Ole Miss was the second team to go thru the ringer that is the SEC Media Days on Tuesday as Matt Luke was joined by Jordan Ta’amu, Josiah Coatney and Sean Rawlings in Atlanta.

Here are some highlights of the quotes provided by the players on the Ole Miss roster:

Senior quarterback Jordan Ta’amu

On beginning the season with few distractions…

“Just knowing what we have in front of us, we’re excited to start the season off strong, and we’re ready to get this on the road.”

On his breakout game against LSU last season…

“Going in there, I was a bit nervous, I’m not going to lie, but I had to look back on my training and I knew what goals were in front of me. I trained every game like I was going to start, so just having that opportunity, getting there, I knew what I was getting myself into. I knew exactly what I needed to do. So just going in there, I was excited. As soon as I started, first snap came and the butterflies came out of me and I just had confidence from there on out.”

On his transition from a limited role to team leader…

“The transition’s been really great. Just going out here and being able to be called the starting quarterback for Ole Miss has been truly a blessing. My work ethic is still going to be the same. I treated last season like I was going in every game, like I was going to start, and this season I am going to start, so I’m excited to start the season off with my team and Coach Luke in front of me.”

On his relationship with Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa…

“Me and Tua train all the time back home – me and him, and his dad and his little brother and a bunch of kids back home. Me and Tua have a great relationship, he’s a great guy. Last year I talked to him after the Alabama game, and he was doing really well. It’s good to see him blow up, blow up the SEC. If he is the starting quarterback, I’m excited to play against him. It’s going to be a big game. Hawaii versus Hawaii, and it’ll be exciting. I know the fans back home are excited for that game as well.”

On the process and impact of Matt Luke being named head coach…

“When he was named the head coach, everyone, including myself, was excited. We knew he was the guy for the job. After winning against Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl, after the game, we all chanted ‘We want Luke!’ and it started blowing up and it was a crazy feeling in that locker room. I knew we needed Luke just to start the season off, and he was a great head coach last year. He’s a players’ coach, and he’s just been amazing to me and our families and our players in general. We’re excited to have him, and we’re excited for him to lead our team this year.”

Junior defensive lineman Josiah Coatney

On individual and team goals for the season…

“Work as hard as possible. The team, we want to take the next step this season. They are trying to do everything possible to get better like working hard, learning plays and learning schemes. They want us to take a different role this year and focus more on leadership. The physical things probably aren’t the biggest things for me, it is the leadership. Leadership is something I want to develop this year.”

On his impression of teammate Jordan Ta’amu…

“He was somebody who really kept to himself and stayed humble until his time came. I feel like him and Coach Luke are in the same situation. Some would say they didn’t expect this to happen, but they were prepared when the moment came. Jordan came in, put himself in the position to be the quarterback he wanted to be. We always knew what type of guy he was, but it just shows on the field now, and everyone trusts that he can make the right decision, the right reads, and lead us to victory.”

On what makes junior wide receiver A.J. Brown special…

“The work he puts in. The whole receiving corps does a great job of doing more even when it’s not expected of them. They are there, late at night, holidays and weekends working. I would say their group probably works the most, and I inspire my group to step it up and match that level of intensity. He does a great job leading his guys. Ole Miss is known for great receivers and receivers going to the NFL, so they want to make the receiving brand a national brand.”

On opinion of his coach, Matt Luke…

“Coach Luke is somebody I believed deserved the job, but deserving it in this league is not enough. I feel like you have to earn it. All of the new coaches that came into the league had credentials. Mississippi State’s new coach was a great offensive coordinator at Penn State, and Jimbo Fisher was great at Florida State and led them to a National Championship. They have all come in with high expectations and want to win SEC games. That’s the ultimate goal in college football. Coach Luke is at the ultimate goal. He wants to prove he belongs here.”

Senior offensive lineman Sean Rawlings

On what makes Jordan Ta’amu different…

“The biggest difference with Jordan Ta’amu is that he stepped in at such a kind of awkward time, towards the later of the season. A guy that has zero SEC starts under his belt, and you see this guy coming in who is so composed and confident. He portrayed that to the whole offense, and then the offense adopts that confidence. Having him and his composure is what sets him apart.”

On the mentality of winning on the road…

“It’s an embrace the challenge and appreciate the challenge that you get the opportunity to do that. We always enjoy the challenge, and we take pride in that as an offensive line. You’ve got an offensive line with over 100 starts all the way across, which is incredible. You’ve got guys like Greg Little, Javon Patterson, Ben Brown, Jordan Sims, Alex Givens, and Royce Newman. All of those guys are ready to step in, from the start, from the first game, and that’s something we’ve always taken pride in. Playing in that atmosphere, and playing the best we can.”

On learning from Head Coach Matt Luke…

“He is exactly the role model you want to have on and off the field. He has the blue-collar workers mentality – nobody cares who gets the credit. That’s something that the offensive line has always had with him. He’s had that mentality with us always, so we’ve adopted it. To see that transition to the entire the team, it’s incredible. I always say he changed the culture in less than a month. So, imagine how far we have come and progressed over a year and really adopted that mentality. The whole locker room believes in it, and we take a lot of pride in playing for Coach Luke, and he hasn’t changed a bit since day one.”

On the offensive players Ole Miss has this year…

“I’m sure glad they’re on our team. (They are) extremely talented guys, and you almost have to take a step back and just watch in awe. Seeing A.J. (Brown) run a post route and as soon as the ball hits his hands, he makes something special happen. That’s so much fun to be a part of. And then you have D.K. Metcalf reaching up in the back of the end zone, in the final seconds of Kentucky and us winning that game on the road. It’s just special to be a part of and being able to play with those guys and be a part of it with them. You just can’t say enough about them.”