College Football
Matt Luke – Ole Miss Thru And Thru
The Man
Ole Miss coach Matt Luke has the job everyone football coach dreams of having when they are growing up in the state of Mississippi. The Rebels got their man and Luke got his team.
A native of Gulfport, Mississippi, Luke has Rebel blood coursing through his veins. His father was a defensive back in the 1950’s. Luke’s brother Tom quarterbacked the Rebels for three seasons. Matt played center for the Ole Miss in the late 90’s and was the team captain in 1998. Now Matt is the man with Tom on his staff.
“Don’t hire me because I’m an Ole Miss guy,” he told athletic director Ross Bjork. “Don’t hire me because I played here. Don’t hire me because my dad and brother played here, my mom and sister – that’s not the reason to hire me, (but) because I’m the right guy for the job.”
In one of his first interviews after being named interim head coach, Luke shared the kind of team he expects to take the gridiron week in and week out.
“After all the adversity we have a chance to be the most mentally tough team in the country,” Luke said. “They’ve been through so much and that’s going to bring them together. That is your motivation. You’re playing for the guy next to you. You’re playing for the guy that is wearing the same jersey and helmet as you.
“We have to have a blue-collar mentality. We earn everything we get. There is not a lot of pressure on us. People aren’t giving us much respect. We have to go out and play good, hard, sound football and be a blue-collar team, no prima donnas. That’s the type of team I want to have.”
A New Year
Building on last year’s momentum, he has already begun the task of fostering that mentality.atmosphere. It’s Ole Miss against the rest of the world. There is no more dangerous team then one with a chip on its shoulder. The Rebels have something to prove.
“Challenges provide opportunities for leaders to step up,” continued Luke. “Leaders step up at crunch time. There has been so much outside noise that to quiet that we are working towards putting our positive momentum from last season to work this season. We are equal when it comes to time. We all get 24 hours. Its what we do with it that is important.”
Ole Miss is not bowl eligible because of things happening during the Hugh Freeze era. The ineligibility has not stopped Luke and the Rebels from planning to win like they are bowl eligible. Ultimately, he has one goal, win a national title.
With 24 years of playing and coaching at the highest levels, Luke has the pedigree and the experience to win it all. His tutelage includes working for Tennessee coaching legend Phillip Fulmer. The Vols went 19-8 with an SEC Eastern Division championship and two appearances in the Outback Bowl.
Win In The Trenches
Football is a game won in the trenches. No one knows this more then the former offensive lineman turned coach. At Duke, as the “O” line coach, the offense set records in 2010 and 2011 in the run game. The Duke quarterback became just the four signal caller to throw for 3,000 yards in a season. During his four years, the Duke line ranked in the top five for fewest sacks allowed. Since arriving in Oxford again in 2012, the Ole Miss line has been among the best. In 2016 alone, the offensive line helped the Rebels lead the SEC in passing for the second consecutive year (314.9 ypg) and rank 13th nationally. The Rebels averaged 464.3 yards in total offense, good enough for third in the SEC.
Watch This Game
Circle the third week of the season as the day the SEC sits up and takes notice. On that day Alabama comes to Oxford. Don’t be surprised when the final score reflects a Rebel win.
