SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE KICKOFF CELEBRATION
PLANO, Texas

Quotes from Southland Conference head football coaches, previewing the upcoming 2002 season. Quotes were obtained at the 2002 Southland Conference Kickoff Celebration.


JACK CROWE, Jacksonville State
"I see us being as good an offensive team as we were last year. I don't expect any drop-off. I do think we could be better and need to be
better.

"Obviously, our strong points are Reggie Stancil and Rondy Rogers. Reggie will be a senior this year and has a good grasp of our offense. Rondy rushed for more than 1,400 yards last season and he is one of the best running backs that I've ever coached, and that list includes Bo Jackson (Auburn) and Terry Allen (Clemson).

"Our weakness is our defense. There's not a kind way to describe it, except awful. We've been last in every defensive category. That makes the whole thing about how good we're going to play on defense. We gave up 4.8 yards per rush last year. That means, all you've got to do is run
it and you can score at will. I think we've got better players than that and its just a matter of getting focused. I expect it to be a whole
lot better, but until we play, I'll just have to wait and see.

RON RANDLEMAN
SAM HOUSTON STATE
"We lost perhaps the best group of seniors we've ever had at Sam Houston State. Certainly, they were the most successful senior class we've had
at the NCAA I-AA level. They left some mighty big shoes to fill.

"On the plus side, however, we have some very good young players coming back. We're a strong, physical team that has set a lot of school records
in the weight room. With just five starters back on offense and five on defense, its going to take all the practice opportunities we have to get
ready. We're going to have to grow a lot as a team during the early portion of the schedule. But every new season brings new challenges.

"Our biggest question mark is the quarterback position. We do not return a quarterback who has taken a snap in a Sam Houston State game. Mario
Kinsey, a transfer from Kansas, who was our number one quarterback after spring drills, has opted to play basketball instead. Travis Tobaben is a returning redshirt sophomore and we have two transfers - Luke Huard from North Carolina and Vance Smith from Texas A&M - who also will compete
for the job. Both are big 6-4 kids with good arms, but they have a lot of work to do.

SCOTT STOKER, NORTHWESTERN STATE
"I came to this event as a player (in 1989 as a senior quarterback for the Demons) and coming back as head coach is an entirely different
experience. It's just as exciting. I haven't really had the time to feel a big surge of emotion about being coach at my alma mater, because it's been a whirlwind getting everything in place. There's been no shortage of excitement and I guess it will peak when we hit the field in Turpin Stadium for the opener on Aug. 29.

"Any time there's a staff change the magnitude of what we went through, you're going to have growing pains. Transition is not an overnight
process. Faces change overnight but mindsets and habits, and teaching, takes time. The key for us is to handle the growing pains and not panic,
to have faith in ourselves and keep our poise, and we'll be fine.

BOB DeBESSE
SOUTHWEST TEXAS
"I'd like to be a little more settled than we are on both sides of the ball, but the injuries we suffered over the second half of last season
really took a toll. Nearly a half dozen of those players hurt last year suffered career-ending injuries.

"We are a work in progress and will be throughout two-a-days in August and into the early part of the season in Sept. Our offense must develop
a mentality of not looking where they are, but rather where they are going.
"Greg Pitts will be a four-year starter and has a chance to be one of the all-time great defensive players in Southwest Texas history. He is a
two-year captain, which speaks to the respect given him by his teammates. He is the anchor of our defensive unit which has a chance to
be solid.

TOMMY TATE, McNeese State
"We are going to have a lot of national attention this year - good or bad - because of our schedule. There will be a big spotlight on our
game with Grambling State, both locally and nationally and then we travel to Youngstown State. We then play Louisiana-Monroe which will be our first game against a team coached by former McNeese coach Bobby Keasler, then we have Western Kentucky at home and play at Nebraska.

"Then we start our conference schedule and there is a lot of parity in the league. This is a very talented league with a lot of great players."

DARYLE DAYE, Nicholls State
"It's the same thing every year in the Southland Conference.You're going to play every week.(Southland teams) are very well coached teams and
they're quality football teams."

"(Quarterback) Josh Son was part of our first recruiting class. Our first two signing classes that have been on the field have produced back-to-back freshmen of the year in the conference. Last year Josh Son was a freshman and we were staring down the toughest schedule in the country.six ranked opponents and three 1-A opponents. We're starting to get some depth for the first time and it's been a process. You don't lose 54 kids in one year and expect to recoup that with a quick fix. We understood coming in that we were on a five-year plan. We didn't go for the quick fix. We've gotten one side of it accomplished with the academic progress, taking

MIKE SANTIAGO, Stephen F. Austin

"The conference this year is just amazing. Who do you vote for to win the thing in the preseason polls. Overall, it is a very balanced race. Only
Jacksonville State returns a senior quarterback, and for that reason alone I voted them as the preseason favorite. Nicholls State will be a
much improved team and return a veteran quarterback in Josh Son, but other than that you have SFA, Sam Houston, Northwestern State and
McNeese State all entering the season with unproven people under center.


HAL MUMME, Southeastern Louisiana University

"It's sort of a rebirth for both Southeastern and myself. I feel pretty fortunate to be given this opportunity. I think it's a great privilege to be able to start a program basically from scratch. It's such a rare opportunity. To be part of this is really neat and one that coaches don't get a chance to do very often, so I'm really excited.

"We've got one football, one helmet and one coach so we've got a lot of work ahead of us. Our facilities are in place, some work needs to be
done but we're not starting from scratch in that regard. We don't have any players yet but we're working on that. We've spoken to roughly 300
athletes who are planning on walking on in the fall and coming to try out. We'll obviously knock that number down through grade checks and so
forth but then we'll go through some work in the weight room and some drills and try to have a sort of mini-camp this fall. That'll help us
find out what we've got and in what directions our recruiting will have to focus. I don't look at the whole picture as a challenge but as a
series of small hurdles which we have to overcome daily. It's an exciting time for Southeastern, Hammond and the Northshore region and
I'm just happy to be a part of it.