ULM Interim HC John Mumford
Opening Statement...
“Extremely proud – it was great to see these young men smile and the coaches smile and get excited about the game. We did it in a unique fashion. We came out flatter than a pancake all over the field and then started making some plays and gathering momentum. We made plays when it came down to it. We made plays when we needed to, and I have to credit Brian Williams coming in and throwing three touchdown passes. I didn't know if I would ever be up here saying that, but the kid came in and made some clutch throws. He got a lucky tip once in a while but hell we are due for some luck. Then, our defense, after the first few series, I thought they came in some tough situations, got a bunch of three-and-outs and put some pressure on the quarterback. I don't know how many yards their running back (Larry Rose III) had. I don't think he got his 144 at all. I was really proud of the way we hemmed him up. There were plays all over the fired made by a lot of our seniors. It was great to see them go out with a win. Tough times take tough people, and we have some tough people in that locker room and on this staff that hung in there. I am real proud, and I appreciate all of them very much. Questions…”
On getting the seniors a win in their final game…
“Well it's huge. We emphasized that all week. These four years or five years when you're a college football player – it doesn't seem like it at the time but it goes by fast. Anybody that's played the game knows that. For most of those guys, that was their last football game they'll play. It goes by fast. You talk to the guys during their career about not wasting a day. You can't let a day go by because you lose it. If you don't go out, work hard and do the little things to master your position, you've lost that day and it'll catch up with you. I'm really happy for them. They have a lot invested in this program, and it's good to see them go out with a big smile on their faces.”
On the play of Brian Williams…
“It was big time. I was calling (quarterbacks) coach (Cody) Wells the quarterback whisperer after the game. 'B-Will' came in, threw the ball and got us ignited. … When the quarterback does well there's a lot of other people that are involved in that, giving decent protection, getting open on the routes – and the quarterback understanding the route structure and making the right reads and the right throws. He did that tonight so I was extremely happy. It was extremely timely to say the least.”
On ending the team's season on a high note...
“It's very gratifying. I'm greedy – I wish we would have won the other two too and finished out with three (wins). You could see some subtle improvement in those games coming along and when you're in that situation with the way it was going – you lose your head coach – your resiliency to adversity diminishes a little bit. I think you saw that tonight. We were in early adversity, and the guys just kept hanging in there plugging away. The plays started to come to them and when they came to them, they made the plays. I thought they did a great job holding their poise in some chippy situations out there which could have gone either way. I was proud of them for that too. That's the whole thing. If you're out there winning, keep your poise, stay consistent and execute. We did that. Towards the end, I would have liked to have that field goal to have a little breathing room in case something popped on us. Defensively, we made a great fourth-down stand. I didn't expect them to go for it without burning a timeout or something, but they did.”
On the play of the defense…
“It was huge. Working with these kids on defense, they're competitors. They're not always right. They've been down a little bit at times. To see them go out and exert their will, it was a lot of fun to do that and they're entirely capable. Tre' Hunter didn't play. You look at our secondary and that's all young guys back there. I think we're down to three corners and three safeties. (Brynden) Vance had been playing tight end on the offensive scout team for us and he was out there getting a rep or two. Guys like that were out there and had some early problems and everything, but kind of hung in there late as the game went on.”
ULM Defensive Lineman Gerrand Johnson
On what it meant to him to win this game...
“The football Gods could not have scripted it any better themselves. Every senior on this defense had a big play in this game. Trey Caldwell with his pick-six, I had two sacks, Cody Robinson had three sacks, Hunter Kissinger had that big interception and fumble recovery, Michael Johnson had a sack and big tackles for a loss from Lorenzo Jackson. I'm so happy. This is a testament to everything this senior class has been through. Five years ago we started this journey at 5:30 in the morning going through developmental and scout team. The next year we went to the first bowl game in ULM history. We've gone through so much adversity over the years. Today we held the perennial Sun Belt rusher to 63 yards. Larry Rose is a beast and we just laid it all down on the line. A lot of people don't understand the story behind this whole week. Lorenzo and I were both running fevers, Hunter was banged up, Michael Johnson was banged up, Cody was banged up but we still found a way. That's football, that's life, finding a way to step forward and looking to the guy next to you. That's exactly what we did this game.”
On how important it was to give that last bit of effort at the end to preserve the win...
“It was super important. We came into this season believing that we were a highly touted defense. Unfortunately, things didn't fall the way we wanted to this year. Those last couple minutes was our way to make a statement. It was a chance for us to prove that we are who we said we were in the preseason. As I said, things don't always fall the way you want it to but this defense showed up. And Brian Williams, I love the guy, who would have thought he'd come in and throw three touchdowns. I'm ecstatic right now for my team. This senior class has been through a lot and it means so much to come through and get this 'W' in the fashion that we got it in.”
On what advice he would give to all the guys coming back next year...
“Love adversity. As UFC fighters would say, you have to work the cut. Keep working and working and working until it breaks you weak. Adversity is going to hit you just like life is going to hit you, it's not friendly to anybody. It can strike you in areas that you did not prepare for. Love adversity and thrive within it.”
On whether he felt he “built a house” after five years...
“I've been blessed to have a fortunate career and be a four-year starter. But I'm nothing without my defense and my teammates. Hunter and I have been feeding off each other for the last three years. They tried to get me to leave him open and they tried to get him to leave me open. I've just been fortunate and blessed to play with guys like that. The foundation is the linebackers and defensive-line.”
ULM Quarterback Brian Williams
On his mindset coming into the game...
“I just wanted to just go out there and win this game for seniors. It's been a tough year for us and we just wanted to send them out on a positive note.”
On what his plan was when he went into the game...
“I didn't want to overdue things. I know we were down, but I wanted to go out there and just play and stay calm.”
On whether this win will give him momentum moving into the offseason...
“I'm always going to work hard. This gave me a little momentum, but I'm still going to push and work harder to get even better.”
