Everything Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby said in Monday's press conference

Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby held his weekly Monday press conference today to talk about how the bye week went for the team, as well as previewing this week's game against Florida and provided some updates to key injuries.

ICYMI: Did the Bulldogs receive any top 25 votes after bye week?

Here's everything Lebby said:

On the bye week...

Great, obviously with the schedule that we've played, man, our guys needed the ability to just kind of go be normal for a day or two. And you could tell it in their balance and their step this morning, a ton of excitement. Again, great intent. No, we've got a great challenge ahead of us, but excited about it.

What do you see from Florida? What's the challenges on both sides of the ball?

Defensively, they have played great team defense, and they do. They've got a roster that's full of very, very talented players at all three levels of the defense. So we're going to have to do a great job winning matchups. We're going to have to do a great job of keeping Blake (Shapen) clean. That has obviously been a theme, but I do, I like where we're at from a game plan standpoint.

And then for them, offensively, it's all going to go through DJ (Lagway). When he's played really well, they've been really good offensively. And so for us, it's going to find ways to create some negative plays, try to get them into some down and distances that aren't comfortable for them. And I think our first and second down defense is going to be a huge part of giving us a chance to go win.

On offensive line improvements during the bye week...

Just the continued development of that group. I think when you look at it, you step back and we haven't played the way we need to go play. But also understanding that whether it's Javin or it's Zach, Cannon Boone moving to center about five days into fall camp. Obviously, we've played a lot of different guys at a lot of different spots. So, hopefully, we're able to get Albert back, we're not there yet. But that's the hope.

That group's got to keep developing. And we knew that was going to be a challenge. We've got to go play better. I've got to continue to help those guys and find ways to create some layups. And it was, it was a great open day for those guys.

What's it going to take to improve the pass protection, and how do you think Florida is going to challenge that this week?

The development in the off week and having the ability to coach those guys in the meeting room and on the practice field and getting better. And that's the reality of it. There's not going to be these new, perfect, crazy schemes that all of a sudden give us the ability to go hold the ball for five seconds. It's fundamentally playing cleaner, having great confidence in our fundamentals, and then being able to go execute that way.

On wide receiver Ayden Williams' increase in playing time...

He's created a ton of consistency in his preparation. And then when he's had opportunities inside of games, he's made plays. And again, I think that's because he is healthier now than he's been all year. He had two really full weeks of practice that was given him a chance to go play the way he played, so he's created a lot of consistency, a lot of trust. The fact that we can roll him and (Jordan Mosley) will be huge for us. But proud of Ayden and how he's just kind of stuck to it.

Where are some of the guys who stepped up in sort of a bigger role?

Tony Mitchell played incredibly hard and played with great physicality for playing so little up to that point for him to go into that setting and then go play a really good brand of football, far from perfect, but that was huge for us to see.

And then we did, I thought we had guys up front do a really nice job of, man, not staying blocked, being able to shed and get off things and make the offense earn it. Again, the first eight drives, the way we played was winning football, having the ability to go finish is a huge piece of that. As we got into the open date and as we get ready for this Saturday.

On the health status of Isaac Smith and other injured Bulldogs...

They were not full go today. Our hope is that they have the ability to get a full Wednesday practice under their belt. If they're not able to, then to me, it's gonna be really hard with just in our "no sweat Thursday" and "fast Friday," leading up to game day. Those guys are better today than they were last Monday, but we're not there yet.

On Brenen Thompson's return from an injury...

He's in a great spot physically right now. What I'm proud of Brandon for is that throughout the flow of the game, there was some opportunities where he was incredibly open. There's zero frustration. He's upset or disappointed that he can't help the team in those situations. But the kind of team player he's been, his energy on the sidelines, staying incredibly calm when he's not able to take advantage of some of those things that were going on through the course of the game. That to me is being a pro and being a great teammate, and that's probably what I'm most proud of him about.

How would you kind of characterize where y'all are at this point within your expectations of where you thought this team would be preseason?

Yeah, I think our best football is still ahead of us. I'm not surprised at all by the way we were able to start, frustrated and obviously the last two and how they went. But I do, I think our guys again, man, are serious about being great and they're serious about being able to go take advantage of a huge opportunity Saturday at 3:15, and we need to go win on the road in this league, and that's something that we've got out ahead of us.

The recruiting calendar changes pretty much every year. I mean, those abilities that they got right now, but how different is it going to be for you and your staff this December?

It's going to be a lot different, and I think for us, (potentially) being in a bowl game, having the ability to go practice that month of December will be great for our guys on campus, keeping guys incredibly engaged. I think there's great development that has the ability to happen, in that month, through those practices, especially with the young players on your team, but it is. It's going to be completely different than what it's been. There's constant conversation with me and Mark, trying to figure out the best way to go attack every bit of it, but this will be the first year the calendar plays out this way.

On Fluff Bothwell's injury status...

He's doubtful for this week. Again, for him, it's going to be just getting a little bit better every single day. Again, incredibly encouraged with how things have gone up until this point. And he's done everything he possibly can to get himself ready, but again, we'll wait and see on that.

What's your next biggest goal, and what's it going to take to achieve it?

We're trying to get postseason eligible as fast as we possibly can. That's the next step. So that means finding a way to go 1-0 on Saturday to give us the ability to take that next step. Our guys understand that. It is as soon as possible. That for us is huge.

You've had some great success this year scoring on the first try. And Florida has done it five out of six times. Is that about scripting? Is it about seeing base defense? How have you been able to be so successful scoring early in time?

Yeah, for us, again, having the ability to, man, just go execute at a pretty high clip has been good. Didn't happen last week. We give up the sack, obviously, the second play of the game, which put us behind the chains and in a bad situation. But again, for us, we're going to need to go start fast on Saturday, and we'll be a huge, huge piece of it. I believe that.

On DJ Lagway's running and passing abilities...

He's going to be a guy that can extend and create and then go make plays with his feet. But ultimately, he does. He wants to scramble and still keep his eyes down the field and be able to make plays in the throw game. And we've got to do a great job bottling him up. Again, talked about it, our first and second down defense is going to be critical to us going and having a great day defense.

Going back to the defense, what do you think has led to the drastic improvement this season, in the last season?

I think the first thing, obviously, from a roster standpoint, we're in a completely different place than we were a year ago today with some of the guys we were able to go sign. And then I think the guys that are playing at a pretty high level for us that are returners from last year, they're year two in the system. And I don't think people understand how big of a deal that is. The way Nic Mitchell has played, a guy like Zakari Tillman, the way he's played, a guy like Brylan (Lanier), how he's played, and Kelley Jones. The names go on and on of guys that played inside the system last year. Now they're year two, that's what development is, that's what coaching is. And so, again, for our guys, we've got to keep building on that, and that'll be critical for us.