TRANSCRIPT: Q&A with Matt Corral, Alex Givens, and MoMo Sanogo at SEC Media Days
After addressing local media this morning, QB Matt Corral, OL Alex Givens, and LB MoMo Sanogo took the stage to answer questions from the national media assembled in Hoover for SEC Media Days.
Freshman QB Matt Corral
On choosing to attend the University of Mississippi …
- “It’s different from where I came from in California, but it is a family oriented place. Southern hospitality is a real thing. I started to love Oxford when I first visited.”
On ability to go to a bowl game…
- “We are all coming in with that chip on our shoulders, because everyone is saying that we are young and inexperienced. I feel like we are going to surprise a lot of people this year.”
On facing the other top quarterbacks in the SEC…
- “I feel like you can’t worry so much about your competition. You just have to worry about yourself. You have to stay on the straight line and do what you are supposed to do, be the last to leave and watch film when you’re supposed to and be ready for what’s to come.”
On Assistant Coach/Offensive Coordinator Rich Rodriguez…
- “Coach Rod is a very hands on coach, he is a perfectionist, and I respond well to that type of coaching as do most of the offense.”
Matt Luke at QB in the 2019 Grove Bowl. (Photo: Petre Thomas, Ole Miss Athletics)
Senior OL Alex Givens
On expectations based on the spring …
- “It has been a really good spring. Coach Rich Rodriguez just came in with us this spring, so it has been awesome to just run his offense and get comfortable with it. The guys kind of adapted to it. A lot of conditioning goes into it, because we are a very high tempo run heavy offense, so it was a really good spring for us.”
On quarterback Matt Corral…
- “I am really excited about Matt. He stepped up as a leader this spring. As you see, he is a very feisty player, which you love to see that as an offensive lineman. He fits in with Rich Rod’s offense. Very athletic. He can run and makes good decisions. He can throw the ball. We are super excited to have him in the huddle and be a voice for us and a leader at such a young age.”
On playing on the road in the SEC …
- “Noise is a big factor for offensive line. It is hard to hear the snap counts sometimes. That is a big challenge, but you work all week. You’ve got sound throughout practice blasting in your ear, so that kind of helps out. Everyone is against you. It is just you and your team out there, so practice helps out a lot through that.”
On being the team being younger …
- “I think it doesn’t really matter what year you are as long as you step up. We’ve got a lot of athletic people, and we have a lot of depth now. We have all of our scholarships back. They’ve done a really good job recruiting so we’re really excited about everyone.”
On his goals for his senior season …
- “Go out there and do the best I can every game. Focus. Study film harder than I ever have this season. Step up and be a leader for the team. I’ve had to do that in the past because we’ve got a lot of great offensive lineman leaders in the past. This year is going to be a big year for me.”
On being able to go to the post season…
- “Week in and week out, just going out there and grind it out. Do everything you can to win that week, and don’t focus too much on the future. That’s probably the biggest thing.
Alex Givens (Photo: Peter Rocha, The Rebel Walk)
Junior LB MoMo Sanogo
On how the previous defense has motivated the new defense ….
- “The defense has been looked at as a weakness for Ole Miss, and this year, we are trying to move it into a strength and a positive. We are trying to prove everybody wrong and turn some heads.”
On what impresses him about Assistant Coach/Defensive Coordinator Mike MacIntyre….
- “His knowledge for the game, the guy is a defensive genius. I’ve been excited to be under his wing and take advantage of that.”
On what the team has been doing this season to prepare compared to other seasons….
- “I think our work ethic this summer has been exceptional. Especially compared to the last two summers I’ve been here. Everybody just has a different mindset, whether that has to do with just being tired of the current state or has to do with the bowl ban being lifted and now having that little extra thing to play for. It has definitely been a culture change shifting more towards hard work.”
On the importance of how his teammates being motivated to play in a bowl game…..
- “There’s a lot of guys that haven’t been to a bowl game. The seniors this year, they have never been to a bowl game, and we can’t sit right with that. I can’t sit right with that. I want to be able to experience that. I want to be one of those top 25 teams in the country. What you want doesn’t get you anywhere, it is what you do to get what you want. So we are trying to put in the hard work to be where we want to be and where we see ourselves.”
MoMo Sanogo (Photo: Bentley Breland, The Rebel Walk)
Jake Evans
Jake, a 2021 graduate of Ole Miss with a degree in Integrated Marketing and Communications, is from Nashville, TN. Along with his work at The Rebel Walk, Jake hosts “The Flagship Football Show” podcast. He’s also a huge fan of the Rebels, Titans, Predators, and Braves.
