MOBILE, Ala. – South Alabama football head coach Kane Wommack, offensive coordinator Major Applewhite, defensive coordinator Corey Batoon, along with student-athletes Jalen Wayne, Darrell Luter Jr., and Carter Bradley met with the media Monday for their weekly press conference.

Below is a recap of the session.

Head Coach Kane Wommack
- Opening Statement:
"I'm looking forward to getting into the rhythm of game week. I think our guys have done a tremendous job throughout fall camp. Typically, you have lulls and days where you get tired of going up against each other, but I thought the competition level, the physicality and the intensity of our practices continued to rise, which is what you want for your program. I feel that we've become a more physical football team across the board starting with the offensive and defensive lines. That has shown up in all facets of our program, and I'm looking forward to seeing that on Saturday [against Nicholls]."

- On if he feels he's attained his goals coming out of camp that he had going into camp:
 "When you look at the things that you're trying to get accomplished in fall camp, those are things that are leading to accomplishing a task in a game. We talk about all the work during the offseason, spring football, summer workouts, fall camp leading to 12 moments, and what you do in those 12 moments is an indicator of all the work that you've put in, as well as how we are judged and how we are valued. What I'm excited to see is [if] all the things we have accomplished in fall camp show up on game day. We talk about [in our program] working with a neutral mindset regardless of whether you feel great or you don't feel great, if we're up 20 [points] or down 20. I can't tell the guys what's going to happen on game day. There will be adversity. Things have happened in every game I've ever been part of and it will continue every game I ever coach in. Can we work to overcome that adversity with the consistency that we've built in our offseason?"

- On how different this team is going into this season compared to a year ago:
 "When you look at our roster and our team overall, you have to look at some of the things you have to do in order to get you to operate at a high level. You look at the things you do off the field, showing up to meetings on time, being a consistent teammate, going to class; a lot of the 'distractions' that can take away from your ability to execute on game day have been severely limited from where we were a year ago. I feel we are in a great place in terms of the overall culture of our program and team.
"We've greatly improved in our overall depth on our roster and then certainly from a talent perspective at a number of positions that we thought we were deficient in a year ago. You think of the offensive line, the running back position, you think of the depth at the defensive back position; I think we've addressed some of those needs. I'm excited to see how well our team gels within those 12 opportunities. I'm seeing some things from offense right now that's really exciting. The chemistry they've had since Carter Bradley, La'Damian Webb, Jalen Wayne, Devin Voisin, DJ Thomas-Jones, Lincoln Sefcik have been on the field together at the same time with this offensive line are starting to create an identity with the physicality that they're playing with. Can we show that and gel in the first half of our season as an offense? Can we do those things defensively where we can rotate more bodies than we did a year ago and still uphold the standard of the SwarmD? Those are the things I'm really looking forward to seeing and adjusting as we get into the front-end of the season."

- On La'Damian Webb:
 "With La'Damian we had a very detailed plan on how we would get him back to game day. He has done a tremendous job, along with [Head Athletic Trainer] Chad Stefano, the rest of the athletic training staff and Matt Shadeed, Director of Athletic Performance to getting him back for this week. La'Damian is a very gifted individual and his body has healed very well. He has done a great job of taking those mental reps. Some guys have the ability to do that and others have to take physical reps on the field. He can step right into a team period like he started a week-and-a-half ago, and he's operating at a very high level right now. We're very encouraged by what we've seen out of him and I think La'Damian is going to have a very productive season."

- On how he is going to deal with these next few days leading up to the start of the season:
 "Every year of my life, I've gone into a football season as either a coach's son, a player yourself, a young coach, and then as an assistant to a coordinator and then a head coach. I told my wife the other night that I'm probably as calm as I've ever been going into a season. I think some of that comes from knowing that you've got to be ready to adjust to anything that comes out. 
"We talked to our guys this morning about being ready for adversity. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. I've seen just about everything, so just being prepared for that and know that we are going to go through some adversity and things that we are going to have to adjust to. I'm going to have to be prepared to adjust our team regardless of the outcome of the first game of the season and second game of the season. I just have to know that we do have the staff and the players to make those adjustments accordingly so that we can put ourselves in a good position as we navigate through the harshness of a football season."

- On what jumps out to him about Nicholls:
 "I've known [Nicholls head coach] Tim Rebowe a long time through my dad. My dad's known Tim probably for around 30 years. You look at what he's been able to accomplish at Nicholls and the physicality of his teams. They play really hard offensively, defensively and special teams. I felt they did a tremendous job of establishing a run game a year ago both from the running back and quarterback position. They've got some really good RPO's [Run-Pass-Option] tagged off of it with some dynamic receivers, and a number of those guys are back. I'm looking forward to seeing what we need to adjust to, but the one thing you can expect from them is that they're going to play with great effort and physicality. When you do those things and you operate consistently, you're going to have a chance in every game. That's something Tim has been able to establish on his teams and I expect nothing less from them this Saturday."

- On the last time South Alabama played Nicholls six years ago when he was the defensive coordinator for the Jags:
 "I had to call one of the tremendous calls of my career in a two-point [conversion] stop. It wasn't because of anything I did though. One of our defensive linemen made a play in the backfield, after we had actually picked off the ball in overtime. I believe it was Jeremy Reaves that picked off the ball, but he was called for pass interference, which put the ball on the one-and-a-half yard line. If we were not already tight on our sideline at that moment, we were then. It was one of those celebratory wins with a little bit of a sigh of relief.
"You can just look at what Nicholls did six years ago against us in Ladd-Peebles, and then what Tim's team also did against Louisiana, the standard bearer of our league, where they only lost by three points. They really competed their tails off and made some big plays against them, which let them start playing with a swagger defense. They did a tremendous job in the second half of that game making adjustments. You can say what you want about FCS, Group of 5, Power 5 teams, but the margin [between winning and losing] is small. You've got to be prepared to execute at a very high level. 
"So much of the beginning of the season is dictated on how you play and your ability to execute what you do, so we want to be focused on that, but certainly we know that this is a very tough opponent that plays a physical game, so we need to be ready to go. Our players are just ready to get on the field and play some football, make adjustments and deal with adversity, and so are we as a coaching staff." 

Offensive Coordinator Major Applewhite
- On the one aspect of the offense he likes the most:
"I think we've come together, there are a lot of new guys and new faces. But I've seen us in a short amount of time come together as a unit. It's nothing like game day, but you have your own trials and challenges and face adversity, whether it be spring ball or some situations you get put in as an offense in fall camp. I've seen guys like PJ Mixon, Dante Lucas, La'Damian Webb and Carter Bradley – all those guys from different places along with the guys who were here last year. I'm pleased with the way our group has taken about these 23 days of fall camp and come together as an offense. Obviously, there's talent, but the thing that excites me about this group of guys is their spirit right now."

- On the progress of the running game through fall camp:
"I see us getting better daily. We have to continue to work on our fundamentals: our pad level, hat placement and where our eyes are. I see our backs more consistent putting the ball where it needs to be. When we block it for a certain spot, the ball needs to hit there a majority of the time and I see our backs, to use a baseball adage, with a very good slugging percentage. They're constantly putting the ball in the right place, and when it's blocked really well they're doing some things with the football. You're not always going to be perfect in the run game. You have to earn your money as a back, and when we haven't blocked things as well I have seen our backs try to get north and south and get positive yards for the offense and keep us on schedule. I'm excited to watch that part of our game continue to grow throughout the year."

- On La'Damian Webb:
"He's got great talent. He can absolutely make people miss, he has strength and hands, and a very good understanding of the game. And I see that from a lot of guys at the tailback position. I think that group has continued to improve throughout the spring and summer. We're deeper there right now on paper, but we have to go out there and prove we're deep on the field on a game day. I'm very pleased with that group and the toughness they're exhibiting week-in and week-out, day-in and day-out at practice."

- On Nicholls defense:
"It's always nerve-wracking the first game because you don't know if they're going to hold the same personality. Traditionally, they've relied upon man coverage with a four-down front – a lot of man coverage with about one-third or one-quarter of the time with pressure, but you could see more than that. The thing that steps out is their pace of play; they play fast and hard, and run after the ball. That's something that is the mark of a good defense, and something we've talked to our guys about – you're going to continue to have pursuit so you have to protect the football. A lot of man coverage and a little bit of pressure. They're in a league where they play people twice, so there's some things that show up on tape the second time around. It's a little bit like NFL ball, you can see somebody go play them twice and see how they've gone after it. But it will be a challenge for us no matter what, and that's what we've talked to our guys about – it's week one, expect anything and everything and be prepared for it. They're ready to go."

Defensive Coordinator Corey Batoon
- On Nicholls' offense:
"They are very efficient offensively, they have been for the last three years, but their balance is what sticks out; their ability to mix the run and the pass. They have a new quarterback that brings a different element to it, but he's a veteran guy. He was a four-game starter from last season, and played a lot of meaningful snaps. They've won some football games with him, so [they have] a lot of confidence with that quarterback."

- On how nerve wracking it is to prepare for a team week one:
"It's tough, you have to be ready to adjust. Obviously, year two in the system, for a lot of these guys, those adjustments will be a lot easier. I remember last year in the opener, just having to draw so many different things up for the kids and being able to make those adjustments is critical. In year two, you're able to do that a lot more efficiently, but you've got to be ready for everything. We've got a pretty broad scope in terms of what we've looked at from last year. They've got different flavors based on who they have personnel wise. We feel like we've covered all our bases, but there will still be adjustments like always, especially game one."

- On Nicholls' quarterback Kohen Grainer: 
"He was a four-game starter last year. They had a starter that ended up getting in the portal, who was a very efficient player for them. I think due to injury, there were four games that he started and played a majority of the games so he's a veteran guy who played a lot of snaps for them. I believe he's preseason first- or second-team selection in their league, so they think a lot of him and he's put it on tape; he's a really good player.

- On replacing Keith Gallmon: 
"It's been good. Before Keith went down, that was one of our deeper positions. Jaden Voisin had a really good spring camp and really continued to pick up his game, he's a veteran guy. He's been in the system, now going on to his second year. And then with the addition of Marvin Martin, a kid that's played at Kansas State, has come in and really learned our system and has a really good football IQ. Between the two of them, at least early in the season until they start separating themselves, we'll have a good view of both of those guys and see how they play on Saturday."

Wide receiver Jalen Wayne
- On the progression of the team:
"As a team, I think everything is going well right now. It feels a lot better than it did the first time. There's a lot of guys that have bought more into the process, and we are just ready to get everything going." 

- On the growth of the offense from the beginning of fall practice to now:
"In the beginning, we had some mental errors happening, but as we went along and got more comfortable with each other, we just saw that those mistakes kind of fix themselves. Everyone has bought into the offense, and when we get new plays installed, you can see the growth mentally and how guys are attacking it differently from the beginning of camp. They are more attentive at practice every day."

- On the team's reaction to the anticipation surrounding this season:
"We don't really have a reaction to it. Coach [Kane Wommack] has been telling us to be responsive with all the stuff coming our way, especially with adversity. Whether it be positive or negative, we just have to come with the same attitude every day, lessen the margin of error so we can get better, and leave all the anticipation and expectations to themselves." 

- On what he has seen from the young receivers in fall camp:
"Growth. Mentally they are stepping up and understanding their roles. They can't expect to just stand on the sideline all game. They are going to get some reps and make plays this year. We expect them to go be great and hold up the standard that we have in that room."

- On what he has seen on film from the Nicholls' defense:
"We've been watching them trying to get used to them. It's important to get to know the defense and the scheme they run before game time, so it feels like we've already been there before."

- On if he has any nerves before the first game:
"It's not really nerves, but I'm just excited to get out there so I can be there and be in the moment instead of just talking about it. Everyone is ready to be present and put on a show for everybody."

Cornerback Darrell Luter Jr.
- On what he has seen from the Nicholls' offense on film: 
"As far as what we've seen, they like to take a lot of shots and run a lot of deep routes. So, we're studying every concept, every route, every formation that they get in to prepare ourselves better for when, where, and how they take their shots."

- On what he has seen from the South Alabama defense and his expectations:
"I expect us to be physical. It ties into our unit identity of being fast and physical. We have to show up every game just as much as every practice, and that's what we are expecting out of our defense - everyone to show up with great effort and be confident in themselves making plays out on the field."

- On how other players have stepped up after the injury to Keith Gallmon Jr.: 
"I hated to see Keith's injury. He is a great player and of course he was on my side with me working. So, it was a tough loss, but we've had people step up to replace him. I feel like the position that we are in now, a lot of young guys that are in and are stepping up, they are a lot more confident than what they were. I feel like we'll be fine."

Quarterback Carter Bradley
- On what most excites him about this offense: 
"There's a lot. You prepare yourself throughout the week to make the right checks. I think that's one of the coolest things about this offense; you're the commander, you're the dad out there, you're getting everybody right. You go throughout the week, make checks on the run game and passing game, protection wise, but the amount of explosives that are there and can be made is also exciting." 

- On getting the starting job:
"I've been preparing for this since January. I've been going at it since spring ball and summer, just building relationships with guys. I feel like right now, I'm kind of used to the process of just trying to be the guy and just trying to get myself and the guys around me ready for week one game one."

- On Nicholls defensively:
"Looking back at last year's film, [they play] a lot of man coverage so we are just trying to game plan against that. You see some zone in there, see some different blitzes on first and second down and a little bit of third down. I'm just preparing myself for everything this week."

- On his haircut:
"I felt the hair was a distraction, so I'm getting rid of all distractions going into week one of the season." 

- On the anticipation of game week:
"It starts off on Sunday, looking back on Saturday game wise, did it seem good or bad. Then preparing for what's to come. We've been preparing for Nicholls since really last week, and really during the offseason. We started watching film today and then over the week we'll just gain confidence in our calls, look at third down red zone stuff, and just build that confidence throughout the week with the guys and head into game week." 

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