Jacksonville State Football
Weekly Press Conference
November 5, 2024 – LA Tech Week
Head Coach Rich Rodriguez
On the Midweek Success and Playing on Saturday:
I think it's different for guys that haven't gone through it before. I think we had a handful guys that hadn't, but most of our team had, and I thought they handled it really well. It's not a real complicated formula. If Wednesday is your Saturday then Saturday iss your Tuesday, and you have to make sure your guys are getting the rest and preparing accordingly. But it is kind of nice to go back to a regular type of schedule where Saturday is your game day. I think the players would tell you that, but we handled it well and now we have put ourselves in a position where the more you win, the more is at stake. We have a lot at stake this weekend, and in the game's coming up.
On LA Tech's Defense:
They've got a new coordinator. They're playing really hard. They're tackling well. They're in position. Nobody's really moved the ball consistently on them all year, North Carolina State. So, it's going to be a challenge. It's a different scheme than what we've seen in the last couple weeks, so we got to prepare well for that as well.
On the Position the Team is in Now:
How we practice the process well, how we go about doing our stuff. It didn't really change. I think we played better, obviously, but I think the key part was that we stuck to what we were doing, how we were doing it. We just needed to correct some mistakes that we were doing in the games and the guys hung in. We played hard. That was the thing, that even when we weren't playing well early, we were still playing hard, which was good. We just had to play hard and play better, if that makes sense. And so obviously, we're doing that now.
On the Success of the Run Game:
I think we're committed to it. I think that's one thing about it. But also, we're going to involve our quarterback in the run game, which some people do, some people don't, some do to some degree, we do it to a little bit more degree, I think, from that standpoint, obviously we know the importance of playing well up front, with our O-Line, that's a good consistent basis, and Coach (Rick) Trickett plays a big part, and Coach (Derek) Dressler and our offensive line guys do a consistent part with that. But you have to be committed to it. Sometimes you're gonna get outnumber, and they can outnumber you and put everybody in the box and force you to throw it. So, you have to be able to throw it at times. And that's the thing that I feel good about, that we have the quarterbacks and the skill guys, that if they're going to outnumber us and load the box up, we can throw it. And then that's a big part of being able to come run consistently, that they can't just play cover zero, because you got a chance to get some big plays, and the next couple teams will probably challenge us with that, load the box up, see if your quarterback can pitch and catch.
First thing I want to say is, thank you to God for even blessing me with the abilities to even be in a position It just means a lot being that this is just my second year here, being able to help my team win, and put ourselves in a position to win a conference championship.
On Turning the Season Around:
We had to calm down as a team. Everybody just had to take a deep breath, start from square one. where's the where the issues? It was a lot of details. If you were lacking in practice, coaches were gonna get on you. We had to be reminded of the standard, I think was the biggest key.
Tyler Huff, Sr., QB
On His Competitiveness:
I just always loved playing ball. They plan to being a quarter athlete. You got to earn the respect of your teammates. And I think that, you know, playing hard and not being, you know, the kind of got to slide or, you know, I think that just earns a lot of respect for any teammates. And I think people want to, you know, rally, they'll follow somebody like that. So I think that's, that's always been my mindset. Questions
On Learning the Offense:
I'm in the meetings a lot with the coaches. I sit in there with the offensive staff whenever they meet, just so I understand what they're thinking, what they're expecting of me and the entire offense. I can relay that to all the other teammates. I've played for a long time, everybody runs the same exact plays, just what do you call it? I knew how to do everything, it was just getting in and seeing how Coach Rich Rod wants it done, and Coach (Rod) Smith
