Press Conference: Elko sets the stage for Saturday's SEC opener

The following are live, paraphrased notes from the Monday afternoon media availability:

Mike Elko

• Scout team Players of the Week: Storm Miller (def), Eli Morcos (off), Adam Graham (ST). OL: Mark Nabou Jr. DL: T.J. Searcy. Offensive POTW was Terry Bussey. Bravion Rogers won Defensive and Special Teams POTW. I want to recognize Tyler White. He had a good week punting the football.
   
• A thank you to the 12th Man again. Texas in early September at 11 a.m. is not a lot of fun.
   
• Our running game has not been good enough. When you look at the tape, we have to do a better job of blocking and running behind the block. There were breakdowns at all three levels. We found some different leverage at halftime. KJ Edwards provided a notable spark.
   
• Marcel Reed was up and down. Better than the stats would suggest. He didn't play poorly, but there were some poor plays. He missed a couple of curls. It’s a continued work in progress, as we are as a team.
   
• It’s never a problem when you have too many good players. I've never once had that be a problem. Daymion Sanford is a kid who is a captain, a really talented player, and he's going to be ready at some point. In his absence, it has been awesome to see Ray Coney and Noah Mikhail. We'll have to be creative with how we utilize those three guys when we get Sanford back.
   
• T.J. Searcy hasn't surprised us. He’s a different type of player, so he doesn't flash stat-wise. The NFL scouts know about him. He is a talented player and hard to move. 
   
• We have to find creative ways to get the run game going. That starts with me and our staff. We are not waiting or hoping it gets there. You have to do it.
   
• I see a great story in Bravion Rogers. We have had a ton like that. He has just worked. He has been selfless for the team. He is helping us a nickel as well. He has made a lot of impactful plays.
   
• I felt like in the second half, we had a better grip, minus the one coverage issue that Harris got loose on the long touchdown. On both sides of the ball, we played better in the second half.
   
• Landon Rink is good.
   
• There are some philosophical things that maybe Jay Bateman didn’t have or did have at Kentucky. It’s a mixed bag.
   
• Tamarion Watkins had a phenomenal summer. Some kids get frustrated when they are not the best player when they get to HS from college; some start grinding. He got over the frustration and put in an unbelievable amount of work. When he started fall camp, he looked like a completely different kid.
   
• Marcus Ratcliffe is really important. Safety is big in terms of communication experience. He and Dalton Brooks add so much value. We were able to use him as a linebacker. We are really glad to have him.
   
• I thought Mark Nabou Jr. did a good job blocking and communicating.
   
• We are still trying to get the tight ends unhinged in the pass game.
   
• We talk a lot about strain and effort on defense. The ability to rotate guys and keep them fresh is something we have always viewed as a weapon. We are doing it with 9, 10, and 11 guys. The nine-game SEC is going to get real physical, real fast.
   
• People would tell you I am on the extremely paranoid end of communication. I am on my seventh round of terminology here. I live on the uber-paranoid side. You can imagine quite a few things have changed.
   
• When talking about the best gunner, Rogers’ name always came up. He helped KC Concepcion out a lot last year.
   
• You play these games, but when you throw in the SEC logo, you see everything perk up a little bit. We don't talk about it. We don't say, “It's an SEC game. Now we have to try.
   
• My head, right now, is trying to figure out how to put together a first- and second-down plan to stop Kentucky on Saturday. So, I'm going to punt on that question about SEC Championships, because I really have no way to answer it. 
   
• Trovon Baugh will be fine.
   
• We are as proud of our over 3.0 GPA and the community service hours as anything. There are two former players at NASA. Making sure our kids are prepared for life is something we spend a lot of time on around here.