MSU head coach Dan Mullen
Dan Mullen Previews MSU's Road Trip To BYU
October 10, 2016 | Football
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State head football coach Dan Mullen previewed his Bulldogs' non-conference road game at BYU at his weekly press conference on Monday.
MSU (2-3) and the Cougars (3-3) kick off at 9:21 p.m. CT/8:21 p.m. CT Friday live on ESPN and WatchESPN.com.
In addition, the Southeastern Conference announced its Oct. 22 television slate. The Bulldogs' road game at Kentucky will start at 6:30 p.m. CT live on SEC Network.
Below are quotes from Mullen's press conference:
Opening Statement
"Obviously a tough trip for us. Anytime you get a short week heading out against a good BYU team on a Friday night plus late night kick, it's a challenge, a different challenge for our guys. BYU is a handful. They are an excellent football team with a very, very aggressive defense. Guys that fly around the ball, they give you a lot of different blitz looks. (They) are a big pressure team coming at you from a lot of different angles and a lot of big moments from an explosive defense. Offensively, they have a sixth-year senior quarterback (Taysom Hill). He's battled a lot of injuries and is obviously a great winner, a great competitor. He can run, throw, beat you a lot of different ways. They have a tailback that is a big time player (Jamaal Williams) and some tough matchups at wide receiver. It's a great challenge for us against an excellent football team. We have got to get ourselves ready to go play at a very high level, execute at a high level in all three phases of the game. I think our kickers are excited to go out there and kick in Provo. I think they feel they will get a little extra pop on the ball kicking with the altitudes. It's an exciting game for kickers. "
On players adjusting to the altitude…
"I'll be honest, I don't know that it will have much of an effect on you to be perfectly honest. During the game I think it will be more in your head than anything else. I don't think it will be a big issue for our guys."
On adjusting to the short schedule with a Friday kickoff…
"Well you kind of lost a day. You know Monday, we practiced it last night for our Sunday wrap up practice. And today is Tuesday, so Monday disappeared on us. We really just lost a day. And then we are practicing that night with a late night kick so we are actually gaining a little more preparation time during the day and practicing at night"
On how to prevent the low of last week affecting a young team …
"One is they have to put it behind them. In a young team it can help in some ways and it can hurt in some ways depends on them and the leadership of our older guys. Also facing adversity, the best way I know how to deal with adversity is to get back to work. Since I've been here that has always kind of been our deal. We have faced all kinds of highs and lows in the eight years that I have been here. I'll be honest with you, when you deal with a high, you get back to work. When you deal with a low, you get back to work. That's the mindset we have had with the guys on the team."
On who he compares BYU quarterback Taysom Hill to …
"He's a unique player. Maybe like Tim Tebow in that way, he's a physical runner, a will yourself to win guy. He's not going to make dynamic plays running with the ball until all of a sudden he breaks into the open field and nobody catches him. He runs physical and you got him in the pocket and he really shows up on 3rd (down)-and-4, or the game is on the line and he just finds a way to scramble and stay alive. Sometimes he will tuck it. Sometimes he will throw a pass and beat you that way. He's got that 'it' factor as a quarterback."
On using Logan Cooke and Brad Wall on kickoffs …
"Logan Cooke had the knee issue and he didn't think he could kick off, so we had to make a change there. Our kickers, it should be easy but they have been banged up. Logan is dealing with the knee. Westin has had problems with his back, so he didn't practice the entire two weeks of the bye period. He practiced, I think, one day. We are trying to get those guys back healthy and being able to get them able to function in a game."
On the receiver's drops being mental…
"I think it can be mental in the course of one game. I don't think it is mental in the course of extended games. You look at a guy like Fred (Ross) on Saturday. He gets really frustrated with himself. He is a perfectionist. He wants to do things right and is a leader of the team, a team captain so I think he can really beat himself up and get frustrated. Like a lot of guys when you get frustrated, or see adversity you go harder. Well catching a ball is a skill. You're not going to go harder catching a ball. You're just going to do your skill. I think sometimes dropping a ball will get you so frustrated because you want to work so hard catching the ball and it can hurt you."
On memorable games at BYU that stood out when he coached at Utah …
"We had two of them that both stood out. We had that 3-0 game for the Mountain West Championship (2003). It felt like a blizzard. I'm exaggerating if you check the history books, but it felt like -20 degrees. We ended up winning 3-0. Then the next year (ESPN) College Game Day was in Utah and it was the last game I coached at Utah. We had the Fiesta Bowl and with a minute to go the entire student section was already on the field throwing tortillas. (We became) the first non-BCS team to go to a BCS bowl game."
On seeing relentless effort in the Auburn game…
"It was very similar to the effort after the game. Our effort was fine, look at the second half. We outscored them in the second half. It's not like guys just said 'I'm good.' It is learning the maximum level of strain. Guys play with great effort, but I also think there is a strain level that you have to hit. Guys have to figure out how to play at that level every snap. I watch older guys, some of them do. Younger guys, some of them do. Then when you point it out to them and you show them two plays back to back and in one of them they are going a little bit harder, in their mind they don't notice that. With a lot of younger players that happens"
On being patient with young players…
"Well we rotate lots of guys in, that's why you see it. For us, we rotate a lot of different guys on the field in a lot of different positions. We tell them we are going to watch and then decide if they get more reps. They may get more reps on special teams. I guess so many things that go unseen to a regular person watching the game. Left guard on punt is not a big celebrity position but really import one. If we didn't have a left guard out there one play, the game could probably turn pretty quickly on us. As guys learn those things and guys see it and they practice it and they go hard, we tell them they will get a few more opportunities."
On third downs offensively…
"I wish it was just one thing. If it's one thing, you can fix it. When its multiple things, you're trying to fix it's complicated. There have been a wide range of things going on. A lot of things come down to execution. There are a lot of moving parts. You have 11 guys. If 11 guys do their job every play you have the opportunity to be successful. If 10 guys do their job the right way and one messes up or goes the wrong way or doesn't use good technique or one of those things your chance for success drops dramatically. So it is that clean execution of everything that we do."
On expectations of a slower start to the season…
"You never know what to expect. The one thing I have come to learn is you can't expect anything because you never know what to expect on how guys are going to respond to situations and how guys are going to perform. I think there was certain a concern on the leadership. We have built this program and you look and there are eight senior starters were are expecting to have out on the field that we haven't had out there. Like I said, I don't know if I expected it but there were certainty a lot of questions in my mind coming in to how guys would respond. How quickly guys would develop and grasp on to roles, especially early on in the season."
On social media response towards players…
"It's noise. There is so much noise. Now everyone writes an editorial. I guess it's kind of like calling plays, right. I mean anyone can call a play that coaching stuff isn't that hard. I mean check my Twitter and editorials are not that hard, anyone can right one. The kids just have to block it out. When I was a kid I'd go play a game and my dad would say, 'Why did you do that, what did you do that for?' I would say, 'How do you know what I was doing? Were you at practice all week? You had no idea what was going on out there, you didn't even know the game plan.' When they are in that room and they are studying the film they know that they can improve, the hard part is the noise on the outside. It's tough and some guys struggle more than others and when the reality is right here, and it hits you in the face every single day. What you have to do is learn to live in the reality, and live in the real world of what is actually going on.
On this year possibly being his most challenging year…
"A few years ago was challenging I can tell you that. It's just different. Every year has its different challenges. The challenge with all the other stuff is expectations around here have changed. When I got here the expectations were if we can go to a bowl game every once in a while that would be great. That's certainly not the expectations within our program now which is great. I guess if I was in a press conference here eight years ago, we were trying to get change within the program expectations, and we have. I've been through good and bad. I remember being in a locker room my first year in Kentucky. We got a big win and it pushed our record to like 3-5. You should have seen the kids dancing in the locker room. And I tell our guys that now. The expectations of the players have changed. They have bigger expectations and pressure from the outside. Not just themselves but from themselves and the outside. Every year just brings a different challenge. Last year was a challenge, go back two years ago and we go back with the challenge of being No. 1 in America and all the challenge that that brought. Every year is just a different challenge and our job is to develop the players to their best on a Saturday."
On fans comparing this season to previous seasons …
"I don't feel that way. I'm just focused on how to go out and beat BYU this week. Now I think I have to be aware for what goes on with all the players on the outside and stuff. We have had some great years since I have been here, and we will have a lot more great years while I'm here. And this year may end up being one of those years. You never know how it's going to play out. That's the thing, we are just focusing on this week's game and proving this week. We are worried about working hard this week, executing this week. The play that we are running, right now. Today it is our preparation. Are we putting the right people in the right positions, are the guys executing at a high level, are we practicing at the level we need to improve our players all of those things? Those are things we have to worry about. If you get caught up in all that then you are a wisher not a wanter. A wanter is someone who is going to go do something and a wisher is just going to sit there and wish it gets done. "
.
MSU (2-3) and the Cougars (3-3) kick off at 9:21 p.m. CT/8:21 p.m. CT Friday live on ESPN and WatchESPN.com.
In addition, the Southeastern Conference announced its Oct. 22 television slate. The Bulldogs' road game at Kentucky will start at 6:30 p.m. CT live on SEC Network.
Below are quotes from Mullen's press conference:
Opening Statement
"Obviously a tough trip for us. Anytime you get a short week heading out against a good BYU team on a Friday night plus late night kick, it's a challenge, a different challenge for our guys. BYU is a handful. They are an excellent football team with a very, very aggressive defense. Guys that fly around the ball, they give you a lot of different blitz looks. (They) are a big pressure team coming at you from a lot of different angles and a lot of big moments from an explosive defense. Offensively, they have a sixth-year senior quarterback (Taysom Hill). He's battled a lot of injuries and is obviously a great winner, a great competitor. He can run, throw, beat you a lot of different ways. They have a tailback that is a big time player (Jamaal Williams) and some tough matchups at wide receiver. It's a great challenge for us against an excellent football team. We have got to get ourselves ready to go play at a very high level, execute at a high level in all three phases of the game. I think our kickers are excited to go out there and kick in Provo. I think they feel they will get a little extra pop on the ball kicking with the altitudes. It's an exciting game for kickers. "
On players adjusting to the altitude…
"I'll be honest, I don't know that it will have much of an effect on you to be perfectly honest. During the game I think it will be more in your head than anything else. I don't think it will be a big issue for our guys."
On adjusting to the short schedule with a Friday kickoff…
"Well you kind of lost a day. You know Monday, we practiced it last night for our Sunday wrap up practice. And today is Tuesday, so Monday disappeared on us. We really just lost a day. And then we are practicing that night with a late night kick so we are actually gaining a little more preparation time during the day and practicing at night"
On how to prevent the low of last week affecting a young team …
"One is they have to put it behind them. In a young team it can help in some ways and it can hurt in some ways depends on them and the leadership of our older guys. Also facing adversity, the best way I know how to deal with adversity is to get back to work. Since I've been here that has always kind of been our deal. We have faced all kinds of highs and lows in the eight years that I have been here. I'll be honest with you, when you deal with a high, you get back to work. When you deal with a low, you get back to work. That's the mindset we have had with the guys on the team."
On who he compares BYU quarterback Taysom Hill to …
"He's a unique player. Maybe like Tim Tebow in that way, he's a physical runner, a will yourself to win guy. He's not going to make dynamic plays running with the ball until all of a sudden he breaks into the open field and nobody catches him. He runs physical and you got him in the pocket and he really shows up on 3rd (down)-and-4, or the game is on the line and he just finds a way to scramble and stay alive. Sometimes he will tuck it. Sometimes he will throw a pass and beat you that way. He's got that 'it' factor as a quarterback."
On using Logan Cooke and Brad Wall on kickoffs …
"Logan Cooke had the knee issue and he didn't think he could kick off, so we had to make a change there. Our kickers, it should be easy but they have been banged up. Logan is dealing with the knee. Westin has had problems with his back, so he didn't practice the entire two weeks of the bye period. He practiced, I think, one day. We are trying to get those guys back healthy and being able to get them able to function in a game."
On the receiver's drops being mental…
"I think it can be mental in the course of one game. I don't think it is mental in the course of extended games. You look at a guy like Fred (Ross) on Saturday. He gets really frustrated with himself. He is a perfectionist. He wants to do things right and is a leader of the team, a team captain so I think he can really beat himself up and get frustrated. Like a lot of guys when you get frustrated, or see adversity you go harder. Well catching a ball is a skill. You're not going to go harder catching a ball. You're just going to do your skill. I think sometimes dropping a ball will get you so frustrated because you want to work so hard catching the ball and it can hurt you."
On memorable games at BYU that stood out when he coached at Utah …
"We had two of them that both stood out. We had that 3-0 game for the Mountain West Championship (2003). It felt like a blizzard. I'm exaggerating if you check the history books, but it felt like -20 degrees. We ended up winning 3-0. Then the next year (ESPN) College Game Day was in Utah and it was the last game I coached at Utah. We had the Fiesta Bowl and with a minute to go the entire student section was already on the field throwing tortillas. (We became) the first non-BCS team to go to a BCS bowl game."
On seeing relentless effort in the Auburn game…
"It was very similar to the effort after the game. Our effort was fine, look at the second half. We outscored them in the second half. It's not like guys just said 'I'm good.' It is learning the maximum level of strain. Guys play with great effort, but I also think there is a strain level that you have to hit. Guys have to figure out how to play at that level every snap. I watch older guys, some of them do. Younger guys, some of them do. Then when you point it out to them and you show them two plays back to back and in one of them they are going a little bit harder, in their mind they don't notice that. With a lot of younger players that happens"
On being patient with young players…
"Well we rotate lots of guys in, that's why you see it. For us, we rotate a lot of different guys on the field in a lot of different positions. We tell them we are going to watch and then decide if they get more reps. They may get more reps on special teams. I guess so many things that go unseen to a regular person watching the game. Left guard on punt is not a big celebrity position but really import one. If we didn't have a left guard out there one play, the game could probably turn pretty quickly on us. As guys learn those things and guys see it and they practice it and they go hard, we tell them they will get a few more opportunities."
On third downs offensively…
"I wish it was just one thing. If it's one thing, you can fix it. When its multiple things, you're trying to fix it's complicated. There have been a wide range of things going on. A lot of things come down to execution. There are a lot of moving parts. You have 11 guys. If 11 guys do their job every play you have the opportunity to be successful. If 10 guys do their job the right way and one messes up or goes the wrong way or doesn't use good technique or one of those things your chance for success drops dramatically. So it is that clean execution of everything that we do."
On expectations of a slower start to the season…
"You never know what to expect. The one thing I have come to learn is you can't expect anything because you never know what to expect on how guys are going to respond to situations and how guys are going to perform. I think there was certain a concern on the leadership. We have built this program and you look and there are eight senior starters were are expecting to have out on the field that we haven't had out there. Like I said, I don't know if I expected it but there were certainty a lot of questions in my mind coming in to how guys would respond. How quickly guys would develop and grasp on to roles, especially early on in the season."
On social media response towards players…
"It's noise. There is so much noise. Now everyone writes an editorial. I guess it's kind of like calling plays, right. I mean anyone can call a play that coaching stuff isn't that hard. I mean check my Twitter and editorials are not that hard, anyone can right one. The kids just have to block it out. When I was a kid I'd go play a game and my dad would say, 'Why did you do that, what did you do that for?' I would say, 'How do you know what I was doing? Were you at practice all week? You had no idea what was going on out there, you didn't even know the game plan.' When they are in that room and they are studying the film they know that they can improve, the hard part is the noise on the outside. It's tough and some guys struggle more than others and when the reality is right here, and it hits you in the face every single day. What you have to do is learn to live in the reality, and live in the real world of what is actually going on.
On this year possibly being his most challenging year…
"A few years ago was challenging I can tell you that. It's just different. Every year has its different challenges. The challenge with all the other stuff is expectations around here have changed. When I got here the expectations were if we can go to a bowl game every once in a while that would be great. That's certainly not the expectations within our program now which is great. I guess if I was in a press conference here eight years ago, we were trying to get change within the program expectations, and we have. I've been through good and bad. I remember being in a locker room my first year in Kentucky. We got a big win and it pushed our record to like 3-5. You should have seen the kids dancing in the locker room. And I tell our guys that now. The expectations of the players have changed. They have bigger expectations and pressure from the outside. Not just themselves but from themselves and the outside. Every year just brings a different challenge. Last year was a challenge, go back two years ago and we go back with the challenge of being No. 1 in America and all the challenge that that brought. Every year is just a different challenge and our job is to develop the players to their best on a Saturday."
On fans comparing this season to previous seasons …
"I don't feel that way. I'm just focused on how to go out and beat BYU this week. Now I think I have to be aware for what goes on with all the players on the outside and stuff. We have had some great years since I have been here, and we will have a lot more great years while I'm here. And this year may end up being one of those years. You never know how it's going to play out. That's the thing, we are just focusing on this week's game and proving this week. We are worried about working hard this week, executing this week. The play that we are running, right now. Today it is our preparation. Are we putting the right people in the right positions, are the guys executing at a high level, are we practicing at the level we need to improve our players all of those things? Those are things we have to worry about. If you get caught up in all that then you are a wisher not a wanter. A wanter is someone who is going to go do something and a wisher is just going to sit there and wish it gets done. "
.
Players Mentioned
P/K
/ Football
ATH
/ FootballFOOTBALL | 2026 Spring Practice Media Session - Jeff Lebby
Thursday, April 16
FOOTBALL | 2026 Spring Practice Media Session - Kamario Taylor
Saturday, April 11
FOOTBALL | 2026 Spring Practice Media Session - Kelley Jones
Saturday, April 11
FOOTBALL | 2026 Spring Practice Media Session - Jeff Lebby
Saturday, April 11