Will Hall Media Availability – The Appalachian State Game
10/24/2023 11:12:00 AM | Football
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss football head coach Will Hall met with members of the media following practice on Tuesday at the Joe P. Park Practice Field. Hall discussed last week's game against South Alabama and previewed the upcoming game against Appalachian State.
Kickoff against the Mountaineers (3-4, 1-2 Sun Belt) is set for 2:30 p.m. CT from Boone, N.C. The game can be streamed on ESPN+ or heard on an affiliate of the Southern Miss Radio Network or on the Southern Miss GameDay App.
Here is what Hall said to the media:
Opening Statement…
"Beautiful weather today, we appreciate the Good Lord for that. Good practice. We continue to push forward in trying to get better; got a lot of things we need to clean up. We're taking some strides in doing that. We've got a great challenge this week in a proud program like App State. Much like Southern Miss, really proud program with great history and tradition. It's going to be a great venue to play at—'The Rock.' They've got 'The Rock,' we've got The Rock, we're both black and gold, we've both got great history and traditions, so it's going to be awesome for our kids to go there. We're looking forward to getting back on the field and putting a better product out there."
On decision to give up play-calling duties…
"There are a lot of reasons. We just haven't gotten it done offensively since we've been here. That's ultimately the bottom line."
On if he takes responsibility for offensive performances…
"Well I'm the head coach. I'm the leader of this program. There's a lot of things that go into it and I'll tell you what, we're excited about this week. We're excited about our opportunities we've got going and the way our kids are progressing and the way we're moving forward."
On decision to make Jordy Joseph and Sam Gregg co-offensive coordinators…
"That's the best thing to do right now. That's the best thing to do right now for our program to give us a chance to get a spark and to finish the year on a high note as best as we possibly can."
On message to team this week…
"You know, our guys, man, they're working hard, they're practicing. They know, nobody cares more than they care. It's been good to get a lot of guys back healthy, especially defensively. We played without eight guys that we started the year on our two-deep and without our three best players defensively. It looks like all those guys are going to be back, which has been great to have them back out there. We're excited to get them back and excited about the way we're working and the way we're growing."
On any personal difficulties on giving up offensive play calling…
"I'm just excited about where we're heading and I'm excited about the moves we've made going forward. We've got—we're in year three—we've got around 28 kids that have been here three years or more. We're on schedule to have about 57 next year. We've built this thing to last with the way we've recruited and gone about it from the time we got here—we got waivers from that. I like where we're headed. I don't like where were at right now in this season, obviously, but I believe in where we're going and I'm excited to see how we play Saturday."
On Appalachian State's defensive scheme…
"They've been a three-man front for a long time. They've got a freshman defensive end outside edge guy that's playing at a high-level. They're a team that's similar to us in that they've lost a lot of close games for two years. They're record could be very, very different over the last two years. They just missed a bowl game last year and now they're 3-4 this year and all four of their losses have basically been one score, so it could be a lot different. I know they're wanting to get it fixed, just like we are and I've got a lot of respect for Coach Clark and how they do things."
On players returning from injury…
"[Jay Stanley, Jalen Williams] and Jalil Clemons—our three best players on defense. They're all on schedule to play this week right now. We're excited about getting them back."
On Dreke Clark…
"Yea, it's day-to-day right now, we'll see."
On MJ Daniels…
"I expect MJ to play. Yea, I expect him to play."
On qualities going into the quarterback decision this week…
"Just the same thing anybody is looking for. Production, drive it, score. Putting points on the board, protecting the football, normal football things."
On if younger quarterbacks may see playing time…
"Possibly, possibly. Everything is on the table at this point."
On what it will take to increase Frank Gore, Jr.'s production…
"It's a cumulative of a lot of things. We've got to play better as a whole around him and he's got to play better. It's a combination of all of it. For any one player to have success in football, 10 other guys also have to have success usually. He's also got to have success too, so we've all got to play a little better and I'm excited to watch us play this week."
Kickoff against the Mountaineers (3-4, 1-2 Sun Belt) is set for 2:30 p.m. CT from Boone, N.C. The game can be streamed on ESPN+ or heard on an affiliate of the Southern Miss Radio Network or on the Southern Miss GameDay App.
Here is what Hall said to the media:
Opening Statement…
"Beautiful weather today, we appreciate the Good Lord for that. Good practice. We continue to push forward in trying to get better; got a lot of things we need to clean up. We're taking some strides in doing that. We've got a great challenge this week in a proud program like App State. Much like Southern Miss, really proud program with great history and tradition. It's going to be a great venue to play at—'The Rock.' They've got 'The Rock,' we've got The Rock, we're both black and gold, we've both got great history and traditions, so it's going to be awesome for our kids to go there. We're looking forward to getting back on the field and putting a better product out there."
On decision to give up play-calling duties…
"There are a lot of reasons. We just haven't gotten it done offensively since we've been here. That's ultimately the bottom line."
On if he takes responsibility for offensive performances…
"Well I'm the head coach. I'm the leader of this program. There's a lot of things that go into it and I'll tell you what, we're excited about this week. We're excited about our opportunities we've got going and the way our kids are progressing and the way we're moving forward."
On decision to make Jordy Joseph and Sam Gregg co-offensive coordinators…
"That's the best thing to do right now. That's the best thing to do right now for our program to give us a chance to get a spark and to finish the year on a high note as best as we possibly can."
On message to team this week…
"You know, our guys, man, they're working hard, they're practicing. They know, nobody cares more than they care. It's been good to get a lot of guys back healthy, especially defensively. We played without eight guys that we started the year on our two-deep and without our three best players defensively. It looks like all those guys are going to be back, which has been great to have them back out there. We're excited to get them back and excited about the way we're working and the way we're growing."
On any personal difficulties on giving up offensive play calling…
"I'm just excited about where we're heading and I'm excited about the moves we've made going forward. We've got—we're in year three—we've got around 28 kids that have been here three years or more. We're on schedule to have about 57 next year. We've built this thing to last with the way we've recruited and gone about it from the time we got here—we got waivers from that. I like where we're headed. I don't like where were at right now in this season, obviously, but I believe in where we're going and I'm excited to see how we play Saturday."
On Appalachian State's defensive scheme…
"They've been a three-man front for a long time. They've got a freshman defensive end outside edge guy that's playing at a high-level. They're a team that's similar to us in that they've lost a lot of close games for two years. They're record could be very, very different over the last two years. They just missed a bowl game last year and now they're 3-4 this year and all four of their losses have basically been one score, so it could be a lot different. I know they're wanting to get it fixed, just like we are and I've got a lot of respect for Coach Clark and how they do things."
On players returning from injury…
"[Jay Stanley, Jalen Williams] and Jalil Clemons—our three best players on defense. They're all on schedule to play this week right now. We're excited about getting them back."
On Dreke Clark…
"Yea, it's day-to-day right now, we'll see."
On MJ Daniels…
"I expect MJ to play. Yea, I expect him to play."
On qualities going into the quarterback decision this week…
"Just the same thing anybody is looking for. Production, drive it, score. Putting points on the board, protecting the football, normal football things."
On if younger quarterbacks may see playing time…
"Possibly, possibly. Everything is on the table at this point."
On what it will take to increase Frank Gore, Jr.'s production…
"It's a cumulative of a lot of things. We've got to play better as a whole around him and he's got to play better. It's a combination of all of it. For any one player to have success in football, 10 other guys also have to have success usually. He's also got to have success too, so we've all got to play a little better and I'm excited to watch us play this week."
– @SouthernMissFB | @USMGoldenEagles –
Players Mentioned
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