MOBILE, Ala. - Following Saturday's 56-0 win over Army Prep, University of South Alabama linebacker Clifton Crews and tight end Paul Bennett joined head coach Joey Jones for media day Monday afternoon at the USA football fieldhouse.

Jones discussed Saturday's win, as well as what he plans to do to prepare his team for its next game when it takes on Georgia Military J.C. on Oct. 10. He added that he's looking forward to getting back on the field in less than two weeks, as opposed to the three-week wait between games one and two.

Highlights from  Monday's press conference follow below:

Head coach Joey Jones
Opening statement:
"Needless to say, I thought we played well. Sometimes you look at a film after you win like that and you go back and see more wrong than you thought you might, but after this one I felt pretty good about it. The lines on both sides of the ball played well. Things just happened so fast in that game, we were scoring so quickly, and it was kind of a blur. The great thing was that we got a bunch of kids in the game, got some experience out there and tried to develop some depth. We're watching those kids on film and seeing who can fill in as a backup. Overall, it was a very good day."

On if the team is further along than he thought it would be:
"We're probably further along than I thought we would be. Our kids have really come together. There's a chemistry part to a football team that nobody in the stands can see, and sometimes people on the team can't even see it, but as a coaching staff we're really noticing how these kids are coming together. That's really pleasing. Some of the things we're doing offensively, defensively and on special teams are great on the field, but I think a lot of it has to do with the chemistry of this team; that's been a real key factor."

On if he was concerned about the team chemistry coming into the season:
"(I had) extreme concern. I had done it before in my job at Birmingham-Southern, but that was a deal where we brought in all freshman. I knew bringing in some older guys who had been around and played in other programs would be a key to bringing us together. We did that, but I still wasn't sure if it would work, but the plan has worked. The older guys have done a good job leading, and the younger guys have done a good job of listening and doing what they're supposed to do, so it's been good."

On the Jags' next opponent, Georgia Military J.C.:
"On paper, this will be the toughest team we'll play all year. Last year Georgia Military was 9-2, they went to a bowl game, and they've won two national championships in the last 10 years. We highly respect what kind of program they have, the players they've got and the coaching staff. If we take that as a positive that we have an off week and it gives us a little extra time to work on them, like we did this past time ... I think that will help us. Normally if you have a week off you don't like it, but since we're going from three to two it feels better."

On if he was surprised the team didn't have a letdown after waiting three weeks between games:
"(I was) fairly surprised. They've always come to work, and I think the decision I made to only practice three days the first week and four the next worked out. The kids didn't get burned out during that period. You can bang them to death in practice sometimes, and that isn't our goal, our goal is to be as good as we can be when game time comes."

On the improvement he saw between games one and two:
"Certainly we did some things better technically, but it was just a confidence factor too. We walked out there and the kids just had a swagger about them, and I thought we really improved in that area. Having those couple extra weeks to work on fundamentals really helped us, especially on special teams. We broke it down where we worked  pure fundamentals, and you don't have time to do that in a normal season, but I call this an abnormal season."

Sophomore tight end Paul Bennett
On the Army Prep game:
"I thought the offense did pretty well. We executed very well. The other team was a little undersized so we could push them around fairly easy. We had a few fumbles but other than that, our execution was good."

On what the team worked on during the layoff:
"On offense we just worked on blocking better and our footwork. We also worked a lot on special teams which helped us out a good bit."

On how much the team improved from the first game:
"I thought we improved a lot. As far as executing, we a bit sloppy at times in the first game but in this game we were more sound because we had three weeks to prepare for the team. We worked on fundamentals so we blocked better than we did last time."

On the next opponent, Georgia Military J.C.:
"I expect they'll be the best team we play all year. They have a lot of depth. They aren't a one-year team like the prep schools; they have sophomores. They'll come ready to play. I'm sure they've been watching tape on us for awhile now. They've won some national titles so I look forward to playing them."

Freshman linebacker Clifton Crews
On facing Georgia Military J.C. in the next game:
"I'm looking forward to it too, being from Georgia myself. I always want to play against a Georgia team. But I know they're going to be physical, from what I've heard."

On what the team worked on during the three-week layoff:
"Fundamentally speaking we worked on getting off blocks. Whenever you play an option team, the cut block will kill you. Getting off blocks, being able to take on a cut block, not getting cut and getting to the ball faster, those are the fundamentals we worked on defensively."

On how the team improved from the first game:
"We took advantage of our three weeks of practice we had while we were off. Any time you have three weeks to prepare for a triple option team, it helps a lot."

On having just one off week before the next game
"Practice will be a little more intense now. Guys will take it a little more serious now and we'll go harder in practice and practice longer as well."

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

-USA-