Neal Brown Press Conference - Georgia Southern Game

Neal Brown Press Conference – Monday, Nov. 5, 2018

Opening Statement
Good win on Saturday versus what I believe is a quality Lafayette team. Coach Napier and his staff are doing a great job there in year one and it was a tough fought victory for us.

I appreciate our students and our fans showing up. I thought they really created a good atmosphere and it was good to see a lot of familiar faces on homecoming. Homecoming is a big deal and to win the game makes it even sweeter.

Special teams, I'm really disappointed in our kickoff coverage unit. Two big returns, our kick placement wasn't very well, and I didn't think we fought very hard getting off blocks. That is the worst we have performed on kickoff unit all year. Kickoff return was not good enough. Over the last two years we have been one of the best kickoff return units in the country and we really got it handed to us. We did not block well, so I'm really disappointed in our kickoff and kickoff return teams.

The positives are four field goals, our protection has been really good on our kickoff team and Tyler (Sumpter) is consistently getting better over the last two years. Again, zero yards allowed in the punt return game. Our punt cover team is doing a really nice job and then we altered a field goal. They have a really nice kicker at Lafayette and we felt like we got good pressure and altered the one he missed.

Defensively, we had some eye discipline issues. I think they had 200-plus yards and 60 or 70 of those were on trick plays and our eyes just weren't as disciplined as we needed them to be. Didn't think we communicated very well on some of their motions. They motioned into some different formations and I didn't think in the backend we communicated very well.

The positives defensively far outweigh the negatives, 2.8 yards per carry, we stopped the run which we thought was the number one factor in the game. We limited their explosive plays, created three takeaways, we had five sacks, 10 tackles for loss and I thought we covered really well. I was pleased with our corners, Blace Brown, Terence Dunlap and Will Sunderland. I thought we covered some good players really well.

Offensively, we didn't finish drives. I'm for Tyler making those field goals, but I would rather not send him out there to kick them. I thought our rushing offense wasn't were it had been. We didn't block them as clean. B.J. (Smith) didn't play as well, he didn't play poorly just not as well, and we had five offensive penalties which is too many. We had 30-something yards lost on snaps.

Positives we had 6.9 yards per play, 14.4 yards per pass attempt and we started fast. We have done that two games in a row and that gives us a chance each and every week. Good win, 7-2 overall and 5-0 in our league.

Look at Georgia Southern, they have played extremely well. Up until last week I would've said they are the hottest team in our league and they are coming off a disappointing loss to Monroe. Coach Lunsford and his staff have done a great job in all three phases. If you look at them statistically, they are playing at a high level. For whatever reason, they have played their best ball at home. They have played extremely well in Statesboro.

Special teams, they are really well coached. Their kicker and kickoff specialist Tyler Bass has won multiple Sun Belt Special Teams Player of the Week, he's as good as there is in college football. They have a good returner in (Wesley) Kennedy (III) who is a running back as well.

Offensively, great scheme, I have a lot of respect for their offensive coordinator. Really creative in how they get multiple option looks. They are led by their quarterback Shai Werts. I think two years now he has run this offense. He's special with the ball in his hands out in space, he does a really good job in carrying out his fakes and I think he's an underrated passer. In the games they have played really well he hit some really nice throws down the field. Their running back Wesley Fields feels like he's been there forever. He has been productive year in and year out and this year is no difference. I think their offensive line is probably the biggest difference between them a year ago and why they are playing at a high level.

Defensively, those guys are playing with a lot of confidence. Schematically they make it really difficult to run the football. If you talk about guys that stick out when I watch film I think their nose tackle number (Ty Phillips) and (C.J. Wright) are very similar. Defensive ends (Logan Hunt) and (Raymond Johnson) play with tremendous amounts of effort and they have caused disruptions, and I think that probably the chief reason why people have a tough time running the football. They have two of the best corners in our league if not the best corners. Probably the best tandem maybe in (Monquavion Brinson) and (Kindle Vildor).

Huge divisional game for us and our guys are looking forward to it. Last time we went over there under similar circumstances we didn't get it done so our guys are looking forward to another opportunity. We control our own destiny in the conference, but we have to continue to fight for that each and every week. I have a lot of respect for Georgia Southern and the tradition they have. It's been a good rivalry going back for a long time here at Troy and like we talked about last week, champions are crowned in November. We won round one and we've got to continue to survive and advance.

Damion Willis emergence…
He's a really good football player and I think he is improving. He went to a small high school, went to East Mississippi Community College, really was a backup as a true freshman. He didn't start until about midway through his second year and kind of blossomed at the end of that year. Came here, really had success at the end of his junior year and now he's in his fourth year and everything is starting to click for him. He's gotten stronger, he runs really well, he's long, I think he's a NFL prospect and I'm happy for him. I said this after the game, he's been our best practice player in any phase since we had our first spring practice. We have to do some things scheme wise to get him in some good matchups but really proud of how he progressed and how he has performed.

Injury Updates…
Deondre Douglas is questionable, he will get some work in this week so I will have a better answer towards the end of the week. Marcus Jones, unless something changes, he will be out again. Cedarius Rookard has an appointment this afternoon in Birmingham so we will know more after that.

Next man up with Kyler Knudsen and Terence Dunlap…
Terence Dunlap, I think is one of the more physically gifted kids we have in our program. You can see that coming, he's been playing better and better, he played with a lot of confidence. He did a good job of returning punts as well, he got pushed in that role. I thought he covered the best and made some plays on the ball which was good to see. Kyler has been playing 15-20 snaps per game defensively but he came up big. Made several mistakes that we have to get cleaned up but he had several tackles, a couple pass break ups and had the big pick. I was really pleased with how he played and he's going to have to continue to play. Even if Rookard comes back, he's going to play a good amount of snaps.

What still needs to be seen to end the season…
I think it's critical that we continue to get better. I think the teams that continually get better this time of year are the ones that go onto win bowl games and we were fortunate enough to do that last year. In 2016, we were trying to hold on, we didn't finish very strong, I think we lost two out of our last three. In 2017, it was the exact opposite, we won seven in a row and played our best game in the bowl game. This year is to be determined. I thought we played well in our first test. Now it is a matter of how much better can get from when we got off the field on Saturday until we go and tee it off at 1 p.m. in Statesboro.

Georgia Southern defensive scheme similar to us…
I think they have done a really good job. They have identified what their strengths are. Their personnel really match what they do schematically. They are different schematically than we are but I think their goals are the same though as far as stopping the run. It looks like they are built to stop the run. They have done a good job of keeping pass plays in front of them. But I think both defenses are playing at a high level and I think both defenses are coached extremely well.

Troy University Athletics

Neal Brown Press Conference - Georgia Southern Game

Players Mentioned

Blace Brown

Deondre Douglas

Terence Dunlap

Marcus Jones

Kyler Knudsen

Cedarius Rookard

Will Sunderland

Damion Willis

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