MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama football head coach Steve Campbell, offensive coordinator Kenny Edenfield, defensive coordinator Greg Stewart, along with offensive lineman Brian Ankerson, wide receiver Cade Sutherland, defensive lineman Gi'Narious Johnson and linebacker Christian Bell met with the media Monday to recap last week's game at Georgia Southern and preview Saturday's game against Coastal Carolina.

Head coach Steve Campbell
- On his thoughts on the Georgia Southern game:
"I liked the effort of the players; they tried to do exactly what we asked them to do. They [Georgia Southern] got after us a little bit with their pass rush whenever we were in obvious passing situations. We have to do a better job in our pass protection. We gave us too many sacks and allowed them to get too much pressure on us; I wish I had called more quick game stuff in order to get the ball out of [Desmond Trotter's] hands a little bit quicker.
"Georgia Southern had a good plan coming in and did a good job of backing up and minimizing our explosive plays. We need to do better at the line of scrimmage and establish the run a little bit better. I thought Carlos [Davis] ran the ball well, but it was the negative yardage plays that hurt us. We got behind the chains too often and they were able to pin their ears back and come after the quarterback. We've got to do a better job on early downs and not put ourselves in long-yardage plays on second and third down. We were good on third-and-medium-and-third and short.
"Defensively, I thought our plan was good and the players played extremely hard. There were times when we got out of a gap. There was the one play where Wesley Kennedy was able to escape after we had three or four guys there. We've got to finish those plays and get him on the ground. We were in good shape after three quarters of play, but we've got to find a way to finish those games on the road against good opponents. We're getting closer, but now we need to do it.
- On facing a ranked opponent like Coastal Carolina:
 "The great thing for us though is we still control our own destiny. We'll have another good opportunity this weekend against an outstanding Coastal Carolina team. They are well coached and have a lot of great athletes on both sides of the ball. Their quarterback is an outstanding player, they've got speed at running back position and a couple of good wide receivers. They do a good job of getting the ball to the backs out of the backfield. They run a lot of option and throw the ball well, which presents assignment conflicts. We're going to have to do a good job of remaining assignment sound in both areas.
"Defensively, Coastal Carolina has some of the top tackle-for-loss guys and sack players in the league. That makes having success on those early downs that much more important. We need to win first down both on offense and on defense. It's a big challenge, but it's one that we're looking forward too."
- On what's different for Coastal this season that he feels has propelled them to the top of the Sun Belt:
"We didn't play them last year, so we really haven't seen much on them prior to this point. We've been able to watch them throughout the course of the season this year as we've prepared for other league opponents. Their quarterback is playing really well and they are utilizing [CJ Marable] really well. He does a good job of getting vertical on wheel routes out of the backfield. They've done a good job of getting him in space down the field. Defensively, they have one of the better defensive players in the league in No. 9 [Tarron Jackson] and then No. 52 [C.J. Brewer] also along the line. Their defensively line is playing really well right now. They are a really good football team."
- On what they control:
"You want to be able to control everything that's in front of you, but one of the things we're learning is that we can't control everything. What we can control is whether or not we're getting better today. Let's improve today and be the best team we can be today. Let's get the best rep we can out of practice today and let's make as much improvement with each segment of time that we have in order to be the best football team that we can be. If we do that often and long enough, we're going to get to the point where the wins and losses take care of themselves. We're getting closer. We're a couple of plays from being 3-0 in the league, but regardless of that the only thing you can control is what we can do to get better. If we want to continue to maintain control of our own destiny, we need to take care of a very good Coastal Carolina team."

Offensive coordinator Kenny Edenfield
- On scoring points against Coastal Carolina:
"We need to stay out of third and long, and give our guys a few more opportunities to make plays down the field. And thing about that is you have to be selective in doing that, because if you don't complete it then it is second and long and you are behind the chains. You have to keep doing it; you can't get frustrated with it. Our guys are going to make more plays than they don't, and I think that's something I probably should have done a little more of last week – just keep giving them chances to make the one-on-one play."
- On Desmond Trotter at Georgia Southern:
"I thought he made really good decisions. As far as grading the film, he may have had his best game from a production standpoint. He played really well and made really good decisions. There were 13 opportunities where he had to make a decision in the run-pass game, and he was right on track with 12 of them. He is playing really well. It was nothing that Chance [Lovertich] had done, we just felt that as the game was going on, Desmond's escapability and being able to get away from the rush was very helpful."
- On offensive distribution to multiple players:
"It is good for morale first of all. Everybody knows about our wide outs, and all of those guys do such a good job of being unselfish – the running backs and tight ends. Any time they are able to make plays, it's really good. They come to practice every day with a smile on their faces. I don't think they expect to get a lot of balls, but I am sure they are very appreciative of it."
- On the offense's progression when assessing the final drive of the Georgia Southern game:
"I think it talks about our football team; our team still believes that we are going to finish this thing the way we all planned on it. They are playing hard and practicing hard. What really got me was the series before, we kind of messed it up. Then we got the ball back with under four minutes to go, and our guys were confident in the huddle. We were able to play with some tempo during that time. We didn't always play perfect, but we were able to get a little tempo going and guys made plays. I think our guys are confident that they're going to score."

Defensive coordinator Greg Stewart
- On Georgia Southern big making plays:
"One of them was a second and long, we had six people around him. We just have to tackle him. We gave up three third downs [conversions] the whole night, but two of them were on the same drive. They were like three of 13 and they hit those inside the tackles, that's something you can't do. We had the pick and got it stripped from us; you have to make those plays. I think it was the second-to-last drive, the ball came out and bounced under [Doug] Sullivan. To be good against good teams, when that stuff happens you have to take advantage of it. We are getting better but until we do that, that is going to happen. I thought we played hard, we were flying around and for the most part did pretty good assignment wise. We did the stuff we wanted to do, like get it out of [Shai] Werts' hands to the field and hold up to the boundary. That one hurt late when we had a bunch of people there, got it out wide to the boundary but we have got to make a tackle."
- On Coastal Carolina's QB Grayson McCall:
"He's really good, very efficient and makes things look easy. He gets the backs out of the backfield, completes short throws, he does not get sacked much and makes good decisions. He throws it to one [C.J. Marable] who is a great player and six [Jaivon Heiligh] is a great player too. We have to find a way to contain him. We need a very good red-zone plan. If they are not the best in the country, they are one of the top five when it comes to scoring touchdowns in the red zone. I think a key for us is playing good in the red zone, not letting them throw the ball over our head and do a good job stopping the running game. Georgia Southern played them well, but early on Georgia Southern busted two coverages and left guys wide open. Against good teams you cannot do stuff like that. Georgia Southern played them very good except for those two busted coverages. We are going to try to keep it simple, somewhat like Georgia Southern but with a little more coverages. We are going to let them [our players] get their feet in the ground, see what's going on so they can play fast and play hard."
- On applying pressure to McCall:
"He is hard to sack. He gets it out too quick. You can send five or six and say 'man, we almost got there' and him complete passes. It's almost like he's got a clock in his head: he knows when to throw it and how quick to throw it. He is really good and he can run.

Offensive lineman Brian Ankerson
- On the Georgia Southern game:
"We had a few missed blocks that cost us the game. Our technique could have been better, but are going to work on those problems this week. Everyone knows that last week could have changed around with a few plays."
- On the mentality of the team going into this weekend's game:
"Mentally, we are going in strong because we know that Coastal Carolina is a good team. They have a talented nose guard and pass rushers. Georgia Southern played Coastal Carolina, and it was a close game, so we know we have a good shot."

Wide receiver Cade Sutherland
- On moving forward:
"In order to move the ball on the field, we have to protect it well as an offensive line. We played well last weekend, even though we missed a few plays. Ultimately, our goal going into this weekend is to make big plays because we always end up scoring on those drives."
- On Coastal Carolina:
"Coastal Carolina is a really good team, but we are also a really good team. Their secondary is talented, but I think we have one of the best receiver cores in the Sun Belt. We need to focus and go out there making big plays like we usually do."

Defensive lineman Gi'Narious Johnson
- On last weekend:
"We played well, but we need to improve on doing our assignments and Georgia Southern took advantage of that."
- On Coastal Carolina's offense:
"They have good receivers, and their offense can pass the ball well. We just have to make sure that we are focused on our game."
- On moving forward this weekend:
"Mentally, we have been known as the underdogs and because of that, we are more enthusiastic about this weekend. We have some improvements that need to be made, but we are going to do our part and work hard on the field. We need to get the job done and do what we need to do."

Linebacker Christian Bell
- On moving forward:
"We need to stay focus on what we learn because if you take one wrong step, then the opponent is going to take advantage of that and that's what Georgia Southern did. You do not want to make any mistakes in any games. You want to minimize the penalties and bad plays."
- On Coastal Carolina's offense:
 "Coastal Carolina is fast at throwing the ball, but they also want to run the ball. It is exciting going into this weekend and I would not want to be anywhere else. Yes, we are going against the 15th-ranked team in the country, but just because they are a ranked team does not mean we are going to look at them differently. We are going to work hard this week and handle business on Saturday."

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