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

Mississippi State jumps into the SEC fire this weekend when the Bulldogs host No. 15 Tennessee for their league opener. On Monday, head coach Jeff Lebby held his weekly press conference and discussed the Vols among the topics:

Q: Reviewing the Northern Illinois film, what were your thoughts on your team?
Lebby: I think just the way we played in the second half in comparison to the first half is like two football teams. Just from an energy standpoint, I felt that on the field early. Our guys, I thought, the way we came out in the second half and how we played complimentary football was huge. We needed it and there’s a ton to clean up. Penalties have to clean up. That was a huge stress in the team meeting this morning. Our guys felt that urgency from us and we got to find ways to make that happen.

Q: What stands out to you about Tennessee’s defense?
Lebby: To me, the way they’re able to get after the quarterback. 15 sacks, there’s constant pressure on the quarterback. They’ve given some things up. We will see if some of those guys come back in the secondary but what sticks out is how they’re getting after the quarterback. We’ve got to keep Blake (Shapen) clean to go play the way we want to play.

Q: Tyler Lockhart got some reps in last week’s game. What did you see from him?
Lebby: Proud of Tyler. He got in and was far from perfect but he made plays. He does some things that are really natural and he does them at a really high level. He will continue to have opportunities with DG (Derion Gullette) not playing last week. We will see how that ends up this week but proud of Tyler and how he played.

Q: Have you had a chance to evaluate Jahron Manning after he got banged up?
Lebby: Have not. From an injury standpoint, really as we get into SEC play with Wednesday being our report day, that is when everything will come out.

Q: Ray Thomas has been productive the last two weeks. Is he a guy that can get more reps moving forward?
Lebby: Ray did a couple of good things as he was in there late. Didn’t play a ton of snaps and I’ve continued to be consistent from the same standpoint. We’re going to need all of those guys. We’ve got a long year ahead. As all those guys continue to develop, continuing to create depth will be important.

Q: You’ve talked recently about goals for this team. What’s the next goal entering SEC play?
Lebby: Just understand what’s in front of us that we have the ability to go accomplish. We got so much in front of us. Having the ability to have a conference opener at our place in front of an incredible crowd and great environment, that’s going to be huge for us on Saturday. That’s something that is really important to have, a sold-out crowd and have the energy that we need. We got to take this thing one game at a time. As we look at our goals ahead, there’s a lot out there to go accomplish. But there’s no way to do it if we don’t do it one game at a time.

Q: How do you access the trenches so far?
Lebby: I think when you look at us in the defensive line, we’re playing a bunch of guys and we’re going to continue to need that. That piggybacks off what I was talking about earlier. We’re going to need a ton of depth in the interior, have the ability to go play a bunch of guys so we can play free and fast with physicality. We’re nowhere near where we want to be. We have made great improvement. But our guys understand the urgency and how we got to go operate and to be able to get better. Then on the offensive line, we’ve started four different units. I think we’re close to being able to settle in. Talked a little bit after the game, we have a three-man rotation at tackle, have a three-man rotation at guard. That will help us.

Q: What did you bring to this program from your association with Josh Heupel?
Lebby: His consistency in how he leads every single day. Having the ability to be able to work for him for those two years, it’s been a long-lasting relationship there. Able to see him in the moment, in the building every single day, as a leader and a first time head coach. When we went to Orlando together, there’s a ton of things I learned in those moments. Incredibly appreciative of that time I got to spend with him.

Q: What is your opinion of the SEC as a whole?
Lebby: The league is pretty well-documented of what our league stands for, the success our conference has had. It is a one week, one game at a time. If you start to look at the big picture from an opponent standpoint then you’ll get lost in it. For us, it’s about having the best Monday we’ve ever had, the best Tuesday we’ve ever had, to give ourselves a chance to go 1-0 on Saturday. It’s that simple. That’s the process for us and that’s what it is going to be as we get into league play.

Q: What did you see on film that allowed Blake Shapen to take deep shots?
Lebby: I love that Blake is as hard on himself as he is. Fundamentally, we weren’t great on Saturday. He’s been really clean from a body position standpoint, all the things we talk about fundamentally in the pocket. That was something that hasn’t shown up. I think there’s great awareness and urgency to get back to doing exactly what he was doing. We missed a couple of throws that had the chance to create chunks and create separation earlier. That’s the stress. We can’t waste a snap as we move forward.

Q: How does anything change with the NCAA having one portal window now?
Lebby: I do like the fact that it is going to one window. In season, we’re constantly going through the roster, me and Mark Votteler, having the ability to continue to build this the right way and go sustain. There’s going to be plenty of movement that happens. There is a lot going on inside the high school recruiting. This will be a huge weekend for us here. We’re constantly looking at every single piece of it to make sure we’re fitting it out the right way.

Q: Do you have to come in from behind Blake to show him the good and bad things he did?
Lebby: It’s all about telling the truth. There’s good and there’s things that are not good enough. The best players want the truth constantly so they have the ability to go fix things. That’s exactly who Blake is. We watch it one snap at a time. Fundamentally, what am I doing to put myself in the best position to go be accurate and I push it down the field. Then we are able to adjust and have a great day today.

Q: How do your guys feed off the energy in the stadium? Is that a real thing?
Lebby: It’s a very real thing. Home field advantage is very real. With our opponent coming to town, there first true road game. They had a neutral site game to open the year but their first real road game. It needs to be an atmosphere and energy that is really hard for the opponent to come play in. That’s going to be a huge piece Saturday. Our people will have great energy. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. Our guys will be excited to keep them involved in the game by how we play.

Q: How does your preparation change for the SEC games?
Lebby: There’s literally not one single thing. From the schedule standpoint, there is no change. How we do what we do the previous four weeks is going to be the exact same as we move forward and get ready for Saturday.

Q: What are you seeing with all of the penalties this year?
Lebby: There are some things happening from a non-playing standpoint. We have the third-and-four where we have the procedure where we don’t enough on the line of scrimmage and that’s bad football. That’s attention to detail. We have three holds. One was here and there, but I thought the other two were no doubt, and we were in a good body position. We’ve got to let go and not hold.

We had a huge run on one of those plays where it’s not just a 10-yard penalty. It’s understanding what it’s doing to us situationally and how it’s taking chunk runs off the board. The playing penalties we have to clean up from a fundamental standpoint, from a technique standpoint and the five penalties on special teams is the most we’ve had by far since we’ve been here. And that can’t be who we are. We have a goal on special teams every single week to have zero penalties and we have five. It’s not playing winning football. We were able to overcome. But we don’t want to have to overcome. Want to be able to go play clean.

Q: what do you think has helped the secondary improve this year?
Lebby: For our guys, it’s going to be a great challenge and great test this week. Tennessee is throwing the ball really well. They’ve been explosive. They’ve got playmakers on the perimeter. For us, it’s trusting our technique and doing exactly what we’ve done, playing inside the scheme. There has been great growth because you look at guys like Brylo (Brylan Lanier) and Hunt (Hunter Washington) and Isaac (Smith), Kelley Jones and DeAgo (Brumfield). It’s Year 2 in the system and then Jayven (Williams) and Jett (Jefferson) and JMan (Jahron Manning). Those three guys came in and have done a nice job as well. I think a lot of those guys playing have played inside the system. I think it is showing up.

Q: How important was it to add Fluff Bothwell to the backfield?
Lebby: Having Fluff and his addition has been huge for us. It’s been great to be able to get him going. I think the good thing for him is he sat in here and watched the tape today and we left a lot out there too. That’s the stress. I talked about not wasting a play and being able to score now. If you have a chance to get a first down on second and 8, getting it. All those things in a game inside the game is critical. As he watched that I thought it was really good for him. He played really tough, but there was still a lot left out there and that’s what he is excited about.

Q: Your thoughts on red-zone success this year?
Lebby: We got to score points down there, most importantly we got to score touchdowns. That’s going to continue to be a huge piece for us. When we get down there, it’s about having the ability to score now and not wait and not waste a play. We’ve got to continue that trend this year.

Q: How has Tennessee been effective keeping quarterback Joey Agular unaffected?
Lebby: They are playing really well up front. That is one thing I did last night was watch their offense vs. Georgia and that’s what stuck out to me. The way they’re playing up front right now, having the ability of keeping the QB clean and the ability to push the ball down the field and make some competitive plays jumped off the tape. For us, it’s going to be about stopping run first. That will be a huge part of it. They want to get the run game going. That’s when they have their most success. So we have to find ways to limit that.

Q: Any talks with your players yet about redshirting or the portal?
Lebby: For our guys, all that stuff will happen internally as we move forward. That’s the way college football is set up right now. Each individual guy is specific to his own situation. We’ll keep all those things in house as we move forward.

Q: What will it take to score from far against Tennesse?
Lebby: We’re going to have to make competitive plays down the field. That’s a huge part of it. We’ll have to get the football in space and win one-on-ones. That’s how you create those chunks and having the ability to do exactly that. To me, it comes back to how we are protecting Blake. Keeping him clean is going to be a huge part of Saturday afternoon.

Q: What does it mean to you and the locker room to be 4-0?
Lebby: It was huge for our program. We got good momentum right now. We need to keep the momentum and we need to build on it and Saturday will be a huge step in that direction.