University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Twin Perspectives With Kevis and Trevis Coley
11/2/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 2, 2005
November 2, 2005: 14th Entry - On the bittersweet loss against N.C. State, how important stats are after a loss, the upcoming two-game week at Marshall (Tues. 11/8) and at Houston (Sun. 11/13) and what it's like to be a student athlete:
*Notes from the game: Kevis finished with a career and season-high 19 tackles (13 solo; six assists), two tackles for loss and the team's only sack against the Wolfpack. For the season, he leads the team in tackles with 81 (45 solo; 36 assists), tied for second on the team in sacks (3) and is second on the team with 6.5 tackles for loss. He also has a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Trevis finished the N.C. State game with nine tackles (seven solo; two assists) as well as claiming his second interception of the season. For the season, he is the second-leading tackler behind Kevis with 52 (35 solo; 17 assists), is tied for second on the team in interceptions (2) and has one pass breakup on the year.
Kevis: The main problem against N.C. State was missed tackles. Their running back (Andre Brown) broke a lot of tackles and gassed us a little bit. We lost because we missed so many tackles and didn't make the plays that we were supposed to.
Trevis: We haven't played well in the second half the last few games. We gain the lead on a team in the first and second quarter, and I don't know what happens after halftime because when the other team comes out in the third and fourth quarters, they start to hit big plays on us. We said last week that we have to improve on finishing games, and with these last games being conference games, we have to do it now.
Kevis: After we got back from N.C. State, I told Kevis that I had a good game, but I also had a bad game. I missed a lot of tackles, but I made (a career-high) 19 tackles (13 solo; six assists). I look at those stats as a positive, but they aren't any good when you come out of a game with a loss. I'm disappointed with the loss, but we have to improve on our missed tackles.
Trevis: When we lose a game, I don't care about stats. Losing a game is a terrible feeling, so stats don't matter to me after a loss.
Kevis: Some losses during a season stick in your head, like when we lost to Alabama. That game was similar to N.C. State because we had the win in our hands in both games, but we let it slip away. But it's like what (Special Teams and Linebackers) Coach Pollard tells us, you can't dwell in the past after a loss like that, and you have to move forward and take it as a lesson learned. You can't move on if you keep dwelling in the past.
Trevis: You have to move on after a loss because you can't go back and play the same game over again. You have to think about it for awhile, and then forget about it. Coming off a loss where you know you played hard, that hurts more than anything.
Kevis: We have to approach this upcoming two-game week like any other week. We have to take advantage of a few days off this week and relax while we can. We don't have a choice whether we play two games in a week or not, we have to prepare for them and be ready regardless. My motto is to bring it; we're ready for it.
Trevis: We're not under any kind of stress with these two games so close together. We don't have any choice, so we have to get ready for it and approach this game week like any other. We welcome this challenge and are ready.
Kevis: There are some similarities between Marshall and Houston that make things easier in preparing, but they are different teams. Houston keeps you on your toes and keeps you thinking because they run a lot of formations. Marshall also runs a few different things, such as playing with two different quarterbacks with one the pocket passer and the other being a runner. So Marshall and Houston are almost similar, but not quite.
Trevis: I think that Houston throws a lot more at you than Marshall because they line up in a lot of different formations. Marshall is going to throw some different looks at us, but not as much as Houston will.
Kevis: Other than football, it's mid-term time, but I'm not stressing over anything because I'm a senior and have already taken all of my hard classes.
Trevis: We're not taking anything stressful since we're done with our main classes, allowing us to be focused on football right now.
Kevis: Normal students don't see what all we have to go through as student-athletes. But football gives you a chance to come out on the practice field and get your mind off of things by relaxing and practicing with your buddies.
Trevis: It's hard being a student-athlete because you have to go to school, maintain a certain GPA, and then come out and practice hard physically. After practice, it's the same routine where you go to bed, wake up in the morning to go to class, trying to stay up because you're tired, and then go back out to practice and do it all again the next day.
Kevis: I don't want to sound like the `bad guy' or anything like that, but I think that some students are intimidated by football players. It's not like we're treated like celebrities, but some people look at me and think I'm mean because of the way I look. I guess that's why my classmates don't come up and talk to me, but that doesn't bother me though.
Trevis: On game days you'll see some of your classmates come up and ask for autographs, but nothing like that happens in class. During school, you do have people that know you that you didn't think knew you, but no one comes up to you during class to ask for an autograph or anything like that.
