The following are live, paraphrased notes from the Monday afternoon media availability:
Mike Elko
- Recapping the Florida game, OL of the Week was the entire offensive line. That was the most complete performance they have had. Penalty, sack and TFL free. DL and the SEC Co-DL of the Week was Dayon Hayes. Offense was Nate Boerkircher. Defensively was Albert Regis. Tyler White was the Special Teams Player of the Week. I thought we played a complete balanced game.
- The thing I am most proud of is the way we finished. I thought we were the stronger team down the stretch. We ran 20 of those last 21 plays. It's on to Arkansas, which will be a tremendous challenge. Coach Bobby Petrino has done a phenomenal job calling offenses for a long time. His first home game as interim. We will get their best. It will be a huge challenge for our program.
- The fourth quarter success, you have to give credit to Tommy Moffitt and his staff and also the kids in the offseason. You get confidence in how you play. Times in the past, it felt really nervy in the fourth quarter. Kids weren't certain. Right now, that feel is not there.
- No matter how the schedule shapes up, it comes down to how you perform. If we didn't handle business early, the schedule would appear daunting. At the end of the day, you have to let it play out. To me, you just think, “OK, we have this game.” They did put the bye week in there, so it's not three straight road games.
- Le’Veon Moss is going to be out for a significant period of time. His injury has nothing to do with his injury last year. It’s his ankle. He is going to have it looked at. It will not end his season, but it will be a significant amount of time.
- Everyone wants the football. We have five tailbacks who all want the ball 25 times. We can't do that. Now, Rueben Owens II has to be the primary ball carrier.
- Petrino’s offenses are really good. They can stress you and emphasize weaknesses in your defense. This will be the fifth time I have gone against him, and he is certainly one of the best play-callers in the country.
- I love Moss. He has been a warrior for this program. Injuries are a part of SEC football. If we allow injuries to derail things, we can't do that. He will be a huge loss, but it has to be a next man up mentality.
- You want practice to be challenging. We are trying to put them in positions... It's one thing to know the game. It’s another to play it. The kids are starting to see that.
- It’s going to be hard. Anytime you go on the road, you have challenges. There are no easy environments. You'd better be ready for adversity.
- We have our own internal grading systems for recruiting. We spend time evaluating. We feel that we have a strong internal system. Tyler Onyedim was a significant get for us. Cashius Howell was big. Jamarion Morrow was a late add, and he’s been big.
- I wish it were AT&T Stadium this year. I wish next year were at Kyle Field. When you go on the road, you would rather play at a neutral site.
- Owen’s style is not a ton different. He is a lot bigger than people give him credit for. It took him a while to get back from his injury last year. He is hitting his groove.
- The first time humility hit me was at Stony Brook, where my desk was next to the bathroom, and I could hear the toilet flush. There is humility and confidence in this team. They can co-exist. I don’t know if it's anything more than a reflection of leadership.
- You want to have quality players at every position. It’s always nice to have talented pieces. I don’t know if you can get the next capable SEC defensive tackle when you have Regis and DJ Hicks. Dealyn Evans, DJ Sanders and Landon Rink’s roles become critical.
- It’s a good problem to have in the linebacker room. It is such a credit to Daymion Sanford. He went out again and made a bunch of impact plays. Scooby Williams deserves to play for all he has done here. We had all three out there at points on Saturday.
- I don't know if there is an adjustment to the one-time transfer window. The benefit of it is that you know your roster is set when that period is over.
- Given where Bryce Anderson was three weeks ago and the relationship I have had with him, it was great to see him back healthy. That was a scary moment, and to see him back was really cool.
- Taylen Green is one of the best quarterbacks in the country. He can hurt you in multiple ways. He is hard to pressure because he can get out of pressure.
- To prevent my team from overlooking Arkansas, I show them the film, and they are averaging 40 points per game.
