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LSU COACH LES MILES’ PRESS CONFERENCE
Opening Statement…
“Our
football team is looking forward to getting home. It is interesting to
start the season three of four weeks on the road. You understand the
road regiment, what you are supposed to do and how to play in close
quarters. I think we’ve got a real strong team identity. I think
offensively we understand that we need to run the ball, possess the
ball and not turn the ball over. We have not been giving our opponents
penalty yards. We possess the ball, and we certainly get takeaways. Our
defense continues to play with great intensity on the road and that is
a nice identity to play with. I heard a coach say, ‘what is the reason
that your football team is a good road team.’ They are a damn good
football team. That is what makes them a good road team. I think our
team is a confident and good football team.”
“Moving to
the West Virginia game, I heard that it was going to be a special and
wonderful place to play. I heard that there would be a wild crowd
there, and we were not disappointed. Our team enjoyed that environment.
It was every bit the great atmosphere that it was reported to be.
Offensively, we had good balance. Any time that you are plus four in
the turnover margin, as were in that game, it gives you a chance of
winning. We had a short field most of the time. I felt our quarterback
managed the game well and protected the ball well. Our running backs
are running hard. Spencer Ware is providing a difficult man to tackle
in the early going of games. Defensively, they gave up some yards. It
certainly wasn’t a perfect outing by any stretch, but they continue to
play with great intensity. Any time you get four turnovers to none, it
gives you a great opportunity to win the game. You look at the
penalties, and were five for 45 yards and West Virginia was 10 for 73
yards. We were plus four in the turnover margin. Time of possession we
had the ball 33 minutes to our opponents 26. That to me is a great
recipe for winning, especially when you throw in special teams. Brad
Wing averaged 40 yards a punt, got it inside the 10 six times and was
named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week. I felt like James Hairston
came in and kicked for us. He gave us a real lift there and got the
ball into the end zone a couple of times. He provided us with the some
nice hang time and distance. Morris Claiborne scores on a kickoff
return at a time when the momentum of the game was in question. It
extinguished any hope that the opponent had at victory. That was the
15th special teams touchdown that we’ve had since 2005 and the second
this year.”
“We wake up to Sunday and Monday to be the
number one team in the nation. I have to be honest, we take it as a
compliment to the program and to this team. We don’t feel that it is an
extra burden or target on our back. Every time LSU comes to play, some
one is going to try to beat you and they are going to give you their
best effort. We’re not going to wear an extra target. It is going to be
the same. We always want to achieve. It is a position where there is a
game out there where we want to qualify for. I think there is a special
group of guys here and I love this team. They want to improve and they
recognize that they have not achieved where they want to be. Somewhere
in the future there is an opportunity to qualify for that game that
they are hoping back. I enjoy the position. I think we will try to play
to that. It is a position that allows a college aged man to go to bed
and wake up with the same thought that there might be a special spot
for this. I know that we haven’t arrived. Our team understands that we
are imperfect in a number of ways. We’re going to keep preparing with
the idea that maybe we can get there. The best way to do that is to
prepare this week for Kentucky.”
“Kentucky is a very
quality football team. They have good players. I’ve looked at them and
realize comfortably that this is an SEC team. They have SEC players and
you can see it. Their quarterback is very talented; they have a big and
strong defensive line, linebackers that can run and a secondary that
can cover. I know that they are 2-2, but Joker Phillips is a fine young
coach and a guy that I know will have them prepared to play. I promise
you we will be focused on Kentucky. They tell me that this is a morning
game. We will look forward to being back at home.”
On being number one in the past…
“I
went through the learning process a little bit. We hold a spot in
college football today. It is not a final achievement or the spot that
we’ve earned at the end of the season. It is a compliment to the work
they’re done. I think we’ll try to play to the eventually. There is no
difference. I can remember in 2007 a game in Tiger Stadium every one
was saying that if we finished in front of Florida that we would be
named number one, and we were. Then there was a Kentucky game that came
after that game on the road, and it humbled a very talented team. We’ll
recognize that a talented team being named number one didn’t
necessarily fair to well the next week.”
On success against non-conference opponents…
“The
only thing I can tell you that each week is a different challenge. A
team has to be ready to overcome personal issues and hurdles. It is a
week-by-week piece. It is not necessarily the view of the conference or
the view of the team. I can tell you that this conference does prepare
you for big games and big environments. We were no strangers to Dallas
when we arrived. We had already played on the road, so that when we
went to Mississippi State it was a like environment. The experiences
that we’ve had through out this year have reflected well on our
conference and our team. Again, I always look at is as a brand new week
and a brand new challenge.”
On forcing turnovers and preventing turnovers…
“I
think that we have great speed, get to the ball violent, understand
that the ball is the issue and than you have to take the ball away. It
happens on defense. There are good players there. We work on ball
security every practice. We work strip and takeaway every practice. It
is a point of emphasis. I give credit to the coaches on the offensive
side. I think that Frank Wilson does a great job of teaching it and has
a proper perspective when it comes to ball security. Bill Gonzales and
Steve Ensminger who coach those guys that handle the ball on the
perimeter are exactly the same. Our quarterback to this point in time
is making better decisions thanks to Steve Kragthorpe. I think there is
a concentrated effort on what to do with the ball. We want it returned
to us.”
On injuries…
“I think T-Bob Hebert is
day-to-day. Alex Hurst is likely. I think Craig Loston is also a
likely. Michael Brockers is a guy that will be out today but back at
the end of the week.”
On how the team responded to preseason off the field issues…
“The
off the field issues is so uncharacteristic of this football team and
these guys. Certainly we were all embarrassed in things that were not
held in immediate position of emphasis were suddenly reemphasized. I
think our guys enjoyed that and understand it fully. They are a team
that is committed to each other and a close knit group of men. They are
ambitious and want to be more. They understand that there is a hurdle
and an obstacle that hey have to get beyond if they want to achieve
what they want. It just so happens that this happened in preseason and
certainly an eyesore.”
On Texas A&M joining the SEC…
“There
is an honest want to expand and continue to be the best conference in
the country. The addition of A&M is a piece that allows us as a
conference to continue to upgrade and make our presence felt
nationally. Privately and in my own personal wants, I just can’t
believe that the Big 12 is separating and having great teams like
Oklahoma, Texas and Oklahoma State in a position where they are looking
to be in another league. It is hard for me to figure this. It is
inconceivable that there is not a historic base in the great state of
Texas for one league. You take the traditional rivalries and throw them
out the window. Do I think that it is good for the SEC? Absolutely. Do
I think it is good for us and Texas? Absolutely. For college football?
I am still watching. I am not certain.”
On the confidence of the secondary…
“It
is an interesting piece. There is a confidence that you need to play
with. There needs to be a want for competition and an enjoyment of
being tested. I think that you saw that in West Virginia this weekend.
I think our pass coverage was tested based on how well they threw the
ball. I didn’t see any backing up or withdrawal from our secondary, and
I enjoyed that. We need to improve on some of the tremendous mistakes
that were made. They weren’t made because they didn’t have confidence
or play aggressively to the ball.”
On the defensive mistakes…
“Any
time that a guy makes a mistake in a bust I see it as a red flag that
needs to be addressed and corrected. That is what we do. I don’t know
that you build a monument to any of those mistakes because I think they
are correctable. We have good players who will be able to do what they
are expected to do.”
On the complete team effort…
“The
offense did the things they needed to do. The special teams did what
they needed to do. They took a 99 yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
There were pieces of the game that we controlled by all three phases.
We forced four turnovers and scored a special teams touchdown. We held
the ball longer than our opponent. There were some real positives
there. Again, it takes all three phases.”
On removing Jermauria Rasco’s redshirt…
“We
seem to think that he has a real ability to learn and understand
football. We think he is one of those guys that are physically advanced
and very capable. We want to watch him play and grow in this year. We
think there is a lot of football left in front of this team and Rasco.
We’re looking forward to him developing this year. we felt like we were
ready for him to start his career.”
On multiple players wearing No. 38 . . .
“We
like No. 38 more than other numbers. The guys who punt and kick around
here either wear No. 30 or No. 38. The guy who goes out on the field
gets to wear No. 38. So I think it’s a wonderful number or they won’t
necessarily know who’s wearing what number. The opponent not having
number recognition of who’s punting or who’s kicking could be an
advantage.”
On Tyrann Mathieu . . .
“Tyrann is a
guy who has a knack for making big plays. He has great anticipation. We
like to put him in a position where his natural interpretation of play
allows him to be exceptional. I think we have a number of guys in the
secondary like that. Tharold Simon, Mo Claiborne, Brandon Taylor and
Eric Reid all played well against West Virginia. Multiple guys in our
secondary have speed, size and experience. Our inexperienced guys are
very youthful and very talented and can play a lot of football in the
future.”
On Jarrett Lee’s progression this season . . .
“He
continues to get better and take coaching. He understands that it’s
work and progress. He has improved and I think he will continue to
improve. This weekend will be another step for him.”
On the defensive performance against West Virginia . . .
“Geno
Smith gets the ball out of his hand so quickly and he’s very accurate.
He’s also difficult to sack. Those factors together make him special.
He forced us to play coverage and he continued to play well. A lot of
the plays where he got it out quick we got tips and forced picks. That
was a form of pressure that worked for us.”
On the work Jarrett Lee has put in over his career . . .
“I’ve
seen a lot of quarterbacks have great steady growth at the position and
I’ve seen that in Jarrett right on through. I’ve always said he’s
always competed to be the starting quarterback. That’s always been his
mindset and we’ve encouraged that. He keeps developing. I think the
quarterback coaching change helped him, not to bemoan the coaching,
it’s just getting another voice and input reconciled some of his views
on the throwing game. Again, he was baptized under fire in Tiger
Stadium in this conference as a very young player with a team that may
not be as talented as the team he’s currently quarterbacking. He’s
deserving of the success he’s having and I’ve enjoyed his improvement.
He needs to continue improving because it’s a different challenge every
week. Kentucky will provide that.”
On La’el Collins . . .
“Right
now we’re still looking at him as a guy who might still play a lot of
football this season. We’re not ready to determine anything like a
redshirt yet.”
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