University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Photo by: Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com
Reed Stringer Media Availability – The Texas State Game
11/12/2024 12:31:00 PM | Football
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss interim head football coach Reed Stringer spoke with members of the media following practice at the Joe P. Park Practice Facility on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. Stringer discussed the Golden Eagles' recent game against Marshall and their Saturday meeting at Texas State.
Kickoff between the Golden Eagles (1-8, 0-5 Sun Belt) and Bobcats (5-4, 3-2 Sun Belt) is set for this Saturday at 6 p.m. CT at Texas State's UFCU Stadium in San Marcos, Texas.
Fans wishing to attend Saturday's game can call the Southern Miss Ticket Office at 1-800-844-TICK (8425), by visiting SouthernMissTickets.com or by stopping by the Ticket Office in the Pat Ferlise Center on the corner of West 4th Street and Golden Eagle Avenue.
Saturday's contest can be heard on any station of the Southern Miss Sports Network with the Voice of the Golden Eagles, John Cox, and Lee Roberts starting the day at 4:30 p.m. CT with their pregame show. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and produced by Texas State.
Here is what Stringer said to the media:
Opening Statement…
"I was proud of how our guys came out and practiced today after a tough game on Saturday where we obviously didn't play as well as we wanted to at all, and really had a lot of self-inflicted wounds that really killed us during the game, but we came back out here today and got really good work in. I think we had a good first day in preparation for Texas State."
On change at offensive coordinator…
"It's my responsibility, no matter how much time is left in the season, to do what's best for us to win football games. I thought at this time, right now, that was the best move for us to make a change there to give a different perspective of how we are doing things. I have decided that I am going to let Jack Walker call plays. He's our quarterbacks coach and the guy that talks to the quarterbacks, calls plays to the quarterbacks in practice. I just felt like that was what I wanted to do, but we're still going to be group-coordinated. We've got some guys in there that have been around a lot of football, so I was really pleased with the way we game-planned yesterday and the thoughts we put into what we're going to do, and I am excited to give Jack a chance."
On coaching adjustments to offensive line and tight ends…
"What we're going to do is Coach Ben Thomas is going to be mainly with the o-line and then I have moved Sam Gregg to work with the tight ends in accordance with the o-line just to make sure those guys are on the same page and those are guys that have coached a lot of football, and Gregg has coached tight ends before, so I think that is an easy transition."
On approach with team…
"For me, the best thing that I can do is be consistent. That's what I told them I was going to do from the very beginning and I told them we're not going to make it miserable, but we are going to work and there are expectations and accountability things that I have that I want to make sure we're getting done, and you can see them at practice get held to those standards. Will it help them win games? I don't know, but it puts them in a better position to be a little more disciplined and do things a little better that they haven't really shown in games yet, but we're going to keep doing it, because I think that's what football is about. It's about being disciplined, being accountable, hard-nosed and tough, running the ball and stopping the run. That's my message. I am going to be consistent and I am who I am. All that amounts to them is to consistently give good effort, consistently come out here and care about your teammates, and really do your job one day at a time. I see improvement. It might not show on the scoreboard, and that's okay if it doesn't do that. I want it to, but it might not. There are a lot of good things happening and I am really proud of some of these kids. There is a really good core of young players on this team and a lot of them are getting to play, which is exciting."
On penalties in game against Marshall…
"That is something that we have really harped on, but it is the game of football. There are going to be holdings, pass interferences, a late hit. It is what it is, but there's no place for after the whistle pushing and shoving. That's not what we're going to do, but the procedural stuff, we have to get that fixed. That is bad football and that is on the kid and the coaches. A lot of that has to do with us maybe not being fully sure of what we are doing sometimes, but it's something I have talked with the team and the coaches yesterday in our meeting. I don't want to see the procedural stuff anymore. Those are costly penalties that took us back 10 to 13-yard runs all game, and we are not good enough to be put behind the chains and ask a young quarterback to be put in that situation. I thought at times in that game, we ran the football really well. It didn't show because there were major penalties. We're going to get that stuff fixed. There will always be something, and I can live with that, but the procedural and after the play penalties, we're not going to have that."
On quarterback Ethan Crawford and passing game progression…
"Dropping back is a hard thing to do. You've got to block people, run the right routes, make the right reads and you have to make a great throw and then catch it. A lot of bad stuff can happen, but a part of it is we are getting those procedural penalties and getting behind the chain. We still have to try to get first downs. I like the way we run the ball and I want to see more play-action pass and more movement. I want to throw the ball when we want to throw it. That gives us the advantage, the o-line the advantage, the receivers can run three-man routes and get open. That's what I really want to see and get to, but in order to do that, we have to stay above the chains and stay on track. That's one thing we're really going to work hard on this week are the penalties and then on first and second down, giving us opportunities to not have to be put in that situation. That's not going to be his strength right now, even though he made some really good plays. We have to catch the balls when he does. He's getting better. I see it, the players see it, and he's going to continue to get better. He is going to be the guy going this weekend. We have two games left for John White and we'll have a chance to see him again. He is going to play. It's coming, but I have to make sure I save that redshirt, so we're hoping to get to the last two games with him and he's going to have an opportunity. These last three weeks, I think we're going to play a lot of young players. I think they have earned the right…I enjoyed watching the young players in the last ten minutes making plays on both sides of the ball. It's really encouraging because right now, the biggest thing is what the future of this program is going to look like. That's what I am trying to hold together and develop, and hopefully we can win a game or two at the end of the year for these seniors and our guys. I am excited about our future and to keep developing these guys and keep pushing."
On wide receiver Ray Daly, Jr.…
"Ray is a young man who was a basketball player in high school. He came to one of our camps as a graduating senior this year and really stood out. He transferred schools, so there were things to work through, and we were able to get him here in August. He has developed and he is talented. He is the prototypical Group of Five guy that falls through the cracks and you have a 6'2, 210-pound basketball receiver who we can see is going to be a really good player. I am really excited about him and he's going to have more opportunities. He's a great kid and he works hard, so he's another great future Golden Eagle."
Kickoff between the Golden Eagles (1-8, 0-5 Sun Belt) and Bobcats (5-4, 3-2 Sun Belt) is set for this Saturday at 6 p.m. CT at Texas State's UFCU Stadium in San Marcos, Texas.
Fans wishing to attend Saturday's game can call the Southern Miss Ticket Office at 1-800-844-TICK (8425), by visiting SouthernMissTickets.com or by stopping by the Ticket Office in the Pat Ferlise Center on the corner of West 4th Street and Golden Eagle Avenue.
Saturday's contest can be heard on any station of the Southern Miss Sports Network with the Voice of the Golden Eagles, John Cox, and Lee Roberts starting the day at 4:30 p.m. CT with their pregame show. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and produced by Texas State.
Here is what Stringer said to the media:
Opening Statement…
"I was proud of how our guys came out and practiced today after a tough game on Saturday where we obviously didn't play as well as we wanted to at all, and really had a lot of self-inflicted wounds that really killed us during the game, but we came back out here today and got really good work in. I think we had a good first day in preparation for Texas State."
On change at offensive coordinator…
"It's my responsibility, no matter how much time is left in the season, to do what's best for us to win football games. I thought at this time, right now, that was the best move for us to make a change there to give a different perspective of how we are doing things. I have decided that I am going to let Jack Walker call plays. He's our quarterbacks coach and the guy that talks to the quarterbacks, calls plays to the quarterbacks in practice. I just felt like that was what I wanted to do, but we're still going to be group-coordinated. We've got some guys in there that have been around a lot of football, so I was really pleased with the way we game-planned yesterday and the thoughts we put into what we're going to do, and I am excited to give Jack a chance."
On coaching adjustments to offensive line and tight ends…
"What we're going to do is Coach Ben Thomas is going to be mainly with the o-line and then I have moved Sam Gregg to work with the tight ends in accordance with the o-line just to make sure those guys are on the same page and those are guys that have coached a lot of football, and Gregg has coached tight ends before, so I think that is an easy transition."
On approach with team…
"For me, the best thing that I can do is be consistent. That's what I told them I was going to do from the very beginning and I told them we're not going to make it miserable, but we are going to work and there are expectations and accountability things that I have that I want to make sure we're getting done, and you can see them at practice get held to those standards. Will it help them win games? I don't know, but it puts them in a better position to be a little more disciplined and do things a little better that they haven't really shown in games yet, but we're going to keep doing it, because I think that's what football is about. It's about being disciplined, being accountable, hard-nosed and tough, running the ball and stopping the run. That's my message. I am going to be consistent and I am who I am. All that amounts to them is to consistently give good effort, consistently come out here and care about your teammates, and really do your job one day at a time. I see improvement. It might not show on the scoreboard, and that's okay if it doesn't do that. I want it to, but it might not. There are a lot of good things happening and I am really proud of some of these kids. There is a really good core of young players on this team and a lot of them are getting to play, which is exciting."
On penalties in game against Marshall…
"That is something that we have really harped on, but it is the game of football. There are going to be holdings, pass interferences, a late hit. It is what it is, but there's no place for after the whistle pushing and shoving. That's not what we're going to do, but the procedural stuff, we have to get that fixed. That is bad football and that is on the kid and the coaches. A lot of that has to do with us maybe not being fully sure of what we are doing sometimes, but it's something I have talked with the team and the coaches yesterday in our meeting. I don't want to see the procedural stuff anymore. Those are costly penalties that took us back 10 to 13-yard runs all game, and we are not good enough to be put behind the chains and ask a young quarterback to be put in that situation. I thought at times in that game, we ran the football really well. It didn't show because there were major penalties. We're going to get that stuff fixed. There will always be something, and I can live with that, but the procedural and after the play penalties, we're not going to have that."
On quarterback Ethan Crawford and passing game progression…
"Dropping back is a hard thing to do. You've got to block people, run the right routes, make the right reads and you have to make a great throw and then catch it. A lot of bad stuff can happen, but a part of it is we are getting those procedural penalties and getting behind the chain. We still have to try to get first downs. I like the way we run the ball and I want to see more play-action pass and more movement. I want to throw the ball when we want to throw it. That gives us the advantage, the o-line the advantage, the receivers can run three-man routes and get open. That's what I really want to see and get to, but in order to do that, we have to stay above the chains and stay on track. That's one thing we're really going to work hard on this week are the penalties and then on first and second down, giving us opportunities to not have to be put in that situation. That's not going to be his strength right now, even though he made some really good plays. We have to catch the balls when he does. He's getting better. I see it, the players see it, and he's going to continue to get better. He is going to be the guy going this weekend. We have two games left for John White and we'll have a chance to see him again. He is going to play. It's coming, but I have to make sure I save that redshirt, so we're hoping to get to the last two games with him and he's going to have an opportunity. These last three weeks, I think we're going to play a lot of young players. I think they have earned the right…I enjoyed watching the young players in the last ten minutes making plays on both sides of the ball. It's really encouraging because right now, the biggest thing is what the future of this program is going to look like. That's what I am trying to hold together and develop, and hopefully we can win a game or two at the end of the year for these seniors and our guys. I am excited about our future and to keep developing these guys and keep pushing."
On wide receiver Ray Daly, Jr.…
"Ray is a young man who was a basketball player in high school. He came to one of our camps as a graduating senior this year and really stood out. He transferred schools, so there were things to work through, and we were able to get him here in August. He has developed and he is talented. He is the prototypical Group of Five guy that falls through the cracks and you have a 6'2, 210-pound basketball receiver who we can see is going to be a really good player. I am really excited about him and he's going to have more opportunities. He's a great kid and he works hard, so he's another great future Golden Eagle."
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Players Mentioned
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Wednesday, February 04
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Christian Ostrander Preseason Press Conference
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