MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama football head coach Steve Campbell, offensive coordinator Kenny Edenfield, defensive coordinator Greg Stewart, along safety Nigel Lawrence, linebacker Bull Barge, tight end Collier Smith and running back Deonta Moore met with the media Monday to preview Friday's game vs. Coastal Carolina and recap the Louisiana game.

Head coach Steve Campbell
Opening statement:
"Coastal Carolina is a very good football team as evidenced by their beating a couple of teams who will be bowl teams for sure, they beat UAB by twenty-something points then turned around and beat the University of Louisiana at Louisiana.  They are very athletic on both sides of the football, they run a lot of triple option — belly-belly option — offensively with a couple of quarterbacks who are very athletic.  They have very good running backs and a big receiver they can throw the ball to, they are very good and diverse offensively.  Defensively they play a four-man front, they will dial up a 6-1 blitz every now and then where they bring guys off the edge to bring pressure.  They are very multiple defensively.
"It will be a big challenge for us this week, but it's one that we are looking forward to.  I like the fact that I thought we got better offensively this week, we rushed for 200 yards in a conference game; that was something that we challenged our guys up front and our backs to do, let's be able to develop a little personality and run the football.  We were 5-for-5 in the red zone, we were over 50 percent on third downs, there were a lot of positives to build off of.  We did win the battle of penalties this week, which was something that we wanted to do; we made progress in that area.  It would be big for us to win this football game to propel us into the offseason, which is going to be great.  We're looking forward to a big game on Friday."

On the importance of taking something positive from this week's game into the offseason:
"Obviously you want to win the football game.  What does this game have riding on it as far as ramifications for playoffs?  None.  But it is the next game that you get to play, and that's all we're ever guaranteed; we're so blessed to be able to play and coach college football.  Every game you play is the biggest game of the year just for the reason that it is the next game, period.  We will be excited about playing a very good Coastal Carolina football team.  We are playing a lot of young guys who are fired up about playing college football.  We're going to have a great offseason one way or the other."

On the team's quarterbacks:
"We will see how Evan [Orth] is progressing health-wise, we'll see how he moves around.  Last week he was questionable, we'll see where he is at this week.  I thought Cole [Garvin] did a really good job last week, he moved the football.  He did a good job executing the run game and the pass game, he got the ball to playmakers.  I know he wishes he had the first play from scrimmage back, but I thought he bounced back from that.  That can be Cole's story, because he played really, really well the rest of the game just as he has bounced back this year and has come on to help this football team down the stretch."

Offensive Coordinator Kenny Edenfield
On building off of last week:
"One thing I thought we did a good job of was we were able to manage some runs, and we did a great job on third and fourth down; we were able to extend some drives. We had a 10-play drive, 19-play drive and a 13-play drive, and when you can do that and convert on third downs – we were able to do a really good job of that. And then the 5-for-5 on fourth down, anytime you do that makes it a good deal. Extending those drives really helped us. I think if we could have made a play or two earlier, we could have maybe had a chance. We just have to continue to keep working."

On what the success last Saturday does for the young guys:
"It gives you some identity, some things they see we're getting better at. Showing them things that have been really close on, continuing to show them how close we are – I think they are starting to see those results on film, and any time you can show them on film then it sure makes it a big deal for those guys."

On the running backs:
"We have a chance to have some really good backs and really good depth. I think the offseason is going to be key for them, continuing to learn our system and what we want. Tra Minter has done a nice job all year, and I think he needs some help. If you can get a lot of guys playing, then you're a lot stronger than having one or two playing. I think we can build some depth there, which we already have. I'm anxious to watch them work; they really like working in the weight room and doing those things. Now that they have a familiarity with the offense, I think they can get much better in some fundamentals this offseason."

Defensive Coordinator Greg Stewart
On what he expects to see from Coastal Carolina on Friday:
"It's like old-timey ball. I coached with and played for a guy named Willie Slater. He's the head coach at Tuskegee and his favorite play was the belly-G and that's a play Coastal Carolina runs out of some of the modern option stuff mixed along with it. They do a good job. They have a good team and a good quarterback. Some of their schemes are very different [from what we've seen this season]. It'll be fun. We're excited to get out and work on it. We look to play good assignment football and then move on into the offseason."

On young players progressing:
"We've had some good and some bad. Some of my linebackers just haven't played a lot. We talked about being consistent in our meetings yesterday. We want to be consistent and not do some things really well one week and then not that good the next week. Our guys are working hard and that's a big thing for us. Along the front, I think we're doing some good stuff and playing pretty well. All those guys are back [next season] and that's a plus for us. We're getting some experience and I think some of our older guys who are seniors have set a good precedent for what you need to do going forward. I'm proud of them and ready to get better."

Safety Nigel Lawrence
On expectations for his last game at South Alabama:
"I feel like we're going to go out there and play hard. I feel like we should come out with a win. Because it's Senior Day, we're going to be very passionate. It's going to be a very emotional game, so I think we're going to come out and put some stuff together."

On what a win on Senior Day would mean to him and to the program moving forward:
"It would mean a lot to me just to be able to enjoy it. We'd like to go out on a winning note and get the program turned around for next year."

Linebacker Bull Barge
On expectations for his last game at South Alabama:
"I expect a very good game from offense and defense. If you paid attention to the game last week, we had spurts where we were doing very well on both sides. I felt like that was the point when we saw that we can put together four quarters. We just have to take care of the small things. On defense we gave up those two quick touchdowns right before the half. On offense it was the two turnovers. Neither one hurt us because we came back and got two stops off the turnovers. We were still in the game until the end. I just feel like we can come out this week and finally put together a great game for our last game."

On what a win on Senior Day would mean to him and to the program moving forward:
"Just to get a win is special, no matter who it is against or when you get it. Every win feels different. Knowing that this is the last game I'll ever play at Ladd and my last college football game, going out with a win would be very special. A win would be the building block for a great year next year if they take the right steps, have all the players buy in, attack the offseason, and have everybody continue to work as one to get this rolling. "

On preventing lapses before the end of a half:
"I feel like it's finally time for us to put together four quarters. If you put all of our good moments together, we probably played two full quarters Saturday. We have four quarters in us. I feel like if we can put four quarters together, we can stop a lot of those before-halftime touchdowns and momentum shifts."

Tight End Collier Smith
On emotion of playing last game as a Jaguar and expectations going into Coastal Carolina:
"My expectations are to win, that's been my expectation every week of the season thus far and it's not going to change now."

On how close the offense is to breaking through:
"I think the only thing that has stopped us this season from breaking through as an offense is momentum. Whenever we are about to get something going, we have a little bad luck and it's hard to keep that fire throughout the rest of the game."

On what it would mean to win the last game:
"It's not really about the seniors, it's more about the young guys. At this point in the season, as an older guy going into my last game, what you want to ask yourself is 'What do I leave behind for the next group?'. The rising seniors and the young guys who are going to get more playing time. That is to show them how to fight, finish strong when you don't have anything else; to get this win for the young guys that's what it's all about for me, and for the seniors this last game."

Running back Deonta Moore
On emotion of playing last game as a Jaguar and expectations going into Coastal Carolina:
"Going into it, we always want to focus on us and try to get better as a team and as an offense. Learning about what Coastal Carolina is going to do isn't our main concern right now, because we know we control the game when we show up. So focusing more on everyone showing up this week and playing our hardest because it is our last game. We want to leave it all out on the table."

On how close the offense is to breaking through:
"We're very close. Offensively, I feel like we had one of our better games [at Louisiana]. We just had too many turnovers. I think you take away those turnovers, it's a completely different game on Saturday. I think our offense is really coming along now, and I hope we set some momentum for them going into next year to be successful."

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