Sept. 6, 2010
Andy Burcham Audio Interviews: LB J. Bynes | OT L. Ziemba | OG M. Berry 
QB C. Newton
Head Coach Gene Chizik
Opening statement...
"Obviously we have a very short week to prepare for a very good Mississippi State football team. Watching them over the last 24-48 hours, you can just see an unbelievable amount of improvement in their team. I have a very high level of respect for what Coach (Dan) Mullen is doing over there. They played a great football game Saturday. We've got our work cut out for us. It's tough to play in Starkville. It's going to be a very important game for both sides so it's going to be a hard-fought battle. It's going to be critical that we go over there and play to the best of our ability to give us a chance to win."
On Mississippi State transitioning to a better pass game this year...
"You can tell certainly they have put a great deal of emphasis on being able to throw the ball and balance their attack out. Without any question, they're doing that better. They've got some really good receivers. They're playing two quarterbacks now. Not that one of them is better at one thing necessarily than the other. In the game that I saw, they are both very competent at running the ball and throwing it. It looks like they have definitely made a concerted effort to be able to throw the ball down the field, and they did a great job of that on Saturday. They still have all the running game threats. They've got a very good running attack that can cause a potential problem in terms of getting the right number of guys in the right spots to defend the run. That's very challenging. On top of that now, it seems they can throw the ball down the field much better than they could the year before. They look more comfortable in the offense. When you have 570 yards of offense and five touchdown passes in a ballgame, you obviously have a very comfortable feel out there. You can tell it's just much different. Even if you look at the end of the year last year against Ole Miss, you can see it. You can really see it starting to progress. I think they started where they left off this year on Saturday."
On offensive transitions at Auburn and Mississippi State...
"I think conceptually for Mississippi State and us too, we both want to run the football. There's no question about that. Their run game is extremely challenging because they have a lot more of the option feel in their game. It's still a power counter, run downhill attack but they have the perimeter game mixed in there with it with their quarterbacks and their tailbacks as threats, and they do a great job with that. It sort of becomes a numbers game when you're trying to stop their run, but they're very good at it. It's not your conventional two-back, I-back conventional run-play stuff. It gives you a lot of problems. If you're not in the right spots or you have one guy out of position with their run game, it's going to give you some fits. It's very challenging and on top of that, it seems now they're throwing the ball much better than they did last year."
On starting to see philosophical differences in the SEC...
"I think there are some different offenses in the conference now that aren't your traditional-type offenses. They are a little bit different and have a little different wrinkle and it's in their own way. Mississippi State obviously runs for a lot of yards and scores a lot of points in a different way than the conventional-type offenses that you've seen in this league in the past. I guess you could say probably the same with our offense - a little bit different, still want to run the ball different ways and somewhat unconventional ways to get there. I think you're seeing a little bit more of that. There are probably a couple other offense that maybe haven't necessarily gone wholesale in that direction but are sprinkling in a little of that in their own right too. I think that's why you're seeing a lot of points scored in this league and a lot of yards put up."
On the new rules to enforce cowbell use at Mississippi State...
"We're preparing for it all. Every stadium in the SEC has tradition and passion for the game. You're going to get the noise and whatever happens on Thursday night, we'll be prepared for."
Once it gets to the point where you can't hear, does it matter whether it's cowbells or something else?
"It doesn't matter. When you can't hear, you can't hear. That's what we prepare for. You're going to get that pretty much every week no matter where you go."
On how officials are alerted of rule violations...
"I think because it has aroused everybody's awareness, they're going to be prepared to do whatever they have to do. The commissioner has handled the situation with exactly what he wants and what he expects and the league obviously will follow that. I'm really not a whole lot concerned with that."
On this being a big game for Cameron Newton after being highly recruited by Mississippi State...
"Those things are in the past, and he has to go out and play football. We haven't even talked about it. He's focused on being a better teammate and a better football player and helping Auburn win. I think all that other stuff is water under the bridge."
On what more needs to be seen out of Newton...
"I think decision making for starters and the progression of reads and throwing the football. There is a whole communication with cadence and count which ties into issues with illegal procedure and things of that nature. There are a whole lot of things that not just him but our whole offense needs to improve on. He's got several things that he knows he has to get better at."
On Newton dealing with expectations...
"I think he has been great with all the expectations. One thing about Cameron that you have to understand is that he understands the expectations are out there, but nobody has a higher expectation of him than him. That's how competitive he is. He's very competitive. He puts a high level of pressure on himself good or bad or indifferent. That's just kind of the way he is because he's such a competitor. He's expects a lot out of himself."
On having confidence in the defense going into the next game...
"We have got to be much better. I think we have a little bit better idea of what is in front of us this week. They do a lot of things that challenge you in terms of a lot of motions and tight end trades and a lot of movement that try to get you out of being in the right spot obviously. We go back and we look at last week and there were several times when we were a little bit out of alignment until we got adjusted to things. Again we knew going in and upfront it was going to be a guessing game on what we were going to see. On a little bit of a degree, it will be like that with Mississippi State because you have a whole year from last year of film and you just have to figure out what their plan is. They do what they do and they are really good at it. They don't need to change anything."
On the chances of more freshmen playing...
"There are. I said at the beginning of the year, you are going to look at anywhere from 10 to 15 freshman probably playing. I'll stick to that and that number may rise."
On Ladarious Phillips...
"We are just trying to get him healthy. It's just a process that is going to take some time, and I don't know the answer to that."
On the sense of urgency with the players with it being a short week...
"They know that and they feel that. We talked in depth a good bit yesterday just about the importance of this game. First of all, Starkville is a very, very tough place to play. Traditionally over time it has been a very tough place to play. They are playing at probably the highest level right now that I have seen in 10 years. That coupled with the fact that Starkville is a very tough place to play, the urgency is extremely high. This is a very critical time for us as a football team. It's going to be a very difficult game. I think our players know that. The message is clear. They are excited that it is a Thursday night game. We know everybody is going to be watching and that's going to be fun, but I think the magnitude of the game is huge and everybody is on the same page with that."
On why this game is so critical...
"I think obviously it's your first SEC game. If you get a win in Starkville, you carry a lot of momentum into the rest of the very difficult schedule. We certainly aren't looking ahead to anybody but you would love to get a great win. If we can win, it's a great win that gives you some confidence and things that you need to carry on. Again all of the common sense things. It's the first conference game and first road game. We are going to take fifteen freshmen on the road for that first time playing a game. There are a lot of implications in there for this."
On using both Cody Parkey and Wes Byrum for kickoffs...
"We will use both."
On Ryan Shoemaker's performance on Saturday...
"He did what we needed him to do. We were trying to get a feel for that first game. A lot of them were one step punts and we just said let's get them out, let's get down and cover them and get some good hang time. He did exactly what we asked of him. I was proud of him and he did a nice job Saturday. He gave us a chance to get down there and cover which was the main thing that we get it out quick and were able to cover. He did a nice job for us."
On the strategy for defending the Dan Mullen offense...
"The first thing you have to do is stop the run. That's the first and foremost issue that anyone trying to stop this offense has. Then ultimately what comes off of that is big plays off the passing game. They will take some shots down the field so you have to be very sound in what you are trying to do. Obviously being in situations where you can cover all the play actions off of those runs. That's where they get you so you have to be very sound and good with your eyes very discipline back there."
Quarterback Cameron Newton
On playing Mississippi State...
"Just like any other game, I'm ready to play. As far as my relationship with Coach Mullen, our relationship is a long one and goes far beyond just football. I have so much respect for Coach Mullen and what he has going at Mississippi State. As a team, we can't wait to play our next opponent."
On your performance against Arkansas State...
"I had a good game, but the things that Coach (Gus) Malzahn pointed out; it wasn't near as good as I wanted it to be. I missed key throws that I felt as if I could make on a regular day. As far as it being a first game, I think I got a lot of jitters out. I'm just going to have to get more comfortable being the every-down quarterback relatively quickly."
On Coach Mullen having an advantage preparing for the game...
"I have no idea. You'll have to ask Coach Mullen."
Was Coach Mullen involved with recruiting you to Florida?
"He was. He was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach there. His persona the way he goes after athletes is top notch and superb. I admire that in him. It goes back to him recruiting me in junior college. We really didn't even talk about football for the most part. It was still more on a coach-player basis, seeing how I was doing in the games and seeing how I could get better. I always have admired that about Coach Mullen."
On playing in a hostile environment at Mississippi State...
"I hope not."
On his comfort level with the offense a game into the season...
"I'm getting comfortable. I feel confident in being around the guys I have on offense, Kodi Burns, Darvin Adams and especially the starting line. It's a good thing to see that we have a lot of guys on offense that are really hungry and really trying to emerge as being a star in this league and that's what you want to see. If you have a lot of guys around you that are set on what they've done in the past, you are really not going to get anywhere. These guys here are hungry and eager to be great. Good to great, that's our saying."
On dealing with crowd noise...
"I don't know. That's something our coaching staff is going to have a fun time trying to scheme up with that. We're just going to go out there and do what we signed up to do, play football."
Have you ever played in a situation where it was so loud you couldn't hear?
"I think we had a couple of games like that at Blinn (College)."
On playing on Thursday night...
"It raises the bar for the spotlight to be on Auburn not just me. The buzz is on Auburn and how we have been playing. That's raises the bar for our whole team to step up our game because everybody is watching."
How different of a quarterback are you since your time at Florida?
"I think the biggest thing that changed for me since then is maturity. I had a lot of mature things I needed to step up on and Coach Mullen always rode me about that. I was too young and naïve to notice it, but now that I look back on the things that I have done I just laugh about it and am really somewhat embarrassed. I had a good leader that I could look up to in Tim Tebow. I look at the things he did and try to do the same things he did."
How hard was it to tell Coach Mullen that you were coming to Auburn?
"It was probably one of the hardest decisions I've made in my recent life. Not just telling him because we had a good relationship, but telling his wife was even harder. That was one of the hardest things. We had such a close relationship. This decision wasn't just merely my decision. I had to clear it with the whole nine yards not just with how I feel. I had to go through so many people to see what they think, whether my family or the closest people toward me. It felt best that my career would be played in Auburn."
