University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss-Memphis Postgame Quotes
10/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 17, 2009
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SOUTHERN MISS VS.MEMPHIS October, 17 2009 POST GAME QUOTES HEAD COACH Larry Fedora
Opening Statement "It is good to be back on the winning side of the column, to be honest with you. It was good to be back home at "The Rock" with a great crowd tonight. I think our kids played hard in all three phases of the game. That was probably the most complete game that we have played. There were plenty of mistakes, but it was the best game as far as all three phases putting it together at one time. I am proud of the way the guys played. It was a great effort and the way we look at it is we are 1-0 and that is where we wanted to be."
On the approach to conference play the rest of the season: "The guys understand that they control their own destiny. We have talked about it. Tonight started a new season. The whole goal this week was to be 1-0. Now our goal will move to being 2-0. The way the game works each game gets more important. We will go back and prepare ourselves and get ready for the next one."
On Tracy Lampley's punt return: "It was huge. The great thing about it is that we talked all week about what we were going to do. We felt we had a good plan with what they were doing and to be honest with you, if he would not have called for a fair catch on the one before the TD return he may have taken that one the distance. He did a heck of a job. I will have to look at it on film but there were a lot of really good blocks. Those guys take a lot of pride in blocking because they know Lampley can take that ball and go the distance. They take a lot of pride in their guy not being the one that makes the tackle. They just give a little bit more and stay on their guy a little bit longer and that's what they did tonight."
On the goal line stop in the second quarter: "First let me say that (Memphis running back) Curtis Steele is a heck of a football player. We have a lot of respect for him and once Memphis got him back in the lineup they became a different football team. I want to also compliment (Quarterback Will) Hudgens. I thought he did a heck of a job throwing the football. Our defense stepped up on that drive and made a stop which is huge. They needed to make a stop and they did. Korey (Williams) stepped up and did what he was coached to do. He went low on the guy and wrapped his legs up so the guy could not use his momentum. It was a big play."
On the play of quarterback Martevious Young: "He settled down and we got the running game going. You have to give the offensive line credit. I thought they controlled the line of scrimmage and did a great job getting to those guys in the second level and in the secondary. We did a much better job being efficient running the football which took some of the pressure off of Martevious and we needed to do that tonight."
On the return game tonight: "We really feel good about our return game. They have done a good job. I will be honest with you, I feel good about our kickoff team even though we have had a couple of letdowns that have really hurt us, but those guys want it. They go hard in practice and they go hard in the games. I thought they did an excellent job tonight. I thought our special teams stepped up and really played well and made plays when we needed to make plays. That is the difference in the game."
SOUTHERN MISS VS.MEMPHIS October 17, 2009 POST GAME PLAYER QUOTES
Running Back Tracy Lampley On return team's blocking: "I have 10 guys on the return team with me, making holes for me, letting me catch the ball and make some plays. I want to thank those guys for making the key blocks me. Once I make sure I secure the ball, I just want to get up field and get good field position for the offense. I just try and make a play and get the crowd excited."
Safety Eddie Hicks On starting a new season: "Every team in the league has a loss, so we wanted to play this game like we were starting a new season. We still feel like we control our own destiny. Right now we are 1-0 and the next game we will try and be 2-0. We are taking it one game at a time."
On redemption for secondary: "Every year they (Memphis receivers) have given us tough challenges. I didn't play last year against Memphis so I was very amped up to get to play tonight."
Linebacker Martez Smith On the goal line stop in the second quarter: "It started with the defensive line. My hat's off to them. They did an awesome job tonight with Rashaad Byrd being out. Coderro Law stepped up filling his spot, and the cornerbacks made good plays in one-on-one coverage."
On Byrd's absence: "It was a real adjustment because Rashaad is a good player, but Law filled the position to the best of his ability."
On when he noticed Lampley's ability: "I first noticed it in the summer during 7-on-7 workouts. The first time he made a cut, he was so smooth with it."
