Postgame Quotes: Southern Miss Head Coach/Student-Athletes (Sept. 7)

2019 Mississippi State Football
Southern Miss
Head Coach Jay Hopson
Quarterback Jack Abraham
Running Back Kevin Perkins
Defensive Back DQ Thomas
vs. Southern Miss
September 7, 2019
Opening Statement
JH: I give credit to Mississippi State. They played a good game and deserved that 'W.' I thought they fought hard, and we had some adversity early. I think we came out and blocked really good the first half. I thought we battled back. I was really proud when there was about five and half minutes to go, and we were down two scores with the ball. I thought we had an opportunity there to make it extremely interesting. Of course, Mississippi State had a big turnover that kind of sealed the game, but I'm proud of our effort. We fought. We certainly got a lot of mistakes to correct, but I thought our players fought. I was extremely proud of them.

Q: What is your opinion of Kylin Hill?
JH: He's a really good back, no doubt. He was good in high school, and he's just really good. A couple of times we had him in the back field, and he just moved it forward and got the first down. I certainly grabbed his neck before I got off the field, and I just thought he played a well game and ran the ball physically. We've got to wrap him up when we have the opportunities, but again, he played a well game.

Q: Was there ever a turning point in the game?
JH: We got behind the stakes early. We just got down early second quarter, 14-0. We had a chance because a couple of times we would get down inside of their 30- or 35-yard line, and we came away with no points while Mississippi State came away with 14 points. The touchdown right before the half, that hurt because it definitely made it a three-score game then. I really felt like we could get back early and come out the second half and get the ball back. I thought we could've scored on that next possession and made it interesting. We made it 31-15 with about five and a half or six minutes to go and had the ball. Now, you're in a situation that if you score there and go for two, we're going to do an on-sides kick and see what happens. To give Mississippi State credit, they deserved to win the ball game, but again, I'm proud of our guys fighting.

Q: How will you use a game like playing against Mississippi State to help you with a difficult schedule?
JH: Any time you're playing good SEC talent, you know you're playing teams that are excellent football teams. It is a good measuring stick. We'll go back on film to see the little things that we could've done better, but that's part of the process. I'm really pleased with the fight. I'm not happy with the score, and I don't think any coach or competitor would be. The bottom line is our guys are fighting hard and playing hard. It would have been really easy when we were down 31-7 to hang it up, but here we go, now it's 31-15. It's our ball, and we're trying to get it to 31-22 and give ourselves a chance. Our guys kept plugging. That's something that I told them at the end of the game that I'm so proud of them because I've never known this team to quit, stop or give up. They just keep plugging and keep fighting, and that's something as a football coach that you've got to be proud of. You want to win every game, but unfortunately, this game you don't but can stand pretty tall as long as you know that you're surrounded by a bunch of fighters. I think that's what we have.

Jack Abraham | Quarterback | Jr.
Q: You guys kind of stalled out a couple of times in the first half. What was it that MSU was doing that was getting you guys off kilter?
JA: Nothing, it was us. We were shooting ourselves in the foot. We were getting behind the sticks, and we were hurting ourselves. Something that we did last week, and we did a little bit this week too, is that we've got to improve on that next week.

Q: Can you expand on things that you maybe saw in the second half that you liked that you wish you'd seen more of in the first half?
JA: It really wasn't anything that we saw in the second half. It just came down to us executing. We didn't execute well enough in that first half, and it really wasn't anything that they were doing. They're definitely a talented defense, but we had a key on what they were doing the whole time. It just came down to us executing.

Kevin Perkins | Running Back | R-Jr.
Q: It seems like you all had success running the ball. What do you think was key for you all today?
KP: As far as coming out and running the ball, we had a heck of a week at practice. Our offensive line stepped up. We had a running back go down last week, so everybody knew that they had roles as far as stepping up. That's what happened today; we brought it together.

Q: Is this kind of what you all have seen in camp? I know last week it seemed like it was kind of tough. Are you encouraged by the way they were hitting?
KP: Of course, the linemen do a tremendous job stepping up. The defensive line was pushing. We just kept running.

Q: Do you think every running back offers something different?
KP: Most of us come out as power backs. We have speed guys, guys that can make tight cuts and knife through the defense. We all bring something different.

DQ Thomas | Defensive Back | Sr.
Q: Early, when State got rolling, what were some issues for you all?
DT: Just miscommunication. A lot of guys were not on the same page. A lot could be made up with our effort on defense, so I think it was just us not communicating on defense.

Q: On Kylin Hill, how tough is it to tackle that guy for 20-plus carries?
DT: He's probably one of the best backs we've seen this year so far and probably that we're going to see. He's has good talent with a good offensive line. He's a pretty tough guy. He's pretty good.

Q: What would you say the mood was in the locker room?
DT: We just missed the opportunity. A lot of things on defense and offense. Things could've been executed differently. Going into next week, Coach Hopson already emphasized that we're going to correct the mistakes that we made, so I'm looking forward to next week already.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Postgame Quotes: Southern Miss Head Coach/Student-Athletes (Sept. 7)

Players Mentioned

Kylin Hill

Related Videos