NEW ORLEANS – University of South Alabama student-athletes senior running back Tra Minter and senior defensive lineman Tyree Turner met with the media Monday as part of the 2019 Sun Belt Conference Football Media Day at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Below are a few highlights from Monday's Media Day for Minter and Turner.

Senior Running Back Tra Minter
On what the national preseason honors mean to him: "Those honors mean a lot to me, especially since I'm someone from a small town and a humble background. Receiving those accolades nationally are a blessing for me and it lets you know that the hard work you put in is paying off after you've been grinding day-in-and-day-out."

On what he's done during the offseason to make himself an even better running back: "I've watched a lot of film and I've tried to train and push my body even harder and to higher measures. I feel like football is 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical, just like life. I expect more out of myself mentally going into this season."

On the rushing attack coming on towards the end of the season and building on that heading into this season: "We had nothing to lose over those final games and we knew we had to go into those games and just fight, scratch and claw. We were able to really execute as an offense towards the end of the season and it really showed in the Coastal Carolina game."

On what area of his game he feels has improved most since beginning his college career: "I've improved a lot with my mentality. When I entered college I really didn't know much about the game and just felt that things were owed to me just because of the type of player I was.  I grew out of that and now my practice mentality and the way I approach practice is different. I approach every practice as if I'm playing a game. I'm a believer in the thought that you get out of practice what you put into it. If you practice hard, the game will be easy."

On the offense's progression during the offseason: "We're in our second year in Coach (Kenny) Edenfield's system and he has really helped us become more comfortable in it. We have more depth at the offensive line and I'm excited to see how much more they've progressed since the spring. We still have good players at receiver, such as Kawaan Baker and Jalen Tolbert. I'm also to see how our quarterbacks play. We have three talented players at the position in Cephus Johnson, Desmond Trotter and Tylan Morton. It's amazing to me to see how much we've progressed since last season. We just have to put it all together and execute, and have confidence."

On preparing for opening the season against a program like Nebraska: "I just keep my focus on the job at hand and have tunnel vision. Preparation is key, so I just watch film and study what (Nebraska) does. I also study and critique my own play, and just go into the game with confidence, not only in myself, but my teammates as well."

Senior Defensive Lineman Tyree Turner
On being looked upon as a leader on the team: "Being a leader is a big responsibility. Every team needs a leader everyone needs someone to look up to as a mentor. I just happen to fall into that position on this team. Since I've been part of the program for a long time, others look up to me as a big brother."

On what the biggest area of growth will be for the defensive unit from last season to this season: "I would say our chemistry. We brought in a lot of new guys over the spring and had some others leave, so it's important that we bring the newcomers up to speed with the way we do things here at South Alabama."

On being in the second year of Defensive Coordinator Greg Stewart's scheme: "The scheme is very simple. He wants us to go out there on the field and fly around to the ball. He doesn't make it too complicated for us where we have to think the whole time. He preaches toughness. In his system, if you have eleven guys who are tough and want to run to the ball, it's a strong scheme."

On the depth of the defensive and offensive lines: "On the offensive side of the ball, I feel that we have doubled our depth at that position. We have about 20 players we can rotate in there at that position, whereas last year we probably only had about eight. The same goes for the defensive line. We have a lot of returners who were hurt last season, like Rocel McWilliams who is coming back. We also have a healthy Chris Henderson, Riley Cole, and a lot of other guys who are healthy and can contribute."

On advice to teammates about playing at Nebraska to open the season, having already played there in his career: "I'll tell them to stay humble and soak the experience in. The stadium is going to be amazing and you're not going to be able to hear yourself talk. Expect anything and everything to happen, whether it's positive or negative, so that when it does happen you're ready for it."

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