Mississippi State opened the season with a 34-17 win over Southern Miss in Hattiesburg on Saturday. Afterwards head coach Jeff Lebby met with the media to discuss the season-opening win: Q: Your thoughts on the overall performance of your team?Lebby: We’ve talked non-stop about August 30th and winning the opener and being 1-0. So proud […]
Mississippi State opened the season with a 34-17 win over Southern Miss in Hattiesburg on Saturday. Afterwards head coach Jeff Lebby met with the media to discuss the season-opening win:
Q: Your thoughts on the overall performance of your team?
Lebby: We’ve talked non-stop about August 30th and winning the opener and being 1-0. So proud of that, proud being able to come down here on the road in a really good environment and find a way to win. The struggle early, to me, was a lot of what we were doing from a penalty standpoint, throwing a pick on the second drive. I think my biggest takeaway was how we ended the half and how we started the third quarter. So if we can continue to do that, playing great football, playing complimentary football, that is going to give us a chance. It’s just like I told the guys. We’ve got a ton to work on. We’ve got a ton to look at to clean up. But 6:30, Davis Wade, it is going to be a fun night.
Q: What did you think about the second-half execution and what was your message to the guys?
Lebby: Sat there and watched the tape on the iPad and we were obviously making adjustments at halftime. It was us, without a doubt. Guys did a really nice job of dialing in when things didn’t go our way in the second half. With penalties, we’ve got to take that completely out of the game. That is going to stop us and is huge for us moving forward. But just glad of the response and I thought that was really good.
Q: We saw KaMario Taylor come in with goal-line situations. Do you anticipate using him there moving forward?
Lebby: There will be some form of that just like there was, obviously, today. We will see how that thing grows and see whatever he can handle and be able to go add to that. For him on those first two carries and the first down and then went and scored, which again was frustrating. But we will see how much he can handle on that.
Q: Three scoring drives to start the second half. What did you notice there to where you thought you would have success?
Lebby: Again, our guys did not panic at all. I think the nice thing is Blake (Shapen) and some of his wideouts have played a bunch of football. They understand it is hard to go score every time you get the football but that is our goal. If we can clean things up and get out of our own way, we have the people to go execute. That was the message and that was the message from the guys and we were able to get that done.
Q: You changed out right tackle in the second half with Albert Reese. Was Blake Steen hurt?
Lebby: Yes. We lost Blake there late in the second quarter.
Q: How do you feel the line did after those changes?
Lebby: We will go back and watch it. We’ve got to play cleaner up front and there’s no question about that. We had some issues. Some of the negative plays that showed up, we’ve got to be able to take that out of our game. The 2nd and 16 and the false starts or whatever they are. That’s going to be huge for us this next week.
Q: What did you think about the defense and how they handled most of the game?
Lebby: I thought we found a way to play really good football in the red zone. We found a way to get off the field when we needed to. Again, I don’t like how the game ended. For us, it was about creating depth. Every single defensive player that made the trip played today. I love that for a bunch of our young guys, for a bunch of our special teams players. Those guys got to play that entire last drive. I don’t like the result of it but there’s going to be growth because of it.
Q: With KaMario playing today, was that something you looked at?
Lebby: Yeah, like we talked about a second ago, he’s going to have a chance to do some stuff for us, situationally. It all depends on how much he can handle to see where that thing goes.
Q: You had a couple of touchdowns called back due to penalties. Is that still something you can take away from being able to have those successful plays?
Lebby: It is but like I mentioned, we got to learn lessons right now and understand the people we are going to play later on in the season, that is going to become an issue if we don’t that out of our game. We got to score now and get rid of all that.
Q: How did you think the cornerbacks performed?
Lebby: Competed really well. Both guys (Kelley Jones and DeAgo Brumfield) did. They played well and I look for them to have this huge amount of growth here over these next couple of weeks. Those guys getting on the field, DeAgo hasn’t played a bunch here, obviously just four games last year. Then Kelley is just starting to come on. Excited about Jayven (Williams) and where he’s at and where he’s going as much as anything. We are going to need all three of those guys to play good football.
Q: Any update on Blake Steen, Luke Work and Jet Jefferson?
Lebby: No but we will get into it. I feel good about having Luke next week. Blake and Jet, we’re not there yet and we will have to get in and see exactly where it’s at.
Q: You were able to shut down their run game today. Was that something you emphasize today?
Lebby: We needed to find a way to make them one-dimensional. Their run game, really, their quarterback made some plays scrambling and he made a couple of plays on some draws. But their designed run game, I thought we did a nice job of fitting up.
Q: Your thoughts on the defensive line?
Lebby: We are going to need that and will continue to need that. We need that every single week from those guys and we are going to need more of it from a bunch of guys, creating negatives and putting the other side of the ball in bad positions and situations so we can take advantage of it.
Q: When do you guys turn the page and focus on Arizona State?
Lebby: So our guys, tomorrow they are off, check in for some treatment and we will have lunch. Then Monday morning is when we will get together and clean the tape. Obviously, we will start game planning as a staff tomorrow on Arizona State and roll from there.
Q: You said earlier you had a lot of confidence in Kyle Ferrie and he kicked one from 55 yards today.
Lebby: Yeah, school record, stadium record. Was excited to see him go do exactly what he’s done in practice. That was good and can create a weapon for us and is going to be big for us.
Q: Your thoughts on playing on the road at Southern Miss?
Lebby: We were excited about the opportunity to play in the state. I think it’s great for both fanbases. There’s obviously a ton of recruiting down here so that was a big piece of it, as well. Then obviously, finding a way to go win was good.
Q: After the struggles last year, how big was it to get that kind of win today?
Lebby: It was. It was huge for our confidence but really, the guys have the ability to go out and play fast and to make plays. That was stressed to those guys all week long. We’ve got a ton to clean up, a ton to work on. But a really good starting point.
Category: General Sports
