MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama football head coach Joey Jones along with safety Jeremy Reaves and offensive lineman Harrison Louden met with the media Monday to preview the season opener at Ole Miss.

Head coach Joey Jones
Opening statement: "Our players are looking forward to the ball game obviously.  We've been in camp for four weeks — that's probably the longest we've done in nine years — but it's been a good one, the guys have gotten better.  I'm really excited about where our team can go this fall.  We know Ole Miss is a very good opponent, they are very talented but our guys are looking forward to playing them."

On getting into game week: "As a coach you love practice, getting your guys better and challenging them to get better during camp — there is no substitution for that — and I think we've taken advantage of that.  When you get into game week you're watching film every day preparing for the opponent, we're getting ready to go to an SEC school and stadium to play a game so it is exciting for our players and staff.  Football isn't a lot of fun until you play games, let's be honest, but I believe practice is where you make it or break it.  It's a lot more fun on Saturdays, our guys are looking forward to that opportunity.  They've been banging and working out with weights for about eight months now, they are ready to play a ball game."

On the mindset of the team entering the Ole Miss game: "I think our guys understand what type or opponent we're getting ready to play.  They are not intimidated by the venue, we've been to Tennessee, South Carolina and Mississippi State so our guys are used to that now, it's not new anymore.  But it is exciting to play a team like this, when you watch them play on TV you see what really good athletes they have.  Our guys want to match up with them and show what we can do, but it's what we do that we're going to focus on."

On where the team is compared to this time last year: "I think we are much further ahead offensively with our scheme and the great decisions I think our staff has made during the offseason to put us in the best position possible to win.  We have more depth, we thought receiver was going to be a problem going into the season and it turns out we have some really good players out there who are younger.  We've talked about our depth at running back — we're probably five or six deep there — and the offensive line is coming along, they did get better this summer; from the beginning of camp to the end of camp our biggest jump was probably on the offensive line.

"Defensively depth is the biggest thing, our depth on the line is huge.  When you are three deep at each position going into play it makes you feel a lot more comfortable as a coach as opposed to last year when we had some freshmen in there and didn't have much in the back-up roles behind them.  We're certainly going have a lot fresher legs throughout the year.  Even in a game like this against an SEC team, if you look back over the years most of the time in those games we kind of wore down toward the end of the game and they would get us late in the fourth quarter because we were just tired.  Having those fresh legs in there is certainly going to make a difference."

On Ole Miss: "I think they know what they are doing offensively, Coach [Matt] Luke has been there, I don't think they are going to veer too much from what they were doing in the past.  I know they brought a new offensive coordinator in, we've studied all that on film.  It's very similar stuff, I wouldn't anticipate many big changes for them offensively.  They are going to get it to their receivers, who are very good playmakers, their quarterback is a very good player who can run and throw.  They are very skilled at their athletic positions."

On how much belief is a factor in the game: "It plays a factor in every game, it takes that to win and win close ball games.  We've worked on that this offseason, our guys have really done a great job with their toughness.  They know toughness is going to win, it's going to win on the road, it's going to win those close ball games.  They are ready to show what they can do, I think they have a little bit of a chip on their shoulder.  We're going to bring this program to the next level, that's our goal this year."

On Cole Garvin's preparation for the opener: "It's not much different than what he has done before, his preparation was excellent all of camp.  He's had as good a camp as any quarterback we've ever had.  Dallas had a good camp as well and we feel good about Evan as our third guy, this is the most depth we've ever had at quarterback.  Cole had a lights-out camp, his arm strength is there, he has been very accurate and staying away from the 'Brett Favre plays' as they say where he was winging it a little bit.  He has really honed in on what the coaches have asked him to do."

Safety Jeremy Reaves
On opening the season on Saturday at Ole Miss: "I would agree with Harrison about being ready to play against someone else.  I'm anxious and excited as the team is to open the season and face a great opponent and an SEC team like Ole Miss."

On what they take away from last season's win at Mississippi State heading into this game: "Having the right mindset is the biggest thing.  The right mindset is important each week you play no matter who it is.  We know we have to get the job done and do whatever it takes to win the game at the end of the day.  It doesn't matter who we play, we have to have the same mindset."

On facing Ole Miss' passing attack: "It's going to be up to the older guys like myself and Neiko [Robinson] to lead our young secondary.  We've been in this type of situation and a game like this one before so we know how to handle it.  Ole Miss has a lethal passing attack, great receivers on the outside and a great quarterback, so it definitely will be a challenge.  Our leadership and experience in this type of situation should help us though."

Offensive Lineman Harrison Louden
On moving into game week: "We are just ready to hit someone other than ourselves.  In-season practice is a lot better for us.  It's just nice to play real football again and get ready for the season."

On the maturity and development of the offensive line: "This is our second season under coach [Richard] Owens.  He has brought a whole new mental aspect to the game and made us tougher both mentally and physically.  I see a lot of improvement in our group over the past few years."

On Ole Miss' defense: "They are a very talented group of guys.  Like Jeremy said earlier though, it's just about having the right mindset.  We want to win, no matter who we line up against."

On concentrating on establishing the running game during fall camp: "I think we've improved from the first day of camp until now; we've definitely established the running game and the passing game as well.  We are pretty balanced on offense."

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