No. 6 Ole Miss is less than a week away from hosting Tulane in a historic College Football Playoff game.
Saturday’s game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium will be the first of its kind in Oxford and should be an exciting environment. But the Rebels have to get through a week of practices before they take the field.
Ole Miss coach Pete Golding talked about the team’s preparations for the Green Wave, as well as few other topics at his Monday press conference. Here’s everything he said:
Opening statement…
I had normal week last week, like we talked about last week, and then gave them all Saturday, brought them back Sunday night, had a little practice last night, and then redid the scouting report today, did some walk-throughs and stuff like that, so just getting off the field. Super excited about the opportunity these kids have created for themselves in our program, to be able to have their own playoff game, and really excited about the challenge in Tulane.
On any challenges with practices as head coach…
I think the biggest thing was the pieces are in place for it to be consistent as it was prior. So the practice piece of it is the easiest part of it. It’s the in-between, obviously, of managing the now and then the 2026 and what that’s going to look like. So the practice part is kind of my safe code right now. I get out there and get a new ball, and that thing runs itself. We got a lot of really, really good people in the organization that are a part of that, so the practice part’s been really, really smooth.
On getting to know QB Trinidad Chambliss…
I think all student-athletes are pretty much the same. They want guys to push them. They want to have guys that believe in them, and obviously, I think they want to win, and I want to make sure we’re doing everything possible to put them in a really good position in order to win, so the one-on-ones have been cool. Just seeing him from a personality standpoint, obviously, I’ve always known the competitor and how tough he was and all those different things, but getting to know him a little bit more on a personal level has been pretty neat and kind of picking his brain on some things that he’s really enjoyed and really liked that he’s thought helped him succeed and then some other things that we can tweak within reason to improve his performance and our team’s performance. It’s been really good to get to meet a lot of them and know a lot of those guys a lot better.
On new coaching hires…
I think what we look for in our players, we look for in our staff. Number one, do they love football? Number two, are they good people? Are they good human beings? And then number three, do they want to be here? And I think, obviously, some of these guys that have come back have already been here and already have a lot invested into this program and want to give back. They know what this place has done for them as a young man, and they want to have that same influence on young men right now. Speaking on Spurlock I had the ability to work with Coach Spurlock at another place, so I saw his energy and his ability to teach and teach the game at a very high level. So that was a no-brainer for me.
LD, I just got to know throughout this process, has been a receiver coach for a couple of my good friends that I really respect in the business, came very highly recommended. And then once you interview that guy and you see his personality and how much he loves football and how intelligent he is and how he affects the people around him, he was a no-brainer. So we’re really excited to move in that direction for next year, and I think he brings a lot to the program.
On being a defensive coach with offensive coach connections…
When you’re at Alabama for five and a half years, you meet a lot of people. A lot of people come in and out of there. No, obviously, I’ve been in this industry for a long time and developed a lot of really good relationships with a lot of people on both sides of the ball. And as your defensive coordinator for as long as I’ve been, you know what type of guys and offenses that you go against and who present you problems. And then recruiting at a high level for a long time, you also know those recruiting battles with guys that do a really good job and make it really hard for you. So you take notes.
Obviously, this is everybody’s goal, in my opinion, that gets into football at one point. They want to have the ability to lead their own program. And so you’re taking notes as you go, kind of building your own roster, so to say. And then, obviously, from an agent standpoint, they have a list of guys as well that they feed. You know, from a profile standpoint of what you’re looking for, that can create value for your organization. But a lot of those were on a personal level where I either knew them personally or somebody that I really respected in the profession had their hands on them.
And, obviously, I went and got their opinion on it and then interviewed those guys. And we put them through a pretty tedious process in the interview. And so we Zoomed them first, and we like what we do on Zoom, and then we bring them in because we want it to be a fit.
We want it to be a fit for us and a fit for them, but more importantly, a fit for our players. And I think that’s the most important thing in hiring people. Number one is to retain the really good players that we have and then address those needs and be able to go out and recruit really unique players, convince them that Ole Miss is the best place to do that. So I think we’re doing that.
On what makes this Ole Miss team unique…
I think the grit. I think the toughness. I think they’ve got amnesia. I think it’s a next-play mentality, and it has been for a long time. I think they’re very even-keeled. They don’t get too high. They don’t get too low. At the end of the day, they just want to be coached really hard. They want to have good players on both sides of the ball. Energy and effort have never been an issue with this group. I think we’ve got older guys in critical leadership roles, and I think a lot of times when you’re best players or you’re best people and you’re best leaders, it becomes player-led.
So these guys just want to spot the ball. They want to have good players. They know this Tulane team is not the same Tulane team we played in week four. They’re well aware of that, and neither are we. And so we’ve got to have a really good week of practice and great preparation and be the most excited to play. So probably their grit for me.
On balance between preparing CFP and offseason…
I think that’s kind of free agency from the NFL standpoint. I mean, a lot of those guys are identified way before, as far as from an evaluation standpoint. Are they good enough? Do they fit the scheme and all that? The only thing the portal allows you to do is start the communication part of it. But I think the evaluation process, I think that’s the big thing in college football now, those player personnel departments and all those type of things, already have the list compiled of guys based on position, know the best in the country at what they do that fit our schemes. And then at that point, the communication would start, you know, with them and the representation toward what are they looking for? What are we looking for? And the actual communication piece of it starts up. So a lot of guys have a lot of different jobs and a lot of different roles in these college jobs.
The departments are getting bigger and bigger, but there’s no different than a scouting department in the NFL. You have the same concepts in college. They’ll be ready for those things when that thing opens. So a lot of those guys obviously already know about no different than any news you get new news every day. And we get those spreadsheets of guys that announce on social media that they’re planning on entering. And so if we haven’t had them cut up and we haven’t evaluated, the evaluation process starts. And there’s some might potentially that we want to add to our team. So we have a lot of guys responsible for that.
On evaluating practices as head coach…
Obviously the defensive side of the ball is the same as offensively, you know, from a plan standpoint and all that, we’ve got highly qualified guys that have been very successful doing it this year. So I’m not going in there and acting like I’m John Gruden all of a sudden. So again, we’ve got a lot of guys that do it the right way. I think from a rotation standpoint, I think sometimes even me defensively, you know, we get locked in on certain guys because we trust them or we see him as this. And sometimes it’s really not that. And sometimes we can get blinders on for players that have the ability to play winning football that haven’t been. And I think that’s the biggest thing.
And as an organization, one guy’s not going to make that decision, but make sure we’re using all the pieces that we can to give us our best chance to win the game. And what can players do now what they can’t do and don’t go by a checklist and let’s create some package for guys that can play winning football. Because to go make the run at this, that you need to, somebody that has not had a significant role is going to have to step up and have a significant role.
And I had a big time and a big game. I’ve been a part of too many of them not to see that. So we’ve got to prepare those guys and start having plans ready for those guys.
And if they can play winning football, meaning they can make more plays for us than they do against us. And we need to find a platform they need to play. And so from a rotational standpoint on both sides of the ball, obviously last week gives us the part to evaluate that and make sure we use in all the pieces that we have within this building right now to give us our best chance.
So, so from a rotation standpoint, that’s a little different than a scheme standpoint. And then from a defensive standpoint, I know what creates issues for us. All right.
So obviously there are some of those things that potentially, Hey, have y’all thought about, you know, creating some of these during the game to create problems for the opposing defense that I think could help us as well. So all that goes into play, but those guys have done a great job all year. And I expect them to do a great job this week.
On chance to think about walking onto field as a head coach…
To be honest with you, no, you know, I really don’t plan to. I think, you know, we owe this to the team, to the fans, to the university to have blinders on right now. I know what it takes to win football games. I know what it takes to be successful in defense and it’s hard work and you got to do it better than anybody else. And you got to be willing to do things that they’re not. I think when you start getting caught up in moments and start taking pictures and do all that, your focus is on the wrong thing. And so for this, this is something, hopefully whenever that last game is and we put it forth our best effort, whatever the result of that is, then you’ll have some time to sit back and kind of look back on it and be able to evaluate it. Did you do it the right way? Could we do it better? And all that. But right now, you know, I’m not trying to enjoy anything. I’m trying to prepare extremely hard and get a good plan in place for these players and hold them accountable to practice the right way and prepare the right way to give them the best chance. So that would be at a later time. I’ll let my kids do that.
On changes to Tulane since earlier meeting this season…
I’ve always thought schematically they do a really good job, especially trying to create ways to run the football, using their quarterback at plus one runs, but formation and motions and shifts and things like that from a numbers standpoint and creating extra gaps. So I always thought they’d done a really good job. That was coming into week four as well.
Their tackle has been a two-time all-conference player for them, who didn’t play versus us in the first game, who I think is probably their best offensive lineman. So, some of that has moved around a little bit, and I think they’re good up front. Some of the backs that played against us have kind of taken backup roles since then, and they’ve got some other guys that have stepped up that are running the ball really well.
And then from a receiver standpoint, you know, I know a lot of those guys from recruiting, whether that’s signed a couple of them or one of them at Alabama that transferred over and recruiting some of those other guys. So they’re skilled on the perimeter. I think they look a lot more comfortable on the offense.
I think that’s a lot of the time now, you know, week four when you’re bringing first-year players in, you know, obviously you don’t have your whole system in yet. They’re not fully comfortable with the checks, the adjustments, and the kills and all those things. They’re playing at a high level.
And I think this is not week four too late. This is obviously they’ve won their conference. They beat the ACC champion. They’re playing at a high level. They’re scoring a lot of points, and they’re doing a lot of things really, really well. So, you know, we’re going to have to be locked in.
We’re going to have to be focused. Turnovers are going to be a critical piece of this game. You know, we neutralized that last time as far as ball takeaways, but there were three critical fourth down stops in that game that kind of swung the momentum of the game.
And I think if you look at their two losses, this possessions game, you know, their two losses, their minus eight in possessions game. And they do an unbelievable job of taking the football away, the number eight in the country. And so, you know, they’ve created a lot of other possessions throughout the year.
And when they’ve done that, they’ve consistently won at a high level. And so taking care of the football and offensively, you know, offense is going to be extremely important. But we’ve got to take the ball away on defense.
We’ve got to find ways to get our ball back to the offense with great field position. And so that’s going to be a critical component. I think they tackle really, really well.
You know, that’s something that we’re going to have to have single digit missed tackles that we were able to do, you know, in the first time that we played them. There’s been weeks, you know, throughout the year that we’ve struggled with that. And obviously when we do, that creates explosive plays.
They’re going to be hard enough to contest every play anyway, offensively what they do. So we’ve got to be a really well-tackled team. We’ve got to lock in, communicate, be on the same page, no uncontested plays, and you’ve got to limit the explosives.
So as far as these guys, to me, it’s the takeaway ratio and the explosive game. We created a lot of them in the first game offensively with some one-on-one matchups, well aware that they’re going to change some things up and protect some guys. We’ve got to be able to run the ball effectively on offense to create some of those one-on-ones, and we’ve got to win them.
So definitely not the same team. They’re playing at a high level, but I don’t think we are (the same team) either. So we’ve got to be ready to roll.
On role of newly hired coaches…
I think obviously anybody from a 2026 piece of this is retention of your current roster. So being available from a relationship standpoint for your current roster to be able to come in, meet them, talk about them, not from a development aspect or anything like that, but a lot of players want to know who am I going to play for.
Number one, they want to make sure there’s stability in the scheme, and that’s not going to change. Number two, do I like the guy’s energy and body language and who he is as a man, is he going to be able to develop me as a young man?
So I think it’s really important to get those guys around our players prior to the portal coming open so they have a really good idea of the people that they’re going to play for. And then on top of that, I think a big piece of it is evaluating our roster. So let’s go ahead and evaluate your position and who’s playing, winning football, who’s not, who needs to improve, and then potentially who needs to be in a replacement at that position to be able to address the portal needs.
And then those guys are obviously heavy in the portal from a ranking system and all those type of things. So go ahead and evaluate the guys that we’re going to try to target once that thing opens. But number one, I was trying to get those guys that fit first in here as soon as possible for retention of our current players so they know the coach is going to be around them.
And then number two, obviously it would be for a portal reason, but I didn’t want to hurry anything. This wasn’t anything to go try to hire somebody fast. We wanted to make sure the fit was right first, especially on that side of the ball with J.D.B. coming in and guys that he can trust and that he wanted around him to build it up, our guys. But number one for me is retention.
On Joe Judge…
Yeah, I think he’s added tremendous value.
You know, since he’s been here. And I think whether it’s players or coaches, you want guys with experience, right, that have sat in those chairs that have had to make those decisions. But you want team first guys and I think that’s Joe. I think, you know, having been the head coach with the Giants to come in here as an analyst role, right, to be a backup quarterback coach, I think speaks volumes of who he is. And then on top of it, for his son to be on our team, obviously for the family to be in Oxford, for what this place has already meant to him up to this point, he’s fully invested.
But it’s really nice to be able to have a guy from a leadership standpoint that’s been in the role that I’m in right now to be able to close the door and bring in and ask his opinion and say, hey, how did you do this? Not that you’re always going to do it that way, but that you got a realistic opinion of somebody that’s done it. But he’s been all in from day one. He’s got a good view of it holistically and very mature about it.
He’s got a good rapport with our players. So I’m glad we got him signed and he’s coming back.
On where he’ll be coaching from…
I’m going to be on the field. And so that’s something my first year here I was on the field. You know, that’s all five years at Alabama when I called it I was on the field.
So, you know, the hardest thing to actually do is to call it from the box because you’re never in a box of practice. So everybody wants to talk about the difference between the box and the field. I mean, you’re only in the box 12 times a year.
You know, so it’s getting adjusted to that and getting removed from your players. So I think the biggest thing, you know, is having a guy up there that can see it the way you do it, right, which we will. But I’ve had a lot of experience calling from the sideline, but I’ll get in the sideline for the game.
On usefulness of game film previous meeting with Tulane…
I think concept-wise, I think it’s important of how people are trying to attack you. All right, more importantly, what are they trying to protect and why.
And so a lot of those things you’re going to come, and it’s no different in the NFL, they play everybody twice a year. So you’re not completely aborting a game plan from before. You know, especially this late in the year, people show you who they are, and they’ve got a foundation of things that have worked.
And the last thing that they want to do is reinvent the wheel at this point, and it’s not comfortable for their players. Let’s put them in this position. Now are they going to dress it up and create it a different way? Absolutely.
But at the core of it, they’re going to get back to, hey, this is what they believe in, this is who they are. And those are the bread and butter things that we talk about that you’ve got to take away, understanding that it’s going to be presented in a different way. And then, obviously, like I talked about before, a lot of things don’t come up in a game that you prepare for, that they had put on tape prior to, and then you’re looking at the game since then, how many times has this shown up, has it been successful for them? And then when it’s this far removed, I mean, a lot of guys are copycat guys, you know, in every sport.
So you’ve got to go back, obviously, and self-assess what’s created problems for us on both sides of the ball on a consistent basis that they’re watching the same tape that they’re going to do. So you’ve got to play a coordinator on the other side of the ball as well on some of those explosives that you’ve given up and some things that you haven’t done well up to this point, knowing they’re going to try to take advantage of those and prepare your guys from a copycat standpoint as well. So they’re going to be who they are.
You don’t get to this point, you know, in college football and try to change who you are and change an offense and change a defense. Your players feel that. They sense that.
You know, they’re not comfortable with that. So, you know, this is going to be about preparing the right way, having a really good execution, and being the most excited to play. I told you all this before.
You know, I’ve been fortunate to be on a lot of these. And it’s the team that’s most excited to play, that’s the most well-prepared, that practices the best, and that’s going to make the least amount of mistakes. And those mistakes come from proper preparation.
And so we’ve got to lock in and focus and have a really good week, and we’ve got to be excited to play.
On this season’s seniors…
I mean, I think obviously the older veteran guys that have been here for a while, the Tyler Banks of the world and all those that this place means so much to, I think have done a good job making these young guys understand, hey, y’all might get another shot, but we don’t. You know, make sure everybody in this room is doing everything they can for this senior class, this senior group, that’s put together a three-year stretch that really hadn’t been done here in a while.
And so I think, you know, they’ve kind of made them feel that responsibility. Number one, they’ve got to do that themselves, being the older guys that set the right example. But they’re expecting everybody in every chair to do their job to put us in a position to be able to win.
So I think we have a high-character group. I think we have all year. It’s kind of been consistent.
And we’ve got a lot of selfless guys. So there’s a lot of buy-in right now to make sure we’re doing everything that we can control in order to give ourselves our best chance to win the football game. And then at that point, you’ve got to spot the ball and go play.
More on Chambliss…
I think kind of when he first got here, I think you’re talking about a guy that won a national championship at a different level and was the player of the year at that level to come in and be a backup from the jump and how he handled that. And you never heard him. I never heard him talking or complaining or anything like that.
So, like, he came in and went to work, accepted the role where he was at at that point, and then just took it to where, hey, I’m going to grind. I’m going to work. And when my opportunity comes, I’m going to be ready.
And I think that’s the message for our whole team. And that’s what I told him about the Jalen-Tua situation, the two times at Bama for me. You know, you’ve got Jalen who’s 18-1 as a starter and a national champion, but I remember the halftime of him talking about pulling him or not.
And then Tua coming in the second and 26th to win the national championship game. And then fast forward to the next SEC championship, Tua started all year, goes out in the third quarter, gets hurt, down 10. And then who comes in? Jalen.
But it was because of that decision that he made when he got pulled, hey, I’m just going to outwork everybody else. I don’t control whether I play or not, but I’m going to get another opportunity. I’m going to be ready when my opportunity comes.
And he came back and won the SEC championship and then went on and competed for a national championship. So that’s that mentality. That’s that mentality that Trinidad had to me.
And I think he’s an unbelievable example now that the leader of the team and had a lot of success having that attitude the entire time, I think, spreads. And so hopefully all these other guys are doing that exact thing, you know, buying in, preparing like a starter because they don’t know when their opportunity is going to come. But one of them in here, it will. And whether it’s this Saturday, right, or a future game, whatever that is, it’s going to happen. And so the worst thing that you could do is have had the wrong mindset and not prepared like you’re going to have that opportunity and not be prepared when that opportunity comes because you’re going to affect everybody in this room. So I think that was the most thing that I was impressed about from Trinidad was just his work ethic, right, and the leadership ability by not saying anything.
I think a lot of guys come in here as a first-year player and they start running their mouth and they haven’t earned that respect from the people in the room. And he did it by his work ethic. And when he had the opportunity to come into scrimmages and play, he played at a really high level. This isn’t something that like he beat Austin out, Austin got hurt. But when that happened, he was ready to roll. And then at that point, he’s like, I’m not going to lose it. So I love that mentality of him.
On what a peak Ole Miss culture looks like…
I think competitive, number one. I think that’s not something that’s just started. I think that’s something that’s been around here a long time. At the end of the day, they keep score. And if you keep score, the object is to win the game. No difference from players that we’re trying to recruit, we’re trying to recruit players to help win games. You’re hiring coaches to try to help win games. And I know that’s what we’re judged based on. And they’ve done it at a really high level here consistently over the last couple years. So I think competition is number one. But I think that comes like there’s got to be some interior motivation.
All the exterior factors, in my opinion, of what college football used to use was the NFL. And so you had elite players that wanted to get to the NFL because they wanted that payday. Well, they’ve already got it now. So they’ve got nice cars. They’re in nice condos. Some of them are in the country club by me.
They’ve already got what you used to have to work hard to. They have. And so at the end of the day, if there’s not that interior motivation to want to compete and want to be the best player in my position and want to be the best team in the country, to want to leave a legacy for this team that’s never been done here before, then you’re going to fall short. And I think that’s what gets lost in the recruiting process when you just go back to the tape and you’re watching the tape. Like does the guy love football or does he love what football can do for them? And so we want a group of guys that love football, that are tough, competitive, that are wired the right way, that just want to spot the ball. And we’ve talked about that before.
So I think we’ve got a really good nucleus of guys like that. And when you have guys like that, it’s really easy to weed out the other ones because if they don’t jump on, they eliminate themselves. But I think that’s really important in the recruiting process. And I think we’ve done a really good job here.
