University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Football Practice Report: September 15
9/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Venue: Joe P. Park Practice Facility
Format: Helmet, Shoulder Pads, Shorts
Upcoming: Practice (4:15 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 16)
Report: The Golden Eagles returned to the practice field on Tuesday afternoon fresh off of their first victory of the season. Southern Miss worked at cleaning up mistakes from Saturday's game as well as preparing for the upcoming road contest at Texas State. The practice lasted about two and a half hours with the team working with position groups, as well as offense vs. defense drills. Once again, special teams and ball security was an emphasis during practice.
Head Coach Todd Monken
Two games into the season, what are your evaluations of the transfer guys?
"We are a different team. Our two tight ends that we have playing were not with us last year and we have rotated in some offensive linemen that have rotated in to give depth. Tyler Matthews sat out last year as a transfer and one of our running backs is a transfer. It's not just on offense our starters at safety, spur and defensive line are all transfers and they are all over the place. We really needed it to help our depth and most of them have turned out to what we thought they would be. If we didn't have them, then we would just have a bunch of young guys. If we didn't do that and we just took all freshmen then we would still be in the developmental stage. We would still be saying `Hey, when these guys grow up' so we had to go do that and I like their progress."
Between Ito Smith, Jalen Richard and Justice Hayes has it been hard to find carries for all of them?
"I don't think so. There was one point in the game last week when I thought Jalen was hurt. You have to have three running backs and they all need to be ready. It's always nice to have one let alone three, which is a good thing because it keeps them fresh. They have to compete every day for playing time. Would they like more carries? Sure. Would they like more opportunities? Sure. I'd hope they would want that. All three can catch it out of the backfield and do everything that we ask them to do so it's a good problem to have."
Wide Receiver Korey Robertson
How did it feel catching your first touchdown at the collegiate level?
"I saw the defensive back was playing in a quarter so I knew to keep it flat. Once he went flat, I cut it short and there it was. I really wanted that first one but I'm ok with it. That just gives me something to work on and learn from."
Next Game: at Texas State (6:00 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 19, ESPN 3)
Tickets: Season tickets, as well as single game tickets, for the 2015 Southern Miss home season can be purchased by going online at SouthernMissTickets.com, or by calling the Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-844-TICK (8425) as well as visiting the Pat Ferlise Ticket Center on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
