CHICK-FIL-A PEACH BOWL: OLE MISS VS PENN STATE

December 27, 2023

Trey Washington

JJ Pegues

Jared Ivey

Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Ole Miss Rebels

Press Conference

Q. Talk about your bowl experience so far and things you've enjoyed out of activities you got to do.

TREY WASHINGTON: I've been really grateful. Chick-fil-A did a great job of welcoming us. Grateful is the thing I would say.

JJ PEGUES: Same. We've been getting closer and closer. It's a great team bonding thing. We've played two events and won them both. So 2-0 right now. Got to keep it rolling.

JARED IVEY: It's definitely been a lot of fun. It's not every day you get to wake up and have Andretti's running in and out. So it's been great.

THE MODERATOR: I told the other guys the team that wins the Battle for Bowl Week belt goes on to win the game like 90 percent of the time. I am not saying anything. I am just saying.

Q. Trey, talk to me about these guys next to you. What have you seen from them throughout the season that gives you confidence when they play next to you?

TREY WASHINGTON: I love these guys. I've seen a lot of growth from Game 1 to this game. Their toughness play to play and their willingness to work throughout the fall camps and now to this point has been very admirable. I love these guys for sure.

JJ PEGUES: Appreciate that, man.

THE MODERATOR: Guys, talk about -- obviously you guys this week, you've been doing a lot of film study, looking at Penn State's offensive group. Each of you talk a little bit for your positional group, talk about what you see on the other side of the ball.

JJ PEGUES: For the O-line, they've got a really complete O-line. Obviously they have a top five pick tackle. I just feel like they work like synchronized swimming, like they're always on the same page. They never miss a beat, and they're just one heartbeat out there.

I feel like for me and J.I., it's a great game to put great stuff on film, and it's a great opportunity to be able to play against them.

JARED IVEY: I agree. Very physical group with a big, physical back running behind them. It will definitely be a good opportunity to get out there and put some real physical stuff on tape and get after a high end draft pick and a solid O-line just all together.

TREY WASHINGTON: For me, I would say the quarterback's arm talent stuck out. He can make a lot of throws downfield, and he has an incredibly strong arm.

I would say number one what stuck out to me, he does a good job of getting in and out of his breaks. His catch radius is really good too. Those are some of the things I've seen on film.

THE MODERATOR: Each of you, talk about, again, in looking at Penn State, what SEC team does Penn State remind you of? Who do they most closely resemble?

TREY WASHINGTON: I would say Arkansas. Obviously the quarterback is about the same size, so yeah. I would say Arkansas, their receivers, Arkansas receivers, they're long, physical, kind of like this team, and their offensive line was physical and willing to get contact as well with the big running backs. So I'd say Arkansas.

JJ PEGUES: I'd say their run scheme maybe is built like Georgia Tech's, just the pistol and all the stretch and man zone and stuff like that. But they do use their tight ends very well, and they are very physical and talented.

So I feel like the tight end group really completes the whole offense of the run game just because, I mean, a tight end is part of the O-line and part of the receivers, which is something I used to playback in my heyday. So I give them the props they deserve.

JARED IVEY: Yeah, like JJ said, the tight ends are a huge piece of their offense, which kind of reminds me of Georgia, how they were in 12-personnel most of the game. So kind of an offensive scheme, like how Tech had, and then a QB room like from Arkansas, and then kind of a personnel situation like we saw against Georgia. So kind of a mixture of a few schools we've seen this year.

Q. I'm just going to ask one that is not football related. I asked your teammates, so I'm asking you. Does sugar go in grits?

JARED IVEY: Absolutely, no question. Next question.

JJ PEGUES: A thousand percent, yes.

TREY WASHINGTON: I would say mine is balanced. Sometimes I'll eat grits with eggs. When I'm eating it with eggs, I don't like sugar in my eggs. So I'd say sometimes.

THE MODERATOR: You're mixing the grits with the eggs?

TREY WASHINGTON: Yeah, it's good, though.

JJ PEGUES: That's only a Trey Washington thing.

THE MODERATOR: My mind has been blown.

Q. Follow-up question, is cereal soup?

JJ PEGUES: No. No.

JARED IVEY: Are there cold soups? If you can name one cold soup, I would say yes.

JJ PEGUES: Then it's sweet. Some cereal is not sweet, but I think of Fruit Loops.

JARED IVEY: If you can't name a cold soup for me.

THE MODERATOR: Gazpacho is a cold soup.

JARED IVEY: Is that cold? What's in that?

THE MODERATOR: I don't know, soup stuff.

JJ PEGUES: If it don't make you feel better, like my grandma always give me soup to feel better. Cereal, no.

THE MODERATOR: I want to ask you about Drew Allar, the Penn State quarterback. I got to meet him a little while ago when they were here earlier this morning. That's a big dude, and he's got -- he can run. He can throw. He's quick with his decisions. Each of you talk about the challenges that having a quarterback like Penn State has.

TREY WASHINGTON: For me as a DB, we really don't like smart quarterbacks, so you can tell he's really smart. He takes his check-downs when he's there. He's not really forcing the ball down the field when he doesn't have it.

And he can make throws. We've seen throws from far hashes on out routes and stuff like that. So we're looking forward to the challenge for sure.

JJ PEGUES: Like Trey said, he'll just take the take-downs. Other quarterbacks are very impatient and always want the deep ball, but when he has a deep ball, he'll take it.

Also for us, me and J.I., just wrapping him up in the backfield and bringing him down. I guess Arkansas was a great game that we really put that on film and was able to just make Arkansas one-dimensional and just by us stopping the run and being able to rush the quarterback.

So I'd say maybe just wrapping him up and just bringing our feet with him as we bring him down.

JARED IVEY: Absolutely. He's also not a trained back runner, but he knows how to find space and get the yards when he needs to. He's a big dude, so not letting him get in the open space like that and controlling our rush lanes is very important.

I think -- yeah, he can push the ball downfield with time. So getting after him and speeding up his clock is going to be a big part of Saturday. Yeah, just excited to get out there and get after a big-time dude like him.

THE MODERATOR: Which one of you two guys is going to get to him first?

TREY WASHINGTON: Safety blitz (laughter).

JARED IVEY: Pretty good. Pretty good.

THE MODERATOR: We have that on film now. No pressure. How many sacks as a unit are we going to see on Saturday?

JARED IVEY: Mr. Pegues?

JJ PEGUES: You might see at least two, three bow and arrow sack. I tend to shoot bow and arrows when I get a sack.

Q. For all three of you, favorite Taylor Swift song?

JJ PEGUES: The one she changed for Travis Kelce.

TREY WASHINGTON: I say Shake It Off.

Q. Can you sing it?

TREY WASHINGTON: I'm not going to sing that. That's a little embarrassing.

JJ PEGUES: I don't know any Taylor Swift songs, so I just said that one.

JARED IVEY: I actually just entered my T. Swift year December 5th, so I'm definitely going to have to say 22.

Q. Can you sing it?

JARED IVEY: (Clears throat) -- no, I'm okay.

(Laughter).

If I'm not fully warmed up, I don't like to, you know what I mean? I like to be prepared to go into things like this. I also don't sing for free (laughter).

THE MODERATOR: Since you brought it up, I've got to ask. Is the Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce thing, is that real or fake?

JJ PEGUES: At this point, I think it's real. If she would have came to, what, two games, then maybe, but he's traveling with her too. I don't know. I think it's real.