Transcript: Everything Mississippi State Head Coach Zach Arnett Said Ahead Of Matchup Against Arkansas

Mississippi State (3-3) will look to get its first win in SEC competition on Saturday against the Arkansas Razorbacks (2-4) as the Bulldogs come off of an open date.

MSU head coach Zach Arnett met with the media ahead of the matchup. The transcript of the press conference is as follows.

Opening statement: "Excited to get back into game week. Playing another really good opponent. Arkansas is always tough, physical. That shows up on film again this year. Coming off a bye week…couldn’t come at a better time for us. Gave us a lot of time to give some guys time off. We kind of used it as a developmental week. The vast majority of the reps went to younger guys. Hopefully we’re developing depth because you need it in the second half of the season. Our older guys…it wasn’t a true week off, but they got very few reps. Gave them a chance to get their bodies feeling good again. Since training camp, the bye week is the only chance to get them back feeling that healthy again. Players got Thursday, Friday and Saturday off. Coaches went out recruiting. That’s another benefit of a bye week. Got coaches on the road. Junior college games, high school games. Hopefully everyone is feeling refreshed, recovered and excited to compete. We’re playing a heck of an opponent this weekend."

Question: "Is there any update on Will (Rogers) or Woody (Marks)?"

Zach Arnett: "No update. Like every other guy, they got limited reps last week and every single guy on the roster is day to day. Everyone who is medically cleared to play will play. If they’re not, then they won’t."

Q: "Are you saying those guys were full participants in practice?"

ZA: "...that applies to Bookie Watson, Jett Johnson, Jaden Crumedy, Nathan Pickering, those receivers who have played a bunch of snaps, and I could go on and on."

Q: "What does Arkansas do that makes Arkansas play so hard?"

ZA: "I think they’re really good on defense. They have a lot of impact players they got out of the portal. They rebuilt that side of the ball. They are long and big and physical up front. Last five games, all but one has been a one-possession game. If the ball bounces the other way, one or two plays go the other way, the game is drastically different. Coach Pittman is an offensive line coach by trade, so he’s got big, physical offensive linemen who come off the ball. They’re playing really good on defense. KJ Jefferson is as dynamic a player as there is in college football. His ability to shrug off tacklers is very impressive. I’m sure Rocket Sanders has been frustrated this year. He hasn’t been able to go in several games. You look at his career, every time he has the ball in his hands, he is about to break out. They have really good length at receiver. Guys who run well. They did a nice job rebuilding their roster. They have guys out of the portal who are playing really good for them. They look like a big physical football team on film."

Q: "Any guys jump out of the developmental practices?"

ZA: "I don’t know that I’d single anyone out in particular…rather than single out one or two guys and leave someone out, I might offend someone. It might be best to not mention anyone specifically."

Q: "How important is momentum in the second half of the season?"

ZA: "College football is a game of momentum. That goes with regard to your program going into the offseason. Everything is always better when you’re coming off a win. When you can rip off a string of victories, it builds positive momentum toward everything else you’re trying to accomplish. It creates positivity on the recruiting trail, but we’re a long way from the end of the season. We need to focus on us, the things we control – how we show up and prepare – because we’re facing a quality opponent. They want to compete and win just as much as us. They are hungry to get out there to compete and win. We have to make sure we’re just as hungry to compete and win."

Q: "How important was last week for Brice Pollock?"

ZA: "That’s why I didn’t single out anyone specifically. You get better by playing this game, particularly against the highest level of competition. The fact that he has game action against the other team’s first string, he was exposed to a different speed and physicality. That develops you as a player. Limiting the reps to DCam or DeCarlos, that puts him with the No. 1s against the first offense, that gives him more exposure to a higher level of competition. When you know you’re going to have to get reps from your second and third string, that experience earlier in the season better prepares them."

Q: "What are the challenges/benefits of being the road team in an 11 am game?"

ZA: "When you go on the road, everything goes more quickly. Last week, we emphasized doing a better job of starting faster on both sides of the ball. We did that. We jumped out to a 10-point lead after the first couple of drives. We’ll follow a similar practice plan, some things we did differently – without going into detail – an 11 am kick gets on you quicker. The pregame timing won’t be the same as a home game at 11, but we will have similar practice structure. Gotta be ready to go as soon as they put the ball down. But you don’t have to sit around all day and think about the game and wait for kickoff."

Q: "What makes you confident that your guys will come out and dominate the back half of the season?"

ZA: "I just think we’re competitors. Both in the locker room and in the coaching staff. Any time you play a game, there’s gonna be a winner and a loser. If you’re a competitor, you’re gonna control what you can control. You’re gonna put in the work and preparation to be successful. And then there’s still no guarantee of success. That’s why people are so passionate about it. You have to put yourself out there a little bit. To invest that much into something without a guarantee of success. How many people are willing to do that. We’ve got competitors on this football team, and if you’re going to give yourself the best chance to be successful, then you have to put that level of investment into it. That is what you can control. We have a building full of people that will do just that. Does that guarantee us success? No, it does not."

Q: "Has what Jaden (Crumedy) been through something those guys look as an example?"

ZA: "I think so. I think we have a lot of guys just like that. They’re proud to be in maroon and white, they love this university, they have the Bulldog mentality. Crumedy is right there at the top of that list, but there is a whole bunch of others."

Q: "Does whether it’s Mike (Wright) or Will (Rogers) change the game plan?"

ZA: "I think there are things we do with Mike in there that are structured more for him. When he’s in there, we’re gonna play to the strengths of the players in there. It will look very similar to when he’s in there any other time."