Southern Miss-Houston Postgame Quotes
11/21/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 21, 2010
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SOUTHERN MISS ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS
Head Coach Larry Fedora
Post Game Press Conference
Opening Statement:
"First of all we set out honor our three wounded brothers and I believe the team did that today in all three phases. I am very proud of the way they played. They played hard the entire game. It has been a long, hard week for all of us and to finish it off this way, it tells you what these guys are made of and what they have inside of them, that core, that fiber that runs through the middle of all them. There is a lot there. I cannot tell you again how proud I am of them and the way they responded in this game tonight."
On Martez Smith Coming to the Game:
"The players did not know he was coming. I guess it was Monday he told me that there was only one thing he wanted to do and that was be out on the field tonight. I was not sure what to say to him because I was not sure it could happen. He told me again, that is the one thing that I have to make happen. I told him to just do his part and the guy said he would not be out of ICU until Sunday or Monday. He was out on Thursday morning and he pointed that out to me. He put himself in the wheelchair. He would not let anyone help him. He pushed himself into his brothers' rooms to talk to them. He was preparing himself. This was a big deal for him to get back out there in front of our fans. He is a tough kid and he will make it. I guarantee it, he will be fine. He will have plenty of support from this team and this university. He was a senior and this was senior night so it was obviously a big deal, a very big deal."
On the Emotion of Martez Being There in Pregame:
"It was hard for me because I had a game. I could not let my emotion be involved and that is what I was worried about with our football team. These guys went out on the field with tears streaming down on their face and that is dangerous. I do not know what to tell you on how I felt to be honest with you. The whole week has been kind of a blur."
On the way the guys Responded to all the Adversity this Week:
"It just shows what they have inside of them, what they have in their chest and what they are made of. Positive people do not necessarily mean that bad things are not going to happen to you, but positive people are not going to let the bad things hold them back. That is what this team is. They stayed positive when adversity happened in a game. It did right before the half and again, they just did not blink. They were in there at half time ready to go back out there. They fought, scratched and clawed to a victory."
On the play of Cordarro Law tonight:
"All three of those guys represented those jerseys well tonight. Cordarro made plays. He definitely took it to heart."
On the Play of Austin Davis:
"I cannot say enough really. He rushed for over 100 and threw for almost 300 while accounting for six touchdowns either running or throwing. I do not know how many quarterbacks in the history of this university have done something like that, maybe a few but that was a phenomenal performance tonight. I go back to just that fourth-and-one call and the guy is coming off the edge and is right in his mouth and he makes a great throw to the freshman for a first down. That may not have meant a lot to everyone out there but that was an unbelievable play."
On the Play of Kendrick Hardy:
"You know his nickname is Mule. He ran like one tonight. He ran hard. You have to give some credit to the offensive line. They did an outstanding job. We rushed for (349) yards and threw for another 300. They did a tremendous job as well."
On the Crowd:
"It started in Eagle Walk. They were probably eight-to-ten people deep and the guys felt that love and support I can promise you. The crowd was awesome tonight and you could not ask for better. We talk about having something bad happen and the entire Eagle Nation just pulled together and made sure they supported that team to a victory."
On How Hard the Past Week Had Been:
"It was probably one of the most difficult things I have ever been involved with to be honest with you. Let me tell you, that coaching staff did a heck of a job preparing these kids and keeping them focused and keeping their minds where that had to be for us to be successful tonight.
On the Three Injured Guys:
"Deddrick (Jones) was actually here tonight. He watched the game from my office. He came in at halftime and saw the guys. Obviously Martez was here and Tim (Green ) was back with his parents watching the game at the hospital. Tim actually got up today and was moving around so that was good. He was moving real slow though and I was joking with him about how that is the way he moved on the football field. The nurses thought I was a little hard on him. He is doing well and is progressing."
On the Short Week:
"We have a short week and we will be in here tomorrow working on Tulsa. We do not have much time and we understand that and we have Thanksgiving in the middle of it so there are more distractions for our football team."
Southern Miss Player Quotes
Junior Quarterback Austin Davis
"I think tonight was more than just about football. I think we have a lot of guys playing for these three guys and we wanted to give them something to smile about. We haven't had a lot to smile about the last week and we wanted to honor them with the way we played and we took that with a serious sense of responsibility. Coach Fedora asked us if we wanted to honor those guys by the way we played and we did not make light of that. The last thing we wanted to do was say that we were going to honor them and then not play our best. So we took that challenge and I feel like we honored them with the way we played tonight."
On the emotions of the evening
"It could go either way, but tonight it went the right way. We said all week that it was a bad week to play us, because we were on a mission tonight and I do not think anything would have stopped us with everything that went on."
On seeing Martez prior to the game
"It was an emotional experience. I love Martez to death and that is exactly what he is - the emotional leader of our defense. He is a guy who took a 180 (degree turn) when he got here and turned his life around. He ended up being a phenomenal person and a phenomenal player for us since he has been here. That was very emotion to see him that way and we hope that we gave him something to smile about tonight."
Junior Defense Lineman Cordarro Law
On wearing No. 91 tonight (Deddrick Jones number): "It had a lot of impact. Deddrick is the only defensive lineman to start the last three years that he has been here. He might not get the sacks, but he is one of our best defensive lineman. He is smart and I told him before the game I wanted to go out and represent your jersey."
On seeing Martez before the game:
"It was emotional. He and Tim (Green) are my roommates. It was a long week at the house for me. He told me that nothing was going to stop him from coming to the game tonight. They didn't want to let him come, but he is strong and he wanted to come for the team."
On wearing the jersey:
"I thought hard about it, wearing the jersey. I finally decided that I was going to wear it. I talked to D.J. about it and he was all for it. He just told me to wear it and play my best."