WATCH - MSU RB coach Tony Hughes Q&A, Arkansas week
Mississippi State Bulldogs running back coach Tony Hughes met with the media earlier this week to detail the rushing attack against the Hogs and Woody (Jo’Quavious) Marks‘ impact on the team.
Q: What makes Arkansas such a difficult place to play?
A: Well, the people in the state of Arkansas have a lot of pride. There’s no professional sports in the state of Arkansas, so that’s their professional sports franchise, and it excites them in every sport, so we know that they love the Razorbacks and it’s going to be a great challenge for us.
Q: What are your thoughts about the 11 a.m. road kickoff?
A: We’re prepared for it, because all off-season, all training camp, we get up early. We start our days sometimes at 5 o’clock, 6 o’clock in the morning. You know, you prepare for practice, you prepare for workouts, so mentally, physically and spiritually, we’ll be up and excited to get ready to go play.
Q: What did you see from Seth Davis during the bye week after his biggest game so far as a Bulldog?
A: Well, Seth has been working extremely hard all year. He had a great training camp. He graduated from high school early, got here in January, and I see nothing but a bright future and great things down the road for him.
Q: How difficult is it to tell Woody when it’s time to take a series or a play off?
A: Well, you admire that characteristic in him, because you would rather have that than the other. You know, ‘Hey man we need you to go in the game, can you go in the game?’, but that’s what separates great players is the heart, the desire, the toughness, the grit, and football’s not for everybody, but for some kids that come along, every now and then they have that special characteristic that they just love to play no matter what.
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Q: You guys have had some injuries this year, how much does it help to have a guy like you on staff that’s played at a high level before?
A: Well, the thing that it does is that we just continue to work, to grind, to get the kids to play up to their highest level no matter what the situation, and keep them focused, keep them pressing forward and to keep pushing so that when their opportunity comes, whatever that may be, you’re prepared for it, because you just don’t ever know. It’s a tough league. It’s physical, and you just have to keep battling.
Q: Depending on availability, how do you make the decision who plays each series when you’ve got four guys that can go when they’re healthy?
A: Well, we go into the game with a plan, and we just know how many snaps or reps that we can play.
Q: What are you seeing out of the Arkansas defense that could challenge you guys?
A: Well, coach Arnett said it the best. He said that’s a great 2-5 team. They’ve lost five games in a row, and I think most of them were one score games, so they were in the game with an opportunity to win. This is the SEC West, you know. There’s no pushovers, no flukes, and you can’t overlook anybody because of their record or what’s going on in the program, because that’s always a rallying cry, so we’re going into a tough environment as everybody knows, and we’re going to play a hungry, mean football team that has their backs up against the wall, so it’s going to be a hell of a game.
