What Jax State's Charles Kelly said before the Sam Houston game

About half of Jacksonville State's 2026 signing class played in last week's 24-0 shutout of New Mexico State. At one point, six true freshmen were on defense at the same time. Not redshirt freshmen — true freshmen.

Charles Kelly did not publicize that during the game. He brought it up Tuesday to make a point about how the program develops players. "Playing time doesn't have an age limit," Kelly said. "It's got a maturity limit. When you're mature enough to go on that field, we're gonna put you on that field."

Kelly credited Deondre Johnson, Morven Joseph and Caden Creel for building the culture that made those opportunities possible. The three upperclassmen taught the younger players how to work, Kelly said, and those habits created playing time. He called Johnson's leadership growth "probably one of the most impressive things in over a year that I've seen." Johnson may not have had a big statistical night against New Mexico State, but Kelly said his presence on the field forced defenses to keep two safeties back — which opened up the run game. "You can be very productive even though you don't catch the ball," Kelly said. "And he has bought into that."

The shutout itself was a team accomplishment, Kelly said — not just a defensive one. The offense punted once the entire game. Special teams downed a punt on the one-yard line. The field goal block unit affected the kicker even though it was a miss. Kelly credited defensive coordinator Brian Williams and the defensive staff, then redirected. "Not one time since I've been here have we ever broke the huddle saying goose egg or shut out," Kelly said. "Because that's result. You will start worrying about results instead of doing your job."

On Sam Houston, Kelly expressed empathy for fired head coach Phil Longo. "I hate it for Coach Longo," Kelly said. "Anytime somebody loses their job because it doesn't only affect him and his family. It affects all those coaches, families. It affects the players that came there." But Kelly warned against underestimating the Bearkats. He pointed out that Sam Houston has essentially the same roster that beat Oregon State at Oregon State last season and nearly beat Troy at Troy this year — and Troy just beat James Madison. Sam Houston's defense ranks 49th nationally in total defense. Kelly compared the preparation to getting ready for a bowl game because of the coaching change — "you might see some things that you might not normally see."

Kelly also addressed Caden Creel's growth as a passer. His numbers have improved significantly, and Kelly traced the development to a framework he applies at every position: feet, hips, hands and eyes. "It all starts with your feet," Kelly said. "It's no different than shooting a basketball." He told Caden Creel during the New Mexico State game: "If you can't trust your eyes, you can't trust anything." Kelly said his decision-making is the most important quality he evaluates. "It's not his job to go out — his goal going into the game is not to go win the game," Kelly said. "Our team's goal is to win the game. His goal is just to do his job."

The Gamecocks have gone 14 straight drives without a three-and-out. Kelly noted that on defense, "three and out is almost like a takeaway" — which means avoiding them on offense is critical to controlling tempo. He also acknowledged something unusual about this season: in eight games, the defense has not recovered a single fumble. "This is the only time in my career that we've played eight games and a fumble has not hit the ground that we've gotten," Kelly said. He credited opposing coaches for emphasizing ball security but added that he believes turnovers come in bunches. "Hopefully we can do that."

Full transcript

On what he was most proud of in the NMSU win:

Charles Kelly: "I actually like the way our guys prepared for the game. I think a lot of people mistake that — we did not win that game last Wednesday night. It takes a week to win a game. It takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of preparation. It doesn't just happen in one setting. I don't think people realize how much goes into that. Our off week, our players practiced, they prepared hard. Not one time did I have to say something about effort. They came to work to get better. I'm proud of that as much as anything because that'll produce results and we got to make sure that we stay focused on what it takes to be successful."

On Sam Houston and the coaching change — empathy for Phil Longo:

Charles Kelly: "That's what we've got to focus on is what we have to get better at because we got a lot of things we got to improve on. Now, how you respect your opponent is how you prepare for your opponent. And I've got a lot of respect for those guys. Listen, I hate it for Coach Longo. You hate that in this business. Anytime somebody loses their job because it doesn't only affect him and his family. It affects all those coaches, families. It affects the players that came there. It's just tough.

"But I'll tell you this right now, they have good players. All you got to do is cut the video on and watch. They've got very good players. They played some people really tough. They had a chance to beat Troy at Troy, and Troy beat James Madison. They got basically the same team they had last year who beat Oregon State at Oregon State. So all this, you know, things about, 'Oh, well, yeah, they don't have their head coach' — but they got their coaches and they got good players, and those players, they got a lot of pride in what they do and the way they play. But again, it can't be focusing on that. We got to focus on what we got to do to get better."

On what "balance" means for Caden Creel and the offense:

Charles Kelly: "When we say balance, I think the biggest thing where Caden has grown is taking what the defense gives you and trusting your eyes. In today's game, the advantage of being the mobile quarterback is a good thing, but I think you've seen him throughout the season when they gave him opportunities to hit the intermediate passing game or take shots downfield. He's done that. When they give him an opportunity to run the ball, he's done that. I think that's what we mean by being balanced. Sometimes it happens that way. Just making good decisions and processing the game. That's what our focus is with Caden. And I think he's done a good job of that. And I think that's where he's grown as a quarterback."

On the biggest keys to winning Saturday:

Charles Kelly: "You hear it's easy for a coach or myself postgame to be able to say, 'Well, we got to be able to do this. We got to be able to establish a run. We got to be able to take shots. We got to be able to block, pass protect. On defense, we got to be able to stop the run. We can't give up explosive plays.' Well, we know we've got to do that. So, we've got to live that. And what I mean by living it, you got to do it in practice every day. It can't be wait till Saturday to do it. It's got to be something that you do every day. But I think those are the things that we've got to do. And then we got to create some more turnovers."

On why Creel is such an effective runner and what's made him a better passer:

Charles Kelly: "I think he's gotten more comfortable in the pocket. Listen, I believe in football it's at every position. It's your feet, it's your hips, it's your hands and your eyes. All four are just as important as the other. But it all starts with your feet. It's no different than shooting a basketball. You shoot a basketball, your feet, your toes got to be pointed towards a goal. It starts with your feet is how you shoot. Same thing as a quarterback.

"I think he's gotten comfortable. I think he understands how to control his body and then his eyes. He is processing because eyes are so important because your eyes tell your body what to do. And I told him other night in the game — I said if you can't trust your eyes, you can't trust anything. I think where he's gotten better in the run game, his numbers were really good the other night, but I think what he understands is it's not his job to go out — his goal going into the game is not to go win the game. Our team's goal is to win the game. His goal is just to do his job. If that happens to be run the ball, he does that. And I think his decision-making — that's probably the number one quality you can look for in a quarterback: does he make good decisions?"

On Deondre Johnson's growth from year one to year two:

Charles Kelly: "I think paying attention to the little details that make him better. He didn't have a ton of production from a stat other night in the game from statistics, but I'm going to tell you what, when you watch the video and you watch him come off the ball and these guys are going to keep two high safeties back to cover him — well, then it opens up the run game. You can be very productive even though you don't catch the ball and he has bought into that. He's really pulled for his teammates. He's a great young man. He always has been, but I think just working and understanding the game and understanding what it takes to be successful and understand that some nights it's going to be your night, some nights it's going to be somebody else's. But he's become a really good leader as well.

"We had about half of our freshman class from this past signing class — about half of that class played in the game against New Mexico State. About half. That is a huge credit to DeAndre, Morven and Caden because these older guys have taught these guys how to work and they have created opportunities because they've watched these older guys work and that's given them opportunities. And I think DeAndre's leadership is probably one of the most impressive things in over a year that I've seen."

On whether the coaching change at Sam Houston creates unknowns:

Charles Kelly: "Yeah, I mean, it is. But I think their offensive coordinator has been with Phil for a while, but I'm sure he'll do some things to be creative, but it's going to be the same type scheme. I think defensively they've been real good. I mean, they're 49th in the country in total defense. And they played Texas Tech, they played Troy, they played some good teams, so I don't expect them to change a whole lot there. But yeah, it's a little bit like maybe like preparing for a bowl game, where you might see some things that you might not normally see."

On 14 straight drives without a three-and-out:

Charles Kelly: "One of the things that we look for — to us on defense, three and out is almost like a takeaway. It's almost like a turnover. So when offensively you can avoid those three and outs, first of all that helps you control the tempo of the game and that's the first thing that we talk about. We got to control the tempo of the game and how do we get first downs, and then those explosive plays will come with that.

"It's really important in time of possession. And even if you go back like you and I talked early in the year, our struggles early in the year, especially in the North Dakota State game, is we were always behind the chains. I mean, every time I looked up, it was second and 15, second and 12. Listen, I don't care who you are. You can be the Seattle Seahawks. When you get behind the chains, it makes it hard on any offense. I think we've done a good job of staying ahead and getting in manageable situations. And of course, we'll go for it on fourth down. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but we might not be right, but we're not going to be in doubt."

On creating turnovers — first time in his career going eight games without recovering a fumble:

Charles Kelly: "I think a little bit of it is [luck], and I can say this. This is the only time in my career that we've played eight games, all right? And a fumble has not hit the ground that we've gotten. And we go at the ball. We pick the ball off, and we work on it every day, more than I can tell you. We work on punching the ball, stripping the ball. Now, that being said, I'll give a lot of credit. I think offensive coaches, really good offensive coaches — our coaches do the same thing — we emphasize on taking care of that football because that's a huge deal. But I think the mentality, I think once we get some of those fumbles, I've always said I believe turnovers come in bunches. And hopefully we can do that."

On the first shutout of the season and what it meant for the defense:

Charles Kelly: "First of all, I give a lot of credit to Brian Williams and the defensive staff. They worked really, really hard. At one time, other night in that game, there were six true freshman on defense at one time. True freshman, not redshirt freshman — true freshman. We've never talked about that. We just — if you develop here, you're going to play. Playing time doesn't have an age limit. It's got a maturity limit. When you're mature enough to go on that field, we're gonna put you on that field.

"That being said, I think our defensive coaches have done a great job with those guys. But anytime you get a shutout, it is a team deal. It's not just the defense. It's the offense controlling the tempo of the game, creating field position. We punted one time in the game. Did we score as many points as we wanted to? No. But we only punted one time in the game. So we created good field position throughout the game. And if we keep people backed up, it's hard for people to drive the football — unless you give up explosive plays, it's just hard for teams to do that.

"Special teams — the punt where we downed it on the one-yard line, that's another possession where it's hard for a team to get points. The field goal block — our special teams — yeah, they missed the kick, but if you watched us rush the kick, those guys that were rushing affected the kicker. That's something that coach Max has spent a lot of time on.

"It is a team thing when you get a shutout. That's what I want our guys to understand. But at the same time, not one time since I've been here have we ever broke the huddle saying goose egg or shutout because that's result. You will start worrying about results instead of doing your job. All coach Williams talked about last week was doing our job and the way we would prepare, the way we prepare will benefit us in this game. Same way on offense. We didn't go out there saying we're going to rush for 300 yards. That's an outcome. We're going to take what they give us. And we're going to execute to the best we can do. And whatever they give us, we got to be willing to take. And that's kind of the way we look at it."