MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama football head coach Steve Campbell, offensive coordinator Kenny Edenfield, defensive coordinator Greg Stewart, along with wide receiver Jalen Wayne and defensive lineman Gi'Narious Johnson met with the media Monday to preview Saturday's game against Texas State.

Head coach Steve Campbell
- On how the team as responded at practice the last few days:
"It has been good the way that the guys have responded.  I've been really pleased with how they came back out, they've had a lot of energy and juice.  We were back out on the field last Tuesday and had a really good day, Thursday was one of our better practices of the year.  We got a of guys back on Friday and had a good day, Saturday was good, Sunday night was good.  We've had a few good practices in a row, which was needed to give everybody a chance to get back into shape and try and knock some rust off and get our timing down.  We're not there yet — which we don't need to be, we still have a handful of days before the game — but we need to have a very good Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and walk through on Friday to get ready to play Saturday morning against a much-improved Texas State football team."

- On Texas State:
"Texas State has been in every game this year, Troy was probably the one game that got away from them somewhere; they cut it to 23-10 in the third quarter and had a drive going but I think the weather was a big factor in that game.  They had an opportunity to make plays on the first and second drive [in the second half] that really could have changed the complexion of that game.  Texas State is a good football team, they were up by 14 on Boston College in the fourth quarter, they were an extra point in the final 30 seconds from beating UTSA, which just played Brigham Young to a seven-point game.  SMU is still undefeated, that was a seven-point game.  Texas State is a very good football team, we need to have good practices but I've been pleased with the way the guys have come out after the pause and responded."

- On navigating the 2020 season:
"There is no road map and the GPS system went out back in March, you look up at the stars and try and play it like that.  You just have to take it day by day, I saw yesterday where [New England Patriots head coach Bill] Belichick said they are day-by-day, hour-by-hour.  That's what you have to do with some of the variables that are thrown into the equation.  But I've been pleased with the way that our guys have responded at each and every turn, I thought we handled the summer stuff well, and camp and the beginning of the season well.  Then that hurricane came and got us off a little bit, I know we didn't play our best ball the last time we were out.  We won't know until we play, but I've been very pleased with the attitude and work ethic — the factors that we can control — as our guys have done everything we have asked of them.  There are a lot of things that can happen, we need to make sure we try and cover all of our bases, cross all of our t's and dot our i's; let's get ready to play.  At the end of the day, we have a great opportunity with our first conference game at home against a very good Texas State football team.  If we have a great week of preparation and practice, I know what our capabilities are and am excited about watching us get out there and play again."

- On resetting over the last two weeks:
"Each week we talk about resetting, but this time it was for a couple of different reasons.  Number one, your non-conference schedule is behind you so now you start conference play.  Number two, the pause with the pandemic gave us another opportunity to start from scratch.  The first couple of days back we practiced in small groups without pads so we really went back to fundamentals — stance, start, alignment, technique.  The re-acclimation schedule lends itself to a big-time reset, which we needed going into conference play and basically starting a new season.  I like the way that we started the first season, now we need to start the conference schedule with the same momentum."

Offensive coordinator Kenny Edenfield
- On what he's seen out of the quarterbacks over the past few days of practice:
"I've been excited about those guys. It's hard to get everybody reps [once you get into season], but we've gone back and had the main two spitting reps; they're rotating with the one's and two's. Both have been doing really well. Neither one of them have looked like they had many effects from being off. Right now I think they both feel really fresh and that's what I'm excited about."

- On what stands out about Texas State defensively:
"Texas State's a team that likes to put three down lineman and back everybody else up, and come get the ball. We were just in our meeting talking about their defensive linemen. We feel that they are pretty good players and we know their secondary is tough. They've got a lot of guys back there. We're going to have to force them to come down and stop the run so that maybe we can hit some passes down field on them."

- On the anxiousness from the team on getting back to playing:
"Talking to the guys earlier today, I think you saw that anxiousness in them. Some of them were able to get in individual work and some small group work when we were in the pause. More than anything though, they just want to play ball. When you go from not playing a week, then having a bye week, you're ready to play. I think they're excited, and you can tell than in practice. We've been able to go against each other quite a bit and compete at practice, which makes things more fun and they're having fun out there."

- On the offensive line:
"When we talked about it in preseason, we felt like we had more depth along the offensive line than we've had in the past. Unfortunately, with some COVID issues and injury issues, we've had some guys out. Now, we're starting to get some of those guys back, and what that does is gives us more depth. It makes guys play harder and compete. I think we're way better now and about back to where we were at the start of the year."

Defensive coordinator Greg Stewart
- On Texas State:
"They do a good job offensively. I think the weather affected them in the last game they played, but they are a good football team. They have used two quarterbacks this year. They are playing Brady McBride at quarterback because he has some of the flash that Johnny Manziel had, je's really flashy, but Tyler Vitt is a good player that has played some this year and played against us last year. They run the ball to set up the pass. They rotate between three good running backs, along with Marcell Barbee and Chandler Speights who are great receivers that can go up and come down with the ball. We will have to do a good job of denying their receivers the ball and holding up the run game. They're a good football team."

- On the lack of explosive defensive plays:
"You can do that by helping the players with some play calling. Against UAB, there were a couple of times that they got into an unbalanced formation and we had been getting in the same formation a lot so they had schemed against us doing that. They had determined what defense we were in, so we have made changes to avoid that going forward. We will be trying a few different things up front this week up front with a little more movement so we can get some havoc plays, tackle-for-loss or negative plays. We also need to catch the ball; we have had some chances for some interceptions, but we need to catch it when they throw it to us."

- On the long layoff:
"It was good. It makes us better when we get to go against our offense, and we have got to do that a lot this past week. We are getting some guys back and we are adjusting to the speed of the game. That is the biggest aspect of the break, is adjusting to the speed of the game. It is giving us a chance for us to get our legs back under us, be fresh and we will be starting off the conference schedule [after the layoff] at 0-0. You can tell by the look in the players' eyes that they are excited about playing again. The players and coaches are both ready; it's time to go play this Saturday."

Wide receiver Jalen Wayne
- On getting back into the routine at practice:
"Coach Campbell has made the practices more intense. Everyone had a long break, but we are working hard, and we are getting back on track quickly.  These last two weeks have given us a chance to hit the reset button. We took those two weeks to get our minds focused and ready to play again. We have a better mentality, and we are improving our momentum."

- On the difficulty of the layoff:
"We are very relieved to be back on the field after two weeks off with the cancellation of the Troy game.  It's been weird, especially since the beginning of quarantine. I found myself getting a little lazy at times, but I had to remember to keep my mind focused. Overall, we are glad to be back on the field again."

- On Texas State's defense:
"I believe they are solid and have a good defensive back. However, they seem to start slow, so if we start the game off fast, we should have a good outcome."

Defensive lineman Gi'Narious Johnson
- On the anxiousness of getting back on the field:
"I am very anxious to get back on the field. While sitting at home, I realized that I could be out practicing right now. The drive to play is stronger when you are unable to practice. You realize what you're missing."

- On this weekend:
"It feels good to be playing this weekend. Having the time off has been a little bit weird, but as a unit, we are still executing our plan to stay in shape, run some drills and go over some plays. Overall, we are doing what we have to do to stay in shape and stay focused to be prepared for this weekend."

- On Texas State's offense:
"They have a pretty solid offense. In my opinion, they do seem to have a slow start, but if we do our job on the field and play hard from start to finish, then the game should be in our hands."

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics.  Contributions to the South Circle directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give
—USA—