The following are live, paraphrased notes from the Monday afternoon media availability:
Mike Elko
- Congrats to coach Jamie Morrison and the volleyball team. I was only able to stay for two sets, but I am 2-0 in watching volleyball sets this year. Good luck to coach Bucky McMillan tonight and coach Joni Taylor on Wednesday.
- Looking back on LSU, OL of the Week was Chase Bisontis. DL of the Week was Tyler Onyedim. Offensive Player of the Week was Marcel Reed. Defensive Player of the Week was Cashius Howell. Special Teams Player of the Week was KC Concepcion. We were able to get the guys a good recovery time. Excited to go to Missouri.
- We realized how twitchy and athletic Mario Craver was in practice. His Notre Dame sideline play, I don’t know if there are a lot of people that get out of that tackle.
- The only difference is that I don’t know how much you can change the structure of the offense. I'm sure they will have their wrinkles coming off a bye week. They will try to tailor their offense to Matt Zollers.
- It is a hard thing to gauge when you are peaking. You are trying to push this growth mindset. The teams standing at the end get better as the year goes on.
- Zollers does not have a ton of film. We watched his high school film and part of the Vanderbilt game. He is a talented kid.
- Ahmad Hardy is a really talented back. He runs through tackles. Systematically, they do a good job of running the football.
- I don’t think we talk about the end-of-the-year awards. I have two jobs. The head football coach does not talk about those things. Then there is the CEO part. It is my responsibility to push those players for those awards. With our media team, we push for people to become aware of the types of seasons our players are having.
- When they have the bye week, too, it's kind of a balance. They have more time to adjust what they do. When you are working on the same timeline, you have to be ready for what adjustments you may see.
- I think we are desperate. We have earned everything we have got. Every Saturday, someone is trying to take all of it. Missouri is still very much alive for the CFP. This is a huge opportunity for them to chase a spot in the playoffs. In a lot of ways, this is a playoff game on Saturday.
- The more time the DL has been able to have success, and success breeds confidence. The challenge is to do it consistently.
- We got rest and recovery. Energy is high because of the situation we are in. The bye came at a good time for us.
- Le’Veon Moss’ timeline is still what we anticipated. We could still see getting him back during the regular season.
- They are talented. They are coached really well.
- Marco Jones and Noah Mikhail are a testament to if you put your head down and work. If we needed a third backer, Mikhail has filled in there. He gets better every single week. Jones has been a rally guy for us. We have confidence in going to him.
- I don’t remember anything I said at halftime. We have done a good job at responding when things weren't going our way. I chuckle because I wish we would stop putting ourselves in those positions. The inner competitor wants us to stop doing that. I have a high standard.
- You are seeing the offensive line play to the level they are capable of. They were excited to get to SEC play. We have hit the part of the season where the line of scrimmage is critical. They have elevated. This is the best DL we have seen to date. We will have our hands full.
- I will take physicality over experience on the OL. I don’t think I would put Olin Buchanan at right tackle this week because of experience. No disrespect.
- With Jay Bateman on the field, the linebackers now see him and are able to make the necessary adjustments across all 11 players. That allows us to adjust in-game.
- Execution needs to improve when talking about special teams. You continue to tinker.
- I do not pay attention College Football Playoff rankings at all.
- You know you have made it in life when people are dressing up as you for Halloween. It was cool to see the support from students this year.
- People are struggling to adjust to the new era of college football. People are looking for the days when the teams won by 40 every week. As coaches, it's not the same anymore.
- Sean Spencer does a good job with the culture and energy of the group. We have three really good football coaches in the DL room.
- We all identify what it's like to be a coach and all have aspirations for our programs to be elite. We all want the best for everyone. I am a big sports fan. I enjoy supporting our teams.
