Mississippi State coach Mike Leach spoke ahead of the Bulldogs' lone FCS matchup of 2021 against Tennessee State. Leach talked about the rollercoaster of a season for his second-year team and the progression of his quarterback Will Rogers.

What has Will Rogers done over the last three games to make such large strides and what does he need to do to be more consistent in all four quarters of the game?

He is dedicated and all of that. He does all of the work and things like that. He's got a little improvement himself. I think we are protecting better. The receivers are more in tune with him. We have improved in other phases, which I think makes him look like he has improved, which he has. Utilizing the weapons around a quarterback is the single most important thing they do. I think he's better at doing that.

What improvements have you seen from Jamire Calvin?

He's been a steady guy. Sometimes, the ball just finds you at certain times and certain places. He's been steady. Coming into the camp he has been really good as far as being an example to the others because he'd caught a lot of balls and been in a lot of games. He is very poised. Especially the one he caught, which was awfully tough to catch, that was behind him and he got airborne to catch it. It had to come off real quick otherwise that guy was going to tip it. When I think of Calvin I think of a steady guy. I also think of someone some of the younger players will follow.

Now that you've watched the Auburn film, did you see any adjustments in the second half that allowed your defense to shut them down?

Us defensively, we were right there in the first half. I thought ee got better on third down. Everything was just sort of a foot or two away in the first half. We just didn't react very quick. The biggest thing was we lined up and came out of our stances. We were kind of confused guys with a certain amount of doubt.

What's the best way to make sure your team stays focused after an emotional comeback win like that with a team like Tennessee State coming up?

Practice well. In the locker there has to be a commitment to practice well. If you are fully engaged in practice that is one of the biggest keys.

What's your confidence in kicker Nolan McCord after Saturday and in practices?

He's progressively getting better. He kicks real well in practice. His day is coming.

Have you followed [Tennessee State head coach] Eddie George's football career and what do you think of him as a coach?

I think everybody has followed his career especially on the field. As a coach, I'm kind of one game at a time. It looks like he is definitely doing some good things with some good schemes. Kind of aggressive. Shoot, I'm excited that he chose to coach.

You mentioned wanting to go for it on fourth down more often. What made you feel like you could get it on that 4th-and-4 before halftime?

We were kind of that right distance away. Where was the ball? Because we did it twice. [The 39-yard line]. Yeah, you're too far out to kick a field goal. Too close where you don't get much out of punting it, unless you stick the ball perfect. I just figured there was more value in going for it.

Do you still plan to have that kicker tryout this week? And how many do you expect to have out there?

I can get you a number. We had a bunch turn out to try out. Some are still doing their paperwork. We'd just like to, one, open it up to anyone who is a good kicker. Two, we would like to have a bank of kickers. One to kick drills, and also so we are cultivating and developing the skills of some. We had 40 the other day. When I have done it in the past, you'll have, over the year, maybe 100. Of which, you keep maybe four.

On College Gameday, Lane Kiffin picked y'all to beat Auburn and called you the best offensive coach in America. What do you think of those comments and do you agree with them?

He is kind of setting the stage for a really good Egg Bowl. I would be lying if I told you I didn't think he thinks he is the best offensive coordinator. It was modest of him to say. They are doing a fine job this year, so we'll just let the love keep coming both directions. How about that?

Does your offense make it easier to spread the ball around to different receivers or does it make it harder to develop chemistry with one guy?

I think both things happen. You have a sequence of routes and obviously the reads are going to take you to different routes on different plays. That naturally deals the ball off to different players. There are certain plays you will get to certain guys. Anything on the edge he is looking for Makai [Polk]. As a player establishes themselves and you get more reps between the quarterback and receiver they get used to each other. Then there is a chemistry, a one-on-one thing. It is a deal where you don't just blow off your reads, but when you are shuffling out of the pocket then you are looking for that guy.

What's been key in Rara Thomas' development to this stage of the season?

He has worked hard. He hasn't, as simple as it sounds, have a “I'm a freshman I'm intimidated to play,” [moment]. He came out there ready to play, went out and fearlessly caught balls. He did what he could successfully and he continues to.

Cole Smith has started the last few games at right guard. What are your thoughts on him there?

I think he has done a pretty good job. He has got some experience. We are a limited experience group there. He has done a good job. I think he brings some energy out there. Our entire offensive line, we need to finish out our run blocks. They are doing some good things as far as playing together.

Zach Arnett said Collin Duncan wasn't a starter last year but stepped into that role midseason. This year he's been a starter in every game. What improvements have you seen out of him?

He has just gotten better, just incrementally better. I think he might have grown a little bit. He looks to me like he's a little bigger. The offseason was huge. I think just as much experience as we could get him in practice has helped him.

What are your thoughts on the fullback position in football and do you ever see a moment in the Air Raid for a guy like that?

I kind of like it, but that's what guards are for. What I would love to have, and have tried over the years - and I hope to find one here - the true tight end guy. You need a guy that, one, can catch, and two, can run and can move to a lot of positions and he's effective, which sounds an awful lot like a defensive end, which is where all my potential tight ends have gone over the years for the most part. If we could get a full load of defensive ends here, I would love to get a guy like that where you move him around. Not just some pluggy, sluggy guy, though. I would want him to be able to run and catch the ball. I do have an eye on a couple of guys, hopefully, that can maybe do something like that. I do think it will give you a lot of versatility and stuff. I'm not talking about a blocker that shifts right or shifts left. I'm talking about a guy that you throw it to and you are not afraid to send him downfield with a size mismatch on the strong safety.

Charles Cross is receiving a ton of NFL attention right now. What makes him consistent all year?

He has got really good feet. We put him in a position to play early to begin with. He's got really good feet which allowed him when he was smaller to center guys up and square up guys. Now, he has gotten bigger. He was able to play as a freshman, so I think that logging those reps and experience has helped him quite a lot.

Speaking of tight ends, your former quarterback at Kentucky, Matt Mumme uses one at Nevada. Have you seen that?

I like the way he does that. That is the thing, it would have to be a guy that can catch that figures into the passing game. And sometimes, and I have done it too, you try to force it in there. Pretty soon the third-team guard that can sort of catch, and you mess with him. All that guy does is get beat up by the linebacker, and he can't catch well enough to outmaneuver the strong safety. Then you quickly discover why he's the third-team guard.

Will Rogers announced a partnership with Make-A-Wish Foundation today. Can you speak to who he is as a person?

He is a great guy. A very generous guy. An easy guy to know. I think he's a perfect representative for them.

Considering the wins you have over these top teams, would you your team is as confident as it's been in your tenure here?

Maybe. Hard to gauge. We are a group that kind of rollercoasters up and down. I hope you're right. I hope that's a correct statement. We'll see. We've got to keep building it well.

What was it about the game at Auburn that sparked dance moves from you, and could we look forward to more of that from you?

I would not count on a lot of dancing. To be honest, I hate dancing. You caught a weak seven seconds on my part where I walked into that locker room. Of course, a bunch of our players love to dance, and the music was going. They try to get me to do it. I was afraid they might dump something over my head if I didn't, like water or worst of all Gatorade, so I figured I better comply, which I did. I threw my arms up in the air a little bit, just to let them know that I was really giving it a good try. I started out just trying to walk in place, and that was clearly not satisfactory with them. That wasn't satisfactory with my captors, so then I tried to bring the knees up a little higher. I got the hands up to try to finish the deal off, and I do think I outdid Elaine on Seinfeld. As soon as I thought I was safe to stop, I did and let them have a great time.

After several years of Pac-12 After Dark, what are your thoughts on back-to-back 11 a.m. CT games?

I'm happy to play anybody pretty much at any time. It is not my favorite time to play. The best times to play are at 2 p.m, 3 p.m., and 4 p.m., I think are the very best. 11 a.m. is too early. I think it affects the crowd to a point. Probably not quite as fun for the crowd as it could be. If you want to play three hours earlier, we would just because playing alone is a great privilege. I was on a run, I think if you added it up over my career. That was the thing at Texas Tech and there was also the thing before TV got so involved, my guys have probably played between 6 and 8 o'clock. Maybe more than anybody. That's later than you'd like because you burn a lot of your evening as far as getting together after the game to reevaluate how everything went. It became routine to the point where it wasn't too bad where you just expected it. You routined your hotel around that, and it worked out good that you get conditioned to that week after week.