Jax State Football Press Conference 2026--Ohio
9/8/2026 6:40:00 PM | Football
Coach Charles Kelly
Q: Coming off of a big win on Saturday over Eastern Kentucky, what were the big takeaways as you and your staff reviewed the film?
A: The biggest thing I was really proud of was the way we executed. That was something that we emphasized. I thought we played with more physicality than we played the week before, and you know what we got to do the same thing I said last week.
Q: Your first opportunity to kind of get a look at the program that you were taking over came against this opponent. Give us some thoughts on the Bobcats as you take a look at them off their game against Nebraska.
A: First of all, they have a they have a great program. They got really good players. You know, Coach Hauser, he's done a great job. I don't know him personally. I do know through the coaching ranks that he was very very well respected as a defensive coordinator and a defensive coach, and they play great defense. They got really good players on defense. They're really good on offense. They starts up front. They've got a good offensive line. I think they're very efficient on offense with what they do, I mean, you look at the game last week. I mean, at halftime it's 14-13 against Nebraska at Nebraska. So I mean, they had a chance to win the game. The score is no indication of the way they played. So we got a ton of respect for the program that they got and their players. They they've got some really good players.
Q: What does the defense as a whole need to do, especially with the run game?
A: I think it starts up front. When you play good run defense, it starts with the defensive line, linebacker fits, but it also includes the secondary too, because you always have force in the secondary. It's never just one position. We got to play better as a unit. The biggest thing that we have to do in the run game is we've given up two explosive runs. It's not the hammer it every snap. We give up a 75 yard run that pops out. Same thing in the first drive of the North Dakota State. It's the explosives that we've got to make sure that that we can control. We've got a lot of guys in that linebacker room that have played a lot of football. Mac (Sanders) is a great football player, but we got some other guys that can play and that have played a lot of football. So I don't think it's going to be a lack of ability. We just got to again. That's part of the execution. We got to execute everything. And when I say that's not a swipe at the players, we got to coach it better to be executed the right way.
Q: Could you talk about Lance (Johnson) who got in the starting lineup and and really did a good job on Saturday?
A: He's a great young man. He's a great leader. You know, I think he'll be the first to tell you he was banged up a lot in fall camp, and that limited him. He'll be the first to tell you, you got to practice and get into that playing shape before you can play at a high level. And he's been able to get back from some of those nagging injuries. And when he's on the field, he's going to play the right way. And we need for him to play the right way because he's a big influence on our team, and I think it made a difference with him in that line.
Q: Great day from your quarterback on Saturday. From your lens and your perspective, what led to that success, and just what your overall thoughts has been?
A: Even we didn't see the same numbers in the North Dakota State game that we saw in the passing game. I think it's an obvious difference that Caden is a lot more comfortable in the pocket this year as opposed to last year. Even in the in the first few drives against North Dakota State he made some good throws. We had a couple of drops that were unfortunate. We didn't have those drops on Saturday, but I think he understands what he's got to do to keep developing on it. There were two opportunities where he looked at the video and he knows that if he'd made the right read, there would have been probably 100 more yards out there for him. And then you know the other thing is just making sure he manages the offense. He doesn't have to win the game, he just has to do his job, and just like Lance has to do his job, that's what this game's about. But I do think he's more comfortable. I'll say the offensive line, even until they got late in the game the first week, I think the offensive line's done a really good job of protecting him too, and he feels comfortable back there.
Q: Their quarterback. Would you call him a dual threat guy?
A: Yeah, I would. They've got a lot of RPO game, but but he can throw the football. He made some really good throws against Nebraska, and he just he does a really good job of managing their offense. He's got athleticism. I think he has a good feel of stepping up in the pocket, a lot like the young man we played last week. I said last week that he had really good pocket presence. I think the same thing about
Q: You touched on it Saturday, but can you just take us through the process a little bit of recruiting Jamill (Williams) to come to Jax State?
A: We look at what we call critical factors. A lot of that is your general stuff; your height, weight, your speed, those kind of things that are really tangible. But what we try to really dive into are the intangibles. I don't care what league guys play in. He can't help what league he's playing in. I want to see has he been productive. What kind of teammate is he? And I, me personally, I like guys that have come from winning programs. They were one game away from playing Ferris State for the national championship last year, so he comes from a winning program. So he understands the sacrifices that it takes to be a winner, all those things. But you know, once you get into recruiting, you start to learn these young men. You learn who they are as people, and that, like I said the other night, he's one of the best competitors we got on the team. Never complains. He'll be the first to tell you that the play doesn't care who makes it. And other night it was his night. There'll be other nights where it'll be somebody else's, and but I'll promise you he'll be blocking. I mean, he's on all the special teams. He's our kickoff returner. I mean, he's really good on punt return. So, he's very unselfish. But all those things go in when we look at a player and recruit him.
Q: Share a thought on Aiden Thompson, who's going to be up here in a minute, what has he meant to you in your defense?
A: A-dot, that's what I call him-because if I call him Aiden, he's going to look at me crazy. But he brings a mentality to your team of toughness. I mean, we say and we believe this. We want to be fast. We want to be physical. We want to be tough. We want to be disciplined, and we want to compete. Well, he fits all those things. I mean, he epitomizes what you want on your football team, and he he's very energetic. He's a good teammate. He's very unselfish. He's played both sides of the ball. He's one of the few guys that we've had that played both sides of the ball, and you know, I just think having him-he's on our leadership team-has big influence on our team, and I think his teammates love him.
OL Lance Johnson; LB Aidan Thompson
Q: You guys both dealt with injuries, as Coach alluded to last year. Walk us through the process of getting back onto the field and getting ready to go.
LJ: It was really just trusting my coaches and trusting the training staff. There were days where I really like was down, but knowing that everybody could lead to me and they trusted me, it really just kept me motivated.
AT: Last year, Week Three tore my ACL, and that process coming back from that was extremely difficult. There was times where I didn't see the light at the end of the tunnel. I didn't think I was ever gonna be able to play again because you wake up in the morning and your knees stiff after two months and you're thinking, okay, well, I might just have to hang them up. But after coming in every day for treatment, talking to Coach (Deshaun) Davis, our linebacker coach, I mean, he told me you got to keep going, got to keep going, and so just putting in the work with that. We have an amazing training staff. They worked my knee out very well, and I was able to get back for spring ball.
Q: You heard the story that Coach Kelly told about going out to see when you were hurt on the field. Do you remember that? Could you give your view of that?
LJ: Yes, I do remember that. It was kind of like it was risk and take a game. Actually, we were driving the ball, and I ended up reaggravating my ankle, and it was like I remember I wasn't too worried about my injury at the time. I was worried about the team and like what was they going through for us. I was worried about winning the game.
Q: Is there a story behind the nickname "A-dot?"
AT: So Coach (Deshaun) Davis first got here. I wasn't having the best off season. I wasn't training very well. I was a little bit out of shape, and so he one day I think was it was one of the first days of fall camp. I had a really good day, and he said I'm gonna start calling you A-Dot. And when you play bad, your name's Aidan. But on this football field, you're A-Dot when you come out here because you're playing good. And so anytime I hear Aidan, that's why Coach Kelly said I'm gonna look at him crazy because if I hear Aidan means I'm probably not doing very good.
Q: Lance, you were offensive lineman of the week for the conference. That's a big deal. Can you? Who told you, and what were your thoughts when you heard that? I imagine you're probably surprised.
LJ: I basically found out through social media. I was tagged in a post. I was really surprised. It's a blessing. Really a testament to my work and my coaches being able to trust Coach (Adam) Ross coming in. He recruited me out of high school when he was at Richmond, so being able to trust him.
Q: What's the transition been like going from tackle to guard?
LJ: At first, it was like a little like I'm not going through this, but Coach Ross really had faith in me so I knew I was going to be good, he's a good coach and I had to trust him.
Q: Coming off of a big win on Saturday over Eastern Kentucky, what were the big takeaways as you and your staff reviewed the film?
A: The biggest thing I was really proud of was the way we executed. That was something that we emphasized. I thought we played with more physicality than we played the week before, and you know what we got to do the same thing I said last week.
Q: Your first opportunity to kind of get a look at the program that you were taking over came against this opponent. Give us some thoughts on the Bobcats as you take a look at them off their game against Nebraska.
A: First of all, they have a they have a great program. They got really good players. You know, Coach Hauser, he's done a great job. I don't know him personally. I do know through the coaching ranks that he was very very well respected as a defensive coordinator and a defensive coach, and they play great defense. They got really good players on defense. They're really good on offense. They starts up front. They've got a good offensive line. I think they're very efficient on offense with what they do, I mean, you look at the game last week. I mean, at halftime it's 14-13 against Nebraska at Nebraska. So I mean, they had a chance to win the game. The score is no indication of the way they played. So we got a ton of respect for the program that they got and their players. They they've got some really good players.
Q: What does the defense as a whole need to do, especially with the run game?
A: I think it starts up front. When you play good run defense, it starts with the defensive line, linebacker fits, but it also includes the secondary too, because you always have force in the secondary. It's never just one position. We got to play better as a unit. The biggest thing that we have to do in the run game is we've given up two explosive runs. It's not the hammer it every snap. We give up a 75 yard run that pops out. Same thing in the first drive of the North Dakota State. It's the explosives that we've got to make sure that that we can control. We've got a lot of guys in that linebacker room that have played a lot of football. Mac (Sanders) is a great football player, but we got some other guys that can play and that have played a lot of football. So I don't think it's going to be a lack of ability. We just got to again. That's part of the execution. We got to execute everything. And when I say that's not a swipe at the players, we got to coach it better to be executed the right way.
Q: Could you talk about Lance (Johnson) who got in the starting lineup and and really did a good job on Saturday?
A: He's a great young man. He's a great leader. You know, I think he'll be the first to tell you he was banged up a lot in fall camp, and that limited him. He'll be the first to tell you, you got to practice and get into that playing shape before you can play at a high level. And he's been able to get back from some of those nagging injuries. And when he's on the field, he's going to play the right way. And we need for him to play the right way because he's a big influence on our team, and I think it made a difference with him in that line.
Q: Great day from your quarterback on Saturday. From your lens and your perspective, what led to that success, and just what your overall thoughts has been?
A: Even we didn't see the same numbers in the North Dakota State game that we saw in the passing game. I think it's an obvious difference that Caden is a lot more comfortable in the pocket this year as opposed to last year. Even in the in the first few drives against North Dakota State he made some good throws. We had a couple of drops that were unfortunate. We didn't have those drops on Saturday, but I think he understands what he's got to do to keep developing on it. There were two opportunities where he looked at the video and he knows that if he'd made the right read, there would have been probably 100 more yards out there for him. And then you know the other thing is just making sure he manages the offense. He doesn't have to win the game, he just has to do his job, and just like Lance has to do his job, that's what this game's about. But I do think he's more comfortable. I'll say the offensive line, even until they got late in the game the first week, I think the offensive line's done a really good job of protecting him too, and he feels comfortable back there.
Q: Their quarterback. Would you call him a dual threat guy?
A: Yeah, I would. They've got a lot of RPO game, but but he can throw the football. He made some really good throws against Nebraska, and he just he does a really good job of managing their offense. He's got athleticism. I think he has a good feel of stepping up in the pocket, a lot like the young man we played last week. I said last week that he had really good pocket presence. I think the same thing about
Q: You touched on it Saturday, but can you just take us through the process a little bit of recruiting Jamill (Williams) to come to Jax State?
A: We look at what we call critical factors. A lot of that is your general stuff; your height, weight, your speed, those kind of things that are really tangible. But what we try to really dive into are the intangibles. I don't care what league guys play in. He can't help what league he's playing in. I want to see has he been productive. What kind of teammate is he? And I, me personally, I like guys that have come from winning programs. They were one game away from playing Ferris State for the national championship last year, so he comes from a winning program. So he understands the sacrifices that it takes to be a winner, all those things. But you know, once you get into recruiting, you start to learn these young men. You learn who they are as people, and that, like I said the other night, he's one of the best competitors we got on the team. Never complains. He'll be the first to tell you that the play doesn't care who makes it. And other night it was his night. There'll be other nights where it'll be somebody else's, and but I'll promise you he'll be blocking. I mean, he's on all the special teams. He's our kickoff returner. I mean, he's really good on punt return. So, he's very unselfish. But all those things go in when we look at a player and recruit him.
Q: Share a thought on Aiden Thompson, who's going to be up here in a minute, what has he meant to you in your defense?
A: A-dot, that's what I call him-because if I call him Aiden, he's going to look at me crazy. But he brings a mentality to your team of toughness. I mean, we say and we believe this. We want to be fast. We want to be physical. We want to be tough. We want to be disciplined, and we want to compete. Well, he fits all those things. I mean, he epitomizes what you want on your football team, and he he's very energetic. He's a good teammate. He's very unselfish. He's played both sides of the ball. He's one of the few guys that we've had that played both sides of the ball, and you know, I just think having him-he's on our leadership team-has big influence on our team, and I think his teammates love him.
OL Lance Johnson; LB Aidan Thompson
Q: You guys both dealt with injuries, as Coach alluded to last year. Walk us through the process of getting back onto the field and getting ready to go.
LJ: It was really just trusting my coaches and trusting the training staff. There were days where I really like was down, but knowing that everybody could lead to me and they trusted me, it really just kept me motivated.
AT: Last year, Week Three tore my ACL, and that process coming back from that was extremely difficult. There was times where I didn't see the light at the end of the tunnel. I didn't think I was ever gonna be able to play again because you wake up in the morning and your knees stiff after two months and you're thinking, okay, well, I might just have to hang them up. But after coming in every day for treatment, talking to Coach (Deshaun) Davis, our linebacker coach, I mean, he told me you got to keep going, got to keep going, and so just putting in the work with that. We have an amazing training staff. They worked my knee out very well, and I was able to get back for spring ball.
Q: You heard the story that Coach Kelly told about going out to see when you were hurt on the field. Do you remember that? Could you give your view of that?
LJ: Yes, I do remember that. It was kind of like it was risk and take a game. Actually, we were driving the ball, and I ended up reaggravating my ankle, and it was like I remember I wasn't too worried about my injury at the time. I was worried about the team and like what was they going through for us. I was worried about winning the game.
Q: Is there a story behind the nickname "A-dot?"
AT: So Coach (Deshaun) Davis first got here. I wasn't having the best off season. I wasn't training very well. I was a little bit out of shape, and so he one day I think was it was one of the first days of fall camp. I had a really good day, and he said I'm gonna start calling you A-Dot. And when you play bad, your name's Aidan. But on this football field, you're A-Dot when you come out here because you're playing good. And so anytime I hear Aidan, that's why Coach Kelly said I'm gonna look at him crazy because if I hear Aidan means I'm probably not doing very good.
Q: Lance, you were offensive lineman of the week for the conference. That's a big deal. Can you? Who told you, and what were your thoughts when you heard that? I imagine you're probably surprised.
LJ: I basically found out through social media. I was tagged in a post. I was really surprised. It's a blessing. Really a testament to my work and my coaches being able to trust Coach (Adam) Ross coming in. He recruited me out of high school when he was at Richmond, so being able to trust him.
Q: What's the transition been like going from tackle to guard?
LJ: At first, it was like a little like I'm not going through this, but Coach Ross really had faith in me so I knew I was going to be good, he's a good coach and I had to trust him.
Players Mentioned
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