University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Will Hall Media Availability – The Mississippi State Game
11/14/2023 12:39:00 PM | Football
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss head football coach Will Hall spoke to members of the media today following practice at M.M. Roberts Stadium at Carlisle-Faulkner Field. Hall discussed last week's win over Louisiana and previewed the matchup against Mississippi State this Saturday.
The Golden Eagles kickoff against the in-state Bulldogs at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 18, in Starkville, Miss. Tickets for the game and for the final home game next week are available for purchase by calling 1-800-844-TICK (8425), by visiting SouthernMissTickets.com or by visiting the Ticket Office at the Pat Ferlise Center on campus.
Here is what Hall said to the media:
Opening Statement…
"Great Tuesday. We got a lot of good work done. Really appreciate the Good Lord for keeping the rain off us. It sprinkled a little bit but we got a lot of good work in. Got an extra day yesterday in preparation so that was good too. We got a tremendous opponent this week. Really, really old team. One of the oldest teams I've ever coached against. Nine senior starters on the offense, eight senior starters on defense. Lot of guys that have played a lot of football at the elite conference in this country. It's a tremendous opportunity for us. It's a game that matters so much to our people. It's a game that matters so much to us and to so many people in this state and in this area. So, we're putting everything we got into it. We're excited about the opportunity."
On Greg Knox being named interim head coach at Mississippi State…
"I know Coach Knox well, great man. He was at Ole Miss through the years. Him and my dad are really good friends. I got to know Coach Knox when I was young. He's always been really good to me and I think the world of him. He's a college football lifer that's always treating people with respect and has always been really good to me."
On Southern Miss players that transferred from Mississippi State…
"I don't know if you can be any more excited to play a game than we can be as a collective unit in this game. If those kids have extra motivation, maybe so, but everybody within our whole program is really excited about this week."
On benefits having extended good-on-good portions in the last three weeks of practice…
"We changed the way we practice about midway through the year for two reasons. Number one, we're so young and we felt like we needed to grow and develop. One thing I've really been proud of in our three years here is that we've always gotten better as the year goes on. I think it's because of the way we practice. We've been doing more good-on-good to develop these young guys and I think we've seen a lot of growth. It's been good, really good."
On success on perimeter against Louisiana…
"Yeah, we've really improved that too. Getting out on the edge and doing some things. Also it's helped us on defense too. We're playing blocks better on the edge and tackling better on defense. We've had three straight weeks where we've rushed for over 200 [yards]. In conference games only, which we've played seven conference games so far, we're leading this league in rushing right now, which is a huge step in the right direction for us. It's a credit to our staff and also a credit to the way we're practicing and improving."
On offensive line's progression during the year…
"They've really gotten better as the year has gone on. I thought they played their best game this past week and they proof is in the pudding right there. They're just playing better collectively as a unit. We're playing a lot of people that are all getting better. The young guys have all improved and all gotten better and it's been fun to see."
On Dylan Lawrence…
"Really talented guy. George County. Loves being here. Loves this culture. As a matter of fact, he stood up in front of the team last game and said that one of the highlights of his life was transferring here and being a part of this culture and how we do things. He's got a great momma. She is an unbelievable human being. Dylan is getting better. You can see the growth. You can see him leveraging the ball better. You can see him tackling better. He's a really long guy that is really talented and has kind of moved around positionally his whole life from high school, to Mississippi State, to here. He's found a home at safety and he's getting better and better."
On managing Ethan Crawford's status as a redshirt…
"So, you know, let's just wait and see on Saturday. You know what I mean. Let's just wait and see on Saturday. We'll talk about it the next week what my decision is and why I made it, but I don't want to give Mississippi State any added advantage."
On Crawford's velocity on his throws…
"Yeah, he's really, really got a strong arm. A live arm. A young guy that's got a bright future who will be a really good player for us in the future. Can run and throw. We've talked about having one strike guys here and he's a one strike guy. Really the only thing he doesn't have is that he's not a super tall guy, but he can really play."
On Crawford's game-tying drive against Louisiana…
"He's an extremely confident guy, that's one reason why we put him in there. He believes and he's getting better and better. Anytime that you have success in anything in life, it gives you more confidence moving forward, so that was a good moment for him and good moment for our football team."
On Crawford's knee brace…
"He's just a year removed from an ACL injury, so that's part of it."
On team's resilience throughout the season…
"It's what we've been preaching all the time. If you don't have a strong foundation of core values and beliefs, when hard times come, what do you lean on. If you start trying to figure out how you're going to handle hard situations at the moment hard times come, you're in a heap of crap. So, when hard times came for us this year, we already had our values. We already knew what we were leaning on. The way we mold these kids, the way we train them to attack each day was already there so we just gripped on them that harder and kept working and getting better. And look, I'm disappointed in our record. I don't like where we're at. We'll never be here again, but at the same time I'm proud of the growth and I'm proud of where we're headed and I appreciate these young men grabbing a hold of these values and continuing to move forward and finishing this year well."
The Golden Eagles kickoff against the in-state Bulldogs at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 18, in Starkville, Miss. Tickets for the game and for the final home game next week are available for purchase by calling 1-800-844-TICK (8425), by visiting SouthernMissTickets.com or by visiting the Ticket Office at the Pat Ferlise Center on campus.
Here is what Hall said to the media:
Opening Statement…
"Great Tuesday. We got a lot of good work done. Really appreciate the Good Lord for keeping the rain off us. It sprinkled a little bit but we got a lot of good work in. Got an extra day yesterday in preparation so that was good too. We got a tremendous opponent this week. Really, really old team. One of the oldest teams I've ever coached against. Nine senior starters on the offense, eight senior starters on defense. Lot of guys that have played a lot of football at the elite conference in this country. It's a tremendous opportunity for us. It's a game that matters so much to our people. It's a game that matters so much to us and to so many people in this state and in this area. So, we're putting everything we got into it. We're excited about the opportunity."
On Greg Knox being named interim head coach at Mississippi State…
"I know Coach Knox well, great man. He was at Ole Miss through the years. Him and my dad are really good friends. I got to know Coach Knox when I was young. He's always been really good to me and I think the world of him. He's a college football lifer that's always treating people with respect and has always been really good to me."
On Southern Miss players that transferred from Mississippi State…
"I don't know if you can be any more excited to play a game than we can be as a collective unit in this game. If those kids have extra motivation, maybe so, but everybody within our whole program is really excited about this week."
On benefits having extended good-on-good portions in the last three weeks of practice…
"We changed the way we practice about midway through the year for two reasons. Number one, we're so young and we felt like we needed to grow and develop. One thing I've really been proud of in our three years here is that we've always gotten better as the year goes on. I think it's because of the way we practice. We've been doing more good-on-good to develop these young guys and I think we've seen a lot of growth. It's been good, really good."
On success on perimeter against Louisiana…
"Yeah, we've really improved that too. Getting out on the edge and doing some things. Also it's helped us on defense too. We're playing blocks better on the edge and tackling better on defense. We've had three straight weeks where we've rushed for over 200 [yards]. In conference games only, which we've played seven conference games so far, we're leading this league in rushing right now, which is a huge step in the right direction for us. It's a credit to our staff and also a credit to the way we're practicing and improving."
On offensive line's progression during the year…
"They've really gotten better as the year has gone on. I thought they played their best game this past week and they proof is in the pudding right there. They're just playing better collectively as a unit. We're playing a lot of people that are all getting better. The young guys have all improved and all gotten better and it's been fun to see."
On Dylan Lawrence…
"Really talented guy. George County. Loves being here. Loves this culture. As a matter of fact, he stood up in front of the team last game and said that one of the highlights of his life was transferring here and being a part of this culture and how we do things. He's got a great momma. She is an unbelievable human being. Dylan is getting better. You can see the growth. You can see him leveraging the ball better. You can see him tackling better. He's a really long guy that is really talented and has kind of moved around positionally his whole life from high school, to Mississippi State, to here. He's found a home at safety and he's getting better and better."
On managing Ethan Crawford's status as a redshirt…
"So, you know, let's just wait and see on Saturday. You know what I mean. Let's just wait and see on Saturday. We'll talk about it the next week what my decision is and why I made it, but I don't want to give Mississippi State any added advantage."
On Crawford's velocity on his throws…
"Yeah, he's really, really got a strong arm. A live arm. A young guy that's got a bright future who will be a really good player for us in the future. Can run and throw. We've talked about having one strike guys here and he's a one strike guy. Really the only thing he doesn't have is that he's not a super tall guy, but he can really play."
On Crawford's game-tying drive against Louisiana…
"He's an extremely confident guy, that's one reason why we put him in there. He believes and he's getting better and better. Anytime that you have success in anything in life, it gives you more confidence moving forward, so that was a good moment for him and good moment for our football team."
On Crawford's knee brace…
"He's just a year removed from an ACL injury, so that's part of it."
On team's resilience throughout the season…
"It's what we've been preaching all the time. If you don't have a strong foundation of core values and beliefs, when hard times come, what do you lean on. If you start trying to figure out how you're going to handle hard situations at the moment hard times come, you're in a heap of crap. So, when hard times came for us this year, we already had our values. We already knew what we were leaning on. The way we mold these kids, the way we train them to attack each day was already there so we just gripped on them that harder and kept working and getting better. And look, I'm disappointed in our record. I don't like where we're at. We'll never be here again, but at the same time I'm proud of the growth and I'm proud of where we're headed and I appreciate these young men grabbing a hold of these values and continuing to move forward and finishing this year well."
– @USMGoldenEagles | @SouthernMissFB –
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