Charles Huff Weekly Press Conference – The Mississippi State Game

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss head football coach Charles Huff addressed the media on Tuesday, Aug. 26, ahead of the Golden Eagles' season-opener against Mississippi State this Saturday.

Huff makes his debut as the 23rd full-time head coach in Southern Miss history against the in-state Bulldogs. The game will air to a national audience on ESPN with kickoff slated for 11 a.m. Roy Philpott (Play-by-Play), Sam Acho (Analyst) and Taylor Davis (Reporter) will be on the call. The Voice of the Golden Eagles, John Cox, will be joined by Jason Baker (Analyst) on the Southern Miss Sports Network with the pregame show starting at 9:30 a.m.

Fans can still purchase tickets to game and secure season tickets for the rest of the 2025 season by visiting SouthernMiss.com/Tickets.

Here is what Huff said to the media:

Opening Statement… (0:00)
"Yeah, well, welcome everybody here. I appreciate you guys and all you've done this offseason to cover us, and obviously leading up to the game. Probably the statement you'll hear all across college football is how much excitement there is for this season to get rolling, same thing here, we're super excited. Really want to say thank you and show my appreciation to the Southern Miss administration, the Southern Miss board, Dr. Joe Paul, Jeremy McClain and his staff. So many people over the last eight months that allowed us to get to this point. A lot of hours behind the scenes, a lot of pushing, pulling, tugging, working together, trying to get Southern Miss back to the top. I really appreciate everyone that's been involved in that on every level, from the top all the way to the people that keep this building clean and all the people who have been helping us with the fields. The last eight plus months have been phenomenal, and kind of rolling into the season excitement is high. I appreciate all the behind-the-scenes people who are going to make this work. Obviously, Jeremy and his staff, Spencer Bridges, Shawn Jones, and all the people from the lights coming on to the parking to everything that's going to go into making this weekend really really good. I am not sure from a holistic standpoint that we've had a weekend here to this magnitude in a long time. So really appreciative to the people who are going to be making sure that every fan, player, coach, administrator, news broadcaster, all of those things are going to have a phenomenal weekend. Obviously appreciative to the Mississippi State administration for allowing this game to happen, what it's going to do for this town this weekend is unprecedented. It's going to really allow us to continue move in the right direction economically, entertainment-wise, bringing fans together; this is what college football is about. It has the ability to change communities, it has the ability to change states, it has the ability to make a positive impact not only on the young men on the field but also so many people involved. I appreciate the administration, obviously, here and Mississippi State for allowing this game to happen. It's going to pay dividends for both programs, it really is. Huge appreciation to all the fans who have already bought tickets. If you haven't bought tickets, I am not sure what you are waiting on, but we will keep the ticket lines open. I know there has been a change in the process of tickets and parking. Remember guys, everyone wants change until you have to change, and no one is trying to change anything to make it anymore less accommodating. Everything we are doing is trying to get Southern Miss to the top. The world has changed, things have changed, we have to change. The worst thing you can say is this is the way we have always done it, but I think we got to stay progressive. So, yes there is going to be some hiccups and headaches, and trust me, this weekend has way too many positives for us not to enjoy. So every fan, every donor, every student is going to pack this stadium and fill town. From me to you, from our program to you, thank you, thank you for that.

To the game huge challenge coming up, Mississippi State is a really good football team. I know when looking back at what happened last year, you know you may not say that, but in year two, they have invested 15 to 18 million dollars into new players in this new revenue-sharing model. [Mississippi State head coach Jeff] Lebby and his staff are a phenomenal coaching staff, and building this thing the right way. Even in the games you watched last year, there were just moments where things didn't go great, but they were in most of those games; they were making plays in most of those games. So, we are expecting year two to be a total transformation; they've invested in players, they've flipped the roster, they've made adjustments, players are coming into the second year of the expectation. So, I expect a huge challenge. We have an appropriate fear of our opponent, which Steph Curry referred to that with NBA/USA Olympic basketball, appropriate fear is not a fear of 'oh my god I'm scared' it's a fear of respect. It's a respect of their talent, it's a respect enough of fear of their talent and their abilities enough to generate enough respect to go out and prepare and play the best of our abilities. It's something we've talked about with our team, we want to have an appropriate fear an appropriate respect of all of our opponents. Regardless of what their record was, regardless of what their record is, regardless of what we think we see on film or what we don't see. We got to respect their abilities and we are looking forward to the challenge. Obviously, we got to play really really really well in order to have a chance to win on Saturday. We are playing a team from the SEC I've said it before, I think it's the best conference in the world. The competitiveness from top to bottom, the athletes, the size and strength, the coaching prowess, the chess match that goes on every week in that league is top tier. To win these types of games, you need to be very opportunistic. The margin of error is small in all of college football games, and in this game it's super small. So, we got to play dang near flawless to have a chance to win. And again, if you start to look at the talent that they have, they are going to make it a challenge to do that. We are preparing at a really high clip. We understand we need to have unbelievable discipline, Unbelievable focus, unbelievable attention to detail to give ourselves a chance to come out and have success on Saturday. We are excited about it, and we have a lot of work to do. Four days and we got to use every second of every day, and that's not just on the practice field, not just in the meeting rooms, that's going to class on time, making sure we take care of our bodies, that getting the right amount of sleep, that's understanding that there is going to be a ton of distraction for the next 48 to 72 hours that we've got to be able to lock-in in everything we do. So, we got to do that, my guys are excited, I'm excited, so with that, I open it up to questions."

Q: I know that you didn't release a depth chart, [but] how many position battles are still up for grabs as we head into the weekend? (6:25)
"Realistically probably three or four, and that's not, 'hey, who are we waiting to see play there,' it's okay, is this person better over here or over there. And if we put him over there, who do we put there, that's really what it is. I know I could release one that says or, or, or, or, or. I don't know what that does. The game has changed, it creates more problems in our building when you release them. It creates you to ask questions that I probably don't have the answer to. Coaches are different. For us, it's twofold: in our building I don't want to create issues and then the two or three guys that we still have to see where they end up, we need to Tuesday and Wednesday practice to do that. For us, Monday is kind of our general information day. Tuesday and Wednesday are our work days. So, Tuesday and Wednesday will kind of help us clear up some of those questions, and it's not a whole team's worth, but when you put out the depth chart and don't put the defense on it or don't put the offense on it. Obviously moving forward we're going to have one, it's going to continue to change but right now there's still two or three guys that they're going to play, but are you going to play over here or play over there? And that will be determined in the next few days."

Q: When you look at fall camp and the last couple of days, what has really stood out about the wide receiver room for you? Just how they have developed and the skill there? (7:56)
"Yeah, I think their consistency starting to really kind of gel, as you go through camp we are going install one, install two, install three, install four, when we get to game week you are starting to say ok on first and second down this is what we want to do, on third down, in red areas this is what we want to do. So, you start repping plays the same plays over and over again versus certain looks you think you are going to get. Over the last week and a half, we have really started to see that group start to hone in on what is my break point, what is the coverage, what do I do versus this coverage, how do I adjust. Which has created some consistency, so that's probably the biggest thing that we are starting to see now that we are starting to put a game plan in, a lot less thinking and a lot more reacting because we are running the same set of plays as opposed to adjusting to coverages and certain situations."

Follow up: What do you think the strength of that [wide receiver] group is? (9:00)
"They've all played, on all different levels. And I mean on all different levels, there are some guys who have played a lot and some guys who haven't played as much but they have all played. So, the ability for them to come out day after day after day, they understand what it takes. I think everyone in that room that will probably contribute right now has played some level of college football. And I think that goes deeper than just at practice, it goes into your off the field habits, it goes into what are you doing in the film room, it's not the first time that you have seen a different coverage, it's not the first time that you have seen the game at this speed. So, I think that is a big help."

Q: Looking at the film at [Mississippi State quarterback] Blake Shapen, what does he pose at quarterback? (9:42)
"Real dude. Real dude. Obviously, I know he didn't play as much. In the last week or so, we have really started, me personally, have really started to dive into him. He is a football player you know; he is tough, gritty, just last night I was watching him and when he got hurt in that Florida game and he played another ten or twelve snaps. I mean that takes toughness um that takes grit and I think it shows the type of leadership that he has, and he wants to be out there. I think when you really look at how he is impacting the team now and even when he wasn't available that just shows his leadership, when you dial it down to his physical ability, he can make all the throws, he runs well enough to really keep you balanced. He ain't running last year looking to slide he was trying to get the extra yards. When your quarterback has that type of toughness and grit your team plays with that and they feed off of that. When your quarterback can make all the throws it's really difficult to get him off platform. When your quarterback, now going into year two has a really good grasp on the system, it's hard to fool him with coverage. The ball comes out a lot quicker, it makes everyone around him better. So, I have a lot of respect for him I would say I knew about him kind of leading up to the preseason attention and obviously last year's attention but when you really start to dive into it, he is a really really good football player what I can tell on the outside in, really really good person and leader as well."

Q: Some unknowns on the two-deeps your facing, same for them as with us, can you kind of speak to, with that situation in mind, scheming for strengths and weaknesses knowing where your bread is going to be buttered, so to speak, and where you should shy away from this early in the season? (11:24)
"I think these first games are always, especially now with the transfer portal, they always have a little bit of the unknown you know and you kind of have to give your guys some parameters and they need to trust their fundamentals and techniques. We can't necessarily tell them that a guy is going to line up here or that he is not going to line up there, you got to play your roles and that makes your summer development and fall camp development more impactful. It's not just hey we are going to draw this play in the dirt because we know they are going to be here and that it will work. We can't tell you exactly what is going to happen, so we are relying on a lot of experience, guys who have been in games before, we are relying on our roles and fundamentals being sound, and then as coaches we got to make sure we are putting the guys and giving the guys the best position with their roles and fundamentals. We got to kind of balance it and we can't live in the if, then, then, then, then, then world. You need to give them something quick, some fundamental, some technique to let them go play fast. I think there will be a lot of adjusting as the game goes on. I do know this, I don't need a depth chart and I don't need to know who they are, if you spend fifteen or eighteen million dollars, they got some really good players. So, we better be prepared to face some really really good players. I think it helps our guys focus on us and what we need to be successful. We got to have really good footwork, we have to have really good communication because if we don't, we will be exposed. I think the more we understand it's more about controlling what we can control. Sometimes you watch film and think 'oh I can run by this guy' or this guy is fast or slow and you naturally start to kind of prepare for that clip or necessarily what you see. And right now, we have to prepare for the best and put ourselves in the best position to combat that."

Q: One known commodity, [Mississippi State safety] Isaac Smith dropping down into the nickel where he can obviously really be an impactful player, can you kind of speak to his talent level? (13:35)
"Yeah, I think when we play that structure of defense, that nickel player is usually the most complete player on the team because he needs to do a little bit of everything. He needs to be a lineman as far as fitting int the box, at linebacker, he needs to be able to cover and sit edges. So, whenever you have a player in that position like Smith, I think he has shown that he has versatility, he can cover, he can fit and blitz. It creates another layer because it is not just hey how do we you know manipulate him with runs or passes, but it is also understanding that him blitzing or him folding into the box in certain scenarios is going to cause some havoc. And then when you get put in that position that means you have the ability to do it all and I think he has shown that, even when you go back and watch him at other positions he was still showing that skill set of fitting down in the box even when he is playing the sky, he was covering deep routes even when he was playing at the safety position and now he will be a little closer to the ball. I think it allows him to let his instinct play a little bit and he will cause some problems on Saturday, we have got to do a really good job of identifying him and know where he is at. And then we need to do a really good job of whoever is responsible for him, if it is the O-line in the box, we got to account for him if it's the receivers in the pass game, we need to know where he is at. I think that is kind of, when you start stacking good players on good players you have a chance to be really good and I think they have made some adjustments. When I say adjustments, I mean additions to some positions where they felt they needed it, we all do, but when you put those pieces around really good players like Smith I think you are poised for a good year."

Q: Consistency, discipline, that's been echoed with your tenure here, how do you feel like how your team has shown that they can be composed? (15:28)
"We'll find out at 11:03, how composed we can be when they kick that ball off. You can talk about it. You can try to manufacture it in practice. You can talk about it and try to manufacture it in practice and talk about it, but you really don't know. I've been on the good side of these games where, you know, for whatever reason, we've played really, really well and been able to really create some historical moments. I'm in a little bit of a new territory. I've never had to open with one of these games. I've always been in a situation where you've played a game and then you've been able to kind of regroup, and you teach and discuss adversity and how you handle it. You can re-teach and discuss discipline. You can read, teach and discuss composure with tangible clips. You don't get that this time. So we've got to really hound in on it."

"From a coaching standpoint, our players got to embrace it, and then in the moment, we've got to do a really good job of responding the right way. We may open the game with a 99-yard kick return. You still got 59 minutes left to play. They may open a game with a 99-yard kick return. We still got 59 minutes left to play. Regardless of what happens, we've got to be able to focus on the next play with more focus and intensity than the last play. If we can do that over the course of the game. You know, not make mistakes, we'll have a chance. Is that going to be easy? No way. If you can tell me how composed my team will be, I will pay you a lot of money if you're right, but that's what we got to do. We've got to work at it. We've got to be prepared. Coaches have a big part of it. Players have a big part of it, but until you are in the moment, you don't know. That's part of why college football is so great. We don't get a, preseason, we don't get an exhibition, so you find out in the moment. I think our guys have done a really good job of understanding that."

Q: You've been a part of these bigger games against bigger schools, in those games where you've come out on top, what have kind of been the common things you've kind of noticed that have gone right for you that maybe helped? (17:59)
"We've played extremely disciplined. We didn't make a lot of mistakes. I talk to the team about it all the time, we made our layups, the easy things we made easy. We didn't have a penalty for having two guys lined up on the ball at the same time. We didn't jump offsides, you know, we didn't have 10 run out on the punt team and have to call the 11th guy now you're rushing. We didn't have guys busting coverages because we communicated. Once you make your layups, you give yourself a chance, then you have to be very opportunistic. If they throw us the ball, we have to catch it. If they put it on the ground, we have to recover. When we get a chance to make an open field tackle, we can't miss it in these type of games. When opportunities come, we don't know how many will come. You have to win those moments, don't give them another opportunity. I tell our DBs all the time, if we can get our hands on the ball, we have to catch it. That's the only way in these type of games that you survive, and then we have to be able to stay composed throughout the game. Every game that I've been a part of, that we've played really well in, we never led the whole game. We never just from the start to the finish with a lead. We've had to battle back. We had to respond. So those are the things that have to happen. It's difficult. Like I say, we've been on both sides. You know, we've played NC State in 2022 and we battled, and we weren't as opportunistic down the stretch as we needed to be. We played Notre Dame and back a few years ago, and I mean, every time they threw a ball near one of our DBs we caught it. It's a little bit of making sure our guys are in the right mindset, making sure our guys are ready for the moment when it comes with really really diligent practice habits, really really diligent meetings. Really diligent in the moment, fundamentals. I have to be looking at the right stuff. If I'm supposed to be looking at a certain thing, I got to look at if I'm supposed to block a certain guy, I got to block it. And if you do that over the course of 60 minutes, sometimes the ball bounces your way."

Q: Last week talking to [redshirt senior running back] Matt Jones (Jackson, Miss.), I noticed he constantly has a smile on his face and energy about him. A guy like that on offense that you're bringing out, how can he really try to elevate that group, especially with the big-time opener against an in-state rival? (20:44)
"Yeah, I think there's a lot of guys on our team that this game means a lot to not only for the opportunity to go out and play really well, create a lot of value for themselves, it's an in-state rival. So, a lot of these guys played high school with some of these guys. They're probably Tik-tok friends and Instagram friends. It means a lot. You know, a lot of these guys from this state have grown up in this rivalry, although not a consistent, you know, year in and year out. But this rivalry has been something where two programs have been very competitive for a long time. I'm talking 10, 15, years back when these kids were elementary school. So, it's important, you know a guy like Matt, who has some, I talk about it all the time, vested interests. I mean, he's from this state. He's played this school before. He knows a lot of these guys. He's ready to kind of take an opportunity to run with it. That vested interest creates some excitement. But at the end of the day, it doesn't matter if you're from Mississippi or California, we've got to execute relentlessly to have a chance, and I think our guys understand that. I think our guys value what we have on this team right now, which is really good camaraderie, really good bond, and we got to go out and play together. I've told them, we didn't sign up for a one game season. We signed up for a journey, and that's first quarter, second quarter, third quarter, fourth quarter, Sunday of next week, all the way through. If we win enough moments throughout the year, I think we'll like the result."

– #FlipTheScript | #SMTTT –

Charles Huff Weekly Press Conference – The Mississippi State Game

Players Mentioned

Matt Jones

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