What Charles Kelly said before Jax State's game vs. Ohio

Jacksonville State head coach Charles Kelly liked what he saw on film from Saturday's win over Eastern Kentucky, particularly the physicality and execution that he felt were missing in the Week 1 loss to North Dakota State.

Now comes a significant step up in competition. Ohio visits Burgess-Snow Field on Saturday, and Kelly made clear he has no interest in letting his team overlook the Bobcats. He pointed to their performance against Nebraska, where Ohio trailed just 14-13 at halftime in Lincoln before the Cornhuskers pulled away in the second half for a 49-21 final.

"The score is no indication of the way they played," Kelly said. "We got a ton of respect for the program that they got and their players."

Kelly also confirmed that linebacker Mac Sanders will miss the rest of the season after an upper-body injury suffered in the first half of the NDSU opener. Sanders led the team with 85 tackles as a freshman last year, earned CUSA All-Freshman honors and made the All-Conference team. Kelly said the second MRI delivered the bad news after the staff initially believed Sanders had a chance to return.

"It's a tough loss for our team. A tough loss for him, but he's handling it the right way," Kelly said.

Defensively, Kelly said the Gamecocks need to eliminate explosive plays in the run game. Jacksonville State surrendered a 72-yard run against EKU and gave up a big run on the opening drive of the NDSU loss. Kelly emphasized that the problem is not consistent grinding but the occasional play that breaks loose.

"It's the explosives that we've got to make sure that we can control," Kelly said. "And when I say that's not a swipe at the players, we got to coach it better to be executed the right way."

Kelly also praised quarterback Caden Creel's growth in the pocket, saying he looks more comfortable than he did a year ago. Offensive lineman Lance Johnson, who earned CUSA Offensive Lineman of the Week honors after Saturday's game, and linebacker Aidan Thompson also joined Kelly at the podium to discuss their returns from injuries that limited both players last season.

Full transcript

On the film review from EKU:

Coach Kelly: "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."

On Ohio and head coach John Hauser:

Coach Kelly: "First of all, they have a great program. They got really good players. 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. It 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 — 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've got some really good players."

On improving the run defense:

Coach Kelly: "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 game. It's the explosives that we've got to make sure 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."

On Lance Johnson earning a starting spot:

Coach Kelly: "He's a great young man. He's a great leader. 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."

On Caden Creel's development in the passing game:

Coach Kelly: "Even though 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 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 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."

On Ohio's quarterback:

Coach Kelly: "Yeah, I would. They've got a lot of RPO game, but he can throw the football. He made some really good throws against Nebraska, and 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 him."

On recruiting Jamill Williams:

Coach Kelly: "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 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. He understands the sacrifices that it takes to be a winner, all those things. But once you get into recruiting, you start to learn these young men. You learn who they are as people, and 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. The other night it was his night. There'll be other nights where it'll be somebody else's, but I'll promise you he'll be blocking. He's on all the special teams. He's our kickoff returner. He's really good on punt return. He's very unselfish. But all those things go in when we look at a player and recruit him."

On Aidan Thompson's impact on the defense:

Coach Kelly: "A-dot, that's what I call him — because if I call him Aidan, he's going to look at me crazy. But he brings a mentality to your team of toughness. 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. He fits all those things. He epitomizes what you want on your football team, and 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 I just think having him — he's on our leadership team — has a big influence on our team, and I think his teammates love him."

Player interviews: OL Lance Johnson, LB Aidan Thompson

On returning from injuries:

Lance Johnson: "It was really just trusting my coaches and trusting the training staff. There were days where I really was down, but knowing that everybody believed in me and they trusted me, it really just kept me motivated."

Aidan Thompson: "Last year, Week 3, tore my ACL, and that process coming back from that was extremely difficult. There were times where I didn't see the light at the end of the tunnel. I didn't think I was ever going to be able to play again because you wake up in the morning and your knee's 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 — 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."

On Kelly visiting Johnson on the field during his injury:

Lance Johnson: "Yes, I do remember that. We were driving the ball, and I ended up reaggravating my ankle, and I remember I wasn't too worried about my injury at the time. I was worried about the team and what they were going through. I was worried about winning the game."

On the origin of the nickname "A-dot":

Aidan Thompson: "So Coach Deshaun Davis, when he first got here, I wasn't having the best offseason. I wasn't training very well. I was a little bit out of shape, and one day — I think it was one of the first days of fall camp — I had a really good day, and he said, 'I'm going to 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 going to look at him crazy, because if I hear Aidan it means I'm probably not doing very good."

On winning CUSA Offensive Lineman of the Week:

Lance Johnson: "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."

On the transition from tackle to guard:

Lance Johnson: "At first, it was 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."