10/23/2026 3:11:00 PM | Football
Coach Charles Kelly
Q: You talked about using the bye to become a better version of your football team. Reflect on the last couple of days of practice and how you guys have gone about that.
A: I think our guys have had a good week. Our focus has been to work on us to make sure we get better fundamentally from stance alignment where we put our eyes, technique, because that's what wins football games. It's not about schemes and all those kinds of things. It's being able to execute and do your job for basically six seconds at a time. That's where our focus has been, and that's what we've narrowed it down to. Do what we have to do to be able to play your best for six seconds, and then when that play is over, go to the next one. Played your best for six seconds. That's what we've done. But I like their attitude. I like the way they came out. The energy was good. Got good work in, and you know we got to work a lot of guys that you might not have seen in games so far, but when you go through a season like we have, there's going to be some of those guys that show up towards the end of the year. Only way you learn how to play this game is to play, and we got a lot of good work in.
Q: Your opponent this week, New Mexico State. You had a chance to watch them on Wednesday night on television. Give us your impressions of New Mexico State this season. Obviously, the run game's got to stand out to you.
A: Absolutely. Well, first of all, I've watched them a lot because it's worked out where I've been able to see them. And you know, Tony Sanchez and I are friends, and I got a lot of respect for him. And I mean, I say that every week. I think it says the respect that I have for the coaches in this league that do such a good job. But I have a lot of respect for him because he's built his team when he took over that program. There wasn't a lot left over there for him, and he just gradually built that team, and it fits his personality. The first thing that stands out. Well, two things that stand out to me is their running game. I mean, it'll be the best running attack that we played against. James (Jones) is the leading rusher in Conference USA, but you know all their backs are really good, and they got guys on the outside that can make plays on the perimeter. They do a good job on the offensive line of doing what they do best, and then defensively, as you watch them, they can run, they have a lot of movement. They're bringing guys from different places, and they're very sound in what they do.Â
Q: Sitting at five wins, you can get bowl eligibility. To get bowl eligibility and have that for four straight years, what does that mean about the consistency of this program?Â
A: I will say this: we have not focused and talked about bowl eligibility. We haven't. What we have talked about is consistency, and you're right there. The consistency is what we want to focus on. We want to be consistent as players. We want to be consistent as coaches. I say it, but I believe it. If you start worrying about, well, I've got to do this to get here and do this to get there. Now you got external factors coming out, and now you can't do your job. And we want to be able to eliminate that. So, but to your point, what you said is exactly right. Our focus has been on the consistency.
Q: Was this break really needed for you guys?
A: Yeah, I think so because everybody in here has been with us since we started. I mean, we started the last week of July. We played week zero, and we played some really good football teams. I mean, even the games we lost. When you look back, I mean, they have two losses between them, and they were very competitive games, and they're very physical games. Every game that we played in conference has been very competitive, very physical. I think we needed the break to be able to work on us more, and that's that's kind of where our focus was. And we needed to get some guys back healthy. Of course, we've lost a couple guys for the year, but you know, we've been banged up a lot of places. But, we feel like that has helped us throughout this off week.
Q: Their run game is it based off RPO, or is it more just sledgehammer?
A: They have some RPOs. They are an RPO team, but you know, they to me they run the duo play, all the basic run schemes that they have. What stands out to me about their backs is they are so patient. They're very patient, and that's a sign of a good back. I mean, they're very patient, and they find that crease. And I mean, it's like when you pour water on the floor, water is going to go to a crack. Well, a good running back, you're going to find the crease in that defense, and that's that's what they do such a good job of, but they do have RPO games off of it, and they have guys in the perimeter that can make you pay. So, you know, it makes you have to tweak some things coverage wise sometimes to be able to handle that.Â
Q: You haven't had many freshmen sit where you are in the time that you've been here. What stood out to you about Jameson (McCollough) in the time that you've gotten to know him and have him under your wing?
A: Well, that's probably an unfair question because I think I've known him since he was old enough to walk. I had opportunity to coach his father here, and he comes from a great family. Had an opportunity to recruit his brother when I was at Tennessee. First of all for him, he and Tank are two different young men. They're great young men, but he wants to make a legacy of his own. He's very smart. He's very instinctive. They hear me talk. He's got some alpha in him. You know, he knows how to bite, and you want that on defense. Doesn't say a whole lot, but when when it's time to go, he's ready to go. So that's but for his age, but I say this, and I believe this football being able to play football does not have an age limit. There's a maturity limit, so if you can be mature, no matter how old you are, it gives yourself a chance to play. And you know he's very mature, where he's at in his career, and you know he's one of those guys that's not going to get satisfied,
Q: So does it make you feel old that you're coaching one of your former players' kids?
A: I am old, but the older violin is the sweeter the music. I am old. I've actually had three guys that I've coached in the last five years, who I coach their father. Have one working for me right now, Kristian Story, I coached Clifford here, back years ago. So that's an honor to be honest with you. If a parent trusts you enough to let them coach their child. To me, that's something that you take a big responsibility to to do that. But as I told Jameson, I'm not recruiting him because of his mother and father. I appreciate the way they raised him, but we recruited him for him, and because he's a good football player, and he's going to get an opportunity just like everybody else. And I think the one thing our players will tell you that they're going to get treated the same; they're going to get the same opportunities, and we'll be very direct with them about where they stand.
Q: Have you been watching the Saban documentary on ESPN? I have not.
A: As you know, as good as anybody, I'm very OCD. I like if I start something, I want to finish it. So, when I watch Landman, I want to watch the whole thing. When I watch Marshalls, I want to watch the whole thing. When I watch the Saban documentary, I want to watch the whole thing. I was able to see some clips when I went to the premiere in Tuscaloosa the night it it was released, so I did get to see some clips, and you know people asked me they said, "Well, have you seen it?" I said, "I lived it." You know, I'm very thankful I lived it.
Q: The interior of the offensive line. Luke Mrochkovskiy's had a great year for you. Lance Johnson's been offensive lineman of the week. Now Ryan (Walker) has been offensive lineman of the week. Share how those three guys have helped make you guys successful.
A: We always believe that it always starts up front on the lines of scrimmage, both sides of the ball. You know, Ryan's another young man that when when we recruited him here, all I remember him asking was, "Am I going to get a fair shot?" That's all he had. I said, "Absolutely. If you're the best one, you'll play. If you're not, you won't. Just that direct, and didn't ask for anything else. Just am I going to get a fair opportunity? And all those guys, I think they have a good relationship. They're very close up front. Our numbers are better on the offensive line than they were a year ago. I think we've got like 23 offensive linemen on the roster. Got some banged up, but you know they they've worked hard. They've developed. When you see the linemen, they're always together. And I think Lance and Luke, because of their experience last year, have helped the newer guys and younger guys come on to understand it. It's not from an ability standpoint. It's teaching guys what it takes to compete at this level all the time, because you know the intensity that you have to play with, and you know, and I do believe your offensive line and your defensive line; they're kind of going to set your personality of your team. We always talk about the quarterbacks, but it always starts with those offensive linemen.
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OL Ryan Walker & LB Jameson McCollough
Q: What did you guys do well, or what clicked for you in that FIU game?
RW: Yeah, I personally think our game plan for that really like opened that up for us because we were just able to play open open football and just run off the ball, you know, stuff like that. So that definitely helped out, and we put in hard work, preparation, mentally, physically.
Q: Jameson, You rotated in a little bit, saw some time on special teams. Once you finally got into the mix, into that starting role, what was what were your thoughts? What were your feelings?
JM: I kind of felt like a joy of excitement. Like coming into college, like it was one of my goals, like my top goals, to be like rotating, like in the starting lineup. So like when I finally got that opportunity, it was like one of the best feelings for me.
Q: About the bye week, you guys have been playing so well. Did you want to just keep on playing, or was it a case of no? We need a little bit of a rest.
JM: I feel like we could have kept on playing, but it's more about like us recovering and preparing for the long run. Because right now we're not nowhere near to done as our goal. Like our goal is really to win the conference, be the best conference USA team, and like make a push for a playoff run.Â
RW: For sure, I think I think the bye week helped out. We I think we need a little bit of rest, but we're also focusing on like the little things, getting better with our detail, technique, all that stuff. I think that's just going to help us out in the long run.
Q: Jameson, your dad having played here, how did that play a big part in you making the decision to come here, or were you trying to get away from where dad had played?
JM: It helped out a little bit, like with Coach Kelly, like like he said, like when he coached my dad here, like recruiting my brother, like when he came and talked to me, like it was like it was it just felt right like it's like a backyard to me like a second home so like when I made the decision to come here like I knew it was right.
Q: Ryan, you transfered from North Alabama, what led you here to Jacksonville State?
RW: Whenever I hit the portal, um you know they, you know Coach Kelly and them. They reached out, and I got on my all like my official visit is my first official visit that I went on. Came here, met all the coaches, and like it was just, you know, we hit it off. It was great. So I was just like, I gotta come here. Â I don't have a choice. I have to.
Q: We talk a lot about New Mexico State's run game. What do you guys need to do, maybe on defense, to stop that?
JM: I feel like on defense, like we just need to do our job, like gap responsibility, like having our eyes on our keys, playing to like three count football, like our defensive coordinator says, and like building a wall. So I don't know, like if you've seen, but like their running back, like he's a he's a good back, great back. Like he will take the space if you give it to him. So I feel like if we build that wall and play our football, like we can hold them.
Q: The run game seem like it's gotten going recently. What do you guys attribute that to on the offensive line?
RW: You know, Coach Ross. I mean, he's got he's a great coach, and he we just trust his technique, and you know, trust the you know mindset that they want us to play with, and just open up, play ball. So I think that just helps out. They focus a lot on you know not having anxiety in games and stuff like that. And like I think it just helps everybody out. Like they don't care about mistakes going into games. Like they just want us to play like our brand of football.
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Q: You talked about using the bye to become a better version of your football team. Reflect on the last couple of days of practice and how you guys have gone about that.
A: I think our guys have had a good week. Our focus has been to work on us to make sure we get better fundamentally from stance alignment where we put our eyes, technique, because that's what wins football games. It's not about schemes and all those kinds of things. It's being able to execute and do your job for basically six seconds at a time. That's where our focus has been, and that's what we've narrowed it down to. Do what we have to do to be able to play your best for six seconds, and then when that play is over, go to the next one. Played your best for six seconds. That's what we've done. But I like their attitude. I like the way they came out. The energy was good. Got good work in, and you know we got to work a lot of guys that you might not have seen in games so far, but when you go through a season like we have, there's going to be some of those guys that show up towards the end of the year. Only way you learn how to play this game is to play, and we got a lot of good work in.
Q: Your opponent this week, New Mexico State. You had a chance to watch them on Wednesday night on television. Give us your impressions of New Mexico State this season. Obviously, the run game's got to stand out to you.
A: Absolutely. Well, first of all, I've watched them a lot because it's worked out where I've been able to see them. And you know, Tony Sanchez and I are friends, and I got a lot of respect for him. And I mean, I say that every week. I think it says the respect that I have for the coaches in this league that do such a good job. But I have a lot of respect for him because he's built his team when he took over that program. There wasn't a lot left over there for him, and he just gradually built that team, and it fits his personality. The first thing that stands out. Well, two things that stand out to me is their running game. I mean, it'll be the best running attack that we played against. James (Jones) is the leading rusher in Conference USA, but you know all their backs are really good, and they got guys on the outside that can make plays on the perimeter. They do a good job on the offensive line of doing what they do best, and then defensively, as you watch them, they can run, they have a lot of movement. They're bringing guys from different places, and they're very sound in what they do.Â
Q: Sitting at five wins, you can get bowl eligibility. To get bowl eligibility and have that for four straight years, what does that mean about the consistency of this program?Â
A: I will say this: we have not focused and talked about bowl eligibility. We haven't. What we have talked about is consistency, and you're right there. The consistency is what we want to focus on. We want to be consistent as players. We want to be consistent as coaches. I say it, but I believe it. If you start worrying about, well, I've got to do this to get here and do this to get there. Now you got external factors coming out, and now you can't do your job. And we want to be able to eliminate that. So, but to your point, what you said is exactly right. Our focus has been on the consistency.
Q: Was this break really needed for you guys?
A: Yeah, I think so because everybody in here has been with us since we started. I mean, we started the last week of July. We played week zero, and we played some really good football teams. I mean, even the games we lost. When you look back, I mean, they have two losses between them, and they were very competitive games, and they're very physical games. Every game that we played in conference has been very competitive, very physical. I think we needed the break to be able to work on us more, and that's that's kind of where our focus was. And we needed to get some guys back healthy. Of course, we've lost a couple guys for the year, but you know, we've been banged up a lot of places. But, we feel like that has helped us throughout this off week.
Q: Their run game is it based off RPO, or is it more just sledgehammer?
A: They have some RPOs. They are an RPO team, but you know, they to me they run the duo play, all the basic run schemes that they have. What stands out to me about their backs is they are so patient. They're very patient, and that's a sign of a good back. I mean, they're very patient, and they find that crease. And I mean, it's like when you pour water on the floor, water is going to go to a crack. Well, a good running back, you're going to find the crease in that defense, and that's that's what they do such a good job of, but they do have RPO games off of it, and they have guys in the perimeter that can make you pay. So, you know, it makes you have to tweak some things coverage wise sometimes to be able to handle that.Â
Q: You haven't had many freshmen sit where you are in the time that you've been here. What stood out to you about Jameson (McCollough) in the time that you've gotten to know him and have him under your wing?
A: Well, that's probably an unfair question because I think I've known him since he was old enough to walk. I had opportunity to coach his father here, and he comes from a great family. Had an opportunity to recruit his brother when I was at Tennessee. First of all for him, he and Tank are two different young men. They're great young men, but he wants to make a legacy of his own. He's very smart. He's very instinctive. They hear me talk. He's got some alpha in him. You know, he knows how to bite, and you want that on defense. Doesn't say a whole lot, but when when it's time to go, he's ready to go. So that's but for his age, but I say this, and I believe this football being able to play football does not have an age limit. There's a maturity limit, so if you can be mature, no matter how old you are, it gives yourself a chance to play. And you know he's very mature, where he's at in his career, and you know he's one of those guys that's not going to get satisfied,
Q: So does it make you feel old that you're coaching one of your former players' kids?
A: I am old, but the older violin is the sweeter the music. I am old. I've actually had three guys that I've coached in the last five years, who I coach their father. Have one working for me right now, Kristian Story, I coached Clifford here, back years ago. So that's an honor to be honest with you. If a parent trusts you enough to let them coach their child. To me, that's something that you take a big responsibility to to do that. But as I told Jameson, I'm not recruiting him because of his mother and father. I appreciate the way they raised him, but we recruited him for him, and because he's a good football player, and he's going to get an opportunity just like everybody else. And I think the one thing our players will tell you that they're going to get treated the same; they're going to get the same opportunities, and we'll be very direct with them about where they stand.
Q: Have you been watching the Saban documentary on ESPN? I have not.
A: As you know, as good as anybody, I'm very OCD. I like if I start something, I want to finish it. So, when I watch Landman, I want to watch the whole thing. When I watch Marshalls, I want to watch the whole thing. When I watch the Saban documentary, I want to watch the whole thing. I was able to see some clips when I went to the premiere in Tuscaloosa the night it it was released, so I did get to see some clips, and you know people asked me they said, "Well, have you seen it?" I said, "I lived it." You know, I'm very thankful I lived it.
Q: The interior of the offensive line. Luke Mrochkovskiy's had a great year for you. Lance Johnson's been offensive lineman of the week. Now Ryan (Walker) has been offensive lineman of the week. Share how those three guys have helped make you guys successful.
A: We always believe that it always starts up front on the lines of scrimmage, both sides of the ball. You know, Ryan's another young man that when when we recruited him here, all I remember him asking was, "Am I going to get a fair shot?" That's all he had. I said, "Absolutely. If you're the best one, you'll play. If you're not, you won't. Just that direct, and didn't ask for anything else. Just am I going to get a fair opportunity? And all those guys, I think they have a good relationship. They're very close up front. Our numbers are better on the offensive line than they were a year ago. I think we've got like 23 offensive linemen on the roster. Got some banged up, but you know they they've worked hard. They've developed. When you see the linemen, they're always together. And I think Lance and Luke, because of their experience last year, have helped the newer guys and younger guys come on to understand it. It's not from an ability standpoint. It's teaching guys what it takes to compete at this level all the time, because you know the intensity that you have to play with, and you know, and I do believe your offensive line and your defensive line; they're kind of going to set your personality of your team. We always talk about the quarterbacks, but it always starts with those offensive linemen.
Â
OL Ryan Walker & LB Jameson McCollough
Q: What did you guys do well, or what clicked for you in that FIU game?
RW: Yeah, I personally think our game plan for that really like opened that up for us because we were just able to play open open football and just run off the ball, you know, stuff like that. So that definitely helped out, and we put in hard work, preparation, mentally, physically.
Q: Jameson, You rotated in a little bit, saw some time on special teams. Once you finally got into the mix, into that starting role, what was what were your thoughts? What were your feelings?
JM: I kind of felt like a joy of excitement. Like coming into college, like it was one of my goals, like my top goals, to be like rotating, like in the starting lineup. So like when I finally got that opportunity, it was like one of the best feelings for me.
Q: About the bye week, you guys have been playing so well. Did you want to just keep on playing, or was it a case of no? We need a little bit of a rest.
JM: I feel like we could have kept on playing, but it's more about like us recovering and preparing for the long run. Because right now we're not nowhere near to done as our goal. Like our goal is really to win the conference, be the best conference USA team, and like make a push for a playoff run.Â
RW: For sure, I think I think the bye week helped out. We I think we need a little bit of rest, but we're also focusing on like the little things, getting better with our detail, technique, all that stuff. I think that's just going to help us out in the long run.
Q: Jameson, your dad having played here, how did that play a big part in you making the decision to come here, or were you trying to get away from where dad had played?
JM: It helped out a little bit, like with Coach Kelly, like like he said, like when he coached my dad here, like recruiting my brother, like when he came and talked to me, like it was like it was it just felt right like it's like a backyard to me like a second home so like when I made the decision to come here like I knew it was right.
Q: Ryan, you transfered from North Alabama, what led you here to Jacksonville State?
RW: Whenever I hit the portal, um you know they, you know Coach Kelly and them. They reached out, and I got on my all like my official visit is my first official visit that I went on. Came here, met all the coaches, and like it was just, you know, we hit it off. It was great. So I was just like, I gotta come here. Â I don't have a choice. I have to.
Q: We talk a lot about New Mexico State's run game. What do you guys need to do, maybe on defense, to stop that?
JM: I feel like on defense, like we just need to do our job, like gap responsibility, like having our eyes on our keys, playing to like three count football, like our defensive coordinator says, and like building a wall. So I don't know, like if you've seen, but like their running back, like he's a he's a good back, great back. Like he will take the space if you give it to him. So I feel like if we build that wall and play our football, like we can hold them.
Q: The run game seem like it's gotten going recently. What do you guys attribute that to on the offensive line?
RW: You know, Coach Ross. I mean, he's got he's a great coach, and he we just trust his technique, and you know, trust the you know mindset that they want us to play with, and just open up, play ball. So I think that just helps out. They focus a lot on you know not having anxiety in games and stuff like that. And like I think it just helps everybody out. Like they don't care about mistakes going into games. Like they just want us to play like our brand of football.
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Players Mentioned
Friday, October 23
Wednesday, October 14
Friday, October 09
Friday, October 02
