MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama football head coach Steve Campbell, offensive coordinator Kenny Edenfield, defensive coordinator Greg Stewart, along with offensive lineman Hadon Merchant and defensive lineman Jeffery Whatley with the media Monday to recap last Saturday's contest with Louisiana, as well as preview Saturday's game at Georgia State.

Below are some highlights:

Head Coach Steve Campbell
- On the Louisiana game last weekend:
"Obviously we were very disappointed we didn't come away with the victory over a very good Louisiana football team, but there were some things to build off of.  I thought we ran the ball extremely well — it was the best we've run the ball all year — against a good defense; we need to keep building on that and try to sustain that success running the football.  For us to be successful moving forward, we need to be able to move the football on the ground.  Tra [Minter} had a real good game, and Carlos Davis came in and ran the ball extremely well, which was good to see.  I thought Desmond [Trotter] did a really good job of managing the game, and of putting us in position to convert some key third downs by pulling the ball down.  Over the last eight quarters, we've had eight touchdown drives of 70-plus yards which is something we weren't doing earlier in the year.  That's double-edged, we need to continue to be able to extend drives and score points, but we also need to help ourselves with our explosiveness.  This past week, it's kept Louisiana's offense — which is very explosive, and not only one of the top offenses in the Sun Belt but in the country — on the sideline."

- On Georgia State:
"Georgia State is a good football team, they have played really well this year; they've beaten Tennessee and Army, some really good opponents.  It will be a big challenge for us this week, but we're looking forward to it."

- On defending Dan Ellington:
"We'll prepare the same way as if Dan is going to be 100 percent.  We've been watching Dan Ellington since he was at Itawamba Junior College, he is an outstanding competitor and a great football player.  He has all the athletic ability, but what makes him special is his intangibles; that's what allowed him to play last week, and they jumped up on App State 21-7.  He has a great ability to run the football, to make plays out in space and to throw the football, just because he is a little limited due to that ACL doesn't take away the intangible qualities that you need from your quarterback to help the team move the football.  We'll prepare the same way regardless of his condition or who winds up playing quarterback, they are going to have a good quarterback either way.  We need to have a great week of practice and get after whoever it is"

- On the team's attitude heading into the final weeks of the season:
"I listen to our players and I love their attitude, they have come to work each and every day with a positive attitude and an approach to get better.  We left some plays out there against Louisiana that could've helped us win that football game; we had a lead in the second half and a chance to put it away but had a holding penalty that brought back a big conversion for us.  We weren't able to convert after the penalty, I really thought on that drive that we were going to take it down and go up by two scores, and that's against a team that will probably play for the [Sun Belt] conference championship and may have a chance to win it.  At this point in the season with what the guys have gone through, they are still battling every day and getting better."

- On the next step in Desmond Trotter's progression:
"The next step for Des is going to be to finish and win this next game.  If the score had played out a little different, you would've said he played really well against Louisiana coming off of a fourth-quarter drive that led to a game-winning field goal on the road against Texas State.  Obviously that didn't happen, but let's build off of that, go on the road and get a big conference win this week against a real good Georgia State team."

- On the second half against Louisiana:
"They are good, I don't think they did a lot different to be honest.  The play where they converted the fourth-and-one was the play that we had stopped earlier in the game on a third-and-short to force a punt.  They ramped it up a little bit and we weren't quite able to match that intensity.  That's what good football teams do, they were able to do it and we have to get to the point where we can stop it in that situation; we have to take that next step.  Normally we say there are four or five plays in each game that determine the outcome, that was one and there were obviously some things in the kicking game that helped turn that game in the other direction."

Defensive Coordinator Greg Stewart
- On Georgia State:
"The (running) back they have is a great player. He is a hard runner who hits it downfield really fast. They (Georgia State) aren't really complicated in what they do. They do a couple of formations that are a little different than what you see that you have to be ready for. We have faced some good backs this year, so we're going to have to do a good job of being where we're supposed to be. With their quarterback in the option (game), you have to have somebody on him, somebody on their good back and also be able to defend in the perimeter. They are good on the offensive line. I think one of the things that gives them an edge is the formation stuff. I haven't really seen it but once, and it was one year when we were at Eastern Washington; they put a guy in a little different spot than most people put him in, and that gives some people some trouble that you have to prepare for and that's what we've been doing all morning. We're excited about playing them. The guys have been practicing hard, and we're going to go in with the intentions of getting a big road win."

Offensive Coordinator Kenny Edenfield
- On the offensive performance against Louisiana:
"Coach Campbell has talked to the guys about playing hard for about three seconds longer than you have been playing the last few weeks. If you watch the film, I think we've been able to do that. I think our offensive line played their best game of the year last week. Just seeing that extra effort from all of them constantly throughout the course of the game wore down on Louisiana a little bit. As far as the long drives, of course I would like one-play drives; I would like to score a lot quicker. I think we have to get some creative plays so we have some chances. We took a couple the other night and didn't quite hit all of them, but Desmond (Trotter) did a nice job of getting the ball checked down when they weren't there. We called a couple of those and they had them covered pretty good with a deep middle safety, but he did a really nice job of getting it checked down to where he needed to."

- On the Georgia State defense: 
"They are a 3-4 team, very similar to Georgia Southern and App State. They're going to start off in some two-high look, and they're going to get down to a one-high some. But they are a 3-4 team similar to what we play ourselves. They are a really good defensive team. There have been times where they look really fast and physical. I know some people have scored some points on them, but I think they are pretty good defensively."

Offensive Lineman Hadon Merchant
- Opening statement:
"We'll come out and attack Tuesday and Wednesday and get better on those days. We'll follow up it on Thursday with a big mental day and get ready to head up to Atlanta to take on Georgia State."

- On the run game working against Louisiana:
"We had a good game plan. We knew we needed to attack them up front, and after the first series, we could tell it would be a good game for us because of the way we attacked them. They didn't like how physical we were with them and we kept running it down their throat; they couldn't really stop us. They're a pretty good team in the Sun Belt and will probably play for the championship, so it was encouraging to see that. Everybody played with relentless effort and with that, good things are going to happen."

- On continuing the run game this week:
"I think we're going to do well this week. Georgia State has a pretty good d-line. We've been practicing better and the way we attack Tuesdays and Wednesdays, our periods are pretty physical. That should carry over against Georgia State."

Defensive Lineman Jeffery Whatley
- Opening Statement:
"I feel like this is like any other week as far as preparation goes. Obviously we have to play on the road, but as far as the things we're trying to get done throughout the week, we'll have two good days and follow that up with a not-so-physical day with attention to detail."

- On Georgia State's quarterback situation:
"I feel like one is more of a playmaker with both his arm and his legs. I haven't watched the other guy as much because there isn't much film on him besides what he did in the last game. Their starter is really good, especially running the ball, but he tore his ACL so I'm not sure effective he'll be running the ball. From what I've seen of him passing the ball, he's pretty good."

- On the team's attitude recently:
"I don't think our attitude has ever changed. Obviously the season hasn't turned out the way we wanted, the morale of the team has always been there, as far as getting ready for the game. Louisiana is supposed to be the prominent team in the Sun Belt and we were giving them work just about the whole game until the end. I don't feel like the attitude has really changed much."

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