MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama football head coach Joey Jones along with senior safety Devon Earl and junior offensive lineman Dominic Esposito met with the media Monday to review Saturday's Sun Belt win over Georgia State and preview this weekend's game at Louisiana-Monroe.

South Alabama Head Coach Joey Jones
Opening statement: "Our approach going into Georgia State was that we needed to run the football more.  We knew it would be a defensive struggle — they are very, very good on defense, I know a lot of people may not have known that — so we felt that we didn't need any turnovers or mental errors, we had a simple game plan.  In the first half we didn't do as well offensively but made some great adjustments and rushed for 165 yards in the second half, we moved the ball effectively in the second half.  The defense played good pretty much the whole night except for the first series, and overall I thought we played a pretty good game as a team."

On how it helps the team when the offense imposes its will on the opposition: "You can see everybody on the sideline get rolling because when you have that feeling that you are wearing people down, you feed off that and the whole team feeds off that.  You become much more consistent on offense when you are able to do that, you don't have to depend on a 40-yard pass, you're running the football for five to six yards a pop; that's certainly the easiest way to move the football."

On Dami Ayoola: "I thought overall this was probably the best game that our running backs have run the ball, all three backs really ran hard.  Dami raised his game to another level, he has gotten better as the season has gone along, and he is doing a great job returning punts for us as well.  I'm real proud of the way he is playing right now."

On the true freshmen who have played this season: "You hate to depend on true freshmen to come in and play for you a lot, but there they are and they are doing a good job.  We have some really good athletes who we signed in that class, they are proving to be guys who are giving us reps.  When you go through a whole season in [NCAA] Division I football, you can't play with just one guys and sometimes you can't play with just two guys on the defensive line; you need to be three deep at times.  Those guys get tired because they are in a fight every play so the freshmen have had to come along sooner than we would've normally asked them to, but they have done a very good job with the situation we are in."

On what Saturday's win does for the program: "Let's face it, a win heals all — when you play well and lose it still hurts, that win always helps.  But on the flip side of that, it's a great time for teachable moments knowing that we didn't play great 100 percent of the time.  There were plays that we didn't make and mental errors in the game that we have to fix.  If we keep minimizing those mental errors then we are going to have a chance to be a really good football team.  It's really good for the confidence, but it's also a good time to teach these guys moments in the game where they can do better."

On Louisiana-Monroe: "I'm real impressed with their offensive line running the football, they've got big, strong guys who run the zone play extremely well.  They are down to their second quarterback, who is playing well.  Defensively they are a man-coverage team, they will blitz, they have a lot of movement on the front.  They are more athletic but smaller on the defensive front, so they are moving them a good bit.  They do a great job scheme-wise.  We are obviously going to have to run the ball, but we're going to have to make some plays down the field as well.  We are going to have to throw the ball and catch it and make some big plays against man coverage."


Safety Devon Earl
On Saturday's win: "I think we came out last weekend and really enjoyed ourselves.  Going out there and having fun is what we really stressed and that's what we did.  We went out there and had fun and played for each other and it worked itself out."

On what Saturday's win means for the team heading into the final part of the schedule: "Pretty much every game we've played in this season has been a close one.  It's good to play well in crunch time and come out with a win.  We've been a confident team all year and getting the win Saturday just boost our confidence even more heading into these last four games."

On the approach of facing a quarterback that you don't have a lot of tape on: "I always say it's about us and how we go out to practice and prepare.  You watch your film and get what you can from the film, but it's more about us being sharp, confident and ready to come out and do what we need to play well."


Offensive Lineman Dominic Esposito
On Saturday's win: "It was a long-time coming for that first Sun Belt win.  We've been hungry for it for a long time.  Now that we've got one, we're looking to get the rest of them on our schedule.  We knew it was going to be a physical game and that we were going to have to beat [Georgia State] in the second half.  We just kept pushing them and tried to make them quit.  I thought we came out in the second half and really started moving them and that's what helped us get the win."

On what Saturday's win means for the team heading into the final part of the schedule: "It brings everybody together and it's exciting too.  Getting a big blow-out win would've been nice, but seeing everyone come together and just fight to the very end just really helped bring our team together even more.  Now, we're just looking to do the same thing this weekend against ULM and that helps."

On the approach of the offensive line having to adjust to new positions due to injury: "We look at it as that we're ready to play wherever, whether it's me being moved to tackle, right tackle, quarterback or wherever.  The attitude on the line is that we're all ready to step up and make it to a bowl game and win the rest of these games.  We have a great group of guys and everyone is hungry and ready to step up and play whatever position we need to."

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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