Mark Stoops Monday Press Conference
MARK STOOPS NEWS CONFERENCE
POST-OHIO, PRE-OLE MISS
SEPTEMBER 23, 2024
Opening Statement …
“It was a good victory as I mentioned the other night, I thought it was a good win. A team that we had to go beat them, we had to go play well, it wasn’t going to be just a rollover, and proud of the team the past couple weeks just the way we prepared, and locked in on our assignments, and went out and played football. Obviously, there are still mistakes, but there were a lot of good things as well. Just proud of the progress, a long way to go, and we’ll continue to work, go on the road for the first time here this week with a great challenge. Going down and playing Ole Miss, a very good football team, which I think everybody knows. Second opportunity to play two top-fives and they deserve it. Lane has done a remarkable job with this team. Everyone talks about the offense, and the tempo, and the explosive plays, which is well deserved being the number one offense in the country – 670 yards per game, 422 passing, 248 rushing. So really amazing, eye-popping statistics. They really do a great job with Lane and Charlie Wies Jr., their whole offensive staff is remarkable, they’re a very good football team offensively. They’ve got the big jump as you can tell with Pete Golding, defensively Pete being in the second year, and what they’ve done with recruiting in general, and what they’ve done in the portal they really built an unbelievable football team. So, we were just there several years ago, two years ago, and right back at it again. Will be quite the challenge, but our team will embrace that challenge and we need to just have another great week of preparation. Continue to build on the good things we are doing and some of the areas we are still falling short, we’ve got to find some answers and continue to work. With that, I will open it up.”
On the Ole Miss defense …
“They have a lot of guys. They have length up front, and they have length in the secondary, they have length just across the board. Their two outside receivers on offense go up and get it, they’re strong, along with a tough scheme. Defensively, Pete is really good, really solid, you’re going to have to earn every yard you get against them because they’re just always dialed in. They have the bodies defensively up front. Obviously, Walter Nolen is a different type of dude, he’s special, he’s a first-round guy and then all their other guys are very, very good players with good length.”
On the challenges of defending their offense …
“Well, I think the first thing with their tempo, obviously that creates a lot of stress, then you put the tempo in there with what they do. With how balanced they are, they’re commitment to running the football, and then the RPO’s (Run-pass-option) off of it. Jaxson Dart running this offense now, being so comfortable with it. They put a lot of pressure on you in the run game, you have to have numbers and then the RPO’s are there. Of course they’re play action, deception plays, they’re just well designed, they just stress you. You know the first thing is the urgency to get lined up and then get down and executing our defense. I think that’s a big deal because you have to do it, they put pressure on you every, every play. We have to have consistency in that. We’ve had these before where you play in these games and you play a lot of snaps, but I think that’s part of what they do. They want to explosive and put that constant pressure, and that’s where we just got to be dialed in and locked in at all times because the moment you’re not they’re going to hit you with a big play.”
On Jaxson Dart’s play and him flying under the radar in the SEC …
“Well, I don’t know why because of the eye-popping numbers that he has, and what he’s done, and will continue to do throughout the year. He’s another guy I think, and I’m sure, Tommy Cheek joked about how we get the opportunity to play so many top-10 teams, so like they get the opportunity to play a lot of guys that should be standing there, at the Heisman. We will get several of those guys this year, and he’s one of them. I just think he’s just special, and he’s operating at an extremely high level. Very, very comfortable, great knowledge, and you can tell the coaching that he’s getting from Lane and Charlie Weis Jr., and just the system; he’s very comfortable, and they put a lot of pressure on him.”
On experience playing in Oxford again…
“I tell you every year that every year, every game, it’s totally different, but of course familiarity is important. And we’ve been there, and some of our guys have been down there. They were freshman, and some of the guys that were down there playing a couple of years ago. But this is a new year, new challenge, but you know I hope we can play better in certain areas. I know Ole Miss is better in a lot of ways as well, to credit Lane. I mean, they’ve always been good, but I think they have really built a really special team.”
On the run game being effective without Chip and how you work him back in when he is healthy …
“Yeah, I mean we’ll see. It will depend on how comfortable we are with the practice reps, so I haven’t seen that yet, you know what I mean. So we’ll see how that goes. I mean if he’s 100%, and feeling good, can secure the football, and has strength to grip it, and all those things.”
On Jamarion Wilcox work on the field…
“Yeah, and I don’t want to crucify the young man, and act like he’s not doing things right, you know, he is. He’s working hard, it’s just harder than maturation process. We’re just, we’re here to bring young men along and get them to compete at the high level, and have the consistency that we are looking for. He’s proving that with time and we just want to continue to push him that way.”
On running backs experience without Chip…
“Yeah, I think it’s important. Most of the time you’d be very lucky to go a complete season with a running back with this schedule and not have any injuries, or anybody banged up. So you always need that depth.”
On if Daveren Rayner is out…
“Yeah, we’re going to see. There’s a possibility we may look to redshirt and get him back, let him really get his strength and body weight up to what he’s capable of. So, we’ll see. He’s played in three, he’ll have an opportunity to play in at least one more prior to the bowl game. And so, depending on how Jayvant progresses and Grant progresses and where we’re at in that position, surely it’d be great to have him back a year for now, but we are in the business of trying to win every game we can right now. We’ll try it out and see where it goes. It is not an injury right now.”
On the offensive connection progress…
“I think, week to week, you’re seeing progress in certain areas and you’re seeing areas where we’re falling short. I think that was part of it on Saturday with us, and I believe I got into that postgame, but, I wanted to improve, I wanted to get better, I wanted to start throwing the ball. Sometimes in the past you’ve seen us just grind it out and bleed out the clock and just get onto the next game. But, clearly, we’ve got work to do. And when you’ve got a quarterback and receivers who’ve got to get on the same page, throwing the ball, maybe doing some more drop-back than we necessarily would in certain situations, we’re trying to get, we’re trying to improve. And once we had that game in hand, we’re trying to improve.”
On playing in the atmosphere of Oxford…
“Whether it’s home or away, there’s distractions here as well early in the season. You’re in a great atmosphere, and as I alluded to a lot of times, it’s just the focus that it takes. Everybody’s excited, they want to win, our guys want to win, they invest a lot. It comes down to execution and who makes the plays when the game’s on the line. We’re going to play a lot of close games, so you have to make plays in incredible moments.”
On Dylan Ray’s play…
“Dylan has progressed. We trust him. He’s obviously more comfortable inside at guard than he is at tackle. So, I think that’s the best area for him. He’s been playing very well. He’s a guy that has been reliable for us, gives us everything he has, and works extremely hard. I think there’s some cohesiveness with him in there as well. I think he’s interchangeable with some of our other guys. And I think the offensive line, in general, is continuing to improve. They’ve really worked hard, they’ve taken it to heart. I think this past week, these past couple weeks, they want to be better. They’re working hard, they care, and that’s all you can ask. So, we’ve got to make sure that we’re putting them in a position to be successful.”
On JQ Hardaway, Jantzen Dunn, DJ Waller play…
“Work in progress. Again, I like their attitude, I like the way they’re working. As they see more reps, as they see more plays, they’ll grow even more. And this week will be a real challenge for them for sure. Not only with the pace and with the scheme, they have talented players and a quarterback that’s on fire, so we’ll definitely have our hands full.”
On playing Wimsatt…
“We got him some touches that we wanted to and the nice thing with him, that you saw in the game, he can throw the ball exceptionally well. I wouldn’t want to label it as a Wildcat package with him, it’s a change and gives us some variety.”
On what he has seen from Steven Soles…
“To be honest he’s a guy that is relentless and plays extremely hard and has some really good ability to rush the passer and we need that energy and that juice. The guys up front are playing really good and he is another good addition to give some pressure.”
On simulating tempo in practice…
“It is very difficult, we told you last week or postgame that we have been working to some extent but it is very hard to do that for an entire practice. You know the way these guys are, we will try different ways to stimulate that as we go good against good. That is the best way to get quality reps, but it won’t be Ole Miss plays. That is the best way to get any simulation to as how fast they go. I know Lane wants to go extremely fast, and they are going fast. They are top-five in the country, if you look at the snaps and them getting the snap off. I think that is very hard to simulate. We are try our best, we are trying, not just for this game, just in general anybody can flip tempo and our offense has worked at being officiant at tempo. Not that we are that type of team, but it takes practice, and we have been working all summer. Doesn’t mean that it’s going to lead to the simulation that we are going to see Saturday because that is a whole different level. That is what they do and they do it all the time and they are very good at it.”
On how tough it is to scout Ole Miss…
“I think obviously the nice thing for them, they are a very good football team and they have been able to do what they want. And they have worked a lot on themselves and gearing up. It doesn’t matter the competition or who they have played, they are a top team and they have played like it, that’s for sure.”
On getting younger offensive linemen snaps…
“Good, they did good. I don’t have it exactly in front of me. We believe in their talent, attitude and work ethic. They are good young guys that we need. I think they are getting to the point where we can start getting them in there against quality opponents when the game in on the line. Again, that is difficult, we know that. That is not always easy, but they are getting there.”
On dictating the game on the ground…
“I think that is who we are. Right? That’s what we do best, so that is not going to fool them. But that doesn’t mean it is going to be very easy. Again, I think Pete is absolutely one of the best defensive coordinators and they have really strong guys. They have some experience in the back and they match things up really well. For us it is about continuing to be balanced, we cannot just be one-dimensional, and that’s why, again we are working on things. Last week working on dropback, working on throwing the ball and I think just in general we have to try to find some balance. But, running the ball and being physical is all there for us.”
On if he gained confidence in the passing game…
“I did, I felt like we made some growth. We made some really good throws, I thought some guys worked really hard to get open. I think if we get more time, we can continue to improve in that area.”
On getting better pass protection…
“Again, we have tried to get shots, do you know what I mean? You play our offense, they know that shots are incorporated. So, it’s not like when people are like “oh you are not (gonna take shots down the field). Yes we are. Yes, we are trying to get the ball down the field. So, they are
Like – whatever I am done. (Laughter). I am not going to act like I am getting defensive about that, it’s just-we are. We have. We have attacked. You know what I mean? We are trying to get down the field. You go back a couple games ago, Georgia covers as good as anybody. They are really doing a good job in getting the routes off, even on Saturday with the way they rotated. Tried to hit Barion on one and he was close. We got a little tug but needs to be strong and run that and go get that and we have a shot at a homerun. We’ve taken our spots but yes, it’s important with the balance and when you take those shots and how do you protect them. Teams have done a really good job, this team will add on so the play actions are there and the backers are triggering not giving us just enough time to get it down the field on some.”
On if Ole Miss plays man defense…
“They are matching up a lot of stuff, that’s just what they do. A lot of split-safety stuff, but they will rotate down and play a lot of one-high as well, mix in man with it and a match-up zone, they do a really nice job.”
On what stands out about DeMarcus Harris…
“Big and strong, he is in the all-SEC wide receiver. I feel like to have two of them on the outsides that are both elite guys, big and strong. Can really run. They have a bunch of good wideouts. But, I think two of them are All-SEC caliber.”
On his assessment on Brock over the first four games…
“He’s getting better, and I feel like he’s getting more comfortable with every rep. He’s competing his tail off, I mean, it’s evident this past week, each and every week, whether it’s Georgia, Ohio or anybody. It doesn’t affect him. Quarterbacks will get very frustrated with the lack of time he’s had, but he deals with it and he’s a competitor and that part of it doesn’t faze him as far as far as the frustration. He’s ready to get back out there and get back in the mix, go compete. You have to love that about him.”
On Brock throwing out of the pocket…
“I thought we hit some the other day. Had a huge completion to Dane (Key). Thought we missed one, to your point, where the receiver could have came back, and maybe that was Dane on one where he could’ve came back at him, may have been a penalty anyway, but we work that, we work off schedule and he’s (Brock) not afraid to work off schedule, both pulling it down as you’ve seen, or buying time.”
On the college game adapting NFL trends defensively…
“Well, if you see a lot of our bigger plays, or chunk plays for us, are the intermediate, is what you’re talking about. We are surely trying to hit some over the top, but when that’s taken away, that’s when you’re getting those mid-level plays that are creating some explosives. With Ole Miss, they’ve done a really good job. They can take the top off and go completely over the top, but they also do a really good job of layering their stuff and climbing, creating some explosives as well. And I think with the pressure of the tempo that puts a lot of pressure on defenses on how the matchups are and where they’re at because you really have to dial in on that presnap. They go so fast a lot of times that’s when you’re kind of holding on. So, we have to do a really good job having the urgency to get lined up, get locked in and have some anticipation of what’s coming.”
On having Maxwell Harriston’s experience…
“It’s very good with him and some of the other guys. Just have to clean up vision, continue to work our zones and just anticipate some things that are going on.”
On Willie Rodriguez’s impact…
“That’s part of it, and that’s why, with him, he’s done a nice job on the dash and securing that edge. Our other guys have to do it as well. We can’t have that strong of a tendency with him. So he is a guy that’s an every-down type of player, but we have some other good tight ends as well just, he’s been more physical, he’s been securing that edge and our other guys have to as well.”
On the decision to go for it on fourth down…
“Yeah, how did that work out for me? (laughter) I bet you Coach White’s real happy because we probably get a shutout if I just kick the ball. But I am glad they are happy. (laughter)”
