Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby talks about his quarterback situation, being back at DKR, and taking on No. 1 Texas

Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby spoke to the media today about the quarterback situation, being back at DKR, and its upcoming battle with the No. 1 Texas Longhorns on Saturday from Austin.

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Q.  What is your situation at quarterback?

“Both of those guys are gonna be a big part of the competition, but Mike (Van Buren) will run out first. I was proud of how he was able to put a drive together in the fourth quarter. He has great confidence in himself and the guys around him. Chris (Parson) has been unbelievable from being a great teammate, working, and doing some of the things we need him to do to create confidence.”

Q.  What have you seen from him to put him out there first?

“Predictability. Knowing what’s gonna happen, taking great care of the ball. He has to do that for us on Saturday afternoon. That will be a huge part of us having a chance.”       

Q.  What are you seeing from the defense to help them get more stops?

“I see guys playing hard. But we have to find ways to play cleaner. There were some things from an execution standpoint, so many plays in the game… third-and-eight on their second drive to peel with the back, and we don’t peel. We have the ability to tackle the back after he catches the swing eight yards short of the sticks, and we’re not able to make it. That has a chance to change the game. You never know what play it’s gonna be. So, finding ways to focus small and make sure we’re doing a great job of coaching those things the right way. And then guys having ownership in making the play. Our guys are playing with toughness and hard every snap. We have to play cleaner.”

Q.  How do you prepare Mike for starting at Texas?

“You get him to focus small. You find ways to put him in positions of success. Gotta build on the run game to give him the opportunity to play inside some good situations.  That will be key to us getting off to a fast start.”         

Q.  How different is Mike’s skill set from Blake’s?

“The biggest change is the experience piece. Mike can do a lot of very similar things as Blake. He can keep some things alive with his feet. He can make the throws we need him to make.  But the experience matters as we go on the road, playing the team we’re playing.  Focus small, taking great care of the football, creating predictable outcomes, and put us in good situations from a D and D standpoint.”

Q.  A lot of your drives were hurt by your own mistakes. How frustrating is that?

“You never know what’s gonna be the play of the game. The game is 7-7. We go three and out. We don’t execute cleanly on a punt. And it goes out of bounds. We have to be better in the shield and hit the ball better. They have field position and go down and score to make it 14-7.  We come right back and go three and out offensively. We punt the ball away, they have a big return, and inside those four minutes of the game, it goes from 7-7 to 21-7. Those 8-10 plays in the middle of the second quarter is what changed the game.  It gave us the hole we were in. You never which one it’s gonna be. Our guys taking great accountability and we as a staff understanding what it’s to look like and not create those holes. That will be huge moving forward.”

Q.  How is Blake and have you been able to speak with him?

“I’ve talked to him a ton. He’s special. He’s an elite young man. I come into the office this morning and my man is in the building get some rehab, he’s in the quarterback room, he’s coaching these guys up on the field in a sling. It’s a reflection of who he is. Couldn’t be more proud that I get to coach him as we walk through this thing. He will be a huge part of this season just because of his leadership and toughness. He has such great respect from his teammates. That’s a testament to who he is. 

Q.  What was the offensive line doing better against Florida?

“I thought we played better fundamentally. We have been targeting the right people, fundamentally playing cleaner with leverage and hand placement. And how we’re playing the game with our feet.  It’s something that had to get better and got a lot better. I felt good going into the game after the week we had up front. We have to build on that.             

Q.  What are your impressions on this Texas team?

“They’ve been dominant in all three phases of the game.  Defensively, they’re as good as there is in America, giving up five points a game. Offensively, they have great skill. Playing really good up front.  Regardless of who the QB is, both of those guys have the ability to run the offense the way Sark wants them to. They are very aggressive from the team standpoint. It’s a football team playing as good as anybody in the country. What an unbelievable opportunity for us to see how we’re gonna respond.  Our guys had energy on the practice field. They’re frustrated, disappointed, but our energy, our toughness, our effort, our focus is about us.”  

Q.  Have you had conversations with Blake (Shapen) about a medical hardship?

“Since he just played in four games, we feel good about that working out for us.  We’ve had conversations, me and him, and his parents as well.  Feel good about that happening the way we want it to.”

Q.  What’s it like going to play at Darrell K Royal?

“My time in Norman, those games were in Dallas. I have played in Austin a few times in the Big 12 while in Waco. It’s an incredible setting. It will be packed, over 100,000. It will be our job to block out the noise.  But that’s what this league is. It’s great games and atmospheres. It’s what you want as a player and coach. This week will be the same.”

Q.  Talk about last week’s Texas quarterback and the game he had?

“Arch (Manning) did some really good things. He’s done some good things the last two weeks. Sark was talking about Arch and experience part of it, learning from some of the mistakes inside the game. That’s what playing the position is all about. You want to be able to learn from really good experiences and not have to go through some of the hardships. No different there than here. It’s about taking care of the ball for Mike.”

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Q.  How do you discuss the momentum part of the game and the role it plays?

“Again, it’s going back and telling the story. Every play, every series, there is a story to it. And understanding where we have the chance to win the game, we have chances to not be down 21-7 and come out of it a totally different way.  That can happen the second play of the game or the 90th play of the game. Every play independent of itself are all huge situational plays that give us a chance to be on the right side of it.