University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Photo by: Joe Harper
Football Coach Jay Hopson Media Conference – UTSA Week
11/11/2019 1:38:00 PM | Football
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss football coach Jay Hopson met with the media Monday morning in the Duff Athletic Center to discuss this week's Conference USA West Division road tilt at UTSA (4-5, 3-2), as well as review the team's win over UAB last weekend.
The UTSA contest takes place this Saturday, at 5 p.m., from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. It can be seen online via ESPN+ as well as be heard on an affiliate of the Southern Miss Sports Network from Learfield IMG College.
Here is some of what Hopson said to the media on Monday:
Opening statement…
"Good win (versus UAB). I felt like we did some good things. There are still some phases that we have to get better. Offensively, Quez (Watkins) played well and Jack (Abraham) did a good job of leading our offense. Defensively, as a unit, we played pretty well. I am happy to get the "W" and move on to the next week. We have another good Conference USA opponent that we will be facing this week in UTSA. They (UTSA) are a well-coached and good football team. We have to get to work and have a great week of preparation and practice."
On the Golden Eagles' defensive performance in recent weeks…
"When I look back at the film even in the early weeks, they were playing well and a guy would make a play here or there. We are a very capable team on the defensive side of the ball. We just have to continue to go and bring our "A" game each and every week. This week is no exception, we will be facing a good team and we have to play well."
On Jacques Turner…
"He is playing aggressive. He is a twitchy football player that flashes on film and has every skill set that is needed. He is playing well. I feel like we have played well up front all year. Jacques, Demarrio (Smith), Delmond (Landry) and Eriq (Kitchen) have all played well up front."
On Quez Watkins' biggest strength as a wide receiver…
"Quez is just a talented guy, he really is. He can run, he has great hands and can create separation. Quez has been a playmaker for us for three years. To me he just has a complete skill set of what you are looking for at wide receiver."
On the play of RB Kevin Perkins versus UAB…
"KP (Kevin Perkins) had a nice run (career-long 79-yard rush) down the sideline and that was a big play in the game, it really was. Kevin has played well for us all year. He is a physical and tough runner."
On the Players of the Week…
"Shannon (Showers) is our Defensive Player of the Week. Shannon had a pretty complete game as a safety on Saturday. We are probably going to go with Steven Anderson as our Offensive Player of the Week, even though Quez (Watkins) had a great game as well. Steven did some good things on film so we will probably go that direction. Andrew Stein is our Special Teams Player of the Week. Andrew kicked the ball off well for us and made some big kicks on Saturday. One of the biggest plays in the game was his kickoff after the safety. Andrew did a great job of putting the ball in a spot to where we could pin them (UAB) down on the one or two-yard line. That to me was a huge swing in field position."
On the safety which was the Blazers' lone points last Saturday…
"We were a little sloppy in our operation up front and we weren't very good there in our protection. We opened up a gap, gave them too much space and give credit where credit is due, they got the job done."
On Jaylond Adams' blocking…
"It was really good. It was a nice block that continued the run (by Kevin Perkins). Jaylond's a complete player; he's a good blocker, pass receiver. He's played well all year, he really has. Jaylond can run. When you start talking about Jaylond and Quez, those are guys that can run."
On UTSA…
"I see a talented team, a well-coached football team. They have good running backs, good receivers and their quarterback is a dual-threat guy. They are good up front. Here we go again, another good football team (this week). Same defensively – they're very physical and fast and can fly around, so again, we've got to have a good week of preparation."
On WR Quez Watkins…
"It's obvious on the field – Quez is playing well and doing well. Quez will be a next level player one day, he's just got to keep doing what he's doing."
The UTSA contest takes place this Saturday, at 5 p.m., from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. It can be seen online via ESPN+ as well as be heard on an affiliate of the Southern Miss Sports Network from Learfield IMG College.
Here is some of what Hopson said to the media on Monday:
Opening statement…
"Good win (versus UAB). I felt like we did some good things. There are still some phases that we have to get better. Offensively, Quez (Watkins) played well and Jack (Abraham) did a good job of leading our offense. Defensively, as a unit, we played pretty well. I am happy to get the "W" and move on to the next week. We have another good Conference USA opponent that we will be facing this week in UTSA. They (UTSA) are a well-coached and good football team. We have to get to work and have a great week of preparation and practice."
On the Golden Eagles' defensive performance in recent weeks…
"When I look back at the film even in the early weeks, they were playing well and a guy would make a play here or there. We are a very capable team on the defensive side of the ball. We just have to continue to go and bring our "A" game each and every week. This week is no exception, we will be facing a good team and we have to play well."
On Jacques Turner…
"He is playing aggressive. He is a twitchy football player that flashes on film and has every skill set that is needed. He is playing well. I feel like we have played well up front all year. Jacques, Demarrio (Smith), Delmond (Landry) and Eriq (Kitchen) have all played well up front."
On Quez Watkins' biggest strength as a wide receiver…
"Quez is just a talented guy, he really is. He can run, he has great hands and can create separation. Quez has been a playmaker for us for three years. To me he just has a complete skill set of what you are looking for at wide receiver."
On the play of RB Kevin Perkins versus UAB…
"KP (Kevin Perkins) had a nice run (career-long 79-yard rush) down the sideline and that was a big play in the game, it really was. Kevin has played well for us all year. He is a physical and tough runner."
On the Players of the Week…
"Shannon (Showers) is our Defensive Player of the Week. Shannon had a pretty complete game as a safety on Saturday. We are probably going to go with Steven Anderson as our Offensive Player of the Week, even though Quez (Watkins) had a great game as well. Steven did some good things on film so we will probably go that direction. Andrew Stein is our Special Teams Player of the Week. Andrew kicked the ball off well for us and made some big kicks on Saturday. One of the biggest plays in the game was his kickoff after the safety. Andrew did a great job of putting the ball in a spot to where we could pin them (UAB) down on the one or two-yard line. That to me was a huge swing in field position."
On the safety which was the Blazers' lone points last Saturday…
"We were a little sloppy in our operation up front and we weren't very good there in our protection. We opened up a gap, gave them too much space and give credit where credit is due, they got the job done."
On Jaylond Adams' blocking…
"It was really good. It was a nice block that continued the run (by Kevin Perkins). Jaylond's a complete player; he's a good blocker, pass receiver. He's played well all year, he really has. Jaylond can run. When you start talking about Jaylond and Quez, those are guys that can run."
On UTSA…
"I see a talented team, a well-coached football team. They have good running backs, good receivers and their quarterback is a dual-threat guy. They are good up front. Here we go again, another good football team (this week). Same defensively – they're very physical and fast and can fly around, so again, we've got to have a good week of preparation."
On WR Quez Watkins…
"It's obvious on the field – Quez is playing well and doing well. Quez will be a next level player one day, he's just got to keep doing what he's doing."
Players Mentioned
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PK
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DL
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