CFP FIRST ROUND: TULANE VS OLE MISS

December 20, 2025

Will Echoles

Vaught Hemingway Stadium

Ole Miss Rebels

Postgame Press Conference

Ole Miss 41, Tulane 10

Q. Will, being in Mississippi, how cool was it for you to be part of history in Mississippi today being the first team to not only play in a College Football Playoff game, but to win one as well?

WILL ECHOLES: It means everything, because can't nobody take this moment away from us and, like, this team always going to be remembered in Ole Miss history.

Q. From what I could see, there's no hoop, no chain on the sideline. What's the difference playing for Pete?

WILL ECHOLES: It's a chain now actually, so we took the hoop away and we do the chain now. So it's not really a big difference. It's the same standard that we've been having since the spring. Ain't much really changed, for real.

Q. TJ said something earlier in the week that stood out to me. He basically said that he felt personally the defense had not played a complete game all year. How did you evaluate the defense today, and what were your thoughts on how you performed today?

WILL ECHOLES: I still don't think we played our best game as a whole. We let them off the hook a lot of time on third downs where we need to get off the field on critical downs.

So I don't think we done played our best the whole season, but we're going to fix some things and get ready to go into Georgia.

Q. You guys had a really tough game against Georgia. Number one, how much are you looking forward to the rematch? How motivated are you guys to prove that that last time you guys played in October is not who you guys are?

WILL ECHOLES: Man, we just got to go play our best game. We got to tackle better. We got to do everything better, you know. The Georgia game, it was -- I mean, it was a bad game for the defense, like, I mean, period. We got to play better, and we're going to play better come January 1st.

Q. How was tonight's environment ranked to any game that you've been a part of so far in your college career?

WILL ECHOLES: It was up there. It was our senior's last game. So just being in the moment, like, towards the fourth quarter, I just started thinking about our seniors, who went undefeated at home this year. Just thinking about them guys and how much they mean to this program. I just started thinking about all the work we put in this offseason, and man, it meant the world to me. I'm just thankful for those seniors and happy they got to be a part of this team.

Q. Will, last time y'all played Georgia, Georgia didn't punt once in the ball game. One, do you take that personally? Two, if you do take it personally, how do you plan to translate that into the Sugar Bowl and how y'all are going to play next time around?

WILL ECHOLES: Me and TJ Dottery, I swear we were just literally just talking about that, like, 30 minutes ago. So, man, it's a personal thing now. So we know we got to go play our best, like I said, and go be dominant like we know we can.

Q. They announced earlier this week that you were coming back next year, had signed a contract or whatever. What went into that decision to come back here next year?

WILL ECHOLES: Really the system that PG done built here for me, like as in the defense. I feel like I fit pretty well in the defense that we have now, and I mean, I wouldn't want to go play another defense and have to learn it all over again. So that played a big part.

Also, being at home. Home is home. Ole Miss is my home, and I mean, I love the fans here. I love the people here, and I mean, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.