Jeff Bower Players Quotations

I think everyone will be excited. It'll be competitive. We've had a good, physical spring and our players have worked hard. So I expect a good day Saturday.

We've got over 35 guys from Hattiesburg or south of there. A number of our players' families have sustained total or substantial loss. We encouraged them to stay in touch with them. I think this has brought our team together. They're excited to play a game. I think it was a relief to get back on the field. I didn't know what to expect, but it the players were like kindergartners.

We're going to get into a stretch where we are going to play a lot of games without time off. I think the players have handled it well. Our practices have been good. They know there's nothing anyone could've done about the games being canceled. We know we are going to play and they will be excited about playing.

I've said all along, this is where we want to recruit. It's important to keep in-state players that are capable of playing Division I ball in the state. We worked it hard.

These players aren't thinking about football right now.

These kids haven't hardly eaten. They haven't had a lot of fluids and like me a lot of them are looking forward to a hot shower. It's difficult and we had to change our plans and make the proper adjustments. We are ultimately concerned about the welfare of our players and their families. We still have two or three players who haven't made it back yet.

It wasn't us that didn't want to play. We always thought it was a great series. The players enjoyed playing it. We'll pick up somebody.

It's another important day. You work all week to get ready, and we're just waiting to see how the players will perform.

There were more players in the state this year, more Division I talent and more qualifiers. Yes, we did emphasize it a little more.

The league is going to be very competitive this year, especially with the new teams. There are a lot of good players and good coaches in this league and it is going to be tough. We already have a lot to overcome so there is much to do to get ready for the season.