Everything Arkansas Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman covered in his complete press conference Monday ahead of Saturday night's game with the Ole Miss Rebels at 6:30 p.m. on the SEC Network and fuboTV.
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00:00 much different questions I did on Saturday,
00:01 but going back and look at it,
00:04 it looks like you guys really had some trouble
00:05 blocking offensive line, tied in, running back.
00:08 How do you get around that?
00:10 Well, I think-- I think we're going to look
00:18 at some different scenarios up front,
00:19 see if we can't, you know, sometimes,
00:23 you know, there's a difference in panic
00:25 and a difference in really, really reviewing
00:31 what we're trying to do and who's trying to do it.
00:36 So we may shake up the offensive line a little bit,
00:40 and, you know, you have to practice it,
00:43 so you have to see if what you think might work
00:46 works in practice.
00:49 I think that would be one way.
00:52 We got to make some guys miss at running back.
00:57 Our quarterback has to play consistent,
01:01 and we've got to be able to get open.
01:02 If you look at it, I think, offensively,
01:05 I think a lot of it's been maybe tagged on the offensive line,
01:11 and there's certainly problems there,
01:13 but there's a lot of areas that we can get better at,
01:20 and, you know, we're going to open completely up
01:25 our tight end situation and see who can play in there
01:29 because obviously we've been a little bit of musical chairs
01:31 there as well with the exception of Luke.
01:35 But we've got to do a better job coaching.
01:41 We have to do a better job with the details.
01:44 We found a positive in the penalties.
01:46 You know, we cut that down, which I think hurt us
01:50 and with some results of winning and losing.
01:55 So that was one positive,
01:59 but we all have to play better,
02:03 and we have to get some explosive plays.
02:08 You know, obviously, unfortunately,
02:10 we could have tied the game up.
02:12 You know, we just -- those plays we need,
02:16 and I think our team --
02:20 I'll have a better feel of them this afternoon,
02:23 but I've talked to a lot of the kids today,
02:26 and, you know, Trey, we went --
02:29 we lost three in a row two years ago,
02:31 bounced back pretty good, and I think we will again,
02:36 but I don't know that we can continue to do the same things
02:40 and say, "Well, we're just going to get better at them."
02:43 I think we've got to shuffle up --
02:47 shuffle some things up to maybe ignite a spark
02:52 into us a little bit because I do think
02:53 we've got good players,
02:56 and we just got to play better and coach better.
02:58 Just on those points, I mean, we --
03:00 Dominic Johnson's worked a little tight in.
03:02 I don't know if that's maybe something you mean,
03:04 but we know Kudus has played through center.
03:06 Yeah. Lemmer can play guard.
03:08 Latham can play tackle.
03:09 Are those some of the things that you're talking about?
03:10 Exactly. Yeah, exactly.
03:12 I think you hit most of them, exactly what we're doing.
03:16 You know, I think lost in this a little bit,
03:20 you know, I've been fairly pleased with our defense,
03:23 you know, you know, three turnovers,
03:26 things of that nature, so --
03:30 but offensive, I think you hit on some of the moves
03:33 that we're going to look at.
03:37 Yeah, Coach, I was wondering, with guys like Kudus
03:39 and Chambly and Manuel specifically,
03:41 what are things that maybe could happen for them
03:44 to kind of speed the game up a little bit
03:46 or even slow it down for them?
03:48 Yeah, you're right.
03:50 On the second half of that,
03:51 it's got to slow down somehow for them.
03:53 A lot of times, that's just playing experience.
03:57 Obviously, you're going to make a few more mistakes
04:01 technique-wise as well when you're younger,
04:05 but I think we have the guys, the five best,
04:12 I don't know that we have them in the correct position.
04:16 We may, but I think we're going to look at some of that
04:20 changing to maybe help them, maybe simplify it,
04:23 maybe put them by an older guy that can,
04:26 you know, help them, communicate with them,
04:28 things of that nature.
04:32 Obviously, in the first five games,
04:34 we thought we had them exactly where ball camp,
04:37 spring ball combination would be.
04:40 What happened a little bit with Dev is he didn't practice,
04:42 basically, for three or four weeks.
04:44 He got behind mentally, and so he's got to catch up.
04:50 The only way I know how to do that is he's got to rep that.
04:53 We can't move him. He's behind mentally,
04:55 so we have to keep him in that spot to me,
04:59 but some of the other guys with some veterans around them,
05:03 I think, will help him, but to answer your question,
05:08 I don't know how you speed that up without practice
05:11 and playing.
05:12 It's hard to become a sophomore when you're still a freshman,
05:16 you know, but I think it's just experience,
05:19 and they got to do something well,
05:21 and I think any confidence,
05:23 then that helps them do something again well.
05:26 And then I know you were asked about Varkey's gums
05:28 after the game, but I'm curious, with him specifically,
05:32 what is it that maybe has been,
05:33 I guess, causing him to not play as much?
05:35 I know Luke has been really good,
05:37 but I feel like, you know, transferred from North Texas,
05:39 his film was great.
05:41 What do you want to see more from him?
05:42 Yeah, his film was good, and he's a good player.
05:47 The physicality part of it, again,
05:52 his ability to make plays, he has it.
05:57 He just has to make them.
06:01 A lot of his, to be honest with you,
06:03 a lot of his non-playing was because of Luke,
06:07 because they were very similar in blocking,
06:12 but route running as far as,
06:14 you know, where their assets were.
06:18 So, I think you'll see a good player from him.
06:21 I do.
06:22 Just one that wasn't able to get on the field quite as much
06:25 because Luke was ahead of him.
06:28 Hey, just watching the second half of LSU Ole Miss.
06:30 It looks like Ole Miss attacks you inside.
06:33 They've got the edges on you.
06:34 Can you speak to maybe what you see out of their offense?
06:37 Oh, man.
06:38 Well, Darts really good.
06:40 I mean, really good.
06:43 Those two running backs are,
06:46 I think they're as good as anybody has, both of them.
06:49 I mean, they're good.
06:51 Judkins is really special.
06:55 The transfer from SMU, 24, is really good.
06:59 Kickoff returner as well.
07:02 Their line, you know, they've got three veterans,
07:05 center over right, and then they went and transferred a portal
07:09 and got a couple of good players on the offensive line.
07:13 But, you know, I think Coach, he runs the ball quite a little bit,
07:18 you know, and I would, too, if I had those,
07:21 you know, if I had them running backs,
07:23 you know, like we're trying to do.
07:26 But you see a lot of explosives.
07:30 For us to win, we're going to have to cut
07:31 those explosive plays out,
07:33 and that's for going up the middle of the field as well.
07:38 But they basically run four running plays,
07:41 it basically is what it is, and off of that,
07:43 they have either RPO or Reed from the quarterback.
07:49 And Darts a lot faster than I want him to be.
07:53 But they've got playmakers everywhere.
07:55 They've got, I think, three receivers over 300 yards
07:59 catching, and just really scary.
08:05 I mean, they're explosive.
08:07 I think we'll have a good game plan as always,
08:10 but, you know, Tight End's a good player.
08:14 I don't think he played maybe two and three,
08:17 but he's back now, and he's a good player.
08:21 This is a fan.
08:23 This series has been wild.
08:24 It's been a lot of fun game.
08:26 Yeah. What do you think of when you think of,
08:28 hey, we're about to play Ole Miss,
08:29 just kind of generally?
08:32 Well, I think the first thing you think is offense,
08:35 you know.
08:37 We've got to score a lot of points,
08:39 you know, to stay in the game.
08:42 You think of Lane Kiffin and what a,
08:46 I don't know the word, mastermind, whatever.
08:49 He's as good as the play callers there is in the game.
08:52 And so you think of those two things.
08:56 You know, Pete Golding has done a great job with their defense.
09:01 I know that, you know, obviously they gave up some points
09:07 Saturday night.
09:08 I guess that's why people like college football
09:10 and games like that.
09:11 It's incredible.
09:14 But they are much better up front
09:18 than they have been on defense,
09:20 and now they're knocking the hell out of you
09:23 from the back end.
09:25 But when you think of the series,
09:26 it's been a fun series,
09:29 and, you know, we've had some success in the series
09:32 since I've been here.
09:35 Obviously, we got Boa eligible last year playing Ole Miss,
09:40 so I have a lot of respect for him.
09:43 Playing over there at night, we did not.
09:45 The last time I was here when we lost by one,
09:48 or the last time we went over there,
09:50 it was a morning game, if I'm correct.
09:54 But I think it's going to be one hell of a game
10:00 for the fans to watch,
10:02 and we're excited to go over there.
10:06 But you think about the offense and all the points
10:09 and all the playmakers they have.
10:12 - You mentioned earlier that you were happy
10:13 with the defense for now.
10:16 What has kind of the DCs done well in their first year here?
10:22 - Well, they're getting to play sound football
10:25 and hard football.
10:28 We're giving less and less explosives.
10:31 Where we're supposed to be,
10:36 I think our guys are really taken to the fellas,
10:43 and I believe in them and things of that nature.
10:47 And I just think they're playing hard
10:50 and they're playing sound football.
10:52 And we have a few more players depth-wise
10:56 than what we had last year,
10:58 allowing us to do that, I think.
11:01 - Coach, you mentioned one more offensive line question.
11:04 You mentioned shuffling things up.
11:05 You've got some youth on the offensive line.
11:07 I know you're the head coach.
11:08 You have to worry about the whole team,
11:09 but given your background,
11:11 how much of a hands-on approach do you take with that unit?
11:14 - On the field, not a tremendous amount on the field.
11:23 Off the field, you know,
11:27 we've got a great offensive line coach,
11:29 the same one that, you know,
11:30 we had a power five in Russian two years ago,
11:33 and, you know, the same one that everybody tries to get
11:37 when the season's over with.
11:38 So off the field, I have a lot of,
11:44 of what's the word, input.
11:51 Not input.
11:53 You know, it's not counseling either.
11:55 Off the field, I have several questions
11:57 about what we're doing, how we're doing it, this, that, and other.
12:01 I wanted to be conscious that I didn't want to overstep
12:04 anybody's boundary as the offensive line coach
12:08 because we've got a really good one.
12:10 He'll get it fixed as good as anybody can,
12:15 so, but to answer your question, not a whole lot on the field.
12:19 - And then with Rocket, how close was he to 100% on Saturday,
12:23 and how has he maybe bounced back the last couple of days?
12:25 - Yeah, I don't think he was 100%.
12:28 It'd be hard for me to think, you know,
12:31 he'd be out for three games and then,
12:33 you know, be able to come in there and just --
12:35 I do think he brought a spark to the team
12:37 as far as being back and all those type things,
12:40 but I think if you watch the game,
12:43 I don't think you would think that he was at 100%.
12:46 Still got a little fluid there,
12:50 but he'll obviously better this week than he was last week,
12:54 and, but, you know, he went out there
12:57 and played hard and all those things,
12:59 but I don't think he was the old Rocket yet,
13:02 but I think he certainly will get there.
13:05 - And do you have any updates on maybe Newtie, Morgan?
13:09 I don't think Jashod Stewart traveled either.
13:10 Do you have some updates on those guys?
13:11 - Yeah, Stu's got a growing issue,
13:16 so I don't know if he'll be back or not.
13:19 Newtie, there's a possibility,
13:22 but I don't think he'll practice today,
13:27 and he said somebody else.
13:30 John, you know, that's great news.
13:32 I mean, John, talked to him Saturday night.
13:36 When we got back, he was in great spirits.
13:42 He had another test this afternoon
13:45 that I haven't heard the results of that yet,
13:47 but, or is having one this afternoon,
13:51 that the results that way, he hadn't had the test,
13:53 so how could you get the results?
13:55 And then, but he's in great spirits.
14:01 Honestly, I think he got hit right here,
14:04 and like a punch, you know, and, but I think he's,
14:10 I would think that he would have an opportunity
14:12 to play this week.
14:13 - Sam, you know, Dart, obviously,
14:18 everybody thinks about him as a pass.
14:19 When he ran for 50 yards, I don't know if you saw this play,
14:21 but he, like, hurdled over a guy,
14:24 and I'm thinking, man, I don't know
14:25 how my quarterback's doing that or not.
14:26 I don't know what you think about his run,
14:27 and he did that, and then Isaiah,
14:29 he's obviously, you know, literally is a hurdler in track.
14:32 What'd you think of that move he did,
14:34 or would you rather not have a guy do that,
14:35 maybe put himself in a bad spot to get hit,
14:38 you know, in the wrong spot?
14:40 - Well, Dart, like I said before, he's fast, you know,
14:44 and, you know, Ole Miss,
14:47 they look like they're having fun, you know,
14:48 and he's jumping over people, and to answer your question,
14:52 I've seen every play they've had this year,
14:55 offense, defense especially,
14:57 so I've seen them, so I look a little tired,
15:01 but, yeah, he's, the thing about him is he,
15:06 you know, he's a great passer,
15:09 but he's just fast and athletic.
15:12 Isaiah's, you know, and if I woulda, coulda, shoulda,
15:17 he lands on his feet, he just lands on his feet
15:20 without the ball, his knee actually
15:21 knocked the ball out of his hand.
15:24 If he's, if he lands, if he has the ball in his hand,
15:27 he may still be running, you know,
15:29 so I really like what he's brought to us.
15:33 I know he had a little bit of ball issue on Saturday,
15:38 but we're not gonna give up on him.
15:40 I think he brings a lot to us,
15:42 and I really like his athleticism.
15:46 He's one of them guys that wants to do that,
15:49 you know what I mean, and you gotta find a guy
15:50 that really wants to do that,
15:53 and like Smith, you know, like he does at A&M, so.
15:58 - And then, you know, Alabama, Ole Miss only scored 10
16:02 against Alabama, and a lot of that has to do with Alabama,
16:04 where they're playing and all that,
16:05 but it seemed like Kevin took a lot of heat,
16:07 and the next week they come back, and they just, you know,
16:10 55, and you just mentioned you saw the play,
16:12 what'd you see that was different,
16:14 obviously different opponents,
16:15 what'd you see that was maybe different from them,
16:18 from the Alabama to the LSU game?
16:21 - Well, I think schematically as well.
16:23 I think schematically there was two different schemes ran,
16:27 two different coverages, things of that nature.
16:30 Alabama's front four, their two ends,
16:35 had put quite a little bit of pressure,
16:37 and, you know, they couldn't run the ball quite as well
16:42 as they did against LSU.
16:44 LSU, you know, they had success.
16:49 It's hard to stop somebody if they're having success
16:52 both in the run and the pass, you know,
16:54 you got to make them one-dimensional,
16:56 and I think Alabama maybe had an opportunity
17:01 to do that a little bit more, you know,
17:03 but here's the bottom line.
17:06 They missed some plays against Alabama,
17:09 or that game could have been different, too,
17:12 because they had some guys, and they just, you know,
17:16 things they hit against LSU,
17:17 they just missed against Alabama,
17:21 but Alabama, you know, they've been playing that defense
17:24 for a long time, and they've got big physical guys,
17:28 and I just think the difference was
17:31 is they weren't able to run the ball quite as well
17:34 as they did against LSU,
17:35 and then, you know, they didn't quite hold up as well
17:42 against Alabama's front four as they did against LSU,
17:46 which allowed Daniel's--
17:51 excuse me, which allowed the guard opportunities
17:54 to make some plays.
17:56 Coach, on the tight end point, do you foresee on Saturday,
18:00 do you see Gums getting the majority of reps with the ones?
18:02 Do you see it sort of being a by-committee
18:04 sort of situation? How do you see that going?
18:06 Yeah, I think what we're going to do--
18:08 that's a good question. I think what we're going to do
18:10 is we're going to play two of them
18:15 with the first group and two of them with the second group,
18:18 and we're going to let them battle it out
18:19 and figure out who it is on Saturday.
18:22 To be perfectly honest with you,
18:23 I don't think there's any of them
18:25 that have really excelled over the other guy
18:28 or anything like that.
18:29 You have two different types of guys.
18:31 You know, you have Washington and Gums,
18:32 and then you have Bax and Francis.
18:35 You know, they're kind of over here,
18:38 and they're kind of over here, so we're just going to let them
18:41 battle it out this week and get them all the equal amount
18:44 of reps and see who we're going to throw out there first.
18:47 Obviously, it's impossible to completely replace
18:50 Luke's production, but you did talk in the offseason
18:52 about how deep this group is, a couple transfers.
18:54 What have you seen from the group as a whole
18:56 that gives you confidence that at least it'll be an asset
18:59 for KJ moving forward?
19:01 Yeah, and I think, you know, you look at Gums and Tyrus,
19:05 those guys are-- Luke has his type-ish, you know,
19:10 if you go that direction.
19:15 So one of those two guys, and I believe that they can.
19:18 I mean, I don't-- obviously, Luke was a first-team guy,
19:22 so we felt like he was the best item that we had.
19:27 But I do think our depth is better
19:30 than what it was a year ago,
19:31 and we'll certainly find out, I guess, Saturday,
19:34 but I feel confident in the group.
19:36 Sam, you talked in the preseason about KJ
19:39 being a leader of the team, not just the offense.
19:42 I'm just curious how you've seen him kind of respond
19:45 to the adversity the last few weeks.
19:46 Just how's he interacting with guys behind the scenes?
19:48 He's been great.
19:51 You know, KJ's been here before.
19:53 I remember-- I don't think you'll mind me sharing--
19:59 it was after the LSU game,
20:01 and I was just talking about we got to stay together.
20:05 We got to get better.
20:06 And when I got through, he said,
20:11 "Coach, we've been here before."
20:13 And it made me feel good, like we've lost two games
20:17 in a row before, and we've come back.
20:19 And he said it in front of the team.
20:21 So our team, I think, is resilient.
20:27 I believe they are, and we'll find out as the weeks keep going.
20:31 But we've got a lot of football left,
20:33 and to be honest with you, we need one.
20:35 We need to get one, and then that'll help us
20:39 in the summer, but we need to find a win.
20:43 And obviously, we're going to try like hell on Saturday.
20:48 Looking at the schematics versus physicality
20:50 on the offensive push, what do you think the mix is
20:54 on what you might have to change schematically
20:56 versus how much more physical you might need to be?
20:59 Well, I think physicality is something
21:07 that we certainly have to,
21:09 and we have been addressing.
21:13 Schematics, I think you can stay with your base run package,
21:19 but you've got to have something that when you call it,
21:25 that you think you can get a touchdown, you can get 20,
21:27 you can get something off of maybe a similar look
21:31 that comes off of it.
21:35 A little bit more LSU-ish that we tried to do some things there.
21:41 But I think, obviously, we're still running stretch,
21:48 and we ran it well for three years in a row,
21:54 and sometimes we are, sometimes we're not.
21:57 I went back and looked at last year's game and that game.
22:00 Sometimes we did, sometimes we didn't.
22:03 But when we did, we went 50.
22:05 You know, we went 30.
22:07 We went, I mean, we went.
22:10 And for whatever reason,
22:13 whether we're not straining hard enough,
22:15 not getting on second level, whatever,
22:16 we're not having those plays.
22:18 You know, AJ did it, I think, against BYU, you know,
22:21 and other than that, we're just - we're not doing it.
22:24 So it's got to either be the strain,
22:26 the physicality, or the position that the kids are playing.
22:31 So we're going to move it around a little bit.
22:35 And then I've got to ask you about Teslaw the other night,
22:38 maybe five targets.
22:39 Yeah.
22:41 Is the separation thing an issue, or is he getting out?
22:44 I'll tell you. I'll be honest with you.
22:46 You know, guys, a couple things.
22:48 Let me answer the question, and I'll tell you a couple things.
22:51 One, if your quarterback doesn't have time to throw it,
22:59 that's going to affect all your numbers as your receivers,
23:04 whether you've got Traylon Burks out there
23:06 or whether you don't.
23:08 If you're nervous
23:11 or you're having to do too much in the pocket,
23:15 you're not going to be able to get the ball to Burks.
23:17 You know what I mean?
23:19 We have had that conversation about Teslaw
23:22 because we moved him to slot.
23:25 And my question was, did that hurt his production?
23:28 And then I go back and I look at it.
23:30 I don't think so.
23:31 I think more what's hurting those guys
23:34 is just time to get the ball to him
23:38 because I think he's still getting open.
23:40 It's just, "Oh, you should throw that."
23:42 Well, that's easy to say unless you've got 500,
23:45 300 pounders coming, getting close to you.
23:49 Oh, and the other thing I was going to say, too,
23:53 is when we go in after a game and we --
23:59 don't be nervous.
24:02 When we go in after a game, I want you to know something
24:05 that I'm trying to answer your questions,
24:08 but where I don't see it.
24:11 Like, in other words, I haven't had the replay of it.
24:16 I see it one time, and I'm on the field,
24:19 so I'm looking way over.
24:20 Sometimes I don't see it.
24:22 You know, they say the old coach speak.
24:24 You know, he coaches and coach speak.
24:25 I think that came because you don't want to seem like a dummy
24:30 and say, "Well, I didn't see it," you know?
24:33 But you go, "Oh, well, you know, so you make up something."
24:36 You know what I mean?
24:37 And so sometimes when we come in after a game,
24:40 it's hard to answer all the questions
24:42 because some of it I just don't know.
24:45 Or maybe I just say, "I don't know.
24:48 I didn't see it," you know?
24:50 But you all get a chance to see it on replay.
24:53 You know what I'm saying.
24:54 And I don't know why I said that, but I did.
25:01 Sam, on the two long punt returns by A&M,
25:04 Fletcher punted it 60-plus yards.
25:07 Was that more -- With those,
25:09 do you have to, like, have him dial it back a little bit,
25:11 or do you need to tell the coverage unit
25:12 to get down there faster?
25:13 What's the balance there?
25:14 Another good conversation that we had and we have had.
25:18 Now, it didn't hurt us until that night.
25:20 He was boom-booming to a really good punt returner.
25:24 And we knew it.
25:26 First of all, we thought that we could win at the Gunners
25:30 and be close.
25:31 Now, not five yards, not two yards close.
25:35 We knew we was going to have a 10-yard cushion,
25:37 but we did feel comfortable
25:39 that we could get him on the ground.
25:42 I think there's two-fold.
25:47 You tell Max to kick it out of bounds,
25:51 or you tell him to take something off.
25:54 We've all seen taking something off don't work.
25:59 That's not his deal.
26:02 So I went back and just said,
26:03 "Hey, Max, kick the damn thing as far as you can kick it.
26:07 We'll cover it. Put it in the zone.
26:10 Don't put it in the middle of the field,"
26:11 things of that nature.
26:13 And it stung us.
26:14 The other night, we are going to look into
26:18 if we feel like we've got a dangerous guy back there
26:21 looking to kick it out of bounds,
26:23 but then you also have that problem
26:25 with taking something off of it, kicking it out of bounds.
26:28 What's out of bounds is at 12 yards,
26:31 you know, things of that nature.
26:32 So we've got to really work on that
26:35 and see if we can get consistent with --
26:38 you know, because before,
26:40 we're just now getting consistent,
26:42 punting it, you know what I mean,
26:44 and doing a really good job.
26:46 So there's a little bit of that going on.
26:51 I know Saturday was obviously no time to celebrate,
26:54 but KJ did set two career records.
26:56 Is that -- just wondering your thoughts on that,
26:58 and is that something maybe today you acknowledge
27:00 that in front of the team, or do you just move on
27:02 like it was a crappy game?
27:03 Or how do you approach that?
27:06 Probably not, nor do I -- but that's not --
27:13 you know, things have changed a little bit about social media
27:16 because all the kids know it.
27:18 You know, if they're on any type of --
27:21 they already know it, you know what I mean?
27:23 And that was Saturday, and now it's Monday.
27:25 And, you know, I'm really weird about awards
27:30 and all that kind of stuff, records, all that.
27:32 You know, obviously, if I would have --
27:36 if we'd have won or something like that,
27:38 or you know what I mean, in the locker room or something,
27:41 that would have been a really special moment.
27:42 But I had forgot all about it, to be honest with you.
27:47 But it's really a great --
27:49 you got to stay healthy for a long period of time,
27:51 and you got to be a good player to set any type of record.
27:55 And I'm real happy for him,
27:58 and I hope he puts it so far out there
28:00 that the next guy's got a long way to go to catch it.
28:03 But I'm really happy for him.
28:05 Coach, you've mentioned explosive plays
28:07 a couple times,
28:08 both in Ole Miss's ability to make them
28:10 and your defense's growing ability to stop them.
28:13 Are you confident with where your defense is at
28:16 to be able to limit those big plays coming up on Saturday?
28:19 Yes, I am, against a really good offensive team.
28:22 And that may be limited to five, might be limited to three.
28:26 It may be -- they're going to get some.
28:29 I mean, you know it, I know it, everybody knows it.
28:32 You know what I mean.
28:33 But it can't be 10, it can't be 12, it can't be --
28:36 I mean, can't let them get behind us.
28:39 You know, LSU obviously did, you know.
28:42 And if we -- yes, to answer your question, I'm very confident
28:49 in our defense,
28:50 and I think they're making huge strides
28:55 as the season goes on.
28:57 You know, maybe Lane has revolutionized
28:59 blending coaching with social media awareness.
29:04 What are you -- just your take on that?
29:06 He's great at it.
29:07 You know, I look at Coach Kiffin in that as he just doesn't care.
29:12 I mean, I don't know, I can't speak for the man,
29:15 but I mean, if he -- somebody says something,
29:17 he'll come right back on.
29:19 I bet it don't bother him an ounce.
29:20 If he wants to make a joke on there about something,
29:24 I think he's special.
29:27 I mean, he has a special gift there
29:29 that I don't think it bothers him.
29:32 And it might, I don't want to speak for him.
29:35 But Mike Leach, he had a special gift of after the game.
29:52 Whether he won or lost, I mean, he was like,
29:56 "Well, we prepared."
29:57 I don't know what he was inside, but it was like,
30:00 "Well, we prepared, we did the best we could."
30:02 And that government saying, "When Mr. Phil go,
30:07 I'm going to go on social media and say it's open tryouts."
30:10 You know what I mean?
30:11 And he just had a gift.
30:14 And I would watch him when I watched TV coming off,
30:19 and after losses, I mean, he'd be so nice, you know?
30:23 And I mean, we're all nice, but you know what I mean?
30:25 Like, genuine, happy for you, all this,
30:29 we got to play better, whatever it might be.
30:32 To me, Lane's got that same ability with social media.
30:36 And instead of fighting it, he just goes with it.
30:41 And, you know, obviously, I wish I had that ability.
30:45 I don't.
30:47 But I respect how he handles all that.
30:51 And, you know, he takes some jabs and things of that nature,
30:54 and I think it's all in good nature, though.
30:56 You have it with us.
30:59 You have that ability with us.
31:01 Thank you.
31:02 KJ, obviously, two years ago,
31:04 he went back and he had a hell of a game.
31:06 Just maybe, do you think this kind of means something
31:08 to him, being that close?
31:10 Well, I'm sure it does.
31:12 I mean, you know, I think everybody in life
31:16 needs a little bit of motivation, you know,
31:18 to get to whatever you need to get.
31:23 But I think this, you know, obviously a big deal going back.
31:27 Last time we were down there, we just didn't quite get it done.
31:29 But it sure wasn't because of him.
31:33 If I look back in my --
31:35 probably going on four now, in my four years,
31:39 there's a couple games sticking out.
31:40 One was Missouri, his very first time.
31:44 We lost.
31:46 And then the next one was Ole Miss.
31:49 We lost that one, too.
31:51 It wasn't because of KJ.
31:53 You know, he was outstanding.
31:56 And we'll get rolling.
31:59 I believe in this team and I believe in our coaching staff.
32:04 And I'm really excited to get over to Ole Miss,
32:07 see what happens Saturday night.