Ole Miss Rebels College Football Pregame Quote, 11/04/2019

After going back and watching the tape, that was a tough loss. I hated it for the kids, they played with a good effort. The special teams really gave us a spark. I thought that was the first time, really with Elijah (Moore) making that play (big punt return), that kept us in it in the first half. Mac (Brown) did a good job of pinning them down. Defensively, the kids were flying around and gave us a chance to win the game. Offensively, they were competing. Some of the things I think Auburn inflicted, playing on the road, some of them were self-inflicted and those are the things we have to get corrected, and we will. Overall, I was pleased with the kids’ effort. Just disappointed because the object of the game is to win, and there are no moral victories.

On returning to Vaught-Hemingway Saturday:

We’re excited to get back home. It’s Military Appreciation Week for us, so we’re excited to honor the men and women of our military. It’ll be a good week to come back against New Mexico State and get a win.

On facing a winless New Mexico State team:

We have a lot of respect for those guys, and you have to respect every opponent. They throw it around a lot offensively, kind of the Washington State spread, and do a really good job of that so we’ll have our work cut out for us. The main thing for us is getting back on the practice field, going to work and focusing in on us and getting better.

On Scottie Phillips’ status:

Scottie hurt his ankle. We’ll know more tomorrow, but I’d say he is questionable. He did not practice yesterday. He may try to go tomorrow, but I’d say he is questionable.

On the two-quarterback system and keeping Plumlee in the game:

John Rhys (Plumlee), the things he can do with his legs, is keeping us in the game there. We didn’t have any turnovers in there until the last drive, and we have opportunities to win football games. I think protecting the ball is important, but we have to make some plays in the passing game to get over that hump, because we’re right there. Some of it is execution, and that goes back to coaching, like we had a third-and-five drop and some bad throws, but I think giving the kids, putting them in better situations, is up to us as coaches.

On re-evaluating the passing game plan:

It comes back to execution, going back and doing the little things right. There are some plays that can be made in the passing game, even with what we’re calling. Before you start going out and making a whole bunch of plays, you have to execute what you do. You have to go back to the fact that we’re in games and have a chance to win games, and if we execute better we will win the game.

On evaluating the two-quarterback system over the last month:

The last two games for sure we haven’t got it done, and against Missouri, same thing. It’s disappointing. Anytime you’re not winning, you always go back and look at it. But again, you have to go back and say ‘okay, we’re right there.’ We have an opportunity to win these games, and what can we do to get over the hump? It’s the attention to detail, continuing to play with effort, continuing to put yourselves in those situations, and we will get there.

On game plan changes being realistic this late in season:

As far as being schematic, you just go out there and get better at what you do. There are some plays that need to be made in the passing game. Our run game is really good, so we have to compliment that with some big plays in the passing game. It’s there, we just have to go out and execute.

On sending any plays to the conference office this week:

We did send some plays in, there’s a standard operating procedure where they give you feedback on it. There wasn’t anything that was critical or a huge game-changer.

On the wide receivers:

Some of it is Auburn is a really good defense, and they are really good on the outside. Plus, they had a good pass rush. So, some of it is protecting some young players, but some of it is execution because a couple of times there was an opportunity to get the ball in a one-on-one situation. We just have to do a better job of getting that done, but the plays are there to be made. Braylon (Sanders) made the play. There were a couple of times we tried (Jonathan) Mingo and just didn’t execute on that play. When you are playing against a really good defense, you don’t get many opportunities. When you do get those opportunities, you have to take them. When you do, you have to be able to take advantage with some big plays. When you do take those shots, you have to hit them. You can’t just miss them. That is the difference right now in winning and losing football games. The good thing is that we are not a finished product. We have a long way to go with a bunch of young players, and we are playing against the best there is in the country. To me, I know we are going to get there. We just have to continue to work and keep pushing, and we’ll get it done.

On quarterback momentum:

John Rhys (Plumlee), I think the last drive was good. We got something right there before half with the run game and the 21 personnel with two backs and a tight end. That gave them some problems and gave us a spark. Then we were able to go on that drive right before to make it a one score game. John Rhys (Plumlee) had the hot hand right there. He did a nice job getting us down the field on the last drive. We just have to make the play to win the game.

On late game passing success:

You look at everything. Some of our draw RPO game has been good with John Rhys (Plumlee) running and throwing. We’ll look at everything and evaluate it all.

On Matt Corral:

I think Matt (Corral), to his credit, has handled this really well. He has been very supportive of John Rhys (Plumlee) and has been really good through this whole thing. So, I think everybody just wants to win. Everybody is tired of just coming close. The players, that is why you hurt for them because how hard they are playing and how much they are giving. Again, we have three games left and these kids are going to show up ready to go to work. I think Matt (Corral) has been a big part of that and has been handling the situation really well. I think he has been a great teammate and has been very unselfish.

On potentially playing Kinkead Dent Saturday:

We are focused on trying to win the game. If some situations present themselves, we’ll look at trying to play people. But again, our focus is on winning the football game.

On staying motivated for New Mexico State:

I think our guys are hungry to go get better. I think that is the unique part about this team. They keep fighting and competing and working to get better each and every week. They’ll continue to do that. We have three games left that are promised to us, and we are going to go out and attack it. The best way to get the bad taste out of your mouth is to go back to work and focus on us. I think that will be critical for us this week.

On Qaadir Sheppard not coming back after the penalty:

We don’t want to have selfish penalties. He didn’t go back in because of that. We only had two penalties in the game, and it was that one and then the holding call on the last drive. Discipline and the way that we play is important. We want to make sure that the culture of this program stays that way. Qaadir (Sheppard) knows that, and he is a great young man. He’ll learn from it and move forward.