MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama football head coach Joey Jones, defensive lineman DeMarion Harper and running back Tyreis Thomas met with the media Monday to recap Saturday's contest at Georgia State, as well as preview this weekend's matchup with Georgia Southern.

South Alabama Head Coach Joey Jones
On Georgia Southern:
"Obviously after watching last week's game with Georgia they look really good, they have a lot of great athletes; they have the look of an SEC team.  And they played toe-to-toe with Georgia, they are a tough team that is well-coached and physical.  They have the benefit of having a lot of tradition there — they've won national championships, have a great stadium and average about 25,000 per game — so they have a good thing going."

On the second half against Georgia State:
"We didn't move the ball very much, but we only had it for three plays in the third quarter.  The big thing was third down on defense; they were 13-of-20 [overall], which is a real high percentage, and a lot of them were third-and-long when you normally would have a great chance to stop them.  I thought we played good enough on defense to win other than third-down situations, but offensively we just didn't get the job done — there were dropped passes, there were some penalties, we didn't make a third-and-one.  Their defense was much improved, they have done much better as the season has gone on; they did a good job and stopped us."

On the team's ability to bounce back from losses throughout the season:
"We are all in this thing together, we are a team.  We're going to win together and lose together, and one thing I am not going to put up with is anything to the contrary.  When you have a loss that's tough and everyone wants to point fingers and blame everybody for everything, we are going to stick together.  We still can get into a bowl game by winning one of these ball games; we have a great opportunity ahead of us, we have to look at it that way."

On the Georgia Southern offense:
"It's different, it's the triple option out of the [shot]gun.  They are real fast at the running back position and their quarterbacks are athletic.  They know what they are doing and have run the ball on just about everybody, Georgia is probably the only one who has slowed them down for the most part.  They're fast, and they will sneak up on you because they will run, run, run and then all of a sudden they play action and a guy is running behind your safety.  We have to be smart, play with our eyes and be real disciplined on defense.
"The triple option is something we have to take care of, we have to focus on what we do because our kids don't see this offense much.  [Assistant] Coach [Travis] Pearson was saying today that we need to stay in our gaps; if you start chasing something you see over there, all of a sudden that guy winds back and is going through the gap you were supposed to be in.  You have to be disciplined against this offense, you can't chase ghosts."

Running back Tyreis Thomas
On this weekend's game with Georgia Southern:
"We're kind of backed up against the wall right now. We need some wins. We need to do some things to propel us to the next level, so we're all-in right now. We have to give it our all to try and succeed. We know they're a good team; they've always had success. But we've had some success too. We're going to try and do what we can."

On the sense of urgency:
"As a team, I like to think that when we're backed up that we know what we have to do with the task at hand. We kind of focus as a team. We know when we have to get the job done, we really are a more focused team."

On the offensive performance last Saturday:
"It was a tough one. We can't really blame or point fingers at anybody; that's just us being a family. I guess the only thing you can point to is preparation. Practice can be blamed for a lot of things that take place, but we'll bounce back. I have a lot of faith in the guys on our team. We have a lot of players who can make plays. I know we'll bounce back because our preparation is going to be top-notch this week."

On his first career touchdown last weekend:
"I think any player that scores a touchdown on either side of the ball will tell you it's a good feeling. I wish that it had been more impactful to help us win the game. It was early on and I did feel like it was a momentum boost, but unfortunately we fell behind after that. It was a good feeling, but I hope it isn't my last. And I hope the next one is more impactful for the team. We have tons of guys who can score. I was happy that I was able to get one, but I know that shouldn't be the last and other guys will come along."

Defensive lineman DeMarion Harper
On this weekend's game with Georgia Southern:
"On the defensive side, it's more about eye discipline. We're going to have to really buckle down this week and stay in our gaps, continue with the eye discipline and know where the ball is and where we're supposed to fit."

On the sense of urgency:
"The feeling among the team, on the defensive side of the ball, is we really need to focus on what we need to get done. This is an explosive team (Georgia Southern), so we really have to keep our eye discipline and stay in our gaps."

On going from facing a passing attack to a rushing offense:
"It's not that difficult, because they are always going to honor the run. Georgia State ran a little, but they were more of a passing team. Georgia Southern is more run than pass, so it's about the same. We just have to stay focused and keep eye control."

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