Head Coach Ed Orgeron's Weekly Press Conference

We just finished practice and watched the tape of LSU.  We saw a lot of positives.  The attitude of our team throughout the game was fantastic.    We loved the competitive spirit of our team.   We fought until the last second. 

We are really pleased with the play of our special teams. Our kickoff return team was challenged after their play of last year.  Marshay Green did a fantastic job, but it was all 11 guys.  Coach (Frank) Wilson did a great job with the game plan.   On the faked punt, Coach (Hugh) Freeze called it.  He has game-planned that all year.    He’s a talented coach and has a fantastic mind for football. 

The onside kick was a great opportunity for us.  We had talked about it this summer.  It was a great situation, so we did it.  We got it, and Mico McSwain made a great play of going down there and knocking the guy back for us to get the ball. 

The blocked PAT is something we worked on. John Jerry did an excellent job.  He was determined to get the ball.  I wish we could have scooped it and scored to finish in a great style. 

There is a lot of things that we saw on film that we need to get better at, especially finishing the fourth quarter.  We needed to get at least a first down, and we didn’t.  Brandon Jenkins had a chance to scoop and score with the football, and we didn’t.  There are a lot of things that we didn’t do well in the fourth quarter. We need to finish. 

We need to move on and get ready for a tough Mississippi State team, who’s played very well. They have a very good running back in Anthony Dixon.  Last year we went down there and they got the best of us.  I have to get my team ready, and we are going to be ready.  We are going to have a great week of practice, and we look forward to finishing this season strong.

Q&A

 

Q: Talk about what you felt in that game and does it compare to the USC/UCLA rivalry?

A: I know in the state of Mississippi it is very important.  It is the game, and I completely understand that.  We’ve had to hear about it for a year.  We went down there and did not play well. We are looking forward to changing that this year.

Q: Rory (Johnson) originally signed with MSU. What is it like having him on your side now?

A:  I am very happy about that.  He’s done a fantastic job for us this year. It just shows you the battles that go on in this state in recruiting.  We are glad that we won that battle.

Q: Is there competition at QB?

A: There is always going to be competition.  Seth Adams went and did a fine job. He made some good decisions.  He moved the ball down the field. He made a good throw on third down to Mike Wallace. He made a good throw to the tight end. He didn’t make very many mistakes.  We’ll see how the week goes. Right now, Brent is the starter.

 

Q: Talk about the play of Jeremy Garrett and Peria Jerry.

A: It was good to have Jeremy and Peria Jerry going in there. They both played very well against the run. It helped having both those guys in there.

 

Q: Talk about Mississippi State.

A: I know they’re playing very well. They play tough, physical football.  The have good linebackers. I learned last year that they will come ready to play for us, and I understand that.

Q: Has there been a common theme for losing these close games?

A: Not really, I know we’re going to win those games when we’re good enough. When we get more talent and get better as a coaching staff we’re going to get those things done.

Q: Discuss Brent Schaeffer’s progress.

A: He’s done a lot of good things here. He’s trying. He’s given us effort, he’s made some big plays and he’s missed on some big plays.

Q: Do you teach your players to scoop and score.

A: We teach the scoop and score. We want to score on defense. That technique wasn’t used properly. We believe if we do scoop and score we have a chance to at least keep the ball and our momentum. 

Q: Can you talk about the improvement along the offensive line?

A: In 22 years of coaching that is the most improvement I’ve seen in a group from one year to the next. I told that to the team and coach Kehoe. He has created a great chemistry among that group. I give all the credit to him and the effort by our players.

Q: Talk about the progression of Bruce Hall.

A: He’s a playmaker. We will probably put him in different positions, maybe even at quarterback. A couple of trick plays would be nice.  He’s a good athlete and we look forward to him growing in our system.

Q: What were your expectations of Brent Schaeffer this year?

A: For us to go undefeated and him take us to the Sugar Bowl and he be the hero. That’s Ed Orgeron style thinking. I thought he would have played better than he has. For some reason or another he hasn’t. But I believe he will still be an excellent quarterback in this league.

Q: Talk about what Patrick Willis has meant to this program.

A: First of all, he’s just a great young man. He’s got a lot of character and a lot of heart. The bigger the game gets the better he gets. He makes a lot of tackles and he’s going to be hard to replace, if you can even replace a guy like that.

Q: How disappointing has this season been to Patrick?
A: I think it’s disappointing for our whole team not just him. But, I also have seen a lot of improvement. We’ve come a long way and he’s helped us do that. He’s gotten us better. If we do accomplish the goals we plan to accomplish here in the near future he’ll know he was a big part of that.

Q: How difficult will it be to get the team ready to play after such an emotional game?

A:  No problem. We had a great spirit about ourselves this morning. I think we had our best team meeting of the year this morning. We showed them on the film what we did well and what we didn’t do well. I think this team’s together. I think we have a great spirit about ourselves and I think we’ll play well Saturday.

Q: What has this senior class meant to you?

A: First they stuck around, and then they bought into the program. They’ve really helped me out. I confide in those guys a little bit. I really think they’ve turned the corner for us and have helped us come together as a team

Q: Talk about the MSU offense.

A: They’re running the ball well with Anthony Dixon, and Tony Burks is a good receiver. I know their quarterback got hurt, so we will have to deal with that. But overall I just think they’re playing better.

Q: Do you think you have a better feel for this rivalry than you did last year?

A: Yes a lot better. Going down there last year and understanding the magnitude of the game. I even learned it in recruiting. Maybe it will make this year better when we do win.

Q: What do you think this rivalry means for recruiting?

A: I think it gives you momentum in recruiting, but I think the best recruiters get the best players.

Q: Talk about Seth Adams as a quarterback.

A: He’s solid, very smart. He runs the offense the way we want it run. Obviously he doesn’t have the scrambling ability of Brent, but he does some good things. He makes good decisions and is a good leader in the huddle.

Q: What do you expect of the MSU offense?

A: I think they’ll go with their regular game plan. I think the key to their offense is the play of Tony Burks and the running of Anthony Dixon. We’ll have to play very well in the front seven. 

Q: What is your assessment of the defense from Saturday?

A: I think we played our best in defensive line play. That’s the best combination we’ve had so far.

Q: Talk about Mississippi State running back Anthony Dixon.

A: We have to tackle Dixon. He’s a big, strong, physical back. We’ll have to be prepared to tackle him.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

Related Videos