Two Takes: ULM Week Press Conference

On Monday, Jimbo Fisher and select players visited with the media, talking about the loss at Miami and looking ahead to Saturday's home contest with ULM (3 p.m., SEC Network).

We've got “two takes” from each of the media sessions below, along with full press conference video.

Two Takes: Jimbo Fisher

• Coach Fisher gave a brief scouting report on Saturday's opponent, ULM. "ULM has a very good team. They're a no-huddle team on offense who goes fast, plays a lot of three and four wide receivers. 4, the transfer, is a really good player. The slot receiver can really run too. The two backs are excellent. They do a good job up front. Defensively, they're unorthodox. They play a lot of different fronts and mix guys.”
• Fisher agreed that he's had some really good teams over his career that have lost early games, and some teams that have struggled who have also lost early games. He was asked about the differences he's seen over the years that help the good teams overcome that early setback. “Maturity, recognition of what the problems were, and accepting them and correcting them. Usually it's self-evaluation. You don't point fingers, you don't panic, you look at why it happened, why it didn't happen, and you make sure you fix those things and take them to the practice field and then take it to the game field with what you're trying to do. And I think the maturity of our team...after the game, I mean, we were upset, guys were upset, but they handled it well. They handled it maturely. They've been back, asking questions, nobody missed yesterday, nobody did anything yesterday. They were on time. They did what they're supposed to do when they're supposed to do it. They were up watching film, they're studying. From their demeanor and their approach, I think they're doing a really good job of that.”

Two Takes: McKinnley Jackson

• McKinnley was asked about the mood of the team after the game and how his defense can bounce back from the loss. "One way to describe us...I want to say hurt, honestly, just because of how competitive we are, the competitive nature of the team, and the brotherhood that we like to play with. We like to fight for each other against another team. So once we lost the game, I just feel like it was a devastating feeling. But we've got a long season, so hey, why not win them all? As a defense, we've just got to come together and be on the same page, honestly...We've got to lock in to the game plan, hold each other accountable, and just worry about the next week."
• McKinnley said the key to getting more pressure on the quarterback moving forward is not necessarily doing new things, it lies mainly in executing the game plan put before them. "Don't feel like you've got to do everything yourself and don't feel like you've got to be Superman. Stay in the game plan and do what you're assigned to do. There's 11 people on the field on defense, so if one of us is not doing our job, that's when big plays or touchdowns happen."

Two Takes: Ainias Smith

• Ainias was asked off the bat about dropping an early game and bouncing right back, something many of the teams he's been a part of have done. "I believe each season is a new season. This year is definitely different than any season that I've been a part of. Number one, it's all about a mindset...you're not able to be stuck in the same place that you're in. Of course, the energy of the locker room is pretty tense right now. Guys are upset and whatnot at the loss. And I mean, that's expected, you know what I'm saying? You want to be kind of upset. And if they weren't, then I feel like that would be an issue. But like I said, it's really all about the mindset, just changing the narrative. Coach always talks about how we're still a 5-7 team until we change it. My whole thing to the team is let's not be stuck. Let's go ahead and move forward. We have to get past this. And it all starts today. So we've got to come out today really ready to work."
• Ainias was asked if he sees things in this team that remind him of the 2020 group that lost game two and then won out to close the season. "I believe so, yes. The guys that are on this team, we definitely have some dogs...Guys with the mentality that they want to get better. And you can see it already in the locker room. Of course we're hurt by the loss. Nobody wants to lose. But the guys that are in the locker room, they are affected. They don't want to feel this feeling again. After the game, it was quiet, a lot of distress, a lot of things going on that happen when you're the team that loses. But those teams that come back are the ones that can flip that switch. That can go ahead and change their mentality and shift the narrative, basically. And it's all going to start today."