Matt Corral isn't listening to his own hype
Sep. 2—OXFORD — The Matt Corral Hype Machine is in full force. Just don't consider its namesake among those following its every movement.
Corral, the Ole Miss redshirt junior quarterback who led the nation in total offense last season, was the preseason All-SEC quarterback selection by both local media and the conference's coaches. He on every preseason list imaginable, including the Davey O'Brien and Maxwell Awards.
Corral threw for 3,337 yards and 29 touchdowns last season and added 506 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
"I love the guy's competitive spirit. I've always watched him and enjoy watching him play, the style," said ESPN announcer Kirk Herbstreit, who is calling Monday's opener against Louisville in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game. "Man, he's confident in this offense. And he should be."
ESPN college football analyst Robert Griffin III, winner of the 2011 Heisman Trophy, went so far as to predict Corral as the 2021 winner of the sport's highest honor, calling him the "most fun to watch gunslinger in all of college football." Griffin also said he believes Corral will lead Ole Miss "to be a serious contender in the College Football Playoff."
"It's not the safe pick. It's not the trendy pick," Griffin said on ESPN. "But this guy's exciting."
What does Corral think about the college football world singing his praises? Well, he's really just hearing about Griffin's proclamation for the first time.
Corral said he officially logged himself off of social media last night. He plans on doing so for most of the next few months and is tuning out noise.
At the end of the day, none of that outside chatter really matters anyway. Press clippings and soundbites don't win games.
"I don't think it's something that I'm going to be looking at. I didn't even see (Griffin's Heisman pick) until I was in an interview with the sports announcers, and they told me that," Corral said. "I don't know. I guess that's pretty awesome."
Corral is the triggerman for an Ole Miss offense that averaged just under 40 points per game last season and figures to once again be among the nation's most productive units.
As productive as he was in 2020, Corral did take his share of lumps, particularly against Arkansas and LSU.
Corral threw 14 interceptions last season; 11 of those came in matchups against the Razorbacks and Tigers. He is expecting Louisville to do much of the same thing Arkansas did to fluster him in 2020 — drop back defenders in large numbers.
"I'm expecting drop eight, obviously. (But) nothing's going to surprise me, (like if) they go four down," Corral said. "Because I'm expecting the unexpected."
To say Corral is excited to get back out on the field in live game-action for first time since early January would be an understatement. With junior running back Jerrion Ealy, senior receivers Dontario Drummond and Braylon Sanders back and four of five starters returning on the offensive line, it's hard to blame him for being giddy.
Ole Miss won four of its final five games in 2020, including a 26-20 victory over No. 7 Indiana in the Outback Bowl.
He's also been doing his share of homework, making sure he has the playbook memorized like the back of his hand. Everything in there is the same as it was last season, he said, save for tweaks and opponent-specific strategies.
"Mentally, we've been training for, honestly, since last season ended," Corral said. "I want to say we went over the playbook, I went over it four times this offseason.
"This week is just mentally getting ready and fine-tuning the stuff that we put in."
Expectations are sky-high for Corral and the Rebels, the preseason No. 25 team in the USA Today AFCA Coaches Poll. As much excitement as there may be around him and his golden right arm, the best thing he can do is shut it all off.
That's all made a bit easier when no one in the Manning Center hears it, either.
"I just don't really try to focus on it. Coaches don't even talk about it. They talk about how much I suck," Corral said with a laugh. "So, it's all good."
