What Ole Miss head coach Matt Luke had to say on SEC Weekly Media Teleconference

OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss head coach Matt Luke participated in the weekly SEC Coaches Teleconference Wednesday morning and took questions from members of the media. Here is everything Coach Luke had to say on the call.

Luke on the Rebels’ morale at practices this week after loss to LSU:

“I think the team was obviously down knowing we had some opportunities in the game and just didn’t play very well—had too many penalties—but I think they’ve come back and gone back to work. We’ve had some injuries and had to shuffle some people around, so I think people realize they have to step up whenever guys go down, but I think practices have been good.”

Luke on self-scouting at this point in the season

“You do it weekly, but obviously as you start to get several games under your belt, there’s several tendencies that you start to look at. You have to make sure there’s not any just giveaways as far as game plan stuff or what people are looking at. You always look at what you can do better.”

“What we are looking for and searching for is that consistency that it takes to be really good in this conference. You can’t play good sometimes. There’s a lot of good things on the tape, but it’s got to be consistent and that’s what we’re working toward.”

Luke on whether he is a fan of the early signing day for recruits

“I am. I think it’s really good for young men that know where they want to go, and they can go ahead sign and not have to deal with it on into January and early February.  So, I do think it’s really good, but It’s like anything–there are some drawbacks to it where maybe some kids get forced into a decision before they’re ready. But for the most part, I do like it.”

Luke on his thoughts on LSU and Alabama

Alabama: “I think with Alabama I was just really impressed with their balance. Typically..all the years you played them, they’re really really good on defense, but I think they’re very explosive offensively and dynamic with their speed. Just impressed with their receivers—you know you’re usually always talking about their running backs. But their receivers, the freshmen, dynamic punt returner. So, Just their balance overall as a team has really impressed me.”

LSU: “You turn on the tape with LSU, and the first thing that jumped out to me was their turnovers—how good they were at protecting the football and taking it away. They’re good on all three levels on defense: D line,  linebackers, and secondary. They’ve got NFL players on all three levels, and Coach Aranda does a great job.” 

“Burrow played very, very well against us. He was able to run the ball effectively and manage the game. So…their rankings are both well deserved. But when you’re in the SEC, we’ve got more coming. There’s just a lot of good teams, but those two are very, very good.”

Luke on the penalties the Rebels committed against LSU and how to correct:

“The first thing is, that’s not us. That’s not who we are or who we’ve been. Some of it, I’m sure, was created by the atmosphere—some of the false starts, that can happen when you play on the road in a  big environment. The ones you don’t want to happen are the after-the-whistle shoving. You know, the one on Zedrick Woods was really, really close there at the end. That was really a hustle play.”

“We had seven penalties that kept drives alive, whether it was offsides or pass interference. It’s just those things that being disciplined and being consistent—it’s really important. You do discipline the ones that are selfish after the penalties. And you just have to coach and teach the ones that are technique.”

Evelyn Van Pelt

Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn’s love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.