Jacksonville State Football
Weekly Press Conference
November 19, 2024 – Sam Houston Week
Head Coach Rich Rodriguez
On what is at stake over the next two weeks
"Early in the week, which is today and Sunday, we remind the guys that they put themselves in a position now where you've got a chance to compete for a conference championship. So now here we are, if we win this game, we have a chance to play for the conference championship, and then I'll mention it again on Friday, and that'll be it. I want their thoughts more on the process than a potential outcome. I'm proud of the way they've worked in the last couple of games have been kind of crazy, but they've come a long way since the start that we had and we're very fortunate to have the opportunities that we have in front of us."
On having senior day with 24 seniors
"It's the most unique situation with a senior class that I probably had, and I think probably most coaches would tell you that from this day and age of the transfer portal, you have your seniors, now you have some that are four- year guys, five year guys, maybe a six year guy, and then a guy that was maybe a one year guy, that's a transfer guy or two year guy, so there's a whole mix, different kind of mixture of it. I'm proud that all of them have that we have, even the guys that have only been here four or five months, have bought into our culture, have contributed and I think helped leave their mark here. Moving up to Division I and to be able to make a bowl game and two bowl games in a row, so I'm really proud of them and it's a big class. There's a lot of hard shoes to fill, but I hope we'll get a great crowd to honor our seniors and thank them for their contributions."
On being on national television the last two regular season games
"I did notice this was the eighth one, which is the most on national television for the program. That's probably most, if not more than a lot of schools in power fives. We use that recruiting. We say, listen, you're going to get a lot of exposure if you come to Jax State because our conference has their TV deal our guys are having some success. It's kind of neat that that those eight games, and it's not just exposure for our program, it's exposure for the school. Whether when you win or not, you still getting a lot of positive exposure for the school, so I think it's been a big, big boom for all of us."
On Sam Houston's defense
"One of the best in the league, very, very athletic. They have probably played more guys up front than anybody on our schedule - rotate seven, eight guys in on the defensive line and are all very athletic. One of the most athletic teams, probably the most athletic defense that we have seen, including some of those teams early in the year that were really good. It's a big challenge and of you want to look at some of their games they've won some tight ball games and their defense has kind of pulled some of that out."
On Sam Houston's offense
"They were playing really well early, scored a lot of points and then the quarterback got hurt. and They got him back last week, so they will get some of that rhythm back, but they've got talented guys. They have had a great season and they've got a lot at stake and we're going to get their best effort."
Sean Brown, R-Sr., TE
On being a senior at Jax State
"The main thing is I'm just grateful to have the opportunity to come here. It's kind of like what Coach Rich Rod was talking about with the transfer portal. I was lucky enough to be able to find a home here, and like I said, I've been grateful for the past. I'm going into my fourth year here, but third year with Coach Rich Rod. I just couldn't be any happier."
On Saturday's game with Sam Houston
"After the first three games of the year, I'm pretty sure there's a lot of people that probably wrote us off. But, in a way we all kind of came together and we turned it around right at the right point when conference started and those conference games matter a lot. Being on a seven-game winning streak with, two conference games left, I think it gives us a little bit more of a confidence knowing that we can make it to that level and just showing what we've done for the past seven weeks."
On his TD against FIU
"It was a little two-high safety look. We've had that play in for a few weeks now and it finally opened up to where Huff hit me over the middle."
