MOBILE, Ala. - After capturing the program’s third road win Saturday, University of South Alabama football head coach Joey Jones and defensive back Jerron Mitchell sat down with the media to recap the Jaguars’ 24-21 win over UC Davis, as well as preview this week’s contest with Georgia State.
A few highlights from Monday’s press conference are below.
Head coach Joey Jones
On the UC Davis win:
“I thought it was the biggest win in our program’s short history. They [UC Davis] are a very good football team that is well-coached. They are proven winners. They won their conference last year, and beat San Jose State earlier this year. They beat Stanford a few years ago, so they know how to play big-time football. So to travel the week before to Lamar and spend 14 hours on a bus, and then fly out to California the following weekend and play as well as we did and beat such a good football team on top of that made it our program’s biggest win. I was very proud of our team for doing that. I will remember that game for a long time. I think it was one of the most exciting games I have ever been around. To see our team overcome the adversity they were able to overcome, and see our fans, it’s almost like the chemistry between us and our fans became tighter. It meant a lot to us to have that many people come out there and support us.”
On playing from behind for the first time in the second half:
“We had some adjustments scheme-wise that we had to work on. One thing about this football team is we are a team. I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t believe it. We believe in each other. The kids believe in us and we believe in them. We’ve done everything during the week to be prepared, so there’s no reason to go out and panic. You’ve prepared all week long and you know what you have to do, you just have to go out and do it. I never felt like we were out of the game at any point. There came a time where we were down with five minutes left, and felt like we needed to make a play and we did. We came up with that big play late in the game to Courtney [Smith]. C.J. Bennett threw a heck of a ball, and that’s the kind of things that separate great teams from good teams – to be able to make a play in a situation like that.”
On what the UC Davis game did for the team’s chemistry:
“I think it brought our team together even closer. We were a close unit before, but the more experiences you have and the more things you conquer as a team, the tighter you’re going to be. There’s no doubt that game helped us from that standpoint.”
On what impresses him about the team:
“There is a lot of unselfishness out there, and a lot of guys that probably deserve to be on the field every play. But we rotate a lot of guys, and they don’t care who does what – this team wants to win. When you have an unselfishness like that, the chemistry becomes so much better because you care about the team more than yourself. That’s what impresses me most about this team.”
On the final three home games:
“Georgia State is a very well-coached football team. They have very good athletes. The factors of going on the road certainly made it a little tough for us, but coming back home gives you more of a comfort-level. One thing our team has been good about is focusing on the process and not the results. I tell the team every week that as long as we prepare well, then something good is going to happen on Saturday. We just need to keep that mindset and focus on the process.”
On coaching against [Georgia State head coach] Bill Curry:
“I have a lot of respect for coach Curry. He’s been very successful in all of his tenures, but he is also a great person. He is a guy who is good for the game. He is a man of great character, and I respect him a lot and look forward to playing on Saturday. He is going through what I went through last year, putting a team together the first time and going through the highs and lows of putting a program together. But I respect his coaching ability and respect him as a person.”
Defensive back Jerron Mitchell
On the UC Davis win:
“It was a great experience for our football team. I feel like we did a lot of growing in that process. Just being down showed how we handle adverse situations, and I think that brought us together as a team. I think it will help us down the road when we are in those situations again. We’ll know how to relax and play our brand of football, and never get outside of that. I think we did a great job of handling that. Everyone stayed positive, and we enjoyed the experience. It was a little nerve-wrecking, but was definitely a great experience.”
On playing from behind in the second half for the first time:
“I don’t think any of us had a sense of fear, there was just a lot of anxiety. Once the offense was on the field, the defense was scratching to get back out there. Once we were on the field, you could see the offense looking for an opportunity to get back out there. We fed off of each other. A lot of the offensive players came over to give us encouragement when we came to the sideline, so it defined the cohesiveness of our team and showed how we come together and handle situations like that. Up until this point, we really didn’t know how we would handle a nail-biter or having to fight until the end. But I think the coaches did a great job of preparing us for four quarters of football and emphasizing that they were a great football team with a lot of tradition that would fight us until the end. We got just that and we came out on top, so it was exciting.”
On what the UC Davis game did for the team’s chemistry:
“I think it made us transition from a team to a family. We’re around each other from the time we wake up until the time we go to bed. Once you go through something like that with your teammates, it brings you so much closer to them because you know that you can depend and count on them when you’re down. Now that we’re back home and can share that with each other, I definitely think it has built some chemistry and now we know what to expect from each other.”
On Georgia State:
“Georgia State is another well-coached football team. They are anxious to win just like we are. You get everybody’s best shot week in and week out being an undefeated team. We can’t take anyone for granted. We have to do a good job of preparing, but at the same time we’re going to focus on what we do. We’re not going to change anything, we’re just going to go out and play our brand of football. Play sound offensively and defensively, and put an emphasis on special teams like we do every week. As long as we take care of every phase of the game, I think we will get good results.”
On not letting up down the stretch:
“We’re not going to relax. The offseason is longer than the season, so we have a lot of time to relax. We’re just going to grind it out these next three weeks and take each opponent one at a time and figure out what it’s going to take to finish this thing out. Each opponent we face deserves that respect. All of the teams we face have great athletes, and they are class programs with great coaching. When you put yourself on the field with these guys, too many things can happen for you to relax. We’re just going to continue to prepare and put an emphasis on the little things. During the course of a season your body starts to wear down and your mind starts to wander, and it becomes hard to focus on those little things. But our coaches have done a great job of reiterating those things. As long as we can focus on that, I think we’ll continue to be successful.”
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).
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