TRANSCRIPT: Everything Lane Kiffin, Jaxson Dart, Quinshon Judkins and Trey Washington said after 33-7 win over Vanderbilt

OXFORD, Miss. — After the Rebels’ 33-7 win over Vanderbilt at Vaught-Hemingway Saturday, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin, QB Jaxson Dart, RB Quinshon Judkins, and Safety Trey Washington talked with media about the victory.

Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea, QB Walter Taylor, LB Langston Patterson also spoke with media postgame. 

Here’s what they all had to say: 

Head coach Lane Kiffin

Opening Statement:
“Good win, SEC win, to get to 7-1. They just said on the radio 19-2 in the last 21 home games, so that’s pretty cool. Neat to see our players come out and play with really good energy in all phases early. These are sometimes flat games, trap games, whatever you want to call them, against an opponent that has not had a lot of success as of late. Proud of that, really proud of our defense for the most part all day. Thought the offense was good early and then stalled and unfortunately didn’t do a really good job in the pass game on third down. Thought we ran it really well. The stats don’t quite look as well with the sacks and the fumble that went back behind Jaxson that we lost a lot of yards on, but I thought the running backs did a really good job. To come away 7.3 and 6.0 (yards) per carry between the two of them, that’s a good day so I was pleased with that. Just wish we would’ve been a little cleaner in the passing game and with protection.”

On the defense limiting Vanderbilt’s passing game:
“I think that’s great. You guys have been here like me and seen times where people, like last year against these guys, have been able to come in here and throw the ball around on us. I think it started up front, how well we played with the rushers, with the pressure and the sacks. The coverage was really good today too.”

On Dayton Wade’s meaning to the offense:
”I just love the way he plays. The guy plays almost every snap. Not the biggest guy, so the way he tries to block in there and the effort he plays with, he’s one of our favorite guys. You guys hear us talking about culture, guys who play every snap like it’s the biggest snap and don’t complain about things. We’re lucky to have a few guys like that.”

On what he learned last year about how to finish the season:
”I’ve said before, I don’t think we handled that very well. I think that Alabama loss, we let that keep beating us. Chance in that game to go to 8-1, 9-1, whatever it was. Kind of fell apart after that. Two years ago we lost to Alabama and seemed to play really well after that. Seems to be that we’re doing the same thing again this year, and I think that says a lot about the players, the resolve to overcome a bad game.”

On the emergence of Quinshon Judkins in the last four games:
”I think it’s a lot of things. I think he’s doing better, he’s running harder. I think the line’s playing better, and I think (Caden) Prieskorn makes a big difference. We kind of had specialty tight ends in his place during that and tried to run some things. He gives you a big, physical tight end, so I think that’s a really big difference as well.

Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart

On what he was seeing on drives:
”I feel like guys executed at a very high level tonight. Honestly, it starts with me. I did not execute to my standard tonight, so I am pretty disappointed about that. A big shout out to our defense for playing the way they are playing. They fought hard tonight and got us the ball back which allowed us more opportunities to score. We definitely gotta clean stuff up.”

On stakes increasing every week:
”This is why we all came here. The standard is to do everything we can to go 1-0 each week. Live in the moment, and not get too ahead of ourselves. We have to stay consistent every week, and keep the same mindset.”

On recent success and the standard of the program: “We brought in a lot of guys from the transfer portal. I came in last year and our focus coming in here was to win. We want to play on the biggest stage, at the highest level, against the best teams and we want to win those games. We have had a vision since the off season and I don’t think we are getting too far ahead of ourselves. The last month of the season is something that we can feel good about, but at the same time it’s something we can’t feel satisfied with. We all have to understand and remember the big reason we came here and that is to win a national championship.”

On Dayton Wade’s Catch:
“He was absolutely rolling. He’s got burners on which allows me to put the ball out a little bit further. It was an incredible catch by him. He’s a huge spark for our team and he can do so many different things. He’s like a slot but he has outside receiver capabilities. He is very talented at what he does and he’s a huge part of our offense.”

Ole Miss RB Quinshon Judkins

On being in a rhythm: “I would say I’ve always been myself. Definitely I think as an offense we are starting to get into a great rhythm especially in the second half of the season. I think that’s what you need as a team, to get as far as possible.”

On the dunk celebration after his first touchdown:
”It came up at the last minute actually. Like on fast Friday it came up last minute and then a goal came and we were like ‘who’s playing basketball?’ Yea, it was last minute. Whoever scores, gets to dunk and celebrate. It was fun.”

On how this win will build some confidence:
”It’s definitely tough, just playing in this conference in itself is a tough thing to do. Every week you only have so much time to prepare and you don’t have time to sit and dwell on what you did the last game. It’s definitely tough because there are so many great teams in this conference. You just have to prepare the right way.”

Ole Miss safety Trey Washington

On his two interceptions and what he saw: “I was just in the right spot. I took advantage of the quarterback throw and I caught the ball coming my way.”

On what the defense is capable of doing: “This year execution and being on the same page have been a big influence on our success. This year we felt that if we could be on the same page and communicate well then we had the opportunity to be the best defense and we proved that tonight.”

On playing for Kiffin:
“He is a pro coach. He’s preparing us for the pros. Everyday he expects us to have a pro mindset and to come in everyday with a workman attitude. We have all bought in and we are taking advantage of the scheme.”

Vanderbilt Head Coach Clark Lea

Opening Statement: “Obviously we are disappointed. We wanted to play better. We didn’t. Just felt like the start of the game was tough. Their first drive established success. They got behind us once. What we are going to see on that one is a play that extended. Where we had a little pressure and we got the quarterback on the move. Lost our eyes in the secondary, the receiver got behind us. It was a running play. We are going to look at it and say we should have executed it better. Thought the interception on our first offensive drive was tough, set up possession inside the fifteen. I respect the way the defense responded by forcing a field goal. Reminiscent of what held us back all season. Again I think you look at it and say ultimately we were 4 of 8. They are 4 of 20 on conversion downs. 3 of 15 on third down. We were not able to possess the ball in the first half. That leads to too much exposure for the defense. Ultimately that is not the formula to win. We have to focus on how we improve that way. We went to Walter (Taylor) to provide a spark. He was able to do that. We turned the ball over again. For us at the moment it was about how to generate momentum, to generate success. How do we attempt to keep our defense off the field against a really good offense. I was proud of the way we came out and battled in the third quarter on both sides of the ball. The game got away from us, we focus on improving, we focus on progress. Now, we focus on finding solutions to the problems we know we can solve. We keep moving forward and look for a better performance.”

On the decision to go to Walter Taylor: “We were not able to find space in the run game. We were not able to find space in the passing game. Ken (Seals) was under pressure. We were not able to get into our progression with effective timing. It felt like we were going to continue to turn over the ball. We needed to do something to open up some first and second out efficiency. Walter (Taylor) gives us the element of quarterback run. Makes it a little more challenging on them. What can we do to be effective. What can we do to find a formula to maintain possession of the ball.”

Vanderbilt LB Langston Patterson

On how he was successful and disruptive:
”I didn’t have to really do anything special.I just did my part. I was one of eleven on defense. Everyone did their job super well, so I was able to do mine. A couple of the plays I was just in the right spot at the right time. That’s defense for you. One day everything just funnels to you, and one day it’s your day, and another day you’re just plugging your B-gap time and time again.”

On Walter Taylor:
“Honestly, I was just super proud. He stepped up in a big moment. He just put his head down. He was given the opportunity, and he made the best of it. He looked good and comfortable out there, and I was just rooting for him on the sidelines.”

On defense in the second half:
”We always talk about playing with total effort and structure. We knew what to do, but, there in the first half, the structure just got away from us a little bit. Guys were open. In the second half, we were able to tighten some of that down and just keep pursuing and running to the ball with total effort. I think that really helped us a lot.”

Vanderbilt QB Walter Taylor

On how he thought the game went:
 “I gave it my all, It wasn’t enough. You just have to build on that and move forward.”

On what was successful regarding runs:
 “The guys up front made holes for me. It made it easy for me to get through the holes. I feel like it went pretty well.”

On how to do better:
 “I want to be a little more efficient in the past game, going through my progressions, making sure I get the ball out quick.”