Everything head coach Jeff Lebby said in Monday's press conference

Fresh off a win over No. 10 Arizona State, Mississippi State continues its homestand this weekend when the Bulldogs host Alcorn State in a 5 p.m. kickoff on Saturday. On Monday, head coach Jeff Lebby held his weekly press conference to discuss the upcoming matchup among other topics:

Q: Take us through the sequence of Brenen Thompson‘s first touchdown catch in the firste half.
Lebby: I think the key point for us when we’re throwing the ball vertically down the field, because we’ve got real speed on the perimeter, is making sure we’re putting a lot of air on the ball and let these guys run underneath it. The ball was left just a little bit outside, but Brenen did an unbelievable job, great body control, and tracking it over his outside shoulder to go make the play. Drill it nonstop, talk about putting air under the ball to give our guys a chance to go chase it down and run it down. It was a great play.

Q: Why is it you like to start games getting the ball first?
Lebby: For us, especially on Saturday, it was about keeping their offense off the field and dictating how the game was played. I wanted our guys out there first offensively, create juice, momentum, be able to put a drive together. We’ve been able to do that two weeks in a row. We have not sustained the way we need to but that was the thought behind that.

Q: Any update on Will Whitson?
Lebby: Just an update on Will and Blake (Steen), both of those guys are down for the season. We won’t get either one of them back. It’s an incredible opportunity for our next guys in. But we are not going to have either one of those guys the rest of the year.

Q: Is it a bit different this week getting the guys to re-focus after a big win?
Lebby: The emotion was very real the way we won the game. Just the atmosphere and the energy was so special. On Sunday, you could feel it taking longer. As we got in the building this morning it is business as usual. We’ve got to do an incredible job of creating great focus, on getting better. There’s stuff all over the tape where we have the ability to play better. We’ll have to play better moving forward. That’s the focus. I think our older guys understand that. You’ve got to respect the game. You prepare the right way if you want to go play the right way.

Q: What improvements did you see from Week 1 to Week 2?
Lebby: I saw offensively, just the penalties cleaning up in a huge way and then taking great care of the football. I think the best thing defensively, obviously the way we played in the first half, but then way we played on third down situationally after not playing great the first week situationally. Those is where we saw those huge jumps. Defensively, we have got to continue to tackle better and be able to sustain in the second half. Offensively, we got to find a way to make the play, stay out of the three and outs. That’s a huge piece of it to where we can create a little momentum for our D and play off our D with how well we played.

Q: What’s got to improve with the running game?
Lebby: There’s been multiple things in the run game that has kept us from being explosive and kept us from being where we need to be. Whether it’s run per play, average being over 5 yards per carry which is our goal, that’s where we want to be. But then also the explosive part. We need chunks in the run game to go do what we want to do. It’s been something a little different every time. Arizona State did a really good job of heavy in the box. That’s what created a bunch of the chunks. For us, the ball-me-man finish mentality has to continue to get better so that we have the ability to do what we need to do in the run game.

Q: Jamarcus ‘Diesel’ Moye had a big stop on that goal line stand. With his size was that the kind of plays you envisioned for him during recruiting?
Lebby: We knew he would be able to create some value in situations like that, whether it is situationally short yardage open field or having the ability playing inside the heavy package when people get down there being inside the 3 yard line. Proud of him continuing to stay the course. Got has a ton of work to do, but he has worked in a really good way to give himself a chance to have an impact. Awesome to see.

Q: You find it eaiser to get your team re-focused after a tough loss or after a crazy win?
Lebby: I’d rather a crazy win. The challenge is the challenge every week. It doesn’t stop. Monday is Monday. It really has no bearing on what just happened Saturday. I’d like the crazy win on Saturday in a great way, but at the end Monday is Monday. We’ve got a routine and we have to own that routine. We have to dominate the routine. We have to be better this Monday than we were last Monday. It’s that simple. It doesn’t change. As a staff, creating great urgency for our players every single day. It’s not just another Monday, it’s the biggest Monday we’ve ever had in our life. That’s the mindset and we got to get better. We have a ton of work to do. Our guys, I think, understand that. But we are going to continue to create that urgency as a staff.

Q: What led you to being confident to start Jayvin James at left tackle?
Lebby: Him getting the start at left tackle, in all reality, was because not having a lot of other guys to go start at left tackle. We had a really good week of work with him. He created a ton of confidence for myself and Coach (Phil) Loadholt. And then he went out and he played 65 snaps, far from perfect, but played really solid. We got to have that guy continue to come on. I’m proud of how he did what he did and how he played the way he played after not being on the bus going to Hattiesburg. Bounced back, had an incredible week and we’re gonna need it from him every week.

Q: What are your thoughts on Alcorn State?
Lebby: It’s a group with a ton of familiarity with our football team and a bunch of guys that are from this state, another in-state game. They have a couple of guys from Starkville. We have to play with incredible energy. We got to play incredibly hard from a physicality, execution Saturday at 5 o’clock. Those three things need to show up. We’re going to coach our guys in that mindset and be able to go do it.

Q: With last year’s struggles, you said it was important for yourself to be the same guy every day. How important is laying that foundation for you now?
Lebby: I think it’s gonna pay off, I really do. I think our guys understand that, understand exactly how I’m going to operate and how we’re going to operate when I walk into that team meeting on Monday morning, the messaging and what we’re doing to try to get things fixed to just give us a chance on Saturday to go 1-0, and end up being 3-0. That’s it. That’s the mindset, doing it together, having fun doing it, but understanding we have a ton of work to do.

Q: Is there a chance to get another year for Will Whitson?
Lebby: We sure hope so. We’re in the middle of that right now. We sure hope so.

Q: How do you feel about that position now that Whitson is out?
Lebby: Will was playing at a really high level. He was making plays. The guy was not staying blocked. He was doing some things that were really close to being elite and special. The positive for us, if there is one, is that we have guys at that position that are capable, very capable. Whether it’s Tay (Deonte Anderson), Bam Bam (Trevion Williams), Red (Hibbler), Joe Head, we have guys at that position that can go play winning football with us. There’s no doubt about that.

Q: Why do you think the ‘Starkville vs. Everybody’ theme is a rallying cry for this team?
Lebby: I think it’s because, for whatever reason, there’s this rap that we get that’s not true. We talk to our guys non-stop about no comparisons. We don’t compare ourselves to anybody. We’re not looking at any other programs. I don’t wonder what other programs are doing on to help me make a decision about what’s best for our program. To me that’s what it’s all about. We’re gonna do exactly what we need to do for Mississippi State, our program, our university, our community and make sure we’re putting our best foot forward to be exactly who we are.

Q: What did you see from Anthony Evans in this last game?
Lebby: He’s gonna be a huge part of it every week. He did some great things. The strain and stress for Ant is to continue to play better, play cleaner. He had a really good punt return, but he had a chance to make a couple of other big plays. He had the false start. So constantly trying to create urgency with him to go strain and play better. This guy has a chance to be a great player for us. I felt really good about it when we got him. He’s gotten better and better. He’s gotten more comfortable inside the scheme. Has to continue to get better and has a chance to have a good year.

Q: After the final kneel down on Saturday, you had a big smile on your face. What did that mean to you?
Lebby: It was for everybody. The smile was for the fans getting to feel good. The community getting to feel good. Our players getting to feel good and have that sense of accomplishment just in that moment. It was a huge step for us as a program. For things not to go our way in the second half, to bow our neck and have a goal line stand, to have no timeouts and go five plays and score a touchdown to win the game, and get a pick with Hunt (Hunter Washington) and ice it, and then get in victory. There’s a lot of things that got us to that point, but us finding a way to win the game, that’s what that smile was all about.

Q: How important was it to get a win like that in front of a large group of recruits?
Lebby: People want to win. Recruits want to win. If you want to sign great players, you’ve got to find ways to win. The hope part of it only lasts so long. So having the ability of finding a way to win against a top 10 team with all those guys there in that environment is a huge deal for us. I think we’re in it with some incredible players. We have to go find a way to keep stacking days and go 3-0 this Saturday.