University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Photo by: Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com
Will Hall Media Availability – The Arkansas State Game
9/19/2023 11:48:00 AM | Football
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Third-year head coach Will Hall meets with members of the media following practice at the Joe P. Park practice field. Hall speaks about last week's game against Tulane and looks ahead to this Saturday's contest against Arkansas State.
Saturday's contest will be broadcast on ESPN+ and can also be heard on an affiliate of the Southern Miss Sports Network or on the Southern Miss Gameday App. Tickets for all remaining home and away games are still available for purchase at SouthernMissTickets.com, by calling 1-800-844-TICK (8425) or by visiting the Pat Ferlise Ticket Office on campus.
Opening Statement…
"Awesome day, really good weather today, I thank the Good Lord for that. Our kids, we know we can play better than what we've been playing and we're eager to prove that. Lot of good work today. Lot of good kickoff work and punt work. Got some good-on-good on competition Tuesday. Continue to see come young guys coming around, we'll watch he tape and look at that."
On process of building positivity along the offensive line…
"We're talking about expecting to play well because we should play well. Our lack of run game production this week was about 50-50. There were a lot of times we had good blocking and we did not read it correctly and hit it correctly and we had times where we had good blocking where we slipped and fell. There were other times where we didn't have as good of blocking versus a great defensive front. I know our O-line is under scrutiny for that game, but it wasn't all on the O-line. There was issues everywhere. I think we were a little too over aggressive in wanting to make a play and not just relaxing and trusting the process and trusting the person next to you, but we've got to change our expectations a little bit. We're a talented team that can make plays in big games like that and we've got to start understand that."
On running backs trusting the offensive line…
"I'm not saying it was all the running backs, it was a little bit of everything. Our tight ends had some issues at times, our O-line had issues at times and our running backs had issues at times. We left a lot of yards out there against a great defense. We left a lot of stuff out there that we have certainly done way better on in the past and that can do way better moving forward."
On Arkansas State's defense…
"They really squeeze the box and have the same D-coordinator as last year. They really want to put pressure on you and challenge you. Like us, they're 1-2 in their coach's third year, so it's a really big game for them. They're going to play with a lot of passion and a lot of intensity. We expect a big-time Sun Belt game on the road."
On Arkansas State's offense…
"They played a new quarterback last week. He's an athlete so that presents problems, we've to prepare for that. They scored some points last week and got some confidence. We know their offensive coordinator, Keith Heckendorf. Desmond Lindsey has worked with him before. I've been good friends with him all the way back to when he and I were up for the Harlon Hill together. He was here with Coach Fedora as a GA. He's a good guy. They're going to mix it run and pass and come after us."
On priorities on offense…
"It starts with everything. We've got to create more explosive plays, we've got to complete more passes and we've got to run the ball better. I don't think you ever do it just one way or the other."
On which defensive backs will step up to fill Brendan Toles' injury…
"Those big three. Those same three. We've been playing four and now we've got three. Ques McNeal, Michael Carraway and MJ Daniels will be out top three. We're going to move J-Rob over there to corner and that'll give him a chance right there. He's a long, big guy that's a great kid. Jay Hampton is the next guy right there."
On Dylan Lawrence's performance through three games…
"There's some things we want him to do better. He's really talented, but he's got to control his eye discipline better. On some of those explosive plays, his eyes got out of bill, but he's a talented guy that can really play. As he continues to master our defense and train his eyes to be in the right spot, he can be an even better player."
On if Sun Belt play offers a reset button for the rest of season…
"Maybe so. We want to win every game and we've lost two-in-a-row to two really good teams. You've got to take it on game at a time either way. Sun Belt does allow us to hit the refresh button some, but for me it's just about us playing up to our potential and being the best we can be. That's been out big point of emphasis this week is playing better and playing like we know we can play."
Saturday's contest will be broadcast on ESPN+ and can also be heard on an affiliate of the Southern Miss Sports Network or on the Southern Miss Gameday App. Tickets for all remaining home and away games are still available for purchase at SouthernMissTickets.com, by calling 1-800-844-TICK (8425) or by visiting the Pat Ferlise Ticket Office on campus.
Opening Statement…
"Awesome day, really good weather today, I thank the Good Lord for that. Our kids, we know we can play better than what we've been playing and we're eager to prove that. Lot of good work today. Lot of good kickoff work and punt work. Got some good-on-good on competition Tuesday. Continue to see come young guys coming around, we'll watch he tape and look at that."
On process of building positivity along the offensive line…
"We're talking about expecting to play well because we should play well. Our lack of run game production this week was about 50-50. There were a lot of times we had good blocking and we did not read it correctly and hit it correctly and we had times where we had good blocking where we slipped and fell. There were other times where we didn't have as good of blocking versus a great defensive front. I know our O-line is under scrutiny for that game, but it wasn't all on the O-line. There was issues everywhere. I think we were a little too over aggressive in wanting to make a play and not just relaxing and trusting the process and trusting the person next to you, but we've got to change our expectations a little bit. We're a talented team that can make plays in big games like that and we've got to start understand that."
On running backs trusting the offensive line…
"I'm not saying it was all the running backs, it was a little bit of everything. Our tight ends had some issues at times, our O-line had issues at times and our running backs had issues at times. We left a lot of yards out there against a great defense. We left a lot of stuff out there that we have certainly done way better on in the past and that can do way better moving forward."
On Arkansas State's defense…
"They really squeeze the box and have the same D-coordinator as last year. They really want to put pressure on you and challenge you. Like us, they're 1-2 in their coach's third year, so it's a really big game for them. They're going to play with a lot of passion and a lot of intensity. We expect a big-time Sun Belt game on the road."
On Arkansas State's offense…
"They played a new quarterback last week. He's an athlete so that presents problems, we've to prepare for that. They scored some points last week and got some confidence. We know their offensive coordinator, Keith Heckendorf. Desmond Lindsey has worked with him before. I've been good friends with him all the way back to when he and I were up for the Harlon Hill together. He was here with Coach Fedora as a GA. He's a good guy. They're going to mix it run and pass and come after us."
On priorities on offense…
"It starts with everything. We've got to create more explosive plays, we've got to complete more passes and we've got to run the ball better. I don't think you ever do it just one way or the other."
On which defensive backs will step up to fill Brendan Toles' injury…
"Those big three. Those same three. We've been playing four and now we've got three. Ques McNeal, Michael Carraway and MJ Daniels will be out top three. We're going to move J-Rob over there to corner and that'll give him a chance right there. He's a long, big guy that's a great kid. Jay Hampton is the next guy right there."
On Dylan Lawrence's performance through three games…
"There's some things we want him to do better. He's really talented, but he's got to control his eye discipline better. On some of those explosive plays, his eyes got out of bill, but he's a talented guy that can really play. As he continues to master our defense and train his eyes to be in the right spot, he can be an even better player."
On if Sun Belt play offers a reset button for the rest of season…
"Maybe so. We want to win every game and we've lost two-in-a-row to two really good teams. You've got to take it on game at a time either way. Sun Belt does allow us to hit the refresh button some, but for me it's just about us playing up to our potential and being the best we can be. That's been out big point of emphasis this week is playing better and playing like we know we can play."
– @SouthernMissFB | @USMGoldenEagles –
Players Mentioned
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CB
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SAF
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DB
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