Greg Knox stresses motivation of Egg Bowl, potential bowl eligibility

It can be difficult to motivate a team once the head coach has been fired. However, Mississippi State Bulldogs interim head coach Greg Knox doesn’t believe that’s an issue in Starkville.

Heading into the Egg Bowl against Ole Miss, Knox praised Mississippi State for how motivated it is going into the rivalry game with the chance to make a bowl game on the line.

“It’s been a big motivation, and I wish you could have heard Will Rogers in the locker room a second ago,” Greg Knox said. “We’ve got a game Thursday night and that game is very important. It’s special.”

In his first game as the interim head coach, Greg Knox led Mississippi State to a win against an overmatched Southern Miss team. Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl will be another challenge altogether.

Mississippi State certainly has something to play for. However, the future is up in the air for both Knox and the Mississippi State program. It can be hard to keep focus in that situation, so Knox is leaning on his daily approach.

“I’ve got one approach. We’re going forward, straight ahead. I’m full speed every day. Every day. They know me. That’s one good thing about they know how I’m going to be every day. When they walk in that room, they’re getting the same guy they got yesterday,” Knox said.

“Okay, so we’re going to approach it head on and we’re going as fast as we can. We’re moving forward. They get 24 hours. A 24-hour rule. Okay? You enjoy this one for 24 hours then we’re back and we’re rolling tomorrow.”

Greg Knox on how he prepared Mississippi State players after coaching change

The coaching change has had a huge impact on the season for Mississippi State. For Greg Knox, navigating that change has been vital.

“What you asked is exactly what we as a coaching staff, what I knew, you know coming into this game with this change, you know, they’ve lost two head coaches. You know within a year and so, that’s difficult when you think of 18, 19, 20-year-old kids, the emotional side of that, you know, and so that’s where I started the approach is working on the mental mindset of what you’re facing,” Knox said.

“And we watched a video by Inky Johnson, it’s called ‘Go Heavy.’ If you get a chance there’s only three minutes, watch that video, and then you will understand the approach that I have with these guys.”