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By J.T. Bennett
SouthernPigskin.com Staff Writer
SouthernPigskin.com Staff Writer J.T. Bennett continues his "Pull Up a Chair" series with Ole Miss head football coach Houston Nutt.
Houston Nutt went 9-4 in first season with Ole Miss, leading the Rebels to a Cotton Bowl victory over Texas Tech. Before heading to Oxford, Nutt took Arkansas to two SEC Championship Games. Many have the Rebels picked as a pre-season top ten team.
What is your favorite food?
I am a meat and potatoes kind of guy. But I love all kinds of food.
What is your favorite movie?
I really can’t name one. I do love Remember the Titans though.
What was your first job?
I worked in construction. I dug ditches, poured cement, etc. But probably my best job was I was a waiter at Golden Host Cafeteria in Little Rock, Arkansas. I was a waiter from the ninth to the eleventh grade. It taught me a lot about people.
Who is your favorite musician?
There is so many that I like. It goes from Earth, Wind and Fire to the Commodores to Faith Hill and Tim McGraw. I can’t name one. Elvis Pressley, I like them all.
Where is the best place to eat in Oxford, Mississippi?
Oh man you are trying to get me in trouble. It’s so small we only have 8,000 people here. We have so many good restaurants in Oxford you can’t pick one.
Can you compare and contrast coaching at Ole Miss and Arkansas?
They are both similar jobs. I like our location better. I like Oxford, Mississippi better because of recruiting. I am very close to Memphis. Mississippi as far as the state has more athletes to choose from. I am close to all of the places I have been recruiting when I was at Arkansas. For example, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida…those are the main states that I recruited when I was at Arkansas. They are very similar jobs but the biggest difference is the location where we are. You are still in the toughest conference in America.
Where is the toughest place to play in the SEC?
There is not just one. When you go to LSU, “Death Valley” that’s tough, Florida, “The Swamp”, that’s difficult. UGA, Tennessee in front of 108,000. I mean take your pick, they are all very difficult on any given Saturday.
Ole Miss is the only team in the SEC West to not make the SEC title game. What would it mean to the program to make it to Atlanta in December?
It would be a huge step for us. It would be historic because it has never been done. A lot of people talk about it and they want to get there. It is such a very difficult road. We did it twice when we were at Arkansas. I think they will see how hard it is. That journey is very hard and difficult. I think it would be really something for our program and really take us to another level.
Ole Miss has been picked be many media outlets to win the SEC West. What do you think of the high expectations?
Well it is where you want to be. I have cautioned our players because these are probably the same writers that picked you towards the bottom last season. We didn’t give it much credibility last year and I think it is important that we don’t give it much right now. You still have to go play Alabama, LSU, Tennessee, and you are still playing in the SEC and it is a very tough and long road. I am excited about it and I think our players are but now you have to be able to handle it.
With Jevan Snead and Dexter McCluster how good can your offense be?
Our offense can be very, very good and explosive. We have got to make sure that we develop some depth on the offensive line. We have got to protect the football and win the turnover margin. We just have to make sure that we play within ourselves and don’t force it. Those two guys you mentioned are very good and talented. The last five weeks of the season last year they played the best football of there life but that was last year. We got to go and it starts with those guys because they handle the ball so much.
There is a lot of talk about the Big 12 South and the SEC West. Which do you think is a tougher division?
I have an awesome respect for both of them. You know we played Texas Tech in the bowl game. We have seen Oklahoma and Texas on film. I have an awesome respect for those teams. I am more familiar with the conference that I am in and I will challenge anybody to go through the SEC and come out of there scotch free. I’m kind of dodging your question (laughing).
What made the wild hog and wild rebel so successful?
Here is what made it successful. I think sometimes everybody takes too much credit for that formation. That formation was back in the days of Pop Warner. I have got to give credit to my brother Danny. He can’t coach anymore because the doctors won’t let him go on the field. When we were using that formation he brought it to everybody’s attention that instead of having a quarterback back there we could put Darren McFadden back there. Because Darren McFadden could play quarterback, Darren McFadden had quarterback skills. He could hand the ball off, he could run it, and he could throw it. And we are not talking about just throwing the football, he could throw the football with accuracy. He was also six foot two, he took it to what we call a triple threat. Because they had to over populate the line because they were worried about the run, he could also pass, and then you had Felix Jones coming in motion. So you have to give Danny Nutt a lot credit for that.
Ole Miss was the only team in the nation to beat Florida last year. What is the secret?
Don’t turn the ball over. Florida had three turnovers. The last two years we were fortunate enough to beat the national champions. We beat LSU when I was at Arkansas and Florida last year. Each time we won the turnover margin. Of course you have to be able to score and stop them. But I think the biggest thing is we got three turnovers and we didn’t turn the ball over.
As someone who has coached one of the greatest players in SEC history in Darren McFadden, how would you compare Tim Tebow to the SEC Greats?
Tim Tebow will be known as one of the greatest college football players to ever play the game. I just love his heart. I have what he said after our ball game. I had it written up and I have read it to our team. A lot of players talk about doing there best and talk about working hard but I have seen him firsthand put a team on his back. That was when Percy Harvin was out and they had some injuries. He did it with tremendous work ethic and heart. He is such a servant and a giver. I have the utmost respect for Tim Tebow. He will go down as an all time great.
Who is the best recruiter in the SEC?
I think Nick Saban is a good recruiter.
Who had the best film you have ever seen out of high school?
Shawn Andrews, offensive tackle I coached at Arkansas. He had a tremendous film. Amhad “Batman” Carroll had great film. It is hard not to say Darren McFadden. That is a tough question over 16 years of coaching.
What was the most memorable game you have ever coached in?
We have been in two of the longest football games in the world, ironically one against Ole Miss and then one against Kentucky. When you are growing up you always want to beat Texas and we beat Texas in the Cotton Bowl in Austin, Texas. This year was the most fun I have had coaching because the kids I was coaching had never been to a bowl game. The Texas Tech game was huge, the LSU game was big. There were so many big games we were in. Going to the Cotton Bowl was really fun. Beating Arkansas, LSU, Mississippi State, and really dominating the game for the second half of the year was a good ride for our guys.
Do you think Ole Miss is a national championship contender this year?
I think right now it’s unbelievable that 365 days ago we weren’t on the radar screen. We hadn’t won a conference game in 737 days. So now to be picked in the top five and to be even considered a national championship contender is a mouth full. Let me start practice first and then I will tell you how I feel after that.
Do you support the idea of a college football playoff?
I like the current system. I don’t like the playoff. I think a playoff is for FCS. We play fourteen games because we have a twelve game schedule and then the championship game in Atlanta and a bowl game. The thing I would take a plus one for would be a final four; after all of the bowl games though. I don’t ever want to lose the bowl games. It is important for the programs. It’s just like last year ending on such a high note. I wish you could have seen our guys’ faces. There are just too many good football games to have just a playoff system. I think we have just about the best system right now. If they want to add a final four after the bowls that is one thing but just to have a playoff, I would hate giving up the bowl games.
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Comments
Nuttz is a straight shooter, good read.
Yea I really enjoyed that.
Nutt is a liar and cheater.
Gus Malzahn brought the Wildcat offense to Arkansas.
Danny Nutt is still on the sidelines trying to coach which is against the rules which they have been informed of by the SEC office. But as shown with the cheating in the Rivals article one week before signing day and the resulting NCAA confirmation it was cheating to Nutt’s dismay, the family does not believe the rules apply to them.
A playoff system won’t nor shouldn’t eliminate bowls. The playoff will be for the top-most teams in the country while the bowls will still be around for the rest of the teams. Why people believe a playoff will automatically eliminate all the bowls is a mystery to me, because it’s a huge misconception.
Good read though.
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