CHEEZ-IT CITRUS BOWL: LSU VS PURDUE

December 31, 2022

Matt House

Mekhi Wingo

Rosen Plaza Hotel

LSU Tigers

Player-Coordinator Media Day

Q. How are you managing all the defensive linemen you won't have in the game and what challenges does their rushing game have?

COACH HOUSE: First of all, they are excellent running the football. We all know that. Got a talented back, good scheme. But, I am excited. We have a next-man-up mentality. We have solid guys that have performed over the course of the season. We have some young guys that have really embraced the opportunity and embraced the preparation. Excited to see those guys compete.

Q. To bounce off that -- you know what you have in Mekhi, but who do you look forward to seeing get more opportunities on the offensive line?

COACH HOUSE: I think Jacobian Guillory has had a great week of preparation, really great couple weeks. Sai'vion [Jones] has been solid all year. It is an opportunity for him to get more snaps, and he has been productive in the snaps he has played. Certainly excited to see Quency [Wiggins] play. It is a great opportunity.

Q. When Maason went down the first drive of the season, what did you see from Mekhi and Jaquelin as well to carry that workload from start to finish?

COACH HOUSE: The No. 1 thing you saw was a don't flinch mentality. The guy next to me has been solid all year both on the field and off the field, and he brings a hard-hat mentality. He really embraces the traits that we are all about, and I think that is one of the reasons we have been able to play successful defense.

Q. Harold Perkins, what do you see from him moving forward into the off-season, coming back inside, continuing to be this versatile piece all over the place? What do you see for his future?

COACH HOUSE: Yeah, that is the great thing about Harold is he is versatile. We are going to put him in situations kind of like we have this year, where he is going to be in an opportunity to play in space and accentuate his talents. As I have said earlier about him, the sky is the limit, and he is just now scratching the surface of learning football and how to play the game.

Q. Since Maason Smith's injury, it seems like he goes to everything and is here with the team participating. Some guys disappear when they get hurt. Are you impressed by that, his commitment to team?

COACH HOUSE: Yeah, Maason is a special guy and he loves ball and he loves his teammates. He loves the brotherhood. Certainly, that's a special thing. Kind of like you alluded to, he is a little bit different. He wants to be there. He is constantly learning. If there is a way to improve when you are hurt, it is to learn mentally, and I think he has done that.

Q. A guy like will Laterrance Welch, how has he developed through the year and could he help you out in this weekend's game?

COACH HOUSE: Sure, he potentially absolutely could. He is a guy that kind of has had the natural progression. You want to see a true freshman come in and make a difference on special teams. At the end of the year, in particular, he has played really well there. He has developed over the course of the year. So if his number is called, we are confident he can go in and make plays.

Q. In a new scheme, physical reps are key, and you want guys to go through the motions and experience it. But with injured guys like Sevyn Banks and Maason Smith, how do you help them adjust to it?

COACH HOUSE: Yeah, I think that is where the meeting room is so important and learning on the field through mental reps as you are watching your teammates, but certainly there is no substitution for snaps on the grass.

Q. Mekhi, you were a freshman, All-SEC guy at Missouri. How do you feel your game through this year now that you have a whole season in the books as a sophomore?

MEKHI WINGO: I would say it grew truly tremendously, honestly. When I first got here, a question that was asked to me was -- what I had to work on? I said I had to be more stout in the run game and that I would be paying attention to the small things and just trying to figure that out.

Because that was the knock on me, just like would he be able to stop the run? Coming in, I would say we had great coaches and learning from guys like Jaquelin Roy and Maason [Smith] -- just watching their technique and things like that. I would say my technique and ability to stop the run has grown tremendously throughout the year. I would say that has been the difference.

Q. You were the new guy this year, and now you're the veteran in the room next year. How do you go about doing that, and what do you see from the young guys in that room?

MEKHI WINGO: I would just coming in every day and showing them how to work hard and leading by example. Not trying to be a guy that I am not, because I got all these awards. Not trying to talk to anybody in a certain way or, oh, you have to listen to me, because I did this. This is how it is done. No, just coming in, being a guy and showing them how to work hard and things of that nature.

Q. If I could ask you about your son and the year he had at Dunham; what was it like to watch him?

COACH HOUSE: Yeah, first of all, the community embraced him there at Dunham. He learned tremendously from the head coach. It was a great senior experience. Taking away the LSU thing and being a dad, certainly proud and excited to see where he goes from here.

Q. You mentioned Quency Wiggins. What do you envision from him? A defensive end, linebacker, or somebody who can move and play both? What does the future hold for him?

COACH HOUSE: The thing about Quency is he has great size and athleticism and versatility. Yeah, we see him as a defensive end and could potentially slide inside on pass downs.

Q. Mekhi, you made a decision to transfer, and you had certain hopes and aspirations. Did you imagine the season that you've had personally or that you all have had as a team?

MEKHI WINGO: When I was making the decision to transfer, I would say this is definitely something that I imagined, being able to come here and play on a bigger stage. Just the dream that they told me during the recruiting process, it was, definitely, we wanted to win a National Championship here. I would say we took a step in the right direction. Didn't end how we wanted necessarily, but we still have the chance to end the season on the right foot and get a win.

Q. You took a ton of transfers going into the season; how do you think they did and did they exceed expectations in terms of coming through in some big games?

COACH HOUSE: Absolutely, and I will be honest with you, I love how those guys have bought into each other. I love how they have grown together.

Probably the biggest challenge isn't necessarily scheme. It is learning how to play with another guy. Mekhi will tell you that. There is a certain chemistry that only snaps can take. You learn personalities as you play, and personalities on the field are not necessarily the same personality off the field.

Really proud of how those guys have put their personal egos aside and bought into the team.

Q. I know you just mentioned it about getting that last win. How important is it to get this final win and how excited are you to play on January 2nd?

MEKHI WINGO: I am very excited. And every time we get the opportunity to go on the field, we want to put the best product on the field. It is very important for us to get the win, just for the vibe in the locker room and to transition into next year. So it is very important.

Q. Curious what you saw out of Greg Penn this season. Seemed like he evolved toward the end of the year in particular. What do you want him to continue to work on in the off-season?

COACH HOUSE: Yeah, I think the thing that Greg did is he became more consistent as a player, more productive and more consistent. He can take the next jump. As we go into the off-season, he is going to grind through, changing his body, becoming a little more leaner and growing as a player in the mental part of the game. Certainly pleased with the trajectory Greg has taken.

Q. What is the most enjoyable or rewarding thing about going from the NFL back to college and being at this level again?

COACH HOUSE: Yeah, the relationships. You get to be around these guys in a different way. The NFL -- and don't get me wrong -- there's some great things about the NFL, but it is grown men, and it is a 7:00 to 5:00 job. Here, you get to know these guys in a deeper way and help them through different things. I think that's been the most fun thing to be a part of. And then also the challenge of learning and building a program and learning from Coach [Brian] Kelly, it has been a blessing.

Q. After working with Coach Kelly for a year, what are things you saw on a day-to-day basis, the reasons for the success? What makes him the coach that he is, and what's the future moving forward?

COACH HOUSE: I think, first of all, the thing about Coach Kelly is he is tremendous at building an organization. He has a great feel for balancing the science of football with the player. He builds a program that is comprehensive, and you learn that every day from Coach. He has a great pulse of the locker room, a great pulse of the community in a short amount of time and a great pulse on the university.