MOBILE, Ala. – South Alabama football head coach Kane Wommack, offensive coordinator Major Applewhite, defensive coordinator Corey Batoon, along with student-athletes DJ Thomas-Jones, Devin Voisin, Jaden Voisin and Yam Banks met with the media Monday for the program's weekly press conference.

Below are highlights from the session.

Head Coach Kane Wommack
- Opening Statement:
"I was really pleased with the response of our team. We talked about 'earning' a loss against Troy, a very difficult one at that. [We did] not play to our standard and had to own that, and then go back out in our week of preparation [for Arkansas State], I thought our guys had a tremendous focus. I thought they had an energy and a passion, which showed up on game day. We've talked about our process and our energy, passion and discipline showing up. There were a number of factors that could have kept us off our focus with the weather being one of those, and I thought our players handled it really well. That was probably as proud as I've been of our team because I thought our process showed up on game day as well as our passion and our physicality.

"The last drive of the game where we took off seven minutes, 15 seconds and ran the ball 11-straight plays to go in and score was an 'identity' drive. There's a lot of momentum that can be carried from one game to the next and I hope we see some of that passion that we created for ourselves and some of that physicality continue to build as we work towards the end of the season.

"I have a tremendous amount of respect for [Georgia Southern head coach] Clay Helton. I think that he's not only a great coach and offensive mind, but he's genuinely a great person. It's really great to see what he's done in a short amount of time with their program. It's a program that has great tradition and history. It's a tough place to play for anyone that's been there before as I have. That's a challenging environment that I feel our players will be ready to respond in and ready to carry some of the momentum from what we did this past week [at Arkansas State] into next week."

"On a different note, I do want to acknowledge that [defensive back] Marvin Martin sustained an injury in practice last week that he's been hospitalized for. He's recovering well and in great spirits. He's had a lot of support from his teammates, coaches and administration. [University] President [Jo] Bonner had gone over to visit him. Marvin is an awesome, special guy. When injuries leave you in the hospital, it's always a scary situation and one that you hate to see. I love Marvin and the way that he's been with his teammates, along with the way he's handling this situation. Our prayers and thoughts go out to him and his family.

"Also, [linebacker] Quinton Wilfawn will be out for the remainder of the season with a neck issue that is going to require surgery at a later date. Based off the number of games that he's played [this season] he will have eligibility for the 2023 season. Both him and Keith Gallmon will be back for the 2023 season, which is great, but certainly a challenging thing for a guy when he sustains an injury in his senior season. We're just fortunate that both of those guys will be back with us next season."

- On the defense's performance in the tough weather conditions on Saturday:
 "Their performance was pretty good. You think about allowing -19 yards rushing and two things go into that type of effort. One, when you allow a low number rushing, it's because you've gotten either negative plays or takeaways. We had 11 TFLs [Tackles for loss] and four sacks. On top of that, we didn't give up any explosive plays in the run game as well. Our guys played with a lot of passion, energy and effort. Our physicality certainly showed up, but we were also in the right spots over and over. That to me is what makes a great defense and we've been a pretty consistent defense [this season] because we do our job and we're in the right position. When you're in the right position, those space tackles don't show up as often. That was certainly the case in a rainy game where you can lose leverage and footing. I think we had one catch on the outside where one of our corners lost his leverage and footing and the ball went outside on him. Outside of that, I felt our guys were in a really good position, which is something that is a genuine concern defensively when you're playing in a wet environment."

- On what makes Georgia Southern a tough place to play:
 "They have a tradition and a pride in their program. Their fanbase shows up and is supportive. When you have that winning tradition and you have won year after year, there's something to be said for 'generational wealth'. You think about the success of that program from different divisions and when they were in FCS, along with the expectation of how they are supposed to play at home. There's something generational in that that's carried outside of coaching eras. So, one their crowds fill the stands and two, it's an expectation of who the are and their tradition. It's one that we certainly hope to build here that years down the road that our fans and someone else sitting in this seat is talking about. That to me is a big piece of who they are, so they have a real rejuvenated energy under Clay Helton. He's done a great job of captivating his team in a short amount of time. They don't have all the pieces to the puzzle yet, as any first-year head coach is going to have, but they do a great job of utilizing the pieces that they have in the right way. They also protect the other pieces that may not be ideal for what they envision long term."

- On coach Helton having the early success:
 "It was easy for all of us to sit there and say 'Well their going to change from the triple-option system and their going to go in this other direction, so it will take them a long time [to transition] because they don't have the offensive linemen they need or the receiving threat they need'. Great coaches though find great ways to best use their personnel. Clay has seen a lot of football. He doesn't have all the pieces to the puzzle across the board, but they're going to continue to recruit at a high level and get better both in their depth and their overall talent of their roster. They're utilizing their personnel really well right now though. [Quarterback] Kyle Vantrease has allowed them to do that. He was a piece to the puzzle that Georgia Southern really didn't have a year ago in terms of a quarterback that is able to disperse the ball the way he does. I know it's a little bit of a different system, but nevertheless having a guy that knows and is able to make the decisions that he has to make is important. Kyle's experience reminds me a little of a [former South Alabama quarterback] Jake Bentley type player that knows where to deliver the ball and knows where his reads are supposed to go. You can tell that Clay, [offensive coordinator] Bryan Ellis and their quarterback are all on the same page about what they need to get done. They're managing their offense really well right now."

Offensive Coordinator Major Applewhite
- On Georgia Southern's defense:
"I see a tenacious group that plays with phenomenal effort – guys who fly to the ball and great athletes across the board up front. They have corners, linebackers and safeties who can play sideline to sideline. I just see a mentality more than a scheme. They have a great scheme as well, but I see a mentality, which I think as a coach is the greatest compliment you can get is that your guys play hard and tough. They do a great job on that side of the ball, and we're going to have a challenge."

- On the offense's start at Arkansas State:
"I thought a lot of it had to do with Kane's [Wommack] decision to take the ball. We had been monitoring the weather a ton. We got up to the press box at the top and you could actually see it coming in from the south. We knew we needed to take the ball while we had a chance to throw it and be explosive. The guys went out, executed it and got us a 14-3 lead before the rain got too hard to where throws were starting to get affected. Some of those we still have to make, but at the same time I thought it was a great decision to take the ball early and get some points on the board. Our defense has been playing extremely well – I thought it was a good decision to get us out there and get 14-3 up there and the defense continues to play well and be smart with the football. I was really proud of the way the guys took care of the ball on the road in the rain. That just can't be overlooked."

- On 11 straight runs with La'Damian Webb:
"I have had the opportunity to coach some backs before, and there's certain guys who just have a mentality. He carried it 54 times in his state championship game, so 11 carries are nothing for him. And it's a mentality that as long as coach keeps calling my number then I am going to keep producing. It develops confidence in the guys in front of you when you run with that kind of vigor and tenacity. It motivates the guys in front of you and the entire sideline; you could feel it, even all the way up in the box you could see it."

Defensive Coordinator Corey Batoon
- On what was working for the defense against Arkansas State:
"I was really happy with how physical we played up front. I think we dominated the line of scrimmage in the run game. In the pass game, I think the pass rush was very effective and we were able to not allow the quarterback to get comfortable. That set the tone in regards to their ability to run the ball consistently. Obviously, the weather really helped that. I think when you win your one-on-one matchups up front and play that style of defense, our swarm really showed up. I'm really happy with the physicality and effort the kids played with."

- On if there has been a difference since the fourth quarter against ULM:
"Not really. I think every play has a life of its own, and I think our execution has improved. We are not beating ourselves, guys are understanding their role in every given play, and in the past two games we've executed at a pretty high rate. Obviously, we need to continue to do that, but I thought our guys played with an edge on Saturday and want to continue to build on that."

- On the challenge that Georgia Southern presents:
"It's a huge challenge. The quarterback is seeing the field well, I think he has a good understanding of what they are trying to do. He distributes the ball very quickly, I think they are number two in the country in giving up sacks, only two on the year. Teams have brought pressure and he seems to handle all of those situations well. I think he really understands the offense and is in-sync with the play-caller."

- On what they can do to affect the quarterback:
"You have to affect him in any way that you can, by mixing the rushes, changing the looks and doing the things that we do. It comes back to us, about everybody understanding their role on a given play and being able to play with tremendous eye-discipline. They do a great job in their bubble game and all of their tricks off of their perimeter game. They put you in space, and when you are put in space you have to be able to close that space and try to bring the game back to your numbers."

Tight end DJ Thomas-Jones
- On how it felt getting a lot of action in the game against Arkansas State:
"It felt good to be back. It shows me that the coaches and the guys really trust me to go out there and do what I can at a fast pace. It helps me and pushes me to be better every day."

- On the shuffle pass play from last weekend against Arkansas State:
"We talked about it all week. I think it's funny because it was actually supposed to be an actual throw, so we changed it and it was open, so we just kept going back to it."

- On the weather conditions:
"It didn't affect us that much. We harped on it all week, just taking care of the ball and making sure it was high and tight. The goal of the game was no turnovers and we feel like if we don't have any turnovers then we're good."

- On how big the Georgia Southern game is:
"You go out there and you approach it as the biggest game because it's the next game. That's the mindset I have and that's the mindset we have as a team."

- On being bowl eligible:
"It feels great. We are stepping in the right direction, but there's a lot more we need to do so we're really focused on the next game."

Wide receiver Devin Voisin
- On the offense in Saturday's win at Arkansas State:
"With the conditions like they were, in the passing game as receivers it's hard because looking at the ball is different whenever rain is pouring down; the visibility is off and the rain hitting the ball in the air just kind of takes the timing off. We're such a good offense that we can trust our offensive line and running backs to make plays, and as you saw this past weekend they did that and just ran the clock out."

- On the offense's 11 consecutive running plays:
"Taking the air out of the game with eight minutes left, that's just big for us. We didn't have to do much work; just put the ball in [La'Damian] Webb's hands and let the offensive line kill the defensive line. It was awesome to see."

- On the passing game against Georgia Southern:
"We're a well-balanced offense that can run or pass the ball. We're just going to take anything that we can get, and just try to dominate the game overall."

- On Georgia Southern's defense:
"They play a lot of man coverage, and our coaches just challenged us to win one-on-one battles. And that's something they've always challenged us with each week. We're going to have to make a lot of plays with them playing man-to-man, and that's exciting for us."

Safety Jaden Voisin
- On how the team can build on the win against Arkansas State:
"We just do what we always do going into every week. We go to practice with the same effort that we did last week and show it in the game."

- On Georgia Southern's offense:
"They throw a lot so the ball's gonna be in the air a lot. We're going to have to capitalize on those opportunities and cause turnovers on defense and get the ball back to our offense."  

- On forcing more turnovers as the season has progressed:
"After practice we do a lot of ball drills to help everybody with their hands and where the ball will be in certain positions."

- On the team's confidence:
"It's the same as when the season started. We know how we can play when we play at 100%, so it's pretty high, I'd say."

Safety Yam Banks
- On what was working well for the defense against Arkansas State:
"The big thing I saw was the defensive line and the linebackers made a huge improvement in stopping the running game before it got to the secondary."

- On the challenges that Georgia Southern presents in throwing the ball a lot and what they bring to the table:
"We're ready for that challenge. They have what will probably be the best receiving corps we've gone up against."

- On how it feels to be bowl eligible:
"We're happy about being bowl eligible, but we are still taking it game by game and focusing on what's in front of us."

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