Georgia State Head Coach Bill Curry
On UTSA and head coach Larry Coker...
There are obviously several new programs that are doing very well. I know Larry Coker is a terrific coach, a good guy and a friend of mine. I thought he did an incredible job at Miami. He's moved on and done a great job of having a very young, very well-schooled and disciplined team at Texas-San Antonio.
On UTSA's offense ...
Their quarterback Eric Soza operates a very sophisticated and polished looking offense over long stretches. They do have difficulties sometimes, but for them to be this far along executing that offense is impressive to me. Soza is the guy that pulls the trigger; He runs really well and throws perhaps better than he runs. He's a threat. They run a lot of different things from a lot of different sets. You can't zero in on them and their tendencies unless you study really hard. Knowing Larry, he'll probably change those same formations and tendencies from game-to-game. They have a game breaker in wide receiver Kam Jones. He averages 16.5 yards every time he touches the ball. He makes me think a little bit of our Albert Wilson, but that's not a pleasant thought unless he's on your side. He's a really good player. They have a powerful back, Evans Okotcha who plays fullback and running back and averages seven yards a carry. That's tremendous running behind a young offensive line.
On UTSA's defense ...
On defense they have who I think will be a dominating player, [defensive end] Marlon Smith. He's strong and plays with a lot of intensity all the time, he's a factor. They have two excellent inside linebackers, Brandon Reeves and Steven Kurfehs. They are the leading tacklers, they run and hit very well like all the linebackers we play against. A secondary player who is a hybrid like our Mark Hogan is Nic Johnson; he is a good tackler and coverage guy. They present a challenge for us because their defense is fast and aggressive.
On the most important thing GSU has worked on this week...
We wanted to capture the essence of what it was that we had against South Alabama that gave us the will to find a way to win the game no matter what at the end. The second most important thing was to get our special teams back to performing back the way they should. It was hard to understand how it could be happening, but we simply weren't getting off blocks and we were running out of our lanes. We made some personnel changes due to injuries, but they were veteran players who should know exactly where they should be and what lanes they should be in.
On the improvements the team made against South Alabama...
One of the toughest issues in getting a quarterback ready to play is you can't hit him. So Kelton Hill has not been hit [in practice]. Naturally we do strip drills in practice, but that doesn't simulate being hammered by six tacklers. We didn't do a good job of hanging on to the football. As the game progressed [Hill] literally got his head and arm around the fact that he has to hold the ball when he turns and runs. He has to secure the ball just like the rest of our runners do, which is extremely well. We've done an excellent job of securing the ball. Obviously something changed for us, our defense really played very well. Having Donald Russell and Albert Wilson back at full speed makes a huge difference in our offense. The offensive line and defensive line have improved and Kelton Hill is getting his second start this week so we hope to see him continue to improve as well as our coverage in the kicking game.
On if GSU's confidence is higher now going into the UTSA game after a win...
I'm not sure anybody can tell you if they are more confident going into any one game. It's just a factor of performance. If you prepare really well and know exactly what you're doing, you have a good feeling about your chances of winning. I did have that last week because we prepared well, just like we did week after week only to disappoint ourselves.
On how tackling has improved on defense the last two games...
Better, but not great. It's most assuredly improved. When we studied South Alabama, we felt that [running backs Demetre] Baker and [Kendall] Houston were in a sense SEC running backs. We think Donald Russell is an SEC running back, that's a compliment. South Alabama had two SEC running backs on the field and we tackled the daylights out of them most of the time against a very good offensive line that gouged us a year ago. I felt like we tackled better and gave more effort against South Alabama.
On what he likes from the defense the last two games...
Their aggressiveness and [how they are] anxious to play. We kept putting them in bad situations the other night but they took the field like they were excited to run out there. That's the key to everything when you play defense. Many times you have seen it when a defense gets a goal-line stand, they run off the field jumping around and the offense comes out and fumbles the ball. The defense then comes back on the field and what happens, you lose the ball game. Our defense kept getting thrown back out there, it wasn't as dramatic as what I just described, but the defense kept getting put into tough spots because of field position and poor kick coverage. They took the field with enthusiasm and played with enthusiasm every time we put them out there.
On if they'll replicate crowd noise to prepare to play in the Alamodome...
We've done that several times. Normally they haven't been necessary but in this case I think it will be required. It's a loud place. I've been to several games there. [Crowd noise] matters a lot for the offensive line.
Offensive Tackle Clyde Yandell
Having most of the first string back again in the past few games, how has it affected the run game?
It definitely helps for continuity. We've been playing together for the better part of two years now and we have a lot of seniors on our line. If we are all healthy enough that we are all playing together, that is definitely going to help with our combos.
One thing that Coach Riddle did this week was that Ulrick John started getting into the game sooner because Ben has been fighting an injury and hasn't been able to play out the whole game since he's been hurt unfortunately. I'm not sure if that had any effect on getting Ulrick into the lineup and getting him in there earlier.
Watching the film, we are pretty happy with how we did in the run game. Protection was alright. It could have been a little bit better but no major malfunctions or any large problems. I think we played physically. All those things add up.
Having a guy like Donald Russell is huge. Everybody loves blocking for him because he is a very powerful runner and good at making things happen when there doesn't look like there is a whole lot to get on the play.
Do you think about who the quarterback is as you are blocking since Kelton (Hill) is a little more mobile than say Drew (Little), for example?
I think to a small degree it matters. It helps to know who you are blocking for. For example, as you mentioned Kelton. If you are protecting him and no one is open, Kelton is going to get outside the pocket. Drew is the guy who is going to stay in there and step up. To a small degree in the passing game, I think so.
