Monday Presser Transcript: Everything Coach Lane Kiffin said as the Rebels enter Alabama week

OXFORD, Miss. – (Release) Ole Miss head football coach Lane Kiffin met with the media Monday to recap the 48-23 home victory against Georgia Tech and to preview this weekend’s conference opener at No. 13 Alabama. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT at Bryant-Denny Stadium and on CBS. A transcript can be found below.

Opening statement:

“Good start to the week. I think guys understand the magnitude of this game, understand we made a lot of mistakes last week and there’s a lot of things we need to improve on. As I mentioned, we’re going into an extremely hard place to play. It’s an ultra-talented football team, so we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us. It’s good that we looked a little better health-wise out there today. Good to get Tre [Harris] out there and [Caden] Prieskorn out there. I’m sure Jaxson [Dart] feels good about that.”

On preparing for the starting Alabama quarterback will play:

“That’s a unique challenge, one that I don’t think you ever face normally. Normally it’s two [quarterbacks], not three. That’s challenging because obviously one of the three is very different from the other two. But we’ve got to be ready for whoever plays. We’ve got to work on ourselves first and got to be better on defense. We did not play very good Saturday.”

On Alabama offense looking different than in recent years:

“A little bit. I think that’s a little hard to say just because they’re trying to figure out the quarterback. Anytime you’re trying to do that with different quarterbacks, that’s a work in progress. I’m sure they’ll work it out. Previous games don’t mean anything year to year or week to week. You see that in college football all the time. In the NFL, teams play each other twice and the same team doesn’t always win twice. Every week is different. Just because these guys struggled down in a non-conference game and they’re not used to playing in some weather issues means nothing about the way that they play in the SEC at home.” 

On appreciation for Alabama head coach Nick Saban:

“I think that sometimes with time those things happen, that you continue to be appreciative for the opportunity that he gave. Not only that, people give people opportunities all the time, but also the things that I learned from him defensively. The things I learned from him are organization and discipline. I’m extremely grateful to him and he really helped me at a really challenging time in my life. They kind of say sometimes, ‘You don’t really figure out yourself until you’re torn down and have to rebuild yourself.’ I’m grateful for him being part of that process.”

On approach to the game as a former Nick Saban assistant:

“I don’t think about it that way. Seems like whoever leaves him ends up taking some coach’s position at some point. There’s always kind of intertwined things and we’ll still communicate within the office and stuff. I don’t really overthink that because I don’t make the plays. We’ve got a lot of coaches and players that do that. I don’t really put anything extra into that, just have to prepare for an opponent that’s got great players. I was thinking this morning, [Suntarine] Perkins is probably the only player on our roster they wanted. If you look at it that way, 85 draft picks and we took who they didn’t want. You got to go there and play against that. You got to be really well prepared and get some breaks. You got to really scheme things up just to have a chance.”

On defensive struggles against Georgia Tech:

“I thought Georgia Tech did a good job. I could be wrong, but I think they’re going to be good offensively throughout the year. They were number one in the ACC coming in through two weeks. They’re much improved. Their coaching staff has really, schematically, done a good job. They took the Texas A&M quarterback and he looks like a brand-new player. I think they’re going to move the ball on a lot of people, but we’ve got to play better.”

On Zamari Walton’s injury:

“I would anticipate him being fine.”

On pressure Alabama faces losing early in the season:

“You guys hear me talk about what’s bad is good and what’s good is bad. What you think is one thing can be the other, and sometimes that’s what happens. Sometimes you lose early. I think in my three years there, we only lost at home one time and that was Ole Miss. Sometimes that can kind of humble the team and can reset things. You see that often. People have a loss early, people start discounting them. All of a sudden, they start playing better and fix their issues. Versus, sometimes you don’t play well but you win games and you can push through things that are issues that are going to show up later if you don’t fix.”

On difficulties of going through coordinators:

“It’s really challenging. We’ve had a lot of turnover here with guys getting different jobs and having to reset structure-wise offense and defense positions. Saban has done it better than anybody over time and really speaks to why he’s the best coach in the history of college football and maybe in all of sports. To be in the time of scholarship limitations, which the old coaches didn’t deal with. I just told you he’s got 85 players we couldn’t get, what if he had 150 like they used to? The staffs now move so much. He’s been able to work through that like no one ever has, that’s why he’s the best. It’s really amazing what he does.”

On comments about Alabama’s cornerback coach Travaris Robinson:

“I was asked the question what was it like going against [Kevin] Steele’s defense. I wasn’t really trying to start this big thing. We saw things on the TV copy just where it was different. First off what the play looked like and the calls and stuff. We looked into that further. It’s not a secret that people in these buildings know each other, so we obviously got some information that way too. It is what it is, kind of like the quarterbacks. You prepare for a different quarterback, you prepare for a different playcaller. We’ve got game film of that. I’m not sure whatever transpired after Texas, but we’re going to have our hands full no matter what.”

On challenges Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe brings:

“I think you’re good at asking those questions you know the answer to. He’s hard to catch, hard to tackle, hard to bring down. He can run physically too, so he’s a big challenge as you saw early in the season.”

On support for Braden Waterman as he undergoes treatment for cancer:

“Things like that put it all in perspective in all of this. Win this game, or this matchup, and all the attention on that. We all get why football and SEC football is so important. Those things when they happen, and for a kid to go through a third time of this at his age is just unspeakable. He’s such an awesome kid. His energy, his positivity. He shows back up here after doing chemotherapy. I mean, he’s just so cool and I just love being around him and talking to our players. They’re down about not having enough plays or they didn’t carry the ball enough or catch the ball enough. Look what he’s going through and fighting through and still here and positive. He’s awesome. I really do love him.”

On respecting Nick Saban:

“I don’t know. We’ve got so much work to do on this game. I just really respect him so much. I think as you continue to mature, grow, and get older, and as a head coach, you realize how much a head coach has to deal with even though I’d been one before and the issues with players and coaches. To be at the top as long as he was and to be as consistent as he was [is admirable]. We’d have games we’d blow people out. Like Western Kentucky, we’re blowing them out and he’s losing his mind like we’re losing to Auburn or something. That’s just him, and that’s why he’s so good because he’s so consistent.”

On finishing the game:

“No, we haven’t gotten to that. We’re just on day one, and we’ve got a lot of work to do. Maybe later in the week. I think it’s well-documented. We had the ball and a chance to go in and win the game against them but didn’t finish in the red zone. Again, that has nothing to do with this year. Now we’ve got to go to their place which is always tough for everybody.”