Tight end Justin Ball and Mississippi State hungry for a victory

Mississippi State steps outside the regular SEC schedule on Saturday and will welcome Massachusetts to Davis Wade Stadium for a 3:15 p.m. kickoff. The Bulldogs are obviously hungry for a win and are currently on a seven-game losing streak.

Earlier this week, Mississippi State senior tight end Justin Ball met with the media to discuss the attitude of the team and shared his thoughts on getting a needed victory:

Q: How’s the mood and attitude of the team been in practice this week?
Ball: You got to flush it sometimes and just get back to the grind. Sometimes it’s about getting back to our process and make sure we come out and have the best Tuesday practice of the season. So that’s what the focus was today and it’s been the message since Sunday. That’s the mindset today, just get back to it.

Q: Jeff Lebby said Monday was the team’s best Monday practice of the season. Do you agree?
Ball: Yeah I think just the detail. There weren’t any busts. We put in a new package yesterday, a new playbook yesterday. It’s just about making sure we’re coming out after meetings and getting reps on the field and seeing it and making sure we get a feel for it so we can play fast on Tuesday.

Q: How important is it for the fans to turn out on Saturday?
Ball: It’s huge, absolutely huge. That’s been the message the past two weeks and you’ve seen that from Coach Leb, seen it from the plyers posting stuff. It’s been great to have that environment. Of course, we want to come out on the other side of things this weekend. But just being able to be at home and feel that love and encouragement is huge for us. We need it a lot.

Q: Lebby talked about how the first five drives against Arkansas hurt momentum. Are you able to feel that momentum during a game and how does that impact things?
Ball: It’s very real. Same way fans feel momentum. You can feel when fans are loud and when fans are quiet. Same thing for players. We feel when we gain momentum and when we lost momentum. For us, it’s huge to get it back if we know we lost it. If we don’t have it, make sure we are getting it and if we have it, keep it. For us, moving the ball well and get down to the goal line, we just have to finish and get in the end zone. Scoring points and continuing to do that.

Q: Michael Van Buren is going through a lot for the first time. How has he bounced back in practice this week?
Ball: He’s a young kid and it happens. But he’s playing his butt off and we love him for that. We’re going to continue to support him and encourage him with that. Just making sure he gets back to his details and process. But he’s being coached well and is coming out here making plays and we’re going to continue to support him in that.

Q: How is Lebby handling this week after the team took a step back last weekend?
Ball: Coach Lebby is never going to change and he’s always going to be the same person. It’s going to be the same message regardless of the outcome of the game. But for us, we know there’s stuff we didn’t accomplish on Saturday, whether that’s from the coaching point from us not executing. For us, we take ownership of that and we’re ready to get back out there and prove ourselves this weekend.

Q: How’s it been to play with your brother (Cam) this year?
Ball: It’s been great. Last week having some packages together and being on the field together was huge for us. Our parents were very happy to see that. So just continuing to do our job and handle what it is we are asked to do. At the end of the day, just enjoying it in the moment.

Q: Was that the first time ever for y’all to be on the field together in a game?
Ball: Yeah that was a first. He was a freshman when I was a senior in high school. So we never got to do that. So that was a big moment for us. But at the end of the day, we want to come out with a win every weekend. So that is our main focus.

Q: What have you seen from Massachusetts’ defense?
Ball: They play hard. It’s hungry team trying to come out and get a big win. We’ve seen them play, watched them in the Missouri tape and how they played against them. Just making sure we are going out and handling our job, staying with our process and we should handle our business.

Q: Are there ways the offense can help the defense?
Ball: Yeah, scoring points. Like those first five drives you talk about, if we go out and handle our business on those drives it puts the defense in a much better position. It helps with momentum, as well. It makes them more motivated to go out there and get some stops and get the ball back to us so we can keep doing our thing.