MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama football head coach Steve Campbell participated in the team's annual media day Friday at the football field house.
Highlights from the press conferences include:
Head coach Steve Campbell
-Opening statement:
"It's been a really good first week of camp, we've been able to get a lot of work done. A lot of that is due to the fact that we have that new indoor facility, we've been able to get on and keep a great schedule which during camp is huge when you have a certain amount of things you have to get done in a certain amount of time. We've been able to have a good, physical first week of camp, and we've been able to get about 90 percent of our installation in although there are still some red zone, short yardage, going in and coming out situations we have to get in over the next 10-12 days before we finish camp. We've been relatively healthy — which is a good thing — and the guys have worked really, really hard. They've handled any heat issues well, I think that's a testament to the conditioning our players put in over the summer and the job of Coach [Lance] Ancar and our strength and conditioning staff, they have done a tremendous job getting the guys ready. The guys have made a lot of progress, we still have a long way to go but we've come a long way since we played the spring game back in April. I am very pleased with where we are at."
-On the team's quarterbacks:
"All three of them are doing really well. Cephus [Johnson] is doing a lot of good things, Cole [Garvin] has looked good through camp and Evan Orth has looked really good. We don't have to name a starter today, we will get to that point soon enough. I like the way that all three quarterbacks are playing, I know Coach [Kenny] Edenfield is looking forward to the first scrimmage. We haven't scrimmaged yet, tomorrow will be a good day where we will get to do a lot of evaluating at a lot of positions. Quarterback is the position that everybody likes to talk about — and it's a very important position — but so are your guard, 'Bandit,' nose and field corner positions; it takes all 22. I like the way those three quarterbacks are working, they are pushing each other and competing, but they are also pulling for each other. There are a lot of good things happening at that position."
-On a timeline to name a starting quarterback:
"I'd love to have all of it settled. All three of the quarterbacks are going to dress when we open at home. You don't have to name the starter, you don't gain any extra points by naming a starter a week earlier. We are in no hurry, we want to make sure that we take our time — as we do at every position — and get it right. Some positions shake out quicker than other positions, some positions you may not be as deep as we think we are at quarterback. We're blessed to have some good ones there, that's a good problem to have."
-On the players buying in to the new coaching staff:
"The players have been great; they've gone out and done everything we've asked them to do, they've worked tremendously hard. We talked to them about going the extra, undemanded mile, being unselfish, getting better every day and doing the little things right, they are working really hard to do those things. The true tale of the tape is when adversity hits because it is going to — adversity hits every football team at some point in time, some more than others — it's how you handle it. We've faced some small adversities here and there and this group has really embraced it, we have to keep doing that and whenever the going gets tough and we're faced with a big deal of adversity say 'Good, we like it.' That's why we play football and what life is all about, is for those adverse situations. Anybody can do it when it's easy, but when it gets tough how do you react to it? As coaches we have to prepare them for that because it's coming, to go attack it and overcomer it. Every time something like that has happened with this group to date, they've attacked it. This group loves football and each other, and not every group is like that. That's what you have to have, they like being out there and being together. I like the way they've handled the adversity that's come their way."
-On a focus to improve in Sun Belt Conference play:
"Conference is very, very important, but the next game is always the most important game — I don't care if we're playing conference, non-conference, FCS, the Chicago Bears. The next game is the biggest in the history of man because it's the only one we can really do anything about. Once it's over, it's gone and we have the next 'Game of the Century.' Every week is the 'Game of the Century,' we'll put all our eggs into one basket 12 times. That's the only way I know how to do it, to me we need to lay it all on the line one time and when that's over do it again. If you will go to work and try to get better every day than you were the day before, you're gaining on that team or leaving them further behind; that's the mentality we need to have. You have to fight it to make sure you leave better because somebody somewhere is, we need to make sure that are that somebody somewhere because that will give you a chance in every game you play. You put yourself in the position you want to be in one game at a time."
-On his relationship with offensive coordinator Kenny Edenfield:
"Kenny and I played together in college so we've known each other and been through a lot of different circumstances together over the years, from playing the game to coaching together at Nicholls State under a guy named Rick Rhoades; we go way back. Kenny was a quarterback/receiver so he loves to throw the football because he's been around the passing game and I've been a run-game guy predominantly over the years as an offensive line coach, I think that relationship works out very, very well. We complement each other well, which is the key. Kenny has coordinated offenses at a lot of different places and been very, very successful including at North Alabama and Troy, he's good to have on staff and does a great job calling plays."
-On Cephus Johnson:
"I saw Cephus make a big progression during spring training, and since the start of camp I have seen a good progression the last two days. I've seen him start to check it down to his back a lot quicker, hit the flares, hit the motion guy on play action swinging the ball out in the flats, knowing what his reads are and getting the ball out faster. There is still a way to go and some competition going on, there are some things to get better at but he is progressing. He's gotten bigger and stronger, he worked himself really hard over the summer in the weight room, got himself into great condition and spent a lot of time studying so he is further along than he was in the spring. He still has a way to go but we have time to get there."
-On Corliss Waitman:
"Corliss is a preseason All-American, he has a big-time leg and can really boom the football, and he is a tremendously hard worker. The thing that stuck out about Corliss, when I first got here we were doing agility drills and I said this has to be that [Jamarius] Way kid they're telling me about, that big wide receiver who's a great athlete, or Malik Stanley and they said that's your punter. He is a good-looking athlete who can really move, he's a very athletic punter with a strong leg."
-On Collier Smith:
"Collier is a throwback-type old-school fullback who can block, catch, 'iso' a linebacker and kick out a defensive end. Teams that are successful utilize those guys because they can do so many different things, not only offensively but on special teams. Collier plays a big role for us offensively because he can do a lot of different things, he can stick his face in there and do the dirty work a tight end needs to do as far as blocking or split out, but he's also on our punt, kickoff return and extra point/field goal teams. Those guys are just football players, when you have 'football players' you can do a lot of different things with them. Collier is valuable because he has a skillset where he can stick his hand in the dirt, split out, back up and move around."
-On what stands out about Bull Barge:
"More than anything else, Bull's leadership. He is a playmaker, we haven't scrimmaged yet in the fall but in the spring you could see that Bull is a really good football player; he makes a lot of tackles, that's important. But the thing I think makes Bull more important is that the things we preach — to be unselfish, get better every day and do little things right — he exemplifies and lives them. He is not worried about himself, he is worried about making his teammates better. He likes to please, he wants to please his coaches and work hard for his teammates. Coach Ancar bragged on Bull in the weight room and how he got stronger every day and pushed himself to be faster. You don't have to tell him something seven times, he gets it on the first one. Talent will get you so far, but you need to have those other things that give you a chance to be great and Bull has them, that's why he's very valuable to our football team."
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