Jax State Football Press Conference 2026--Georgia Southern
9/15/2026 4:56:00 PM | Football
Coach Charles Kelly
Q: As you and your staff broke down the film, what were some of the big takeaways for you guys?
A: I was really proud of the effort of our players. Our players played extremely hard. The only time we trailed in the game was at the end of the eighth quarter, and that's very frustrating. We're not happy with the results, but I'm happy with the way they prepared. It was a tough place to travel to. There were a lot of things that they had to deal with that they had no control over, but they didn't let it bother them. They just played. There wasn't one play in the game that lost that game. We had 12, 15 chances to put that game away. Everybody wants to talk about a two-point play or a kick it doesn't matter-- there were plenty of chances to put that game away and there were some unfortunate things that happened to us during the game that we got to be able to handle better. I think one of the things that we got to fix and we've worked on it, but we haven't done it yet. Is we got to fix two minutes before the half because the way I look at it is a minute 46 seconds in the North Dakota State game and 57 seconds in the end of this half that had an effect on the on the football game and we're aware of that, but we've got to make sure that we do the things that we have to do to to get that fixed. Like I told the players, I told the coaches, sometimes you go out there, you lay your guts on the line, which our players did. They laid their guts out there, and you got a choice. You got to pick up, and you're gonna have to lay them out there again and again and again. You got to do that. No matter if we win, you got 24 hours to deal with it. Everybody processes it different. I'm sure they don't enjoy people talking to them. But after 24 hours, you can't mope. You gotta move on. So we got a big game this week. Very good team coming in. We're really excited about it. Our our fans were unbelievable at the Eastern Kentucky game, and they had a huge crowd down there at Georgia Southern when we played last year. And I'm looking forward to seeing our fans, our alumni, our band making it a true home field advantage. We're excited about being back home.
Q: Impressions of Georgia Southern.
A: I got a ton of respect for Clay Helton. We've known each other. I don't know since 1990. Have a ton of respect for him, his family, his father, his brother Tyson of course, coaches at Western Kentucky. We coached against each other in the past, and he does a an incredible job of getting his team ready. You know he's an old OC/quarterback coach. I think he does a really good job. You can see his fingerprints all over them offensively. In fact, in my mind, he's one of the better quarterback guys that college football's seen. You look at the guys that he's put in the league, and they they do a really good job offensively of finding the explosive plays that hurt you in the past, and they'll game plan those plays. I think he does a fabulous job of that. So we got to make sure we're on top of things that have hurt us in the past that we get it fixed. That's one of the things with coaching, and he made some really good hires. I mean, they are so much improved defensively. What they do defensively, I'm thoroughly impressed with their defensive coordinator. What he's been able to do in a short time there. They got good players. They got guys up front. They got guys that can cover, and very sound in the kicking game, so it'll be a challenge. But that's what we do every week. We want to be able to play the best. You know, right now I would say they're probably the best team in the Sun Belt. You know they're playing the best anyway. They've got a they've got a really good football team.
Q: Since you've been here, it seems like you guys been really good at moving on. Is there anything you do or or you coaches do?
A: We try to focus on getting better every time we go back out to the practice field. And I know it sounds redundant, but it's the truth. You have to you have to embrace. We say embrace the grind, but embrace the process of getting better, and it's not about results, good or bad. I mean, you get good results, you can't. Then you get an illusion that you're better than you are, and then when you don't have success, you can get the illusion of you're not as good as you thought you were, but that has nothing to do with it. It's about making sure you know that we get better at what we got to improve on. We know what we got to improve on, and that's our job as coaches to make sure we do that because we're going to practice the same way today that we practiced last Tuesday. And again, I thought their preparation was great. I think Caden would agree with you. All three phases, the preparation was good. I don't think it was preparation errors. I just think we got to get more in tune to details. And you know, we created a snowball. I wanted to create momentum coming out in the first two minutes of the game. We did that. We had four plays in the game, four offensive drives that were 11 play drives. They did that. We created that momentum, but we got to learn how to keep that momentum going because once it stops, it's hard to get that going, and those are the things. But you know, again, to your question, we're going to practice the way we practice, and whether we win or lose, we you know our job is to get better every week.
Q: Â Are there one or two things you need to see from this team before you come into conference play?
A: I haven't really focused on who's conference and non-conference. Really, we just take it game by game. But I do think the as you move on and improve, you've got to see improvement in every area, and what I want to make sure is that we're very sound schematically in all three phases, because I do believe this. I mean, I don't care what position it is on the field; it can be the quarterback, it can be a DB, it can be a D-lineman. It can be a kicker. Everybody has to be coached. When there's a mistake made, you got to fix that mistake. You got to correct it. If there's a scheme, schematic thing in any phase, you got to correct it. You can't do the same thing expect a different result. So what I wanted to be able to do is clean up those things and show continuous improvement for anybody that we play. I felt like we improved from the first week to the second. I felt like we improved this week. We just we were short on some things that we needed to do, but we got to continue to do that even when we get in our conference schedule.
Q: It's pretty obvious that Caden feels more comfortable in the pocket this season. What are you seeing as far as improvement?
A: Really the only thing that me personally that I talk to Caden about is just processing information, making sure you trust your eyes, because he's got talent. He can throw the football. He's got good feel. He has learned at his size to be able to find lanes to throw in. I mean, Drew Brees had to do that. He's not 6-5, so you got to be able to. But it's all about processing information, and all defenses have a stress point, and it's our job to find the stress point and take what they give. Somebody asked me, I think last night on the radio show or after the radio show, what would you like to be rushing? Well, you got to take what they give you. Yeah, I'd like to be exactly balanced, if at all possible, rushing yards to passing yards. That's what you shoot for. But if they're going to give you certain things, you got to be able to take it. I think the thing that Caden's really improved on is that now he doesn't think that he has to win the game. He just has to do his job. It's everybody's job to win the game, and I think he's done a really good job of that.
Â
QB Caden CreelÂ
Q: It's been about a calendar year since you've stepped into the starting quarterback role. Kind of reflect on the progress.Â
A: I think just watching the film and the way that I handled myself is a lot better than what it was. Obviously, the first game that I went in there, just having that little bit of experience has kind of helped me be a better leader and honestly just make better decisions on the field with what I do with the ball or how I protect my body or you know just moving the ball forward. And you know that's the goal of this thing when you're playing quarterback is to just keep moving the ball forward. And so I look forward to continuing to grow throughout this season and over the next few games.
Q: What is it that you guys do to be able to handle like a disappointing loss like that, or even an exciting win? You guys seem to have been good about that over the past couple of years.Â
A: I think when you have those disappointing losses, certainly don't want those as a team. But I was been telling people sometimes that can be a good thing. It can be a wake up call, or maybe it's just I'd rather it happen now than it happened later when we're fighting for a championship in conference play or whatever it is. You want to learn and grow from these things now, rather than later. Do we want to lose? Absolutely not. But the way that we do it is, we spend 24 hours on it, like Coach said. We watch the film and we study, and we just try to get better each week. That way, we don't face the same mistakes that we made before.
Q: Coach touched on it a bit. What do the fans mean to you and the team with the environment that they that they create?
A: I think it's a big deal for us. Anytime we go out there on that field and we see the student section all packed out; we have probably the best band in the country. We hear them play every home game, and they really do make a difference. So we'd love to have as many people out there as possible. It means the world to us, and you know I hope to see everybody out there this weekend.
Q: For somebody that's never seen you play before, who's the player comparison for Caden Creel, or who do you look up to and try and model your game after?
A: There's a lot of guys. Obviously, you can kind of think about some more athletic guys that have done it before. But really, over the summer, I did study a lot of Drew Brees film, some shorter quarterbacks, which has really honestly helped me a lot this season. Just being able to like learn those windows that Coach was talking about, and I think it's reflected in what I've been able to put on tape so far. These first few games is just learning how to play with that feel and that timing and anticipation in those windows. Because when you're a shorter guy like me, I mean, you can't miss those. So, just certain guys like Drew Brees in the passing game, he's so accurate, and you know, Drew Brees made a living off of just hitting the check down and taking what the defense gave them as well, so that as well. And then always like to watch the Lamar (Jackson) and the Michael Vick and things like that, just because that's a part of my game. Â I'm not going to change who I am, but I can certainly try to grow in the passing game and the run game. So,
Q: We've talked about how you seem more comfortable passing the ball this year, but 29 times you run a game-that's a lot. So what improvements or what evolution have you seen in your ability to run the ball this season?Â
A: Honestly, just like Coach was saying, I don't have to win the game on every play or every time I touch the ball, and that's kind of helped me, not only in the run game but in the pass game as well. Just trying to go forward, keep the chains moving. If we get two to three yards on first down, that's not a bad thing. I don't have to go score a touchdown every play, and so in the run game, it's like last year. If you look at a lot of my numbers, there's a lot more negative plays, and you know I make those spectacular plays or whatever you want to call it, but there were a lot of negative plays, and that's the thing that I'm trying to stay away from this year. Is more so just you know make the spectacular play when you need to, but when you don't, just go forward and play within the system that Coach Housewright's given me.
Q: As you and your staff broke down the film, what were some of the big takeaways for you guys?
A: I was really proud of the effort of our players. Our players played extremely hard. The only time we trailed in the game was at the end of the eighth quarter, and that's very frustrating. We're not happy with the results, but I'm happy with the way they prepared. It was a tough place to travel to. There were a lot of things that they had to deal with that they had no control over, but they didn't let it bother them. They just played. There wasn't one play in the game that lost that game. We had 12, 15 chances to put that game away. Everybody wants to talk about a two-point play or a kick it doesn't matter-- there were plenty of chances to put that game away and there were some unfortunate things that happened to us during the game that we got to be able to handle better. I think one of the things that we got to fix and we've worked on it, but we haven't done it yet. Is we got to fix two minutes before the half because the way I look at it is a minute 46 seconds in the North Dakota State game and 57 seconds in the end of this half that had an effect on the on the football game and we're aware of that, but we've got to make sure that we do the things that we have to do to to get that fixed. Like I told the players, I told the coaches, sometimes you go out there, you lay your guts on the line, which our players did. They laid their guts out there, and you got a choice. You got to pick up, and you're gonna have to lay them out there again and again and again. You got to do that. No matter if we win, you got 24 hours to deal with it. Everybody processes it different. I'm sure they don't enjoy people talking to them. But after 24 hours, you can't mope. You gotta move on. So we got a big game this week. Very good team coming in. We're really excited about it. Our our fans were unbelievable at the Eastern Kentucky game, and they had a huge crowd down there at Georgia Southern when we played last year. And I'm looking forward to seeing our fans, our alumni, our band making it a true home field advantage. We're excited about being back home.
Q: Impressions of Georgia Southern.
A: I got a ton of respect for Clay Helton. We've known each other. I don't know since 1990. Have a ton of respect for him, his family, his father, his brother Tyson of course, coaches at Western Kentucky. We coached against each other in the past, and he does a an incredible job of getting his team ready. You know he's an old OC/quarterback coach. I think he does a really good job. You can see his fingerprints all over them offensively. In fact, in my mind, he's one of the better quarterback guys that college football's seen. You look at the guys that he's put in the league, and they they do a really good job offensively of finding the explosive plays that hurt you in the past, and they'll game plan those plays. I think he does a fabulous job of that. So we got to make sure we're on top of things that have hurt us in the past that we get it fixed. That's one of the things with coaching, and he made some really good hires. I mean, they are so much improved defensively. What they do defensively, I'm thoroughly impressed with their defensive coordinator. What he's been able to do in a short time there. They got good players. They got guys up front. They got guys that can cover, and very sound in the kicking game, so it'll be a challenge. But that's what we do every week. We want to be able to play the best. You know, right now I would say they're probably the best team in the Sun Belt. You know they're playing the best anyway. They've got a they've got a really good football team.
Q: Since you've been here, it seems like you guys been really good at moving on. Is there anything you do or or you coaches do?
A: We try to focus on getting better every time we go back out to the practice field. And I know it sounds redundant, but it's the truth. You have to you have to embrace. We say embrace the grind, but embrace the process of getting better, and it's not about results, good or bad. I mean, you get good results, you can't. Then you get an illusion that you're better than you are, and then when you don't have success, you can get the illusion of you're not as good as you thought you were, but that has nothing to do with it. It's about making sure you know that we get better at what we got to improve on. We know what we got to improve on, and that's our job as coaches to make sure we do that because we're going to practice the same way today that we practiced last Tuesday. And again, I thought their preparation was great. I think Caden would agree with you. All three phases, the preparation was good. I don't think it was preparation errors. I just think we got to get more in tune to details. And you know, we created a snowball. I wanted to create momentum coming out in the first two minutes of the game. We did that. We had four plays in the game, four offensive drives that were 11 play drives. They did that. We created that momentum, but we got to learn how to keep that momentum going because once it stops, it's hard to get that going, and those are the things. But you know, again, to your question, we're going to practice the way we practice, and whether we win or lose, we you know our job is to get better every week.
Q: Â Are there one or two things you need to see from this team before you come into conference play?
A: I haven't really focused on who's conference and non-conference. Really, we just take it game by game. But I do think the as you move on and improve, you've got to see improvement in every area, and what I want to make sure is that we're very sound schematically in all three phases, because I do believe this. I mean, I don't care what position it is on the field; it can be the quarterback, it can be a DB, it can be a D-lineman. It can be a kicker. Everybody has to be coached. When there's a mistake made, you got to fix that mistake. You got to correct it. If there's a scheme, schematic thing in any phase, you got to correct it. You can't do the same thing expect a different result. So what I wanted to be able to do is clean up those things and show continuous improvement for anybody that we play. I felt like we improved from the first week to the second. I felt like we improved this week. We just we were short on some things that we needed to do, but we got to continue to do that even when we get in our conference schedule.
Q: It's pretty obvious that Caden feels more comfortable in the pocket this season. What are you seeing as far as improvement?
A: Really the only thing that me personally that I talk to Caden about is just processing information, making sure you trust your eyes, because he's got talent. He can throw the football. He's got good feel. He has learned at his size to be able to find lanes to throw in. I mean, Drew Brees had to do that. He's not 6-5, so you got to be able to. But it's all about processing information, and all defenses have a stress point, and it's our job to find the stress point and take what they give. Somebody asked me, I think last night on the radio show or after the radio show, what would you like to be rushing? Well, you got to take what they give you. Yeah, I'd like to be exactly balanced, if at all possible, rushing yards to passing yards. That's what you shoot for. But if they're going to give you certain things, you got to be able to take it. I think the thing that Caden's really improved on is that now he doesn't think that he has to win the game. He just has to do his job. It's everybody's job to win the game, and I think he's done a really good job of that.
Â
QB Caden CreelÂ
Q: It's been about a calendar year since you've stepped into the starting quarterback role. Kind of reflect on the progress.Â
A: I think just watching the film and the way that I handled myself is a lot better than what it was. Obviously, the first game that I went in there, just having that little bit of experience has kind of helped me be a better leader and honestly just make better decisions on the field with what I do with the ball or how I protect my body or you know just moving the ball forward. And you know that's the goal of this thing when you're playing quarterback is to just keep moving the ball forward. And so I look forward to continuing to grow throughout this season and over the next few games.
Q: What is it that you guys do to be able to handle like a disappointing loss like that, or even an exciting win? You guys seem to have been good about that over the past couple of years.Â
A: I think when you have those disappointing losses, certainly don't want those as a team. But I was been telling people sometimes that can be a good thing. It can be a wake up call, or maybe it's just I'd rather it happen now than it happened later when we're fighting for a championship in conference play or whatever it is. You want to learn and grow from these things now, rather than later. Do we want to lose? Absolutely not. But the way that we do it is, we spend 24 hours on it, like Coach said. We watch the film and we study, and we just try to get better each week. That way, we don't face the same mistakes that we made before.
Q: Coach touched on it a bit. What do the fans mean to you and the team with the environment that they that they create?
A: I think it's a big deal for us. Anytime we go out there on that field and we see the student section all packed out; we have probably the best band in the country. We hear them play every home game, and they really do make a difference. So we'd love to have as many people out there as possible. It means the world to us, and you know I hope to see everybody out there this weekend.
Q: For somebody that's never seen you play before, who's the player comparison for Caden Creel, or who do you look up to and try and model your game after?
A: There's a lot of guys. Obviously, you can kind of think about some more athletic guys that have done it before. But really, over the summer, I did study a lot of Drew Brees film, some shorter quarterbacks, which has really honestly helped me a lot this season. Just being able to like learn those windows that Coach was talking about, and I think it's reflected in what I've been able to put on tape so far. These first few games is just learning how to play with that feel and that timing and anticipation in those windows. Because when you're a shorter guy like me, I mean, you can't miss those. So, just certain guys like Drew Brees in the passing game, he's so accurate, and you know, Drew Brees made a living off of just hitting the check down and taking what the defense gave them as well, so that as well. And then always like to watch the Lamar (Jackson) and the Michael Vick and things like that, just because that's a part of my game. Â I'm not going to change who I am, but I can certainly try to grow in the passing game and the run game. So,
Q: We've talked about how you seem more comfortable passing the ball this year, but 29 times you run a game-that's a lot. So what improvements or what evolution have you seen in your ability to run the ball this season?Â
A: Honestly, just like Coach was saying, I don't have to win the game on every play or every time I touch the ball, and that's kind of helped me, not only in the run game but in the pass game as well. Just trying to go forward, keep the chains moving. If we get two to three yards on first down, that's not a bad thing. I don't have to go score a touchdown every play, and so in the run game, it's like last year. If you look at a lot of my numbers, there's a lot more negative plays, and you know I make those spectacular plays or whatever you want to call it, but there were a lot of negative plays, and that's the thing that I'm trying to stay away from this year. Is more so just you know make the spectacular play when you need to, but when you don't, just go forward and play within the system that Coach Housewright's given me.
Players Mentioned
QB
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