Press Conference: Elko & Co. host Mississippi State for Kyle Field night game

The following are live, paraphrased notes from the Monday afternoon media availability:

Mike Elko

• Just want to start by acknowledging Reveille IX, who passed away. I would be remiss to not start with that.
   
• Excited for this week. It’s a blackout at Kyle Field. I would love for the fans to don all black.
   
• Our Players of the Week: OL Dametrious Crownover. I didn't agree with the penalty he had. I thought he had a good game. DL POTW: DJ Hicks. Offensive POTW was Le’Veon Moss. Defensive POTW was Taurean York. Special teams POTW was Jared Kerr. Any time we can acknowledge kids in the program, giving everything they have... He is a four-year player, and I'm sure he would love to be the starting safety. He would be at a lot of places.
   
• I was proud of how we played the fourth quarter. Offensively, we moved the ball well. We had 15 explosive plays. We had too many penalties. It's a problem. It was a strong point of our meetings this morning.
   
• Mississippi State is another talented SEC football team. Excited to get back at it.
   
• The standard reaction to poor rush defense is bad DL play. That's not the case. We have had troubles since I’ve been here, leveraging the football. We have gotten beat to the perimeter. It's been a constant conversation. We have done a little better job at that. If we can keep the ball inside of us, we have a shot.
   
• York is a throwback in terms of his knowledge, his studying habits and his instincts. His play speed is so fast. Edgerrin Cooper probably had more athleticism, but would wait to pull the trigger. York triggers sometime before the play unfolds.
   
• Jeff Lebby is a phenomenal offensive coach. They will stretch you. They run a spread offensive, but that will run the football. They are an energetic group.
   
• It’s just another game for Mario Craver.
   
• Third down is a down we put a real premium on. We put a lot of time into it. It’s a big part of that game. You can be awful on first, second and then win or lose third down.
   
• As the guys get more comfortable, it helps because we have a feel for who is good at what. Scooby Williams will be day-to-day.
   
• What stood out to me about York in high school was the way he played the game. Production carries. People get caught up in the height, weight, etc. of recruiting. He has created the same production at the high school and college levels.
   
• It's been awesome to see Dezz Ricks mature. We asked a lot of him last year. His body wore down. He struggled down the track last year. He committed to getting better in the offseason.
   
• Mississippi State’s running backs are talented. We saw that with Davon Booth last year. They are more efficient with Blake Shapen. We didn't see him last year.
   
• The defensive line is better than I thought. You never know until you know, but we were quietly hopeful. To see that play out, that is not a complete suprise but the biggest positive. Also, the explosive plays on offense.
   
• Craver’s recruitment took a lot of work. There was a relationship with Coach Holmon Wiggins. There was a need on our part to get an explosive playmaker. We were able to get him into the boat.
   
• Coming out of the bye week, that was the healthiest Tyreek Chappell has been. I think that showed Saturday. I think it was his most complete game of the year. He can cover the slot, too.
   
• Today, what we started was the Texas A&M football coaches’ Cabo fund, so what's going to happen now is every time our players get a penalty, they're going to contribute to our Cabo fund. We'll see if that works.
   
• The tight ends’ versatility present problems for the opposing defense. It puts stress on the defenses. There are times we have two out there. Micah Riley saw reps, too. He is getting healthy.
   
• It's been a rough go for the kids in this program in the last four years. They are learning, and they have the ability to control the games. That’s powerful. Every time that happens, it adds confidence.
   
• Pre-snap and post-snap penalties drive me crazy. Those are discipline things, and the result of a poorly coaches football team. In action, there are 50-50 situations, and inevitably, those things happen. You evaluate each penalty. I was probably OK with two of the penalties on Saturday.