Postgame Quotes: Auburn at Mississippi State
December 12, 2020 | Football
Mississippi State Head Coach Mike Leach | Mississippi State Student-Athletes
Auburn Head Coach Gus Malzahn | Auburn Student-Athletes
Mississippi State Head Coach Mike Leach
ML: Well, I thought Auburn has a good defense, and they have most of the year. I thought we missed some opportunities. I thought that we had some self-inflicted wounds. It's almost like the worst thing happened at the worst time type of things. We'd move the ball, have a guy wide open and then all of a sudden not protect. Or, we'd protect pretty well and guys would get jammed at the line of scrimmage. I'm sure Will [Rogers] has a couple throws that he'd like to have over again. Some of those were a combination of protection and routes clearing and things like that. We just have to fight through it and improve as a team. Nobody really thought when we started this season that we'd play Auburn nearly this close ... In our case, we're kind of reeling from the disappointment of not playing as well as we could've this game.
Q: Do you have an update on Marquiss Spencer?
ML: He's moving around. Looks very positive at the hospital.
Q: You mentioned the two throws Will [Rogers] would like to have back. What did you see and what did you tell him on the sideline?
ML: He was pressured on both of them. One he flat out forced. He should've thrown it out of bounds. The other one he got hit as he was throwing it, and then there were defenders there because at the outside receiver position, we didn't clear them out of there. We got jammed and then jogged on our routes.
Q: You mentioned some routes not being run correctly but you had some big drops tonight too. How do you address that and get better?
ML: We just have to keep rolling. We're kind of thin at that group to be perfectly honest with you. It's been hit or miss. We've had good practice. We have to keep working and keep grinding away. I thought we should've been better at some of the fifty-fifty balls.
Q: What's your overall thoughts on future of this offense?
ML: I've seen steady improvement. Actually, improvement that I've been quite proud of these guys for. I was proud of how hard they played today. We have a lot of youth out there. I think they're improving, and they continue to get better.
Q: Why do you think Auburn had success getting to the quarterback?
ML: I agree with you on that. I'd have to go back and watch the film. To me, it seemed like there were individual breakdowns. It didn't seem like it was one guy. They took turns. If you take turns eight times, those are huge plays. It was unfortunate. When [the Auburn defenders] would take turns, there would be [Jaden] Walley or somebody wide open and ready for a gigantic play, but one of those interceptions [happen]. It was going to be a monster play if [Rogers] could have stepped through. The ball floated because he got hit. If he could've stepped through it, that was going to be a monster play. We had several like that, and it's almost like we took turns at the worst possible times. We had other issues too. Motivating them wasn't difficult. Playing tense and trying to make too much happen sometimes was. And, playing keep away with regard to opportunities we had out there.
Q: What has Zach Arnett meant to this defense and to what you guys have been able to do on that side of the ball this season?
ML: I think he's done a tremendous job. Our defense continues to grow as well. I think both sides of the ball for us towards the end got fatigue because we're playing with not too many guys ... As a result, we don't have quite the depth we'd like. I thought they played extremely hard. Zach [Arnett] gets a great deal out of them and brings a lot of intensity, and I think the players thrive on that.
Q: What have you been told as far as a bowl situation?
ML: It's kind of a moving target. I don't know the details on it. I don't know that it's been decided yet with regards to that. If we have a chance to play another game, no matter what form it comes in, I'd be thrilled to do it because it'd be a great opportunity for our team to work and continue to build. We had a shortened camp and of course didn't get spring ball so we want to pack in as much of that as we possibly can. That and have a game on the other end of it, all the better.
Mississippi State Student-Athletes
85 Austin Williams, WR
Q: In your eyes, what were some of the issues tonight?AW: We just have to make the plays that are expected of us. On the regular plays, we don't have to do anything extraordinary. We just need to click better. We need to execute. Each person on the field needs to execute, me included. There were just some small plays we have to make. We have to consistently make [those plays] to keep moving down the field. We have to stay on the field on third downs and keep working.
Q: It seemed like there was less rhythm than the past few weeks. Is there anything that you would attribute that to, such as Auburn's defense?
AW: Auburn's defense played hard and tough. They're a physical group. We still have to play our game. We can't let them affect us. We prepared all week for it. We just have to put it on the field. It was a lack of execution on our part. Each individual person needs to uphold it.
Q: As an older guy, what have you been impressed by with Jaden Walley?
AW: Jaden [Walley] has been doing great lately. He is a great teammate and great player on the field and off the field. He's a good kid who works hard. He does his part. He's a positive guy who has really come in to his role. He has done really well lately, but he hasn't been getting a big head about it. I think he has handled himself extremely well. The sky is the limit for him for sure.
40 Erroll Thompson, LB
Q: You became the first guy since 2002 to get 300 tackles in your career. What does it mean to you to get that milestone?ET: It's really a blessing. That was something that I looked at before the season and wanted to accomplish. I knew it would be a push with only 10 games in the season. It's really a blessing. I'm just thankful for my time here and my coaching. Coach [Zach] Arnett has put me in a great position all year to accomplish that. It's just really a great blessing.
Q: What has Coach [Zach] Arnett meant to you and the defense?
ET: He's meant everything. He's a great coach. This is a bold statement, but he is probably the best defensive coordinator that I've had. I'm willing to say that because I've played for a lot of coaches. He's just a great coach. He comes in everyday and puts the time and work in. He won't tell you that, but he really does put the work and time in. We're really just feeding off of him. We're not a finished product. There's still a long way to go.
Q: You've sort of been the constant of the defense over the past few years. How have you tried to leave your stamp on this defense and Mississippi State?
ET: Just being a guy that leads by example. When I first got here, I really didn't talk much. A lot of people will tell you that. I always tried to lead by example and be the guy who gives it my all every day without saying a lot. I've grown into the role of a vocal leader over the past few years. I want to leave my mark. I feel like I have left my mark as a guy who leads by example. I'm really thankful for that.
31 Jaden Walley, WR
Q: Were you seeing anything out there tonight that might have attributed to maybe less rhythm than the past few games?JW: They were pretty athletic. We were prepared for it. As far as effort, we did as best as we could. I think we could have cleaned a few things up.
Q: During the fall, did you know you were going to make this big of a role in the offense? I think a lot of people weren't expecting it and you've been out here breaking records.
JW: I definitely surprised myself. I come to practice and practice hard every day. I play as hard as I can. My quarterbacks give me a chance, and I take the opportunity to make the best of it.
Q: How scary was it when Marquiss [Spencer] was down on the field? What was going through your mind?
JW: I just thought we had to do it for him. He's a tough guy. He wouldn't want us to be worried about him. We just kept playing to the next play.
Auburn Head Coach Gus Malzahn
GM: First of all, on third down our guys really responded. I know they are tired of hearing "third down defense." Well, tonight they responded in a big way against a team that is pretty solid on 3rd down. And then Tank, he has done that all year. When he had that time to get injured there it kind of set him back, but he runs violently, he breaks tackles, he is very explosive. I don't think he is 100% right now and he rushed for almost 200 yards on the road against one of the best statistical defenses in our league, so I think there's a lot of good things going on with him.
Q: You mentioned Tank in that running game. Did you feel like early on, because of their numbers, you maybe gave them too much credit? You got to that running game late.
GM: Yeah, maybe we were throwing it a little bit early. We had that big holding call, going in, put us back to 2nd down and 25 or something and then we had another holding penalty we threw it to Eli [Stove], I think Seth [Williams] got a holding penalty, and we got the ball back to the three. Both of those were tough right there. We would have felt a little bit better about the first half. There was a feeling out. We did think that the longer the game went on that we are able to lean on a little bit and start getting to push and we were able to do that in the second half.
Q: Now that you've reached the finish line, playing 10 SEC games, winning six of them, what has this season meant to you?
GM: Well, I just told our team how proud that I am of those guys for the sacrifice they made to be able to play 10 SEC games, or 10 games without having a setback other than that one week. With the sacrifice they've made to play, I can't say enough great things about our players. Our team has great character, and yet we have a majority of those guys back, so I'm really excited about that.
Q: In terms of what you want to do between now and the bowl game, how do you want to handle that with your team?
GM: I want to give them about two weeks off to do nothing but relax their mind and body. It's been a physical, mental and emotional grind. Our coaches, they need a break too. We're going to relax and we're going to get ourselves refreshed, and then we'll cross that bridge when the next step happens.
Auburn Student-Athletes
29 Derick Hall, LB
Q: How big were the six sacks in the game?DH: They were tremendous. Coming in, the defensive scheme was great. We put a great game plan together to be able to fake the quarterback the best way we know how with the personnel that we have. Just being able to execute the calls that they put in front of us was huge for us to be able to fake the quarterback knowing that they are an air-raiding team. So just trying to slow down their passing game is huge.
Q: What does it mean to you to have a two-sack game in your home state?
DH: Being from Mississippi, and coming back here, having a game like this is huge. It's the will and want-to for the seniors. We didn't get to execute the way we should've last week at home, so being able to come here to Starkville and being able to put up a game like that, being able to just play for one another and playing for the seniors ending on the right note [was big].
Q: What kind of grind has it been through such an odd season?
DH: It's been a crazy grind. Just coming in on June 4th, all the way to now – that's about eight months or so just playing non-stop – being around the same guys every day, you see them more than you see family. It definitely took a physical toll playing 10-straight SEC games with COVID and everything going on around the world. Mentally, it definitely took a toll on some people, just [Coach Gus] thinking about us and knowing all the things we went through as a team, with our staff and players, it just gives us that time off to be able to relax and chill out.
4 Tank Bigsby, RB
Q: What made a difference in the fourth quarter for you guys after struggling in the first three?TB: Coach came to me and said that I had to run the ball, that they would lean on me this quarter, so I just said that I would put the team on my back and I'll just keep running until we get the victory, and that's what I did. Again, I just thank my O-line and my teammates for being there. We did it.
Q: What has this experience been like with the all-SEC schedule and the grind that you guys have had to go through?
TB: This has been the longest season ever in my life. It's been a grind: it's been a real grind to be honest with you. Nobody knows what goes on inside. They just see what goes on outside. Just being able to get through it when everyone said we weren't going to play, but we got through it. We played 10 SEC games. As a freshman, that was just different. Just being out there playing different teams in the SEC, not playing anybody outside our conference, was different. It was tough, but we got through it. With this pandemic going on, we did really well with that; our team looking out for each other. It was a hard year, but we got through it.
Q: How big was that third-down pass to get you guys going when Bo [Nix] hit Seth [Williams]?
TB: It was very big. Seth is a big playmaker. He's one of the best playmakers in this league. We look towards him and said, 'You've got to make the play.' He said, 'I've got you,' and he did that. He never fails us. When we count on him, he always comes through. Thanks to him, that play changed the game to be honest with you.
Players Mentioned
DE
/ Football
LB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
WR
/ 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