Houston Nutt Press Conference: 11.29

Nov. 29, 2010

Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt met with the media on Monday and discussed the Rebels' 2010 season.

Opening Comments:

"When you had a year like we just got through having, you start all over. You go back to the beginning and evaluate everything. It starts with myself and goes from there. I can't wait to talk to them at our team meeting this afternoon. We will talk about the road map and which way we are going. We will start work tomorrow. We will tighten up our shoes a bit better. We will pay attention to detail. There was one thing that really had an effect on us. When Bennie Abram passed away in January, it was a tough way to start our offseason. It affected us a great deal. It affected us as coaches. It was the first time we experienced that. You have a tendency to pull back a little bit after experiencing something like that. Our thoughts were with Bennie's family. We wanted to dedicate the season to him and we didn't do a very good job. I bring that up because we demand a high level of work ethic. This is only my third time to experience this. It is frustrating because this is the time you get excited about. It's right before finals. It is about getting young people a lot of work. We will miss the scrimmage time and developing those guys. Now it's more on their own. They have to take the responsibility to go to work on their own. It's what you do on your own. It is catching those extra balls, getting the pass rush and doing those things. It takes a lot of discipline. I'm excited about the guys we have coming back. I'm excited about our program. I got a call last night from my wife asking if we were going skiing in Colorado. A lot of the rumors are ridiculous. We are ready to get going, roll up our sleeves and go to work. We are excited about the future."

On coaching rumors:

"Jimmy Sexton gets a bad rap. He has more to do than worry about me. The rumors are not true. They are so far from the truth. I've had one thing on my mind since the last second ticked off, and that was how we are going to get better. You have to think about recruiting and staff. We have to evaluate everything we've done this past year. It is so easy to go on the internet and say things like "He's going there and having a press conference today." It's so untrue. It's ridiculous. Jimmy Sexton doesn't work that way. He is a professional and a great guy. He gets a bad rap. There are so many things that get thrown out there and it's sad. It's just not true."

On improvements that were made after back-to-back losing seasons at Arkansas:

"You go back to work ethic, attitude, and those players that make a complete commitment. It's not easy being a collegiate football player in the SEC. It takes love, dedication, discipline, and those are hard and meaningful words. You have to hold them accountable to the work ethic. It starts with unity. The upcoming seniors have to play their best ball. The baton goes to them. They have to do a better job of leading and we as coaches have to do a better job as well."

On staff changes:

"I've been doing a lot of thinking and soul searching. I don't know that yet. I'm still working hard in that area to look at what we've done. The thing that is tough is that this was a pretty good group for two years. Then we had a bad year and all of a sudden they're bad coaches. It's hard for me because I know these guys and I know what they're about. They are good people and good family men who are trying to make a difference in kids' lives. They didn't become bad coaches overnight. The bottom line is that we didn't have a very good year, and you have to look at everything. The one thing we have now is time because we aren't going to a bowl game. We're looking at recruiting and that is number one. We have time on our side. Evaluating our staff is the most difficult thing there is in my spot. It is much more than that. It is family and people that you know and love. It is hard to separate that and do what is best for Ole Miss. I look at it as what is best for Ole Miss and how we are going to get to Atlanta and win an SEC Championship."

On this year's defense:

"We didn't do a good job this year. That's the bottom line. We expected much better. You can point at injuries such as Kentrell Lockett. The bottom line is that we gave up too many big plays. There were times we weren't lined up and we misplayed the ball. It seems like everything that could have gone wrong went wrong this year. From every bounce to every step, it was just bad. It falls back on us coaches. It starts with me. We are going through everything, watching and evaluating and trying to make everything right and get it back to where it was and even better."

On freshmen and redshirts that played this season:

"If you look at the freshmen and redshirt freshmen that are playing, such as Patrick Junen who fought hard against a good defense, A.J. Hawkins made his first collegiate starts, Jared Duke, Evan Swindall, Jeff Scott and Charles Sawyer, they all were thrown into the fire and ended up strong. Mike Marry and Cameron Whigham played, and are going to be very good. If you look at Mississippi State, they played a lot of seniors from their previous staff. They were older players who took a lot of hits and lumps to get to where they are. If you look at how tough our league is, there will be a year where you have things you didn't expect. That is why those recruiting classes have to be in order every year. You can't slack at any time."

On Jeremiah Masoli:

"It was worth bringing him here. Number one, I think he helped us. More importantly, we helped him. He will be locked into Ole Miss for the rest of this life. I think he was an awesome leader, helped a young offensive line and helped us in the lockerroom. He did a lot of good things for Ole Miss that didn't go into the record books. I would do it again. I'm glad I got to know him and his family. My hunch was right. We thought he would do everything the right way and he has done everything we have asked him to do. He has been an excellent citizen and a good student-athlete. We are proud of him."

On the QB position moving forward:

"We have to be good. Randall Mackey and Nathan Stanley we have on campus ready to go. We will possibly sign a junior college guy and a high school guy. I think it's important to get two more guys in here ready to go. Evan Ingram has stepped up as a walk on. He has done a good job for us scout team wise. Those guys will be ready to compete and help us get going."

On the QB depth chart:

"I haven't thought about that. I think it will work itself out. It goes back to that guy that is a leader in the huddle, makes plays and gets us to the end zone on a consistent basis."

On Lockett and Powe's return status:

"I talked to Kentrell and everything looks good there. There is paperwork and things to handle medically but I feel really good about him. I will speak with Jerrell [Powe] later today when we have our first team meeting. I have not had a sit down talk with Jerrell yet."

On next year's small senior class:

"I think that is where guys like D.T. Shackelford will play big roles. This may be the first time we vote on guys for captain not on the senior level. I wish we had done that this year. There are no boundaries because the class is so small. It's the work ethic and holding them accountable. They will know if they truly love football after this season. There will only be survivors left. They will go so far that they refuse to take a step back. We are going to push them to the edge if not over. We are going to take them there."

On recruiting specific positions:

"Safeties and corners will be heavily recruited. Linebackers, defensive tackles and wide receivers will be important. There are plenty of wide receivers in this state. I'm anxious to get to these young men in their living rooms. We have extra time to recruit. Having an older guy can help us at safety and corner. We are looking for speed, playmaking and character."

On his name being thrown out for other coaching positions:

"It hasn't happened until the last three or four seasons. You go by the body of work. The thing that I have that has been a real connection for me is my relationships with Jimmy Johnson, Lou Holtz and Frank Broyles. They are going to mention my name [for open positions]. These former coaches get calls all the time. Guys that I played for and worked under are tremendous connections. They know football; know a lot of people and their opinions are respected. That is the start of it. The recent thing is quick rumors. I see it quicker now because of the internet. They jump in there and place people with it as soon as the job opens. On this last one, I know they didn't talk to any of those guys. I know that that is a rumor. Getting back to previous years, I knew they talked to guys I had relationships with."

On meeting with Pete Boone:

"I met with Pete Boone this morning. We talked about the season and lot of things about our program. We talked about everything from the training room to academics."

On player attrition:

"I don't think there will be many. Maybe a couple. I don't know for sure and I won't know until later."

On off-field issues affecting on-field performance:

"I think if you go back to the very first week there were issues about Jeremiah playing or not playing. It was a huge distraction and he didn't get to practice before the first game. We had our worst year when it came to player decision making. It goes back to leadership and starts with us as coaches. It's about people taking ownership. If you go back to Bennie Abram and go back to the issues we had starting that January morning, it has been a tough road."

On the status of suspended players:

"Melvin Harris will get going again. Rodney Scott will probably want to leave, but that is not 100 percent. Clarence Jackson will get back going in our program. He has done everything we've asked him to do. He is doing much better in school. He will still have to do some extra things for us. Brandon Sanders will probably be the same way, and we are meeting with him this week. We are still going to check on different things right now."

On recruiting more in Mississippi this season:

"It was by design, especially after evaluating those guys and getting to know them. I love the way they play, their athleticism and their character. They have us excited."

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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