The Liberty Flames defeated UMass, 62-17, on Saturday afternoon at Williams Stadium to improve to 7-2 on the season. This week, the Flames and head coach Hugh Freeze head to Oxford, Mississippi to take on the Ole Miss Rebels (6-2) with kickoff scheduled for noon EST. Coach Freeze met with the media for his weekly press conference on Monday and here is everything he had to say beginning with his opening statement.
“I was real pleased with the way our kids played Saturday,” he said. “Loved the way the game started, defense getting turnovers and us punching in a couple touchdowns. I thought it was one of our better games. We took care of the football. Defense, 8 of 14 drives were three and out, 14 tackles for loss. Offense had 9.6 yards per play and 14 explosives. Solid, solid day. Glad to get to 7 wins and continue our home winning streak. Appreciate the fans it was a good Saturday. I love the early game, that was fun to get through the game early. Our kids need the rest. 10 games straight is tough. Obviously, we are excited to win and get back in this week and go to work on what is probably our most difficult challenge since I’ve been here playing the team the caliber of Ole Miss. Saturday was really good, pleased with our kids.”
WHAT WILL IT BE LIKE GOING BACK TO A PLACE YOU CALLED HOME FOR 6 SEASONS?
“The strangest thing will probably be in the visitor’s locker room and on the visitor’s sideline. I told our kids this morning in the class I teach today, I’m real excited to go back and see people. I just choose to remember I had great memories there. I appreciate the people. I was born there, I was raised there, and I will probably be buried there, it’s still home. That’s where my family still loves and so many friends there. So many have reached out and I look forward to visiting with them if I have time. Certainly it will be different, but I am so thankful, I told our guys this morning, there is no other group I’d rather walk in there with and walk out with than this group of coaches, staff, administrators, and my family. It will be different. There were a lot of great wins in that stadium that I have memories of, appreciate the people there. They are good people. I’m happy that they are winning there and competing again like I knew you could there. There will be some different feelings there, for sure.”
WHAT WILL BE YOUR MAIN THINGS YOU THINK OF AS YOU PREPARE TO MAKE THE TRIP?
“I’m excited. I love Mississippi. I love going back home. I love the people there. Again, you’re playing a really difficult opponent. There’s a reason why that conference doesn’t lose many games to Group of Five schools, there’s a reason. You can go back through the history, that conference just doesn’t lose that many out of conference games period, much less to Group of Fives. There are very few that happen over the course of the years in that conference. It’s a very tough task. You’ve got to prepare them for the team, first. We are playing the most talented team that we have seen, and hopefully you can have a scheme that gives you somewhat of a chance to compete, but we are going to have to play our best football for sure. Me, with all the number of texts I’ve gotten from people, tickets are hard for me this week, for sure. I’m struggling with that, but my daughter Ragan she’s a champ she’s handling all of that for me. Emotionally, I will see all the people between 9 and 10 o’clock that want to come visit, I’m sure, hug some necks, then get ready to be the visiting team at an SEC stadium.”
WHAT ADVANTAGE IS THERE FOR HAVING A GUY LIKE MALIK WILLIS?
“Well, he is our asset on offense. He’s got to play really well, he’s got to take care of the football, but he gives you a fighting chance to score points offensively along with our other kids. You’ve got to have a trigger guy to beat a team who’s depth chart is deeper and probably more talented than yours, you better have a trigger guy that plays really well. It will hinge on how well he plays, how well I coach him. Obviously, it would be nice to hold them to some field goals because they are super, super talented on offense, also. Our front’s going to have to hold up some too. You’ve got to protect him. You can’t expect him to make miracle plays every single time, particularly against a team that has the team speed that Ole Miss does. No doubt, it will hinge on how well he plays, how well we protect him.”
YOUR DEFENSE GOING AGAINST MALIK EVERY DAY IN PRACTICE, DOES THAT HELP WHEN YOU GO AGAINST A QB LIKE MATT CORRAL?
“It’s really different because we don’t let them touch Malik, and we don’t run around with him like Matt Corral will. Matt is an incredible talent. I recruited him when I was there. I love watching him. You can really get enamored with watching the tape of their offensive system, their scheme, and the way he just performs in it. He knows when to pull it down and when to go get a dirty three and it turns into a lot more for them sometimes. He knows where the ball should go. He’s playing at an extremely high level. It’s kinda hard. We probably only go against the defense twice in a week, and those are not Malik running around during those. Kaidon Salter will help us some this week in trying to perform somewhat near the standard that Matt plays at. It’s tough to prepare for. There will be an adjustment period to the speed with which they play. They play as fast as anybody in the country, when they want to. Jeff Lebby has done a heck of a job, him and Lane, with their offensive system.”
LANE KIFFIN HAS BEEN COMPLIMENTARY OF YOU, ARE THERE SIMILARITIES IN YOUR OFFENSE AND THEIRS?
“He’s got a lot of players. He’s got bigger offensive linemen, faster receivers and tailbacks, and quarterback, we’re close. The system, we could make ours look just like theirs if it need be. They are all based in the same world, they certainly are very similar.”
WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP LIKE WITH LANE KIFFIN?
“Really good. I admire and respect Lane as a ball coach. He’s one of the best offensive minds in our time. What he has done there has proven what I always knew to be true, and felt like we showed is that you can compete. They are on track to get a 9, 10-win season, maybe more. I can’t remember how many games they have left. Not going to surprise me at all. He’s put together a great staff. My relationship with him is good. He was always so kind when we were able to beat them when he was at Alabama as well as Kirby and Nick. He was just very generous. He would stay after to see me after a press conference, hours. When he first got the job, I happened to land there one night, because of the snow, it forced the plane to land there during recruiting, we caught up with each other at Grillehouse. I’m happy for the people there. I’m happy they are winning. They’ve got a great AD in Keith Carter, that was an important hire for him. Lane and I have always had a good relationship, and obviously his brother coached with me for years. Love his dad, Monte, has always been a heck of a guy to be around too. Got a lot of respect for Lane.”
WHAT ARE YOU AND YOUR STAFF ABLE TO DO TO PREPARE YOUR TEAM FOR THE ATMOSPHERE?
“We will do the same thing we’ve done before – crowd noise, etc. That’s about the max that you can do is make it as chaotic in practice as you think it can be on game day. I’m glad it’s an early morning kick. I’ve seen the differences in those stadiums from early morning to late at night. Maybe that helps some. We will prepare. Syracuse was extremely loud in the Dome. We’ve got to handle it better than we did there early on, for sure.”
WHAT TYPE OF CHALLENGES DOES THEIR DEFENSE POSE?
“I didn’t think they played bad against Auburn, really, I didn’t. They are an SEC Defense. #7 is a handful, I think he is either 1 or 2 in SEC in tackles for loss or sacks. (KD) Hill #55 is a big time, strong nose guard that is very difficult to move. #1 and #3 are very active and athletic on the back end. #44, the transfer, I think really improved their football team. He plays so hard, great tackler, really good linebacker. On and on. They’ve got really good players. Durkin knows exactly what he’s doing. They will be well-coached. Very difficult for us to probably sustain long drives on. Got to find a way to get a few stops, for sure, and then we’ve got to try to stay on schedule. If we get behind the chains we will have a long day.”
TRESHAUN WAS LIMPING ON SATURDAY, WHAT’S HIS STATUS AND ALSO DURRELL?
“He looked pretty good yesterday, we hadn’t practiced other than this morning we did our walk-throughs and stuff. He wasn’t that bad, I expect him to play. Durrell will be a game-time decision.”
YOU SAID JOSH MACK WASN’T PART OF THE GAME PLAN THIS PAST WEEKEND, DO YOU EXPECT TO GET HIM INVOLVED IN THE RUN GAME THIS WEEK?
“I didn’t say he wasn’t part of the game plan, I said that Shedro and TJ got the nod. Then, you get ahead like we did, do you put him in there or keep him healthy? We will see who has the best week. To me, it’s about competition and how you raise your game and prepare. There’s not a lot of difference between those guys, so prepare the best and hope for your opportunity. That’s what it is. We will see who is ready to roll. Not afraid to put any three of them in the game.”
WHAT IS YOUR MESSAGE GOING TO BE FOR THE TEAM THIS WEEK?
“I talked to them this morning. Monday is always when I introduce the theme of the week. Man, I went a little long this morning, about 30 minutes, just talking about being present in the moment. Life truly is a game of inches. I shared with them truthfully, my true feelings about that place and the people there, my time there. At the same time, how thankful I am to be with them here on the Mountain. I’m so excited, these last three games, we’ve got great opportunities. Opportunities don’t always go your way, but it’s fun to prepare and try to do that. I’m just thankful that the families that make up this staff, including mine, and our kids, that we get to be present in the moment. Let’s be present today, tomorrow, and then for certain Saturday let’s stand well together.”
