University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Will Hall Weekly Media Conference – The Tulane Game
9/20/2022 4:41:00 PM | Football
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss football head coach Will Hall met with members of the media Tuesday morning following practice to discuss this week's road tilt at Tulane as well as looking back at last Saturday's 64-10 victory over Northwestern State.
Southern Miss travels to face the Green Wave in a 6 p.m. CT kickoff at Yulman Stadium this Saturday. The game can be streamed through ESPN+ and also be heard on an affiliate of the Southern Miss Network from Learfield.
Here is some of what Hall said the media on Tuesday:
Opening Statement…
"We did a great job of improving. I saw some good stuff on tape from the other night. A lot of young kids got to play and really improve. Our quarterbacks had two great days – I know you want to ask me about that – but both of them had their sharpest practices collectively. You can see the growth in them right there. We've got to continue to improve, we had some great kickoff cover work, also got some great punt work. What a huge week this is for our program, this game matters so much to so many people. We played every year from 1979 to 2006, of course we had the breakthrough conference realignment, but both administrations have gotten us back together and we should be back together. We're playing for a trophy – for The Bell – which is huge. We've done a great job explaining that to our players. Tulane's got a two-game winning streak and we'll have to put our best foot forward, because they are a great team – probably the best football team we've played. Definitely the best tackling team we've played. Definitely the best team in terms of effort and intensity in the way in which they play. We have great respect for their program. They have a great quarterback, he's definitely the best quarterback we've played. They're a really, really good football team."
On Tulane's Defensive Strengths…
"They play as hard as you can possibly play, and they tackle. They miss very few tackles. They played the running back at Kansas State [Deuce Vaughn] who's a great player and they tackled him every time. They swarm to the ball and tackle. Chris Hampton is their [defensive coordinator], he's a good friend of mine. I've got great respect for him and just the way they run their program. They're in year seven and you can see the fruits of that. They all play with that tenacity that [Tulane head coach] Willie Fritz brings every day and they're fun to watch. Very similar to how we play on defense, they play extremely hard and they tackle."
On Playing Tulane Quarterback Michael Pratt…
"I love Michael Pratt. It's kind of hard for me to talk about because I really love him. My wife loves him. My kids love him. He's like a son to me and always will be and I am so proud of how he's developed. I'm so proud of what he's becoming and, boy, he's a good player. He's a tough guy and I love that guy – I do. I love him, but I'm trying to kick his butt this week and he's trying to kick mine, I know that. But I can't say anything but great things about him. If my two sons grow up to be like Michael Pratt, I will have been a winner."
On Playing Former Boss, Tulane Head Coach Willie Fritz…
"I love Willie Fritz. Pete, my youngest son, Coach Fritz is like a grandfather to him. Coach Fritz saved my career. When I had made the DI transition and was really down on the profession, he brought me and getting to work for him showed me that you could win and succeed in this profession and still be a good person, which I always believed in my heart, but you don't see that a lot in this profession anymore. He does things the right way and I'm so happy that they're off to a 3-0 start. Again, they're trying to kick our butt and we're trying to kick theirs this weekend."
On Similarities Between Current Offense and Previous Offenses…
"The 2013 West Alabama offense was the greatest offense in Gulf South Conference history when Coach [Sam] Gregg and Coach [Desmond] Lindsey and I were there. I see a lot more similarities to that offense. We had two wideouts, one [Seth Roberts] went on to play in the NFL for seven years. We had some great backs that were smaller but really dynamic like Frank [Gore, Jr.]. We built that offense over a three-year period to where we won two conference titles and broke every record in school history. We had two quarterbacks that could play that are both coaches now and doing great. One of them, [Gary Johnston] is the [offensive coordinator] at Foley High School and the other one, [Kyle Caldwell] is the head coach at Elmore County. They're really smart and they both played as freshman. So, I see more similarities with that group than I did the Tulane group, but we're building it much like we did there at Tulane."
On Defensive Schemes Offense Can Expect to See…
"We have a reputation for running the football, coach Gregg and I. We've led the conference in rushing several years everywhere we've been. We know people are going to try and take the run away. We're also young at quarterback so it makes sense to try and do that, but we've thrown the ball well. We threw it extremely well for a half at Miami. We threw it for 400 yards last week. So, we've got good skill kids and we're improving in the passing game, and we feel like we're on our way to being a balanced attack that can take what the defense gives us. This will be a great challenge this week. This is the best defense we've played. They're like the 1985 Bears, they've only given up 20 points in three games. They're really really good."
On If He was Surprised at Tulane's Upset Win at Kansas State…
"Not really because Coach Fritz has built that thing. We were so close for so many years and now, those kids that are playing on offense, they've been starting for three years. You look at Duece Watts [Tulane wide receiver], Joey Claybrook [Tulane offensive lineman], Sincere Haynesworth [Tulane offensive lineman], Tyrick James [Tulane tight end], Jha'Quan Jackson [Tulane wide receiver], Michael Pratt, Tyjae Spears [Tulane running back] those guys have three-to-five years' starting experience. So, they're playing at a high level and they've played with each other for so long. Then defensively, all those kids have been playing and starting for so long. Macon Clark [Tulane safety] is a four-year starter. Darius Hodges [Tulane defensive lineman] three-year starter. Larry Brooks [Tulane safety] four- and five-year starter. They're playing with guys that understand what Coach Fritz wants and have played a lot of football – and they're talented. They're playing at a high level, and we knew they were going to be a really good football team this year."
On Dynamic New Tulane Offensive Coordinator, Jim Svoboda, has Brought to Green Wave…
"I don't know him that well, but I know Willie Fritz and the culture that he demands. They're going to take care of the football. They're going to find a way to run the football. They've got really good players and Coach Svoboda is doing a great job."
On If His Return to Tulane is a "Perfect Storm"…
"I guess it depends on what kind of storms you like. If you like these kinds of storms, then yeah. I'll tell you about 9:30 or 10 o'clock Saturday night if I like it or not."
On What to Expect When Playing Familiar Coaching Staffs…
"I don't know, I've had to do it a bunch of times. When you were in DII, you'd play a team twice in a year a lot of times – you'd play them in the regular season and then play them again in the playoffs. So, we've had a lot of experience with that with our staff. I truly love Willie Fritz and Slade Nagle [Tulane tight ends coach], a dear friend of mine, so is Chris Hampton and J.J. McCleskey [Tulane defensive analyst] and Favian Upshaw [Tulane offensive analyst]. I know a lot of those kids, I recruited them, so it makes it a little different. I left West Alabama and went to West Georgia, so I've had to do that before where I've coached against kids I had recruited and love. But you have to do your job. You've got an obligation and a responsibility to everybody that's under you at this time to do your job. So, we're pouring everything we've got into it, but I do think a lot of Tulane's program and their people."
On Execution in Games Against Familiar Coaching Staffs…
"People put more into knowing each other than what really is. Let's just say, they know all our signals and we know all theirs. Well, we would still have to get their signal and relay it to the players on the field and then they would have to know what the heck we were talking about. So, you still have to call your play and execute your play. So, the kids have to play the game and you have to put them in the best position to win."
On How Willie Fritz Saved His Career…
"I was a DII head coach and had been really successful and wanted to coach Division I and jumped into a situation [Louisiana in 2017] where we got fired in ten months. Then we went to Memphis and just really the whole DI experience had not been the best of the best experiences until I got with him. That's no knock on anything, that's just how it was. I was really thinking about going back to DII and doing my thing at DII, because that was what I was. I was a DII guy and the way you can treat people at Division II and do things is so much better than Division I –or, I thought it was at that time. After I got with Coach Fritz, I realized you can do it the same, you don't have to do it different. It was a great experience."
On Difference in Energy After Win…
"One thing about our kids, they work. They seize every moment. I don't know, y'all were there, we practiced our tails off last Tuesday. So, our kids are really working to get better and understand the mountain that we're trying to get over with this program."
On Leaning on Coach Fritz As a Young Head Coach…
"We talk a lot. Jeff Conway [former Tulane wide receivers coach] retired last year and me and my wife went down there for his retirement party and had a large time. I think a lot of his wife Mrs. Susan. His son, Wes Fritz, is a dear friend of mine, who's their personnel guy. I got the utmost respect for Wes. Me and him communicate all the time about recruits and kids and what we think because I have a deep respect for him. So, me and Coach Fritz talk all the time. We never go a month without talking and there's a lot of times during the summer we'll talk once a week. It's not always about football and things. We believe in the same way to treat people. We believe there is a truly right way and a wrong way of doing things and you never sacrifice that just because of an immediate gratification. You've got to take the right way to do it because that what wins out in the long term."
On How Close Southern Miss is to Getting Back to Its Heyday…
"We're getting closer every day; I don't know how close we are. This will be a big one this week. I know we're talented. I know we're young. I know we're a lot like Tulane was a few years ago. When you look at their kids, they've all played three and five years together. That's kind of what we're going to be in another year and another year after that. We do have talent. We are doing things the right way. We've got to get it back faster than we are right now. The only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time and we took another bite out of it today."
On Growth of Michael Pratt…
"You can tell he's gotten bigger and stronger, which all kids do as they get older. Just maturation from a young man into a man. The thing that Michael does so special, is Michael is a magic man. You could drop him off in a foreign country where he can't speak the language. You could come back in three weeks, and he'd have 40 friends and people would be following him. He is just a natural people person. He is a pied piper. I think the world of him, and I love him and his family."
Southern Miss travels to face the Green Wave in a 6 p.m. CT kickoff at Yulman Stadium this Saturday. The game can be streamed through ESPN+ and also be heard on an affiliate of the Southern Miss Network from Learfield.
Here is some of what Hall said the media on Tuesday:
Opening Statement…
"We did a great job of improving. I saw some good stuff on tape from the other night. A lot of young kids got to play and really improve. Our quarterbacks had two great days – I know you want to ask me about that – but both of them had their sharpest practices collectively. You can see the growth in them right there. We've got to continue to improve, we had some great kickoff cover work, also got some great punt work. What a huge week this is for our program, this game matters so much to so many people. We played every year from 1979 to 2006, of course we had the breakthrough conference realignment, but both administrations have gotten us back together and we should be back together. We're playing for a trophy – for The Bell – which is huge. We've done a great job explaining that to our players. Tulane's got a two-game winning streak and we'll have to put our best foot forward, because they are a great team – probably the best football team we've played. Definitely the best tackling team we've played. Definitely the best team in terms of effort and intensity in the way in which they play. We have great respect for their program. They have a great quarterback, he's definitely the best quarterback we've played. They're a really, really good football team."
On Tulane's Defensive Strengths…
"They play as hard as you can possibly play, and they tackle. They miss very few tackles. They played the running back at Kansas State [Deuce Vaughn] who's a great player and they tackled him every time. They swarm to the ball and tackle. Chris Hampton is their [defensive coordinator], he's a good friend of mine. I've got great respect for him and just the way they run their program. They're in year seven and you can see the fruits of that. They all play with that tenacity that [Tulane head coach] Willie Fritz brings every day and they're fun to watch. Very similar to how we play on defense, they play extremely hard and they tackle."
On Playing Tulane Quarterback Michael Pratt…
"I love Michael Pratt. It's kind of hard for me to talk about because I really love him. My wife loves him. My kids love him. He's like a son to me and always will be and I am so proud of how he's developed. I'm so proud of what he's becoming and, boy, he's a good player. He's a tough guy and I love that guy – I do. I love him, but I'm trying to kick his butt this week and he's trying to kick mine, I know that. But I can't say anything but great things about him. If my two sons grow up to be like Michael Pratt, I will have been a winner."
On Playing Former Boss, Tulane Head Coach Willie Fritz…
"I love Willie Fritz. Pete, my youngest son, Coach Fritz is like a grandfather to him. Coach Fritz saved my career. When I had made the DI transition and was really down on the profession, he brought me and getting to work for him showed me that you could win and succeed in this profession and still be a good person, which I always believed in my heart, but you don't see that a lot in this profession anymore. He does things the right way and I'm so happy that they're off to a 3-0 start. Again, they're trying to kick our butt and we're trying to kick theirs this weekend."
On Similarities Between Current Offense and Previous Offenses…
"The 2013 West Alabama offense was the greatest offense in Gulf South Conference history when Coach [Sam] Gregg and Coach [Desmond] Lindsey and I were there. I see a lot more similarities to that offense. We had two wideouts, one [Seth Roberts] went on to play in the NFL for seven years. We had some great backs that were smaller but really dynamic like Frank [Gore, Jr.]. We built that offense over a three-year period to where we won two conference titles and broke every record in school history. We had two quarterbacks that could play that are both coaches now and doing great. One of them, [Gary Johnston] is the [offensive coordinator] at Foley High School and the other one, [Kyle Caldwell] is the head coach at Elmore County. They're really smart and they both played as freshman. So, I see more similarities with that group than I did the Tulane group, but we're building it much like we did there at Tulane."
On Defensive Schemes Offense Can Expect to See…
"We have a reputation for running the football, coach Gregg and I. We've led the conference in rushing several years everywhere we've been. We know people are going to try and take the run away. We're also young at quarterback so it makes sense to try and do that, but we've thrown the ball well. We threw it extremely well for a half at Miami. We threw it for 400 yards last week. So, we've got good skill kids and we're improving in the passing game, and we feel like we're on our way to being a balanced attack that can take what the defense gives us. This will be a great challenge this week. This is the best defense we've played. They're like the 1985 Bears, they've only given up 20 points in three games. They're really really good."
On If He was Surprised at Tulane's Upset Win at Kansas State…
"Not really because Coach Fritz has built that thing. We were so close for so many years and now, those kids that are playing on offense, they've been starting for three years. You look at Duece Watts [Tulane wide receiver], Joey Claybrook [Tulane offensive lineman], Sincere Haynesworth [Tulane offensive lineman], Tyrick James [Tulane tight end], Jha'Quan Jackson [Tulane wide receiver], Michael Pratt, Tyjae Spears [Tulane running back] those guys have three-to-five years' starting experience. So, they're playing at a high level and they've played with each other for so long. Then defensively, all those kids have been playing and starting for so long. Macon Clark [Tulane safety] is a four-year starter. Darius Hodges [Tulane defensive lineman] three-year starter. Larry Brooks [Tulane safety] four- and five-year starter. They're playing with guys that understand what Coach Fritz wants and have played a lot of football – and they're talented. They're playing at a high level, and we knew they were going to be a really good football team this year."
On Dynamic New Tulane Offensive Coordinator, Jim Svoboda, has Brought to Green Wave…
"I don't know him that well, but I know Willie Fritz and the culture that he demands. They're going to take care of the football. They're going to find a way to run the football. They've got really good players and Coach Svoboda is doing a great job."
On If His Return to Tulane is a "Perfect Storm"…
"I guess it depends on what kind of storms you like. If you like these kinds of storms, then yeah. I'll tell you about 9:30 or 10 o'clock Saturday night if I like it or not."
On What to Expect When Playing Familiar Coaching Staffs…
"I don't know, I've had to do it a bunch of times. When you were in DII, you'd play a team twice in a year a lot of times – you'd play them in the regular season and then play them again in the playoffs. So, we've had a lot of experience with that with our staff. I truly love Willie Fritz and Slade Nagle [Tulane tight ends coach], a dear friend of mine, so is Chris Hampton and J.J. McCleskey [Tulane defensive analyst] and Favian Upshaw [Tulane offensive analyst]. I know a lot of those kids, I recruited them, so it makes it a little different. I left West Alabama and went to West Georgia, so I've had to do that before where I've coached against kids I had recruited and love. But you have to do your job. You've got an obligation and a responsibility to everybody that's under you at this time to do your job. So, we're pouring everything we've got into it, but I do think a lot of Tulane's program and their people."
On Execution in Games Against Familiar Coaching Staffs…
"People put more into knowing each other than what really is. Let's just say, they know all our signals and we know all theirs. Well, we would still have to get their signal and relay it to the players on the field and then they would have to know what the heck we were talking about. So, you still have to call your play and execute your play. So, the kids have to play the game and you have to put them in the best position to win."
On How Willie Fritz Saved His Career…
"I was a DII head coach and had been really successful and wanted to coach Division I and jumped into a situation [Louisiana in 2017] where we got fired in ten months. Then we went to Memphis and just really the whole DI experience had not been the best of the best experiences until I got with him. That's no knock on anything, that's just how it was. I was really thinking about going back to DII and doing my thing at DII, because that was what I was. I was a DII guy and the way you can treat people at Division II and do things is so much better than Division I –or, I thought it was at that time. After I got with Coach Fritz, I realized you can do it the same, you don't have to do it different. It was a great experience."
On Difference in Energy After Win…
"One thing about our kids, they work. They seize every moment. I don't know, y'all were there, we practiced our tails off last Tuesday. So, our kids are really working to get better and understand the mountain that we're trying to get over with this program."
On Leaning on Coach Fritz As a Young Head Coach…
"We talk a lot. Jeff Conway [former Tulane wide receivers coach] retired last year and me and my wife went down there for his retirement party and had a large time. I think a lot of his wife Mrs. Susan. His son, Wes Fritz, is a dear friend of mine, who's their personnel guy. I got the utmost respect for Wes. Me and him communicate all the time about recruits and kids and what we think because I have a deep respect for him. So, me and Coach Fritz talk all the time. We never go a month without talking and there's a lot of times during the summer we'll talk once a week. It's not always about football and things. We believe in the same way to treat people. We believe there is a truly right way and a wrong way of doing things and you never sacrifice that just because of an immediate gratification. You've got to take the right way to do it because that what wins out in the long term."
On How Close Southern Miss is to Getting Back to Its Heyday…
"We're getting closer every day; I don't know how close we are. This will be a big one this week. I know we're talented. I know we're young. I know we're a lot like Tulane was a few years ago. When you look at their kids, they've all played three and five years together. That's kind of what we're going to be in another year and another year after that. We do have talent. We are doing things the right way. We've got to get it back faster than we are right now. The only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time and we took another bite out of it today."
On Growth of Michael Pratt…
"You can tell he's gotten bigger and stronger, which all kids do as they get older. Just maturation from a young man into a man. The thing that Michael does so special, is Michael is a magic man. You could drop him off in a foreign country where he can't speak the language. You could come back in three weeks, and he'd have 40 friends and people would be following him. He is just a natural people person. He is a pied piper. I think the world of him, and I love him and his family."
2026 National Signing Day Press Conference with Blake Anderson
Wednesday, February 04
Southern Miss 2026 National Signing Day
Wednesday, February 04
Christian Ostrander Preseason Press Conference
Monday, January 19
Blake Anderson Introductory Press Conference
Monday, December 15