Chattanooga Football Postgame Quotes
Chattanooga at Jacksonville State
Burgess-Snow Stadium—Jacksonville, Ala.
FCS Playoffs Round Two—Dec. 5, 2015
 
Head Coach Russ Huesman
Opening Statement:
"Well, it was a great football game. Give Jacksonville State credit, they beat us. They won the thing fair-and-square. I think their quarterback played fantastic and their back popped a couple of big ones on us. We fought, our guys are down, but we fought."
 
On playing JSU a second time this season:
"If you're not a seed, which we weren't, we're going to play Jacksonville State in the second round. That is the bottom line. It didn't surprise me, this is a regional tournament. We can't complain one bit. I'm sure Montana and North Dakota State aren't real happy either. But that's what has to happen in this. You can't go flying FCS programs all over the country, you just can't do it. This is a great tournament…24 teams that are privileged to be in it."
 
On if the loss was a carryover from playing in the first round:
"No, it's nothing like that. You have to defend. Y'all come in the office one time and watch these guys on film. When you've got to defend (Troymaine) Pope, (Eli) Jenkins, (Josh) Barge, (Ruben) Gonzalez…they have for all-conference linemen, it's a hard, hard chore."
 
Jacob Huesman, Sr.-QB
On resiliency being down early:
"I think the biggest part of it is how our guys fought. We put ourselves in some tough situations, but we gutted it out. We've got a bunch of competitors over there, and it's those people that had us in the game. I'm proud of this team and how we battled back."
 
On the interception:
"It's just a little throw back (pass). I thought if I put the ball far enough on (Derrick) Craine's right shoulder, he'd have a shot at it, and I left it inside. That's mistake No. 1, can't do it. So, tough ending to the game."
 
Keionta Davis, Jr.-DE
On containing Eli Jenkins:
"He's a good player. We put ourselves in a few bad situations rushing him. When you've got a good player like that, you can't make mistakes. That makes it harder on the defense and you see the result of that."
 
On second half momentum shift:
"In that third quarter, we started coming back, but you still have to fight. We could be down five touchdowns, but you still have to fight."
 
A.J. Hampton, Sr.-LB
On the team's momentum and making plays in the second half:
"We were pumped coming into the second half. We knew we were already down coming into it, so we knew that we would have to fight to get back in it. We got some momentum to scoring and then we were back in it and everything. It was definitely a good game and we had to battle the whole time through."
 
On strides the program has taken over the years:
"I hope we've made a good impression on them, so that they (underclassmen) continue to be good leaders and lead us to a National Championship. We had the team to go far year-in and year-out, and I've had a great time, because we grew up and got better. Starting off with all of us being roommates and not seeing the field to where we were all out there together is what I've enjoyed. We've had good chemistry, and I've enjoyed being around my friends."
 
Sema'je Kendall, Sr.-DB
On the team's mindset heading into overtime:
"I mean we wouldn't want to have it any other way in the fourth quarter and overtime but to have a chance to win the game. You want those opportunities to stop an offense and put the ball back in your offense's hands."
 
On the growth he's had in the program over the years:
"I've seen everybody's attitude change into a winning attitude, and I saw people not want to give up and that fight in everybody. It's that championship mentality in our defense, our offense and our team as a whole."