Head Coach Ed Orgeron's Weekly Press Conference

Nov. 21, 2005

OPENING COMMENTS
I know our guys are really cranked up to have a good week of practice. This Thanksgiving week we're going to practice early in the morning and give them the afternoon and the evening off. We'll practice early Thanksgiving morning and won't be back here until Friday afternoon.

After watching the film from LSU, obviously field position hurt us. We were physical on both lines of scrimmage at times. Special teams hurt us. On kick off returns, we have to make some adjustments in personnel on what we're doing. Obviously LSU ran the ball more than I thought they would on us. We had some busts in coverage that allowed some touchdowns, which is unusual for our defense. We had some missed interceptions that we could have made and some missed opportunities that would have prevented them from scoring.

Looking at Mississippi State, obviously they're struggling a little bit but they have some talent. Jerious Norwood is an excellent back. They have one of the leading sackers in the conference on their defensive line, so we're going to prepare for a very good game.

Updating the injury situation, Mario Hill is out. Antonio Turner and Larry Kendrick are questionable. Robert Lane has a couple of injuries himself, but he should be fine. You may see Jamal Pittman playing a little tailback.

Q: Any hope of Mico (McSwain) getting to play?
A: We'll see. We'll keep on working through the week, but it doesn't look good right now.

Q: Have you ever been to Starkville before, and if so, what for?
A: No. I've never been to Starkville. I'm looking forward to going there. I realize how big of a game it is for Ole Miss and Ole Miss fans, so I'm looking forward to going down there.

Q: Talk about what we're going to have to do to bounce back from such a disappointing performance against LSU?
A: We're going to have to play great defense. We're going to have to be able to cause turnovers on defense, stop their running game, and pressure their passer. We're going to have to continue to rush their passer, and we're going to have to eliminate the mistakes we made on defense against our last couple of opponents. We're going to have to find a way to move the ball on offense and spread it out a little more. We have to play better on special teams.

Q: Can you go over what some of the scenarios for tailback could be?
A: Well, it'll probably be Robert Lane and Jamal Pittman and then Antonio Turner and Larry Kendrick towards the end of the week. We'll see if those guys are healthy, and we'll make a decision towards the end of the week.

Q: What are your thoughts on Mississippi State's freshman QB Michael Henig? What have you seen from him, since he's not a really big guy?
A: We've watched a little film. We're not through game-planning, but we've seen that they keep a lot of people in to protect. He's a short guy, so I think we can bat some balls down on him, but that's about it.

Q: Coach, would you say that Jerious Norwood is probably about the biggest threat they have, and what do you guys plan to do against him?
A: We have to tackle, we have to put eight men up in the box and be able to defend them. They have a draw play that's really unique. In fact they have a couple of plays that are really unique that we haven't seen before this year, so we have to practice them. We have to tackle him, and I don't think one guy can get him down all game. We're going to have to gang tackle him.

Q: The other night, LSU's defensive line pretty much dominated you at the line of scrimmage. What was going on and was anything happening differently on the offensive line that caused the fumbles?
A: No, not really. They were coming off the football, and our offensive linemen were getting knocked back. They stepped underneath his (Ethan Flatt) foot and tripped him. That's exactly what happened, and it happened three or four times. Those guys (LSU) are very powerful football players.

Q: Mississippi State's offensive line has not been playing well all year. What do you think you can do to capitalize on that?
A: We want to play a great game on defense, and we have an experienced front that can play well. They've played well the latter part of this year and I expect them to have a great game.

Q: How far away do you feel like you are to competing the way you would like to on the offensive line?
A: We need faster, stronger players. We're going to have to look at what we're doing on the offensive line to see if it's conducive to the guys we have. We have an overall evaluation process to go through on the line, and I'm not ready to do that.

Q: Do you feel like you're close enough to solving some of those issues with one recruit?
A: It all depends on who we get, and how good the guys are going to be. We have to get some mature young men to come in here and play in the SEC and play against the type of lines we're going to see in the SEC. So if we're able to get those guys then yes we can do it.

Q: Without any bowl games out there for either team, tell us what exactly is riding on this game with it being such a rivalry game against State?
A: A lot of pride. Whether we're going to a bowl game or not has very little to do with this game. When you go the store, you will see both a Mississippi State Bulldog and an Ole Miss Rebel there everyday. You have to live with these people everyday for a year. So it is a pride factor, and you want to win this football game.

Q: What are the effects on recruiting?
A: We are in a battle in recruiting with a lot of different schools from the south. Mississippi State is just one of them. I think it helps in recruiting to win and play well in all of our games. We have to do that against everybody, including Mississippi State.

Q: Earlier in the year, kickoff returns were pretty good. It seems to have slacked off over the last couple of games. What can you do to fix that?
A: We are going to change personnel, and maybe change the scheme. We looked at that yesterday in-depth, and we had a lot of mistakes. One guy ran through a double team, so we have to get bigger, more physical young men out there, and we have to take care of our assignments better.

Q: What is the status of the starting quarterback for Saturday?
A: Ethan Flatt will be the starting quarterback for Saturday. Micheal Spurlock will be the second team quarterback.

Q: What is the difference between Mico (McSwain) and the other running backs? Are guys just not playing as hard for them as they did for Mico?
A: Mico made a lot of plays on his own. He has unique ability. He is physical, fast, and he can change directions and make something out of nothing. I don't think we opened as many holes for Mico the whole year. He just did what he did on pure athletic ability. The other guys just don't have the type of speed that Mico has.

Q: Coach Rippon moved from the sideline to the pressbox. How helpful was that during the game, and did you notice a difference?
A: We had a lot more communication. One of the biggest disappointments was on third and twenty, we ran a three-man rush and we didn't drop back to the sticks. LSU went up on an out route and beat us. But, we had a lot more communication between he and I, and I think it will work out better in the future.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

Related Videos