Neal Brown Press Conference - Dollar General Bowl #2

Head Coach Neal Brown

Opening Statement…
"It is a great day to be a Troy Trojan today. On the way over here, I looked at a big hole in the ground in the north end zone, which is encouraging. Construction is underway and they are even ahead of schedule. We also added what I think will be two great Trojans in the future, today. We added wide receiver Damion Willis, a tall guy that can really run and a guy that we liked coming out of high school and that we have had a relationship for about two years. We need some length and speed at outside receiver, and he will be here in January and will be ready to compete right away. And then we signed a defensive end, Rasool Clemens. He will add to what is starting to be a long history of quality defensive linemen here. He will have the opportunity with the body and the build and makeup to be a potential player at the next level. He will step in and hopefully be able to play at the same level as Rashad Dillard and Junior Gnonkonde did this year.

We started practice over the weekend and had three practices and were out there for about 45 minutes to an hour. We got a small scrimmage each of those days with our young players. We are looking forward to 2017 with them. Today will be our first Ohio practice and our first day to be in bowl prep since 2010. It is always a positive if you are practicing football in December. There are a lot of good things going on. We have the Dollar General Bowl on the 23^rd and our players are fired up about that. We are fired up about the destination as we have talked about. I encourage everyone to go to our website and get tickets. I think a big reason of why we got the invite there is how our fans and students showed up for the battle of the belt. We need that same type of support and even more in this bowl game. It is an opportunity to make a statement and get to 10 wins for the first time in our (FBS) history and really celebrate what has been a tremendous season."

On mindset after Georgia Southern game…
"We had finals on Thursday and Friday, so last week we worked out and they threw on their own. Friday, Saturday and Sunday we practiced for about 45 minutes to an hour and went against each other to stay in shape and stay sharp and also just to have fun. We competed a lot and had surprises that guys went after. We gave them Monday and Tuesday off to finish up finals. We will practice today, Thursday and Friday and those will be Ohio practices and then we will give them the weekend off and then we will get back to work on Monday in Mobile."

On status of running back Jordan Chunn…
The casual observer can tell that Jordan was not the same after the Appalachian State game. He had an injury that he fought through and he didn't practice much for the last three weeks of the season. His production fell off and I didn't think we blocked as well up front as we had been. A lot of it had to do with who we were playing. We played two of the best defensive fronts in our league in Georgia Southern and Arkansas State. I think we still have some work to be done up front. But he wasn't at full speed. A lot of runs that he was making after App. State, he wasn't making. He just wasn't the same guy. He has been off and he will do a little more this week, but we are going to let him rehab and get back healthy until we get down to the bowl site on Monday. I expect him to be back at full strength for this game.

On Ohio's Defensive Front…
"I think they are sixth in the nation in rushing defense, they have 43 sacks on the year, and their linebacker play and defensive line across the bard, outside of Clemson, will be the better than anyone we have played this year."

On Sun Belt Awards…
"We are really excited about those individual awards. They are always based on team success. We had some good players last year, but our team wasn't quite as good and we didn't get much recognition. We had two guys on the preseason team and then we turned around and had a high number. I am especially proud of Rashad Dillard. He is a guy that has battled through some adversity in his life and in his career here. He is the first player of the year we have had here since Omar Haugabook (2007), and first defensive player since DeMarcus Ware (2004) was here. We are really proud of him. He changed positions going into preseason camp and was really unselfish throughout. That speaks highly of him and how he has played this year. We also had several first team all-conference guys and even some second team guys. A guy like Jalen Rountree to get second team all conference, it has been a positive. I feel like Brandon Silvers has been the best quarterback in our league all year and to see other coaches and media recognize that as well has been rewarding. Emanuel Thompson was very lightly recruited coming out of Barbour County, for him to come here and lead our league in receiving and get first team all-conference. A lot of those all-conference kids are right here in our local recruiting area. I think that will help us build our program."

On practicing in December…
"It is great. Objective number one is to win the game and get that 10^th win. But this is also a reward for a team and program. I think there is a fine line between preparing to win and having a good time. We are going to have shorter practices than we do during the season, and we are also going to get our young guys some work. It is an opportunity for them to make a mark entering into spring ball."

On sending off the seniors…
"We are going to celebrate our seniors over the next two weeks. I don't believe in doing that until they are going to play their last game. We had senior night here at home, and that will not be a memory they cherish, I can tell you that. They always remember their last game in college and we want to send them out with a win. That would be the first team to do that. They will bring you back after that and it is an opportunity to do something special."

On transfer Damion Willis…
"He is a speed guy. If you look at East Mississippi Community College, which we have had a lot of success with. Jordan Lesley was the lead recruiter on both of these guys. Jordan spent the last three seasons at East Mississippi. Those guys are well coached and they are used to winning. Damion was their leading receiver this year. I think he has grown a lot as a football player and as a person over the last two years since we first started seeing him in high school, and he is a guy that needs to put on weight and get a little stronger, but ball skills and the ability to stick his foot and explosiveness, he is a guy that we are counting on to be a big contributor for us next year."

On Rasool Clemens…
"He is a guy that has a ton of potential. He is long. You are talking about a guy that only weighed about 185 pounds coming out of high school. He had a lot of SEC interest and that was a big win for Jordan (Lesley) and for our program to get Rasool here. I like what he stands for. He is a hard working kid and sat out this year at East Mississippi and he will have three years of eligibility left. He is going to spend a lot of time with (strength) Coach (Rafael) Horton. As his body develops, I think has the chance to be one of the premier defensive ends in our league."

On game planning for Ohio…
"They don't change what they (quarterbacks) do. One is a senior and one is a redshirt freshman. They have had success and it seems to me they go for the hot hand. They play both of them. There are a couple of things that each of them do differently or a little better than the other, so we will prepare for that, but as far as overall game plan, it won't change much regardless of who is in at quarterback."

On offensive lineman Xavier Fields…
"I see less of him, which is a positive. He is a guy that probably didn't buy in real quick and didn't have the results he wanted to have, but as he bought in, he saw his play increase. He is one of our most improved players from a year ago. We started playing him a lot in the New Mexico State game last season. He had a really good offseason and then this year he has been solid. He got a little beat up, but I think he will bounce back. I am really proud of him individually for how far he has come."

Troy University Athletics

Neal Brown Press Conference - Dollar General Bowl #2

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Jordan Chunn

Rashad Dillard

Xavier Fields

Junior Gnonkonde

Jalen Rountree

Brandon Silvers

Emanuel Thompson

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