TUCSON, Ariz. – University of South Alabama football head coach Joey Jones along with senior safety Devon Earl and senior running back Dami Ayoola met with the media to discuss Friday's opponent, Air Force, at Thursday's NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl press conference. Below are some highlights from today's event.
South Alabama Head Coach Joey Jones
Opening statement: "First of all, what a treat [this bowl experience has been] for our team and our football organization at South Alabama. We're excited about being here; it's been nothing but a first-class event. From the day that we got off the plane until now, our players have been treated with respect just like they were very important people and we have really appreciated that. We've tried to separate the fun and the business and we've talked about that a bunch throughout the week; our players have done that and I'm proud of them."
On how he would describe the season: "I get that question a lot having beaten Mississippi State and San Diego State; we had really good games against those guys. I think when you look at the Sun Belt Conference right now and the scores of their bowl games, you see what type of conference that we are in. When you look at our games, every one of them came down to about a touchdown difference with one of those in overtime; we're two or three plays from having a nine-win season. We've done some really good things this season for a program that's been in existence at the [NCAA] Division I level for only four years."
On the changes in Air Force's offense after the quarterback switch: "They have changed it some. If you look at their offense they were a little more triple-option oriented with their first quarterback. They are still running the triple-option, but they've now added more dimensions to it with their second quarterback. When you look at Air Force and compare them to Navy and Army, the other two schools are more simplistic in their formations, whereas Air Force runs every formation known to man and they give a lot of different looks which poses a lot of difficulties for our defense to get lined up. On top of that, you have to deal with what they do offensively. They've done a good job of adapting to the strengths of the quarterback they have now."
On his assessment of the play of Dallas Davis this season: "Dallas Davis is a very consistent quarterback. This has been his first year as a starter for us as a sophomore. I call him an accurate thrower, especially with the long ball; he throws it well. We've had a lot of big plays in our offense and that's where he shines the most. He is a very solid runner. He is one of the best leaders and one of the best people that I've ever coached. He's extremely selfless and doesn't care about his stats; he truly cares about the team winning and that's what his goal is."
On if he feels the key to the game is pass protection: "When I first started watching film of Air Force, I really expected them to be like Navy using 'umbrella' coverage to make you earn your way down the field. You look at the film though and they bring seven guys on blitzes and they use multiple coverages. They play zero-man coverage, which is man coverage across the board, and cover-one; those two coverages are probably 95 percent of what they do. They have good athletes back there; they believe that they're going to get to you and make you throw the ball down the field to beat them. It's tough to run the ball against them because they bring so many people. We have some things that we think will work, but they certainly load the box and do a good job."
On what they've done to prepare for Air Force's offense: "It's difficult to defend their type of offense; nobody really runs that anymore; at least most teams. We've just tried to give the best look we could. I think we have the speed to show getting the pitch out on the corner as fast as we could. The speed factor was ok, but the execution factor is obviously a lot different; it's not going to look like it does on game day. That's one thing our players have to understand. It's going to look fast to them early, but hopefully that game will slow down after a series or so and we start deciphering what's going on offensively. We are being very simple in what we do defensively, I told the coaches to not overcoach this game and make sure we are simple enough where we can line up and play. They run this offense all the time and we're preparing for one game, they are going to be better at it than we are. We need to be sure to be simplistic to get off blocks and make tackles."
On being an underdog in the game: "Any time you have someone tell you that you can't do something, if you're a competitor you want to prove them wrong; that's the mindset of most competitors, not just South Alabama. We understand that we are playing a quality team, we know that Air Force has a great program that has been around for 100 years. But I also believe in our players and what we've done. We've had a really good year and are a hair away from having a tremendous year. We know what kind of team we have and think we can match up with them so it will come down, like most games, to who makes the plays."
On qualifying for a bowl game despite injuries: "We've lost 10 starters from beginning to end, mostly defensive and offensive linemen. It's been difficult, but as a coach I need to do a better job having guys ready. Injuries can't be an excuse, we have to find way to come through in those situations. Nobody is going to look back 20 years from now and say we had 10 starters out, they are going to look at our record. But our kids have fought through it and we've had guys step up; we've starting two freshman on the offensive and have two on the defensive line playing a lot of minutes, we've never had to do that before. That's fine, those guys are getting a lot of reps and will be better players because of it."
Senior Running Back Dami Ayoola
On if there is pressure to get this bowl win: "I think getting it done right now will be a testament of what we've been preaching all year; finishing drives, finishing games and finishing work outs. We have a chance to do something legendary for our program. We have a lot of firsts for our program this season. Right now, we're just focused on winning one quarter at a time and being able to do that we can accomplish something special at the end."
On what played into the wins over Mississippi State and San Diego State earlier this season: "I don't think it was any change in what we were doing, it was just the mentality of the team on offense and defense; we really rallied together as a team late in those games to come away with those wins."
On with the success of the other Sun Belt teams in bowl games, if this game is an opportunity to elevate the conference: "It's definitely an opportunity for the Sun Belt Conference as a whole. We are just focused on winning each quarter and getting the win for Jag Nation."
On the team's experience in Tucson during the week: "This has been really fun for a lot of guys. You have the younger guys who get to see a standard that is being set around here to be in postseason play in each year. I think that is really important in building a program, having younger guys see success and emulate that in the years to come."
Senior Defensive Back Devon Earl
On the experience the team has had in Tucson in the program's second bowl game and playing Air Force: "I've enjoyed Tucson a lot. I've actually been to Tucson once before. It's been a great experience for us the last couple of days. It's an honor to play Air Force. I'm really proud of our team for getting here and putting ourselves in this situation."
On practice preparing for Air Force: "Practice has been really energetic and fun. Defensively we always try to bring energy and make sure that everybody is enjoying themselves. When the energy is there we are confident and able to play good."
On the team's bowl experience throughout the week: "It's been a real great experience. I was in Montgomery when we played in that bowl game, coming out here was really different than that bowl. I think the group out here is more progressive, I really liked the rodeo and being able to experience things in Tucson that you're not going to see in Mobile."
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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