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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Lane Kiffin Weekly Press Conference
11/8/2021 | Football
Ole Miss football head coach Lane Kiffin met with the media Monday to recap his team's victory over the weekend against Liberty and preview the No. 12 Rebels' next text Saturday against No. 11 Texas A&M. A transcript can be found below.
Head Coach Lane Kiffin
Opening Statement…
"We're excited this week for our program to be in a position where we're playing in a top-15 matchup with College Gameday coming into town. I think that reflects a lot on what these players have done throughout season to be at that point this late in the year for Gameday to be coming here."
"This is a really good team that we're playing with great players. Arguably the best personnel team we've played all year and I think defensively it is. We're going to have some challenges. You guys have seen our injury issues so that is what it is, and we need guys to continue to step up and make plays. It's going to be a huge challenge because these guys have elite players."
On A&M's defense…
"It really looks like when you watch NFL defenses, where basically everyone is a really good player and looks right. A lot of times you got to play somebody, and you can tell right away or after a few series that this player shows up as a weak link or this player is short, or they have a small defensive tackle or something like that. Jimbo figured out from coach Saban, find the best defensive players in the country and get them on your team and watch him be a really good head coach and that's what these guys have. Really special players that are dominant."
On playing a physical defense…
"Well, it can go good, or it can go bad. It's happened here over the last two years versus Alabama who had great defensive players. When it goes good, were making first downs, going really fast and they aren't getting lined up. When it goes bad, they get the ball back really fast. That is what it is with this system."
On the run game vs. Liberty…
"Not very good. [Jerrion's] run was the only explosive run of the day. I don't think anyone probably in the stadium or on our sideline saw after that run how easy it was. He just stayed in stride on the second play of the game. No one would've guessed that that would have been our last explosive run of the day. That was very discouraging. We tried a different group up front, and we did not play very well. We weren't very consistent at running back either and this is not an excuse we should have run the ball way better, but when our quarterback can't move well, and they know he's not going to pull the ball that helps them a little bit but there are no excuses for whatever the stats were after that run."
"It a combination [of physicality at the line and pre-snap movement]. I think the majority of it is the use of tempo. People not lined up with cleats in the grass or disguising things with motion and different stuff in front of you. There's a gap and the ball breaks. That's what happened on the long run. There were people going, the ball hit, and their guy fell back a gap. That's kind of been what's happened thought the year to be a top-five rushing team in the country. After that run we certainly didn't look like it the rest of the day."
On the offensive line…
"I said this to our staff this morning. This is always this case in life and with players you appreciate things more when they're gone. You know losing Ben Brown has been a major hit for us. He was a very smart player who helped the center who is brand new. Even though he was a guard, he was that leader of the group, so it has affected us."
"Jalen Cunningham went in and did some good things and like you probably would expect a little inconsistent having just moved back over. We need to get better all around, especially with our inside three players."
On John Rhys Plumlee…
"John had a really good game because he had a really good week of practice. He had by far his best week, not even close, you could kind of see it coming. I think he took advantage of opportunities with people being out and showed it in practice and then took it to the game. It was great to see."
On other receivers stepping up…
"I didn't realize it until somebody sent it to me and I retweeted it this morning. Its 10 guys who have had over 100-yard games rushing or receiving this year, which is really unheard of. It said only the top five SEC teams have had only five. It's a good and bad thing. It's obviously because of injuries that that's happened but it shows a lot of guys have stepped up and Dannis did some good things in the game and made some big plays."
On what Texas A&M does well offensively…
"Well I think they really figured it out versus Alabama. You look statistically the quarterback played by far the best in that game against a very good defense and looked great. They've been able to run the ball almost the whole year with two great running backs and a really good offensive line. We're going to have our hands full. We've had issues with the run at throughout the year as we know."
On rest for Matt Corral…
"The problem is it's not like there's a bye to sit him. He kind of has reaggravated it every Saturday. I think this week will be very similar to last week but hopefully eventually it's not the case."
On Sam Williams…
"We hope Sam is fine, he played great, is playing a ton of snaps. I'm sure PFF has the stat but I would not think there's a defensive lineman around the country who has played as many snaps as he has. He's got a lot of games in the 60's, some games in the 70's. He's been a warrior for us and hopefully he will be again Saturday."
On who should be the celebrity guest picker for College Gameday…
"It would be Katy Perry, that's a no brainer if you read my Twitter. I just like when things have worked before. Like when coaches come up with plays and they want to run a play. I'll say well can you show me it being run before. We'll I've seen this script before, this movie, where Katy Perry shows up and Ole Miss wins. I was on the other side of it. It worked before, let's do it again."
On Jonathan Mingo...
"I definitely think Mingo will be back. I don't know when. I kind of joked and said, 'You know with where our injuries have been, we'll be the most improved team in the world from the last game to the bowl game.' He'll be back by a bowl game at least."
On Braylon Sanders...
"I think it was good that he got in there. Nowhere near 100 percent when you watch the film. But I just thought it was critical for him to play some with the quarterback so he had some type of rhythm with him. Hopefully he'll be better this week."
On the relationship with former players...
"I think it's great. Winning solves a lot of things. So when you win, they come. It's good to have, good to see. We'll continue to build on that and keep winning and they'll come."
Head Coach Lane Kiffin
Opening Statement…
"We're excited this week for our program to be in a position where we're playing in a top-15 matchup with College Gameday coming into town. I think that reflects a lot on what these players have done throughout season to be at that point this late in the year for Gameday to be coming here."
"This is a really good team that we're playing with great players. Arguably the best personnel team we've played all year and I think defensively it is. We're going to have some challenges. You guys have seen our injury issues so that is what it is, and we need guys to continue to step up and make plays. It's going to be a huge challenge because these guys have elite players."
On A&M's defense…
"It really looks like when you watch NFL defenses, where basically everyone is a really good player and looks right. A lot of times you got to play somebody, and you can tell right away or after a few series that this player shows up as a weak link or this player is short, or they have a small defensive tackle or something like that. Jimbo figured out from coach Saban, find the best defensive players in the country and get them on your team and watch him be a really good head coach and that's what these guys have. Really special players that are dominant."
On playing a physical defense…
"Well, it can go good, or it can go bad. It's happened here over the last two years versus Alabama who had great defensive players. When it goes good, were making first downs, going really fast and they aren't getting lined up. When it goes bad, they get the ball back really fast. That is what it is with this system."
On the run game vs. Liberty…
"Not very good. [Jerrion's] run was the only explosive run of the day. I don't think anyone probably in the stadium or on our sideline saw after that run how easy it was. He just stayed in stride on the second play of the game. No one would've guessed that that would have been our last explosive run of the day. That was very discouraging. We tried a different group up front, and we did not play very well. We weren't very consistent at running back either and this is not an excuse we should have run the ball way better, but when our quarterback can't move well, and they know he's not going to pull the ball that helps them a little bit but there are no excuses for whatever the stats were after that run."
"It a combination [of physicality at the line and pre-snap movement]. I think the majority of it is the use of tempo. People not lined up with cleats in the grass or disguising things with motion and different stuff in front of you. There's a gap and the ball breaks. That's what happened on the long run. There were people going, the ball hit, and their guy fell back a gap. That's kind of been what's happened thought the year to be a top-five rushing team in the country. After that run we certainly didn't look like it the rest of the day."
On the offensive line…
"I said this to our staff this morning. This is always this case in life and with players you appreciate things more when they're gone. You know losing Ben Brown has been a major hit for us. He was a very smart player who helped the center who is brand new. Even though he was a guard, he was that leader of the group, so it has affected us."
"Jalen Cunningham went in and did some good things and like you probably would expect a little inconsistent having just moved back over. We need to get better all around, especially with our inside three players."
On John Rhys Plumlee…
"John had a really good game because he had a really good week of practice. He had by far his best week, not even close, you could kind of see it coming. I think he took advantage of opportunities with people being out and showed it in practice and then took it to the game. It was great to see."
On other receivers stepping up…
"I didn't realize it until somebody sent it to me and I retweeted it this morning. Its 10 guys who have had over 100-yard games rushing or receiving this year, which is really unheard of. It said only the top five SEC teams have had only five. It's a good and bad thing. It's obviously because of injuries that that's happened but it shows a lot of guys have stepped up and Dannis did some good things in the game and made some big plays."
On what Texas A&M does well offensively…
"Well I think they really figured it out versus Alabama. You look statistically the quarterback played by far the best in that game against a very good defense and looked great. They've been able to run the ball almost the whole year with two great running backs and a really good offensive line. We're going to have our hands full. We've had issues with the run at throughout the year as we know."
On rest for Matt Corral…
"The problem is it's not like there's a bye to sit him. He kind of has reaggravated it every Saturday. I think this week will be very similar to last week but hopefully eventually it's not the case."
On Sam Williams…
"We hope Sam is fine, he played great, is playing a ton of snaps. I'm sure PFF has the stat but I would not think there's a defensive lineman around the country who has played as many snaps as he has. He's got a lot of games in the 60's, some games in the 70's. He's been a warrior for us and hopefully he will be again Saturday."
On who should be the celebrity guest picker for College Gameday…
"It would be Katy Perry, that's a no brainer if you read my Twitter. I just like when things have worked before. Like when coaches come up with plays and they want to run a play. I'll say well can you show me it being run before. We'll I've seen this script before, this movie, where Katy Perry shows up and Ole Miss wins. I was on the other side of it. It worked before, let's do it again."
On Jonathan Mingo...
"I definitely think Mingo will be back. I don't know when. I kind of joked and said, 'You know with where our injuries have been, we'll be the most improved team in the world from the last game to the bowl game.' He'll be back by a bowl game at least."
On Braylon Sanders...
"I think it was good that he got in there. Nowhere near 100 percent when you watch the film. But I just thought it was critical for him to play some with the quarterback so he had some type of rhythm with him. Hopefully he'll be better this week."
On the relationship with former players...
"I think it's great. Winning solves a lot of things. So when you win, they come. It's good to have, good to see. We'll continue to build on that and keep winning and they'll come."
Players Mentioned
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DL
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