Coach Clarence McKinney and LaDarius Owens Postgame Interview. Texas Southern defeated Alcorn State, 44-10.
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00:00 >> I heard great win tonight for the Tigers.
00:04 I thought we played a complete game.
00:08 I think we've been building up to playing a complete game the last couple weeks.
00:13 But it all came together tonight.
00:15 A lot of it had to do with this guy to my left, Ladarius Owens.
00:20 He's been consistent all season.
00:25 O-line did a great job of opening running lanes, protecting our quarterback.
00:30 I think defensively, we had a tremendous game plan to stop the run,
00:36 force them to pass.
00:38 And we were fortunate enough to get a big win and come out on top.
00:43 >> First question, Charles Bishop.
00:48 >> Coach, let me ask you this question in terms of you talked about the young man
00:52 to your left, you've been arguing with regards to swack offensive play of the year.
00:56 I know a lot of talk has been towards Jeremy Nielsen, but talk about Ladarius.
01:02 >> Yeah, just a tremendous person, first and foremost.
01:06 Ladarius might be the second player that I recruited when I first got here.
01:11 All he does is come to work, do what he's coached to do, what he's asked to do.
01:20 And he doesn't complain.
01:22 He shows up each and every day, no matter what it is.
01:25 He just shows up and he goes to work.
01:27 And he's extremely coached.
01:30 And you can't get enough players in the program to do the things that
01:34 Ladarius has done since he's been with us.
01:38 We're gonna miss him.
01:41 >> Dr. Deville.
01:43 Dr. Deville's inside the HBCU Sports Lab.
01:45 Dr. Deville, this is for the Darius first, if you don't mind, coach.
01:51 How did it feel to break the record in such the fact you did on a touchdown,
01:56 really in a lot of ways sealed the game, and
01:59 it culminated in a victory for your team over the last four or five years?
02:05 >> It really feels great.
02:07 Sure, I didn't expect it to be a touchdown, but I prepared for this all year.
02:15 I set my goals at the beginning of the year to be 1,000 yard back, and
02:19 this made sure I held on to my goal.
02:22 >> Coach, follow up question.
02:26 In terms of victory, obviously you've been close a lot of games all year.
02:30 You talked about playing a full game.
02:33 Can you put that also in the context in terms of what you were able to do in
02:36 the first half, then understanding the weather dimension and
02:40 how you play a whole different type of game because of the weather extension,
02:44 the push things forward over to the big one?
02:47 >> Yeah, the weather, we started fast.
02:50 We're a team that starts fast, typically, whether there's good weather or
02:54 bad weather, we have a tendency to start fast.
02:57 We actually work on starting fast.
02:59 I think the weather had a tremendous amount of effect on the second half,
03:05 just because it was hard for us to grip the ball and throw it down the field.
03:10 It was hard for them to do the same.
03:12 And it became a situation where, I mean, it was old school football.
03:17 We're gonna run it until we can't run it anymore.
03:22 And we got the best running back in the conference.
03:25 So, I mean, who better to put the game in his hands?
03:31 And he just brought it on home for us.
03:35 >> Thank you.
03:36 >> Coach.
03:37 >> [INAUDIBLE]
03:39 >> Coach, talk about those, more so about those guys up front,
03:42 you know, and trenches where things get done,
03:45 especially when you wanna run the ball in this type of weather.
03:48 How much they got to do today to win?
03:51 >> Yeah, those guys have been extremely consistent.
03:53 They're another group of young men that's led by Jack Nance.
04:00 To his left is Manny Torrance, to his left is Aiden Hemphill,
04:07 to the right of Jack is Dennis Jones.
04:10 And early in the season, our right tackle was
04:14 Thomas Brown, who was replaced after an injury by CJ Morris.
04:22 And so when you have a group of four, like Dennis, Jack,
04:29 Manny, Aiden, who've played together, they've played a tremendous amount of plays
04:33 together, they have, they're in sync, and Jack is the leader,
04:38 and he get those guys pointing in the right direction.
04:41 And Coach Ramirez has done a tremendous job of coaching those guys and
04:46 having them prepared.
04:47 They're just a great group.
04:51 They've done a tremendous job, both in the run game and in the pass protection game.
04:55 And I wouldn't trade them in for anybody in our league.
05:03 >> Coach Kyle Mosley, HBCU Legends, talk about the defense.
05:10 Those guys limited Howard to only 41 yards on the ground, and
05:15 they were confusing Allen the whole time.
05:18 Talk about how well they play.
05:20 >> Yeah, Coach Todd and the defense had a great game plan,
05:23 and the defense staff put together a great game plan.
05:26 Our defense has been improving for the last three, four weeks.
05:31 We've been playing lights out.
05:33 And if you go back to last weekend, we played at Jackson,
05:39 shut them out in the second half.
05:42 And our guys are getting over, they're getting not overconfident, but
05:46 extremely confident in what we're doing.
05:48 And one thing that you guys don't see and you don't know is that we're playing
05:54 without 20 players that we came into the season expecting to contribute,
05:59 both offensively and defensively.
06:01 And so that's just a testament to the guys in that locker room who
06:05 have stepped up when their number has been called.
06:08 I can't name them all, but there's a tremendous amount of players
06:14 that are playing now that didn't make the 2D early in the season.
06:21 And it's just been a next man up mentality.
06:26 And you can see that the team has improved each week.
06:29 >> We cannot go without talking about the job Jace Wilson did as well.
06:34 Please speak on how well he performed.
06:36 >> We went into the season not expecting Jace to be the guy.
06:40 And week two, he had to figure it out.
06:44 And while Jace was figuring out his place on this team,
06:49 as a staff, we were figuring out Jace.
06:52 We didn't know what he could do or couldn't do.
06:56 But you can see each week Jace getting a little bit better and improving.
07:01 And with his play improving, our play as a team improved.
07:06 And so he's done a tremendous job.
07:10 We're excited about having him.
07:12 We're glad he's part of the team.
07:15 >> Awesome.
07:17 >> Coach, I wanna ask you about Darius's selflessness.
07:20 There was a running a prodding running back for the majority of his time here.
07:24 And yet he persisted, he was a team first guy.
07:26 Can you talk a little bit about how he remained focused on team goals as
07:32 opposed to individual goals before he got to the point where he could feature back?
07:36 >> Yeah, well, I think he started quite a bit since he first got here.
07:41 He just split carries up until this season.
07:47 He split some carries with Ja'Cory Howard up until this season.
07:52 But he's a very selfless individual.
07:55 He comes to work, he does what he's supposed to do,
08:00 he encourages the young guys.
08:01 Whatever we've asked of him, whether that be punt return, kick return,
08:08 carry five times a game or carry 35 times a game.
08:14 Whatever we've asked of him, he has not complained.
08:18 He's just done whatever we've asked, we throw it to him, I'll give it back to him.
08:22 I think this young man has the talent and
08:26 the grit to be a really good NFL running back.
08:31 And we're gonna see that he gets that opportunity.
08:34 >> But Darius, talk about your role models.
08:39 How did they help you to get where you are today?
08:41 >> They pretty much just kept giving me positive feedback on what I gotta do
08:47 to become a better person in life, not only on the field, but off the field.
08:54 >> Who are those role models?
08:59 >> My mom and my dad and my old coach, baseball coach.
09:06 He's been with me since I was like six years old.
09:09 He's been my mentor ever since then.
09:12 >> Awesome, congrats.
09:14 >> Darius, there was a moment where the Jumbotron caught you with your family.
09:18 Who was that that you came over and shared this special moment with?
09:20 >> That was my mother.
09:22 >> Okay, and what was that moment like for you?
09:25 >> An incredible moment, something I can never imagine doing at this time and
09:33 this point on this stage.
09:35 It really brought a tear to my eye to see my mom happy and full of joy.
09:41 And right now, I'm feeling it myself, and you can hear it in my voice.
09:46 >> Last question.
09:48 >> Coach, what's next?
09:53 >> What's next?
09:54 Pine bluff.
09:55 >> [LAUGH] >> We're gonna celebrate this one tonight,
09:59 and then we're gonna get ready for, start getting ready for
10:02 pine bluff in the morning.
10:04 - All right, congrats.