Postgame Quotes: Memphis at Mississippi State

Mississippi State Head Coach Mike Leach

Q: How do you think the team played throughout the game?
ML: "I thought there were two different games [we played]. For two-thirds of the game, we played really well. I was impressed with the way we played for an opener. One-third of the game I thought [Memphis] got after us and pounded on us. They beat us on offense. They beat us on defense. The biggest thing is we need to play a complete game. I was proud of the way we came out to play after the distractions of the rain delay. [We played] more good than bad, but clearly we have plenty of work to do.

Q: How difficult was dealing with the lightning delay?
ML: "Quite a bit less difficult than I thought. Over the course of it, we had a few false alarms like, 'Okay you can go out. Well, no you can't. Maybe you can. Now you can't.' So that was kind of distracting. We handled it pretty good. We handled it better than I had expected."

Q: How important was scoring a touchdown on that opening drive?
ML: "I thought it was important. You know all drives are important. It was particularly important to our guys. It gave them some confidence for how well they can play together when everybody does their job. The confidence continued throughout the game. The defense had a really good first half. Now, we have to put it together for a full four quarters. I wish I could say we did that, but we didn't. However, we played a pretty good game."

Mississippi State Student-Athletes

#2 Will Rogers, QB

Q: How big was it to score right away to get out there, get the crowd into it and build a lead to start the game?
WR: "I mean it's huge. Obviously, every time you have the ball to score, especially first drive, you want to start the season and the game right. I thought it was huge. I think we did some really good things on the first drive. We got the ball flowing a little bit, so it's huge anytime you do that."

Q: What can you say about having 12 guys catch passes tonight with young guys and vets sharing that load tonight?
WR: "Terrific. They did an outstanding job. I don't think one guy played better than anybody else. I think we played good as a group, inside and outside receivers. There are obviously throws that I want back, and I should put it on them. You know for yards after the catch and things like that, we did a great job tonight. As a group, as a team, we have a lot of work to do. We are not where we need to be yet."

Q: What did you think about the offensive line tonight?
WR: "Terrific in every phase. I thought they run blocked really well, and I thought they pass blocked really well. In the second half, [Memphis] dialed up the blitz and got me once, but that's going to happen. That's football, and that's what I signed up for. I can't say enough about those five guys. Coach [Mason] Miller do a fantastic job preparing those guys week in and week out. We have a lot of work to do this week."

#44 Jett Johnson, LB

Q: Why were you so motivated and successful at getting to the football?
JJ: Like I always say, I am living the dream. The motivation and fire are always there. I am blessed to be able to play this game at the level we are playing. I just try to do my job as a part of the defense, and sometimes I would look up and get some tackles.

Q: Does [making the first tackle of the game] set the tone for you for the rest of the game?
JJ: I am locked in and just kind of carry the momentum throughout the game. It was cool. It popped in my head that it was the first tackle of the 2022 season. Once I get that first tackle, I get into the rhythm. It's nice to get the butterflies and nervousness out the way after the first tackle and play ball after that.

Q: How big was that stop – the interception to hold them to a field goal – in terms of maintaining momentum there?
JJ: Yeah, it's huge. We try to talk about that a lot with the sudden change. We picked up the offense, and they picked us up all night. It was nice to have their back and stop the field goal.

#7 Jo'quavious Marks, RB

Q: Was tonight's running game a matter of the offensive line firing off or was it what the defense was giving you? Why were you guys so successful running the football tonight?
JM: "We have been working on it all throughout spring and fall. The offensive line got better and the defense was giving us some good looks, so we were able to attack that."

Q: How would you assess the performance from the offensive line?
JM: "They were good. We've got another step to take. They were not perfect, but we are trying to reach perfect. We know we won't reach perfect, but we are striving to be better every week. That is our goal."

Q: How important is it to have a guy like Simeon Price to come in and give you guys a break?
JM: "It's really important. We've got really a four-headed monster in the backfield. That's really big for us, knowing that we have him and Ke'Travion Hargrove. Ke'Traveon Hargrove can come along and help us when we get tired or anything happens."

Postgame Quotes: Memphis at Mississippi State

Players Mentioned

Ke'Travion Hargrove

Jett Johnson

Jo'Quavious Marks

Simeon Price

Will Rogers

Mississippi State University Athletics

Postgame Quotes: Memphis at Mississippi State

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Players Mentioned

Ke'Travion Hargrove

Jett Johnson

Jo'Quavious Marks

Simeon Price

Will Rogers

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