WATCH: MSU OC Kevin Barbay media op - Kentucky week

Earlier this week, Mississippi State offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay met with the media to discuss the team’s los to Auburn and the week ahead in preparation for homecoming against the Kentucky Wildcats.

Barbay: In the first half, I thought we moved the ball decently. We get down there, and we can’t settle for field goals. We’ve got to score touchdowns in the red area, and I’ve got to do a better job of having a red area plan, but bottom line, we’ve got to be better on third downs. We were poor on third downs, but we get down to the red area, and in today’s college football, you’ve got to maximize the possessions. We get down there and we’ve got to score touchdowns, and we can’t settle for field goals. So I felt like we left some points there on the field in the first half, and then I was proud of the way they continued to battle in the second half, but there’s not that much room for error. There’s not that much margin for error where we can go down and just settle for field goals or just accept three and outs.

Q: How involved is Mike (Wright) with you when it comes to play calling, what he’s comfortable with, etc?

Barbay: All the quarterbacks are involved, especially situational. On Thursdays, we sit down with the quarterbacks, particularly with the starter that week, whoever it’s going to be, and talk about each of these concepts and ‘do you feel comfortable?’ ‘Do you not feel comfortable?’, and we do. We make a ranking order and say ‘hey, man. This concept is going to be really good if they’re giving us this coverage,’ but he might not feel great about it, might not feel confident in that throw, so we move it down. So we do, we sit down and we try to go through my call sheet and make sure he’s comfortbale with each of those throws, and like I said, particularly in those third down and red area situations.

Q: Just to follow up on that, how much is freshman Chris Parson picking up on that?

Barbay: You know, Chris has done a great job of picking up the offense, and each week we’ve kind of tried to limit a little bit and make sure that we’re not throwing too much on them. Once you kind of get in the flow of a season, you start seeing what the average 33-6 is, what plays are getting the average 37-10. You start getting the idea, because you don’t want to carry too much, But Parson, to get back to your question, has done a phenomenal job, and he’s so eager, and he asks questions. Will and Mike have got a lot of experience, and he’s sitting there asking them ‘hey, how would you read this if it was cover-3 or how would you read this if it was cover-2? Oh, hey in this third down they’re playing Tampa-2, so what should my answer be?’ Chris has done a great job.

Q: In those 4th-and-1 situations, why not go under center instead of in the shotgun?

Barbay: That’s a great question. You always look back, and everything that you do, you always go back and evaluate yourself, and the one thing that I would have done different is taken it out of a read. You get there and its 4th and short, and the first time they bring Sam and Strong Safety off the edge, so you’ve got a little bit of concern that they’re going to be able to get to your running back up there, so trying to hold him and control him on the edge, but I mean, getting under center is something that, obviously, going forward, I’ve got to do a better job of carrying some of those in our plan.

Q: How does it swing the momentum of the game when you do miss those short conversions?

Barbay: I think the momentum right there swung pretty heavily, and there’s no one else to blame but me. I’ve got to get these guys in positions on these 4th and 1’s, and we’ve got to convert those, and we’ve got to get excited about 4th and 1 when we get in those situations about getting those. Not ‘oh my gosh, it’s 4th and 1,’ you know what I’m saying? We’ve got to attack that moment and attack that situation, but it’s one play at a time. Sure, there can be momentum changes in games, but we’ve got to get to a point where it doesn’t matter. We’ve got to be able to overcome whatever adversity that comes.

Q: Zavion Thomas had a career day this weekend, what do you think of the way he’s developing?

Barbay: Zavion is an extremely talented receiver, and I was really proud of him and some of the plays he made on Saturday. He’s a kid that, if the ball is in the air, there’s a really good chance he’s going to come down with it somehow, some way. As soon as he touches the ball, he’s got a chance to create explosives, and I see his detail in his game, and he’s improving week by week. All the details in his routes and setting this guy up and finding the blind spots and getting to his depth. I think last week he had his best week of practice, and that correlated to his best game so far.

Q: Mike had a lot of near-miss pass attempts this weekend, at this point in his career, how do you work on those things to make those balls more catchable?

Barbay: It’s really a timing thing, and understanding that internal clock and how soon (he’s) got to get the ball out of (his) hand. It’s split second. It’s the difference in a toe-touch or not, but Mike’s timing, I’ve got no question on it at all. He’s got a strong enough arm, he can accurately place the ball, and I’ve got to do a better job of giving him some concepts that let him get it out quicker.

Q: I’m sure you were frustrated more than anybody, but when you see a play where Tulu and Zavion run into each other like they did, what causes that?

Barbay: It was (frustrating), and in those situations where you’re in a ‘go for it on fourth down’ situation, you get a little bit more aggressive with the call, and get a little gadget in. Really, stuff like that is moreso we’ve got to do a better job during the week of cleaning up those details, and that goes back to making sure that I’m not trying to do too much or give (the players) too much.