mentioned working from Week 1 to Week 2, is that one of the things you'll be looking at is getting that consistent four or five yard run?
"That's right. That's what I referring to earlier as being efficient. I thought there were a few times that we weren't efficient. But I will say this, the good thing was a fourth-and-one early in the game, we popped a big one. Late in the fourth quarter, we were able to drive the football and burn some clock when we needed to do that where maybe we haven't been as good at that in the past. Really, really happy to see that part of the run game when you've got to have it and they know you're going to run it and still be able to do it, I thought that was good."
Towards the end of the game, Montrell Custis had three back-to-back-to-back plays were he broke up would-be touchdown passes. Why was he able to put himself in to those positions?
"I think it's the way he's prepared. Everyone saw in the video he gave up his number, just being unselfish in the way he's prepared. I've seen him grow up a lot off the field, and I think it's paying big dividends for him on the field. I think it's a credit to the way he's prepared. And Vernon Dasher coming in behind him, where he can be fresh at the end where he doesn't have to play the whole game. Having that depth where he can be fresh and with the way he's prepared, I think those two things were why he's able to be successful."
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TEXAS TEXAS HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY |
You had three players called for targeting and two of them were ejected. What are some things you're going to do differently to clean it up?
"I'll have to look at the plays. I didn't see them that closely, but they can't happen. We have to be more disciplined and find a way to not do that. We're light in the secondary coming in and to lose those guys obviously didn't help the matter. But we've got to talk about it, we've got to practice it and we've got to do better."
McLane Carter went down with something with his leg. Have you heard anything new about him?
"I haven't. Trainers gave me a brief update, but we're going to get him back to Lubbock and continue the diagnosis."
How will you approach the quarterbacks going into next week if McLane (Carter) is not available?
"We'll continue to rep both guys. The good news is they got a ton of reps through spring and through fall camp. Both understand the offense, so we'll get those two guys ready to play. I'm not sure how it will go reps-wise, who will get what, but they'll both get a ton of reps this week."
You decided to go with Alan Bowman as the second-strong quarterback over Jett Duffey. What went into that decision, and what have you seen from Bowman thus far?
"Yeah, you know, it's just one of those things that I think both guys can get it done. There's a comfort level with our offense right now that I feel like Bowman could execute it. I felt we were going to get a bunch of man coverage and he'd kind of be able to see one read and get it there. So that was really what it came down to, but we have faith in both guys."
Was it a knee or ankle on McLane Carter?
"Ankle."
Can we assume Jett Duffey didn't get a lot of game prep reps this week?
"He got equal amounts to Alan (Bowman). We kept both of those guys involved in repping a ton. So, like I said, we feel like they're both game ready, and it was just a matter of feel at that point."
It seemed like that third quarter Alan Bowman really started to get into a rhythm. What difference did you see from him there?
"I think just, you know, getting the nerves out, going into halftime talking it over, understanding what we were trying to accomplish with him. True Freshman, first game, that type of atmosphere – it just took a while, I think, for him to settle in. But I was proud of how he protected the football. That's what we asked him to do; protect the ball. He led some nice drives. A couple we would like to have back, but I thought overall he handled himself well."
Over 50 D1 recruits here in attendance, let's talk about getting players out to see Texas Tech Football in person.
"Yeah, it was obviously a great showcase for our program to have this game and have it be in Houston, the hot bed of recruiting that it is, to have this game publicized for that many months. So, yeah I see that as a positive."
You weren't able to tempo as much as you'd like to, how difficult is that with the comfort level this offense has right now?
"I thought we did some good things tempo-wise in the second half and early. Just get in a rhythm – having a younger quarterback, trying to get a feel for him and what he can handle, at that point. Took a while, but I thought the second half, started the second half, he felt more comfortable and we were able to push the tempo a little bit So, we'll see where it goes from there."
We saw more of Tre King and Demarcus Felton in the fourth quarter, is that just to get them some game reps?
"Yeah, to make sure (Da'Leon) Ward is OK, there late – three or four scores – I wanted to make sure that Ward got out of the game clean, and he's obviously an important role moving forward."
Alan Bowman has only been on campus for a couple months, what made you think he was ready to contribute right away?
"He played in a similar offense in high school and understands our concepts – getting the ball out quick, making quick decisions. I felt like – like I said, as the game was going, that's what we needed. Somebody who's not going to hold on to the football, make quick decisions get it to our receivers, so that's why we went with him."
What did you think of T.J. Vasher's catch that set you up for the first touchdown?
"That was a tremendous catch. He's come a long way. We have to continue to find ways to get him the ball. I wish he could have finished that one there at the end, but he's done a nice job in fall camp. So, hopefully he continues to evolve."
What was your impression of Ole Miss on both sides of the ball and were there any surprises there?
"I don't think so. They're a talented – obviously, offensively they have a bunch of NFL wideouts, their line did a nice job, their quarterback protected the football, moves around, extended plays. He was all over his (deep) ball. So, I was very impressed by that. Phil (Longo) always has a good scheme. And then defensively, they played hard. They mixed things up a bunch. Kept us out of the end zone on some of those drives, playing hard. So, you have to respect that."
What makes their receiver group so difficult to handle?
"I mean, they're just physical, athletic, big-time guys. You know, they'll all three play in the NFL. Obviously, they're well coached. They're put in positions to be successful, and so that's a recipe for a really good offense."
What did you think of Ole Miss' run defense in comparison to what you saw on film a year ago? Some of their big strike capability on offense, did that force you out of your plan to get away from the run and try to match it?
"I think late, you get down two or three scores in the fourth, you're going to have to change what you do. I thought they have some nice pieces inside there for that run defense. I mentioned earlier I thought schematically they mixed things up well, man and zone. They had a good plan and executed it."
Given how much your defense believed in themselves throughout the offseason, how big a blow is this to give up so many big plays and to give up a 200-yard performance on the ground with the quality you thought your front seven was?
"Yeah, it's tough. We knew it was a very good offense, all of the talent they had coming back. The quarterback coming back, receivers. You're trying to take away the wide-outs the best you can. The run game got going. We obviously have to play better. We weren't very good at eliminating those big plays. We can't just let them have 60-, 70-yard runs."
Obviously, you have a lot of experience in the secondary, but given the fact that you lost Octavious Morgan, didn't have Desmon Smith after he was ejected for targeting, do you think you gave up something in communication having three guys not available to you right off the bat?
"I don't know about communication, just lack of experience maybe. You get Des and Jah'shawn and Oct not back, who all started last year, against a team like that, those other guys have to be ready to go. I'm not sure they were ready for that type of speed and that type of offense right now. We have to get those guys going, get them more developed and get them ready to go as this thing moves forward."
