Monday Media Confernece Quotes

Southern Miss Head Coach Larry Fedora

Sept. 6, 2010

Opening Statement:

"Obviously we had a rough night on Thursday and it was not much better when we broke down the film and looked at the opportunities that we missed and the mistakes we made. We are excited to get back to "The Rock" and play in front of our crowd this weekend and get back on the other side of the column."

On the Turning Point of the Game Thursday:

"When you take it down the field on the first series and throw an interception and they turn that into seven points, there is a potential 14-point swing there. You could say that it happened there but there was another time that we went down into the red zone and put the ball on the ground and they turned that into a 14-point swing. There are a lot of things that I could point at in the game and say 'If we had done this or done that' it would have been a different outcome, but that is why you play the game. It just did not happen and we did not get it done."

On the health of the team:

"As of today we have some guys who are knicked up. If we were practicing today they may not be able to go, but I do not know for sure. There is a chance that they could practice on Wednesday and we are hoping to have them out there then."

On the attitude of the team right now:

"Friday it was not real good, but Sunday they came back here and got ready to go to work and really got after it. The practice was very good. I told them on Friday that we had to put that thing to bed and not look back after that. We are on to the next game and we have to have a better performance."

On what He is telling the team right now:

"I am preaching doing the things that we have been doing. I cannot ask them to work any harder because they have been working hard. There are individuals that we have asked to work harder. As a team and a unit these guys have worked hard, the coaches have worked hard. We just did not get the job done the other night and that's all three phases of the game. Our playmakers did not make plays, we turned the ball over and we did not do anything special in the special team and when you do that it's going to be a rough night and it was."

On the Performance of WR DeAndre Brown:

"I want him to step up and be the player he can be and practice that way also. If you look at his game from the other night it was not anything, it was nothing special on his part and to be honest with you it was not even average.

It is not any different for him than anyone else. We expect you to play hard on every snap whether you get the ball or not. We expect everyone to give everything they have got on every snap. It is not just DeAndre Brown, but it is everybody on this football team."

On the most disappointing thing after looking at the South Carolina film:

"We did not convert when we got in the red zone. That was very disappointing because we could have scored points on that football team. The play of our defense, I was disappointed overall and I was very disappointed that we did not make anything happen on special teams. I was very surprised by that."

On playing Prairie View this Saturday:

"I do not think there will be anyone relaxing or overlooking the game this Saturday. I can assure you of that. This whole football team understands what is expected of them and that we have to play at a much higher level than we did."

"We still do not have any film so I am not exactly sure of the situation with their QB. I do not know if he played at all or a little bit yesterday. I have not heard yet. They did not move the ball very well offensively and I do not know what the reasons were because they have the QB back, a great running back, two offensive linemen, one of which is an All-American. They have seven returning starters on offense from a team that went 9-1 and was really good. The QB was the player of the year in their league. As you start looking at their seniors and juniors a lot of those guys are fifth year seniors and fourth year juniors so they are even older."

"When you start to look at the defensive they have seven returning starts as well and a All-American defensive end and a safety that was all-league that is back. They are an older and experienced football team."

On Running back Desmond Johnson:

"He had a really great camp. It was not unlike what he had done in the past but the difference this year was that he stayed consistent all the way through camp. There was no fall off or up and down days. He really played at a high level all the way through camp. Desmond as he gets more reps in the games is going to be a better and better player as we go. I am excited from what he has shown so hopefully we get a lot out of him."

On the play of QB Martevious Young:

"It was good to get him some live reps and get him back into the heat of the game again. I thought he did a nice job. Everyone knows he has a live arm and can throw the football. I thought he ran the team well."

On the Play of the Secondary:

"I thought our corners played better. Early on the pass interferences were just lack of experience and panicking. They were there and on the guy and had him covered and the balls were not even going to be catchable. Then all of a sudden they grabbed his jersey. That is just panicking and lack of experience. That happened twice early in the game but as they settled down I thought they were in pretty good position most of the night."

On the playoff safety Justin Wilson:

"He has got experience so that is the main thing. He has probably the most experience back there and is very comfortable with what we do. He is able to get the guys lined up and in the right coverage. It is critical for us that he is back there and able to stay back there throughout the entire game."

On the play of the offensive Line:

"For the most part they did a good job on protection. We had one sack on a throw away. I do not feel like the QB was really pressured hard the whole night so I thought they did a great job there. We have to do a better job in our run blocking and have to keep improving."

On playing at home this Saturday:

"We are looking forward to it. Our players love playing at home, especially with our crowd in this stadium. It is a lot of fun. We are looking forward to putting the dark jerseys on and getting after it."