JSU GAME NOTES (.pdf)

Opening Comments:
"Saturday's win was a great one for our program and to get a win at Eastern Kentucky was great.  I think it was the first time we have won up there since 2006.  It was a good road win for us and they have a great football team.  They are very deserving of being in the playoffs.  For us to go on the road and play that kind of team and to play as well as we played, I just feel good about that win and I look forward to getting back home and playing another tough opponent at home.  I am glad we don't have to go back up there this year.  We have a chance to hopefully wrap up the conference championship this week with a win, so we have a lot to play for.  Our guys know that we have a lot to play for every week.  Every game gets bigger and the longer you play, the game has more at-stake for you.  Our guys don't look at it that way, they just go out and prepare like it is any week."
 
On Eastern Illinois:
"They are a very physical football team and they are a great football team.  I think they are the best team we have faced outside of Michigan State.  They are that good defensively and balanced offensively.  The quarterback can make throws and can run with the ball.  They have good players everywhere.  I think they have had a tough road with the early part of the schedule with Minnesota and Ohio.  Coming off last year and the run that they had, losing some of the folks off last years team and with a new coaching staff, this team could have folded early, but I tip my hat to the coaching staff for holding it all together.  They know how to play at a championship level after winning the championship the last two years.  When you watch them on tape, they look like a team playing for their life – and they are.  They know if they lose a game, they are out and not getting in the playoffs.  They are backed in a corner and playing like it.  They play with a lot of energy and a sense of urgency.  They are a really good football team.  There is not much of a difference between EKU, EIU and Jacksonville State.  I think we are the three best teams in the league and if you put the three in another conference, they would win a lot of conference championships.  That is how much I respect EKU and EIU."    
 
On Kyle Pope:
"He is a senior linebacker that plays on special teams for us and does anything that we ask of him.  He is a great student and handles everything well on and off the field.  He is a team guy and has had a great senior year to this point and we look for a lot of good things from here as we go forward."
 
On Folo Johnson:
"He was a special teams guru last year and he played on all special teams last year and in some situations at safety.  He has started at safety this year and still plays on special teams as well.  He has done a consistent job for us at safety and I think he had 12-plus tackles on Saturday and he made a lot of open field tackles and around the ball a lot."
 
On Darius Stevens:
"He is our utility guy and does anything he has to do.  In his career, he has played anywhere from fullback, tight end and now has settled in tight end.  He has done a great job blocking for us and also catching the ball.  He is a physical guy and plays the game the way we like to play it and that is physical.  He had one of his better games on Saturday.  He does great in the classroom and represents our program the right way."

 
 
Kyle Poke
R-Jr., Linebacker
On being physical:
"We go in to every practice wanting to be more physical.  When you have an offense and defense that strives to be physical every day, it makes the competition better and you are competing every day."
 
Folo Johnson
R-Jr., Safety
On being physical:
"I feel like being the most physical team on the field will help us win the game every time.  When you are more physical than your opponent, it is easier to run the ball and defend your opponent.  Being physical is really important to us." 
 
On his consecutive starts:
"It is a little bit of luck.  I think it is the testament of our off-season program and our sports medicine staff making and keeping me strong.  I came in at the right time when I had an opportunity to play as a freshman and have had a successful career."
 
Darius Stevens
Sr., Tight End
On being physical:
"We feel like that if we dominate the line of scrimmage every game, we have a great chance to win the game.  We take a lot of pride in dominating the line of scrimmage."