University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss Quotes From C-USA Video Kickoff Conference
7/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
July 30, 2009
Head Coach Larry Fedora
Opening Statement... "We're extremely excited about what our players have done in the offseason. We can't wait to get out there and get going. We've pretty much got everyone back. We've worked extremely hard, and we're looking forward to getting back out on the field and putting the pads on."
On Quarterback Austin Davis... Last season you saw (Davis) just try to grasp the offense. This offseason he's really worked on improving his game as far as managing his game. He's worked on the little things like trying to be a better quarterback overall; getting in certain situations in a game and how you need to handle it, and understanding what those situations are. He's improved his arm strength over the summer, working with the receivers, tight ends and running backs. He also was selected as a captain on last year's team, which is the first time I've ever seen that happen to a redshirt freshman."
On DeAndre Brown... "First of all, he's got another x-ray coming up to find out actually where he is at this point. He was, at one point in the summer, running pretty good. He was getting up to full speed, though having a little problem accelerating and slowing down. Then he got a little bit of swelling around the fracture area, so we put him back in a boot, slowed him down and held him back a bit. Right now, we still think he's on track to be ready at the beginning of the season. At this time, he's not running, but we'll learn more in the next couple of days."
On the defense... "I said last year that the team that played the best defense was going to win the league, and I'm saying the same thing this year. Whoever plays the best defense is going to win the league. Everybody has proved that they can score some points. I was very impressed with how our defense finished, especially with our youth. We knew going into the season that we were going to be inexperienced up front. So we were very fortunate that those guys grew and the coaches did a great job with them. They kept believing in what we were trying to do. They stayed together, and they got the job done in the long run."
On improvements from last year to this year... "Don't get me wrong, there is still a lot of work to be done. But, we have made a lot of improvements. Just this morning we talked about how much more improved we are in the secondary, and I'm talking about from top to bottom in depth. When we got here we had three defensive linemen, now we have nine. So we've improved a lot there, not just with depth, but with the talent level. But there's still a lot of work to do. We've got to get a lot better in our special teams, which is a major point of emphasis this year. I'm still worried about our offensive line. The guys that we've got can play. But, we're one ankle away from putting someone in that we're not sure about."
On reinstating Damion Fletcher... "I think he was excited. He was a lot more excited than in our meeting the day after it happened. I think he's pretty excited. I was proud in the way he has handled himself. He admitted he made a mistake and was anxious to get back in good standing, not just with me but the rest of the coaching staff, his teammates, and the fans. That was probably the thing that was disappointing the most, was disappointing the fans. Damion's done a tremendous job up to this point. He's very well liked by Southern Miss fans all over the country, and they were obviously disappointed, and rightfully so. But, Damion's done everything we've asked. I talk about this all the time. I don't necessarily talk about the discipline that we do when we handle a player, but I assure you, Damion has paid the price and I think he is anxious to get back out there."
Senior running back Damion Fletcher
On his senior season... "It's gotten easier over the years, just getting more experience and playing more games. This last season, I'm looking forward to helping the team win and being more of a team leader on the field, and help our team get to the championship game."
On returning after missing spring practice... "I'm very excited about getting back on the field. This is probably the longest I've gone without touching a football since high school. Not being able to compete has been tough for me."
On last year's finish... "Towards the end of the season the team came together. We started to gel and everybody got the system. At the beginning of the season we went through a lot, so at the end we knew what to prepare for, and I think that was one of the things that helped us finish strong."
On Quarterback Austin Davis... "Coming in as a freshman, a lot of guys didn't have a lot of faith in him. But I think he showed, through hard work, dedication, in practice and in games, that he is a leader."
"It was tough at first just trying to get the feel for everybody, get the feel for the offense and everybody's coaching style. Some coaches will play around with you a little bit and some that are more serious. But they all came in and were easy to work with and easy to get along with. But they came in and gave everybody a shot. Everybody had a clean slate and a shot to get on the field, and that helped the team out a lot."
On the offseason incident... "It'll be a big relief once I get back out there with my teammates. I did my punishment and it just feels good to get back to work with those guys again. Now I can just focus on football."
On hearing he was reinstated... "I think it meant a lot to the fans to hear that I'm coming back and getting that behind me. I can look forward to a "great season now and help the team to a championship. We've moved on and hopefully will have a great year."
