Mullen Addresses Media In Weekly Press Conference
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State head football coach Dan Mullen holds his weekly press conference Monday afternoon in the Bryan Athletic Administration Building. Free on-demand video of each week's press conference will be posted in the story rotation (main and football pages only) on HailState.com.
Dan Mullen Press Conference Transcript - 10/22/12
Opening Statement...
"Coming off last week's game, after watching the film, I am pleased by the way our guys performed in all three phases. Obviously there are some things we still need to continue to improve on. As the season goes on you are either getting better or getting worse as a team and I think we improved. We still have things we to improve on this week. It should be a great challenge for us playing a team that does not show many weaknesses. They are very well coached, well-disciplined and filled with talent at every position. They have had a top recruiting class for each of the last four or five years. Everyone on their roster is a four or five star prospect. They get those guys in position to make plays and have a real physical team. They don't make many mistakes and do not turn the ball over. They pound on you and pound on you and wait for you to make a mistake as the game goes on. It should be a great challenge for our guys as we will have to play our best game of the year. Obviously going into a hostile environment should be a good challenge for us. "
On gaining respect...
"For our guys, I think they say that because they hear everyone ask them that question. For our guys, they respect themselves and each other and that's really the only respect you need as a football team. What people say outside our building is their opinion. We have to focus on what we think about each other inside. I think everyone on the team respects the leaders on the team and they respect how everyone on the team works. They respect each other and they respect our program and they work hard in respect for those things."
On A.J. McCarron...
"He does a good job at not forcing the ball into bad situations. His protection helps that with all of the experience and talent on the offensive line. A lot of times you will see interceptions come after a sack and after a lot of pressure. Some guys try to get rid of the ball too soon and get balls tipped. They do not do much of that. They run the ball well and protect him well. I believe he does a good job at getting ball out of his hands when he needs to. When it is not there, he just throws the ball away and doesn't make many mistakes there. You have to get that flustered which hasn't happened this year. Statistically, he is the best quarterback we have played thus far."
