Jacksonville State Head Coach Rich Rodriguez
October 20, 2023 – FIU Week
 
Opening Comments:
"I guess this is the last week of our midweek games. It's been an interesting thing to deal with and I think our guys have handled it well. I didn't realize that us and Sam Houston are the only two Conference USA teams that did not have a bye anywhere in the five-week stretch. I think they got the newbies, right. All the two new ones got the short sticks on that deal, but our guys have handled it well. We got one more with, with FIU coming up next Wednesday and then we get a kind of a normal schedule for the last few games. Obviously it was a good win and proud of the way the guys hung in there. There's a lot of areas that we need to play better at certainly and, things that we have got to work on in practice. We're pretty good football team and I really like the way the guys hung in there and pulled out the win."
 
On P.J. Wells:
"We thought coming in, he was one of our experienced guys, but also one of our best wide outs that we got with great size and he's got great leaping abilities. I think he might still have our vertical jump record in the weight room. He was back 100% and we thought he would have an opportunity to make a few plays and he did that, which is really good to see because PJ is you a hard worker and football is important to him. He does everything the way he want to and he played like the PJ, we thought he would have when he's healthy and he was healthy, so it was good."
 
On finishing games:
"I've been doing this long enough, I've been on both ends of it, you hope that maybe at the end your guys are in good shape and so they still have all their energy. There's, there's some fortune involved in that too, but I think a lot of it is for our guys is that there's always a belief that hey, we're going to be ok, we can pull it out. There's also been guys making plays at the end or it's like a turnover. Sometimes you create a turnover and sometimes you got lucky with a turnover and we've created some turnovers to help us win along with having some fortune. Like we said, must watch TV, right? You know, Jax State football - Tuesday, Wednesdays or The Bachelor. Let's go with Jax State"
 
On Pat McAfee sending out posts on Social Media:
"He sent out another one this week. He's obviously one of my guys but, I think he's having a lot of fun with it too. Hell, maybe he's winning some money too on it. He does a great job, and we talk pretty regularly. I haven't heard from him in the last week or so. He has done quite well for himself; I respect what he's doing because I know how hard he works. He doesn't just come out with stuff, he informs himself."
 
On Playing fast:
"That's not fast enough. We were a little slower in this past game than probably we needed to, we did get 90-plus plays, which was good. We did get the benchmark of 25 first downs which is something we try to get. I don't actively look at it, but that's an important stat. When you're running that many plays, you're controlling the ball a little bit and it also keeps your defense off the field. We'll continue to get faster. That's a big part of who we are."

On FIU:
"FIU is really athletic. I know Mike MacIntyre, we have competed against each other when we were in the Pac-12. He's an outstanding coach, grew up a son of a coach. I think they've gone down there to an area where there's a whole lot of really good football players in Dade and Broward County and they were getting some of them. They have got the people behind them and he's doing all the right things. They got a big win there at Sam Houston and they're playing with a lot of enthusiasm. Mike's (MacIntyre) done a great job down there."
 

P.J. Wells, WR, R-Jr.
 
Opening Comments:
"I broke my leg late this summer and I was just waiting to get back on the field, do extra stuff to get back on the field and be able to help my team. I felt good this week. I felt like I could run around and play to the standard of Coach Rich Rod. I was in some spots where I could make some plays and help my team out and I was able to do that."
 
On getting healthy:
"It was definitely tough to seeing my teammates be able to play and run around and do the thing that we love. I was trying to trust the process and just not get too high and not get too low and just staying active and, and doing everything I could do to get better day-by-day."
 
On FIU:
"They're a physical team, they're a pretty athletic team. I know they have a lot of good athletes. This week we're just going to play our game, we're going to do what we do best and hopefully you get a get win next week."
 
Kekoura Tarnue, CB, Jr.
 
Opening Comments:
"When you look at the guys who perform each and every week, it's basically what we're doing at practice and like every, every single guy in the room can play. Overall, us playing well is kind of like competing every single practice and not worry about who's going start game or, or who going to have more reps and stuff like that."
 
On getting turnovers:
"This is all about preparation and knowing what you're going to get or, or basically what, the quarterback' favorite look first read. In JUCO, I put myself in situations by watching film a lot. I felt like I have put myself in the same seat this year, even though it's a, whole different situation. It's a whole different spot just being able to watch a lot of film. Sometimes I go back to last year's film on team to see if they still have the same tendency and stuff. I've been having success on what I've been doing and also just following the defensive game plan coach Alley puts us in to succeed with."
 
On playing multiple positions:
"It's pretty difficult, especially playing for Coach Alley with his defense. It's a lot that you need to learn. There's a lot of checks and a lot of plays. The way they teach it on a day-to-day basis makes it super easy and we go through a lot of walkthroughs, a lot of film study and they're going to show you how to do it and they're going to show you how it was done in the past."