Following the open week, MSU will travel to Baton Rouge on Oct. 20 to take on No. 13 LSU at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.
Moorhead Talks Open Week Post-Practice
October 09, 2018 | Football
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State head football coach Joe Moorhead met with the media Tuesday night of the Bulldogs' open week.
Below is a full transcript of the media session.
Head coach Joe Moorhead – Press Conference
October 9, 2018
On the defensive game plan...
"Last year's and this year's defenses are both three-down and four-down fronts. There are little tweaks and a little bit of variation, but we have the utmost confidence in Coach [Bob] Shoop. His track record as a coordinator, to the places he's been. We have a very good staff on that side of the ball. I think they relate to the players well and do a good job of motivating them. They execute well on gameday. That is a result."
On senior quarterback Nick Fitzgerald...
"I would say the next step would be incremental improvement in his ability to read defenses, know where to go with the ball, and why standing in the pocket with confidence and delivering the ball accurately. I wouldn't say it is one specific thing or a couple of things. It would be coming together and a general progression in those areas."
On having a guy like senior defensive end Montez Sweat to help the offensive line prepare…
"It's awesome. Sometimes it can be a little bit of a pain. You can have a hard time getting a pass off sometime. I think iron sharpens irons, and when you have the opportunity to go against Montez, Jeffery [Simmons] and those other guys, it is sink or swim. The guys, they have to get better or they are going to get embarrassed. Going against quality players like Montez and those guys really helps develop us up front."
On the offensive line's performance...
"[It instilled confidence in] the offensive line and for everyone. You look back at the first three games. You look at Kansas State. They are normally regarded as a pretty good defense and a pretty good front. We had a lot of success moving the ball there. Obviously the next two we struggled. We didn't run it a ton, and when we did it wasn't incredibly successful. Then to come out against, and I'll say it again, a defensive front of that caliber with the players they have, how hard they play and how well they are coached and have so much success, I think they got their stinger back a little bit."
On evaluating and playing freshmen...
"We had [Aaron] Brule active this week due to some injuries. Every Monday we do that. We didn't do it this week because it was bye week. We have the [Louisiana] Tech game earmarked. The bowl game is another one, knock on wood we keep playing like we are playing. Those are the two we have allotted but injury and necessity would allow us to activate some of those in a different game."
On coaching Nick Fitzgerald...
"I think he is a very apt pupil. He is competitive and wants to know all the subtleties and nuances of the game, including the passing game. I know a lot of our attention was devoted to his development as a drop-back passer. I think he will continue to make improvements there. I think I've grown a lot in six games this year, learning about the players and what they can do and obviously learning about us as well. In times of adversity you look in the mirror not out the window. One thing we have to make sure is that it isn't about what we know it's about what they can execute."
Below is a full transcript of the media session.
Head coach Joe Moorhead – Press Conference
October 9, 2018
On the defensive game plan...
"Last year's and this year's defenses are both three-down and four-down fronts. There are little tweaks and a little bit of variation, but we have the utmost confidence in Coach [Bob] Shoop. His track record as a coordinator, to the places he's been. We have a very good staff on that side of the ball. I think they relate to the players well and do a good job of motivating them. They execute well on gameday. That is a result."
On senior quarterback Nick Fitzgerald...
"I would say the next step would be incremental improvement in his ability to read defenses, know where to go with the ball, and why standing in the pocket with confidence and delivering the ball accurately. I wouldn't say it is one specific thing or a couple of things. It would be coming together and a general progression in those areas."
On having a guy like senior defensive end Montez Sweat to help the offensive line prepare…
"It's awesome. Sometimes it can be a little bit of a pain. You can have a hard time getting a pass off sometime. I think iron sharpens irons, and when you have the opportunity to go against Montez, Jeffery [Simmons] and those other guys, it is sink or swim. The guys, they have to get better or they are going to get embarrassed. Going against quality players like Montez and those guys really helps develop us up front."
On the offensive line's performance...
"[It instilled confidence in] the offensive line and for everyone. You look back at the first three games. You look at Kansas State. They are normally regarded as a pretty good defense and a pretty good front. We had a lot of success moving the ball there. Obviously the next two we struggled. We didn't run it a ton, and when we did it wasn't incredibly successful. Then to come out against, and I'll say it again, a defensive front of that caliber with the players they have, how hard they play and how well they are coached and have so much success, I think they got their stinger back a little bit."
On evaluating and playing freshmen...
"We had [Aaron] Brule active this week due to some injuries. Every Monday we do that. We didn't do it this week because it was bye week. We have the [Louisiana] Tech game earmarked. The bowl game is another one, knock on wood we keep playing like we are playing. Those are the two we have allotted but injury and necessity would allow us to activate some of those in a different game."
On coaching Nick Fitzgerald...
"I think he is a very apt pupil. He is competitive and wants to know all the subtleties and nuances of the game, including the passing game. I know a lot of our attention was devoted to his development as a drop-back passer. I think he will continue to make improvements there. I think I've grown a lot in six games this year, learning about the players and what they can do and obviously learning about us as well. In times of adversity you look in the mirror not out the window. One thing we have to make sure is that it isn't about what we know it's about what they can execute."
Players Mentioned
QB
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