Bobby Lamb Weekly Press Conference - Nov. 10 - Mercer University Athletics

MACON, Ga. (Monday, November 5, 2018) – Mercer head football coach Bobby Lamb and quarterback Harrison Frost spoke with the media on Monday to discuss the Bears' loss to No. 22 ETSU on Homecoming and the upcoming road trip to face Chattanooga.

Bobby Lamb
Opening Statement...
"First off, thanks for coming today. We're disappointed in our loss [to ETSU] at Five Star Stadium on Saturday. The game came down to three categories; and number one was turnovers. We threw two critical interceptions at terrible parts of the field. Number two was red zone offense. We had to kick three field goals instead of scoring touchdowns. Number three was four-minute defense. We were not able to get the ball back at the end [of the game] to have another shot to win the game.

"You've got to give ETSU credit; they have won a bunch of close ball games. They are very solid on defense and they are very solid on offense with what they do. They are not flashy but are a really good football team. I think they've earned a share of the [Southern Conference] championship because they are off [this] week, but they did a great job and you have to give credit where credit is due.

"I want to point out that BJ Bohler was our defensive player of the game. Tyray Devezin [was our offensive player of the game] and had about 90 rushing yards after contact, so he had a great game too. Cole Fisher [was our special teams player of the game] and did a really good job of kicking the ball. I want to say that Harrison Frost, known as "Frosty" to us, was thrown into a situation where he hasn't started a game since his junior year of high school…and he came in and played well. [Frost] did some really good things and made some unbelievable throws under pressure. He committed two turnovers that hurt us, but overall I thought his performance was pretty good, having been thrown into a situation like that. I'm very happy for [Frost] and we may be going with him again this week [at Chattanooga] so, we'll wait and see."

On Frost's performance and the potential plan to start him at Chattanooga…
"If you really watch the game, we came out on the very first drive with no backs, which is an empty set that really spreads the field. [Frost] has a strong arm and he made some really quality throws, so we're not afraid to expand the playbook a little with him in there. [Frost's] goal and dream is to be a college football coach – specifically an offensive coordinator – so he really studies the game. You know, he played really well, and I don't think we helped him a lot. We had three drops on offense and there were two balls that got batted in there that could have been big plays.

"Overall, we knew that ETSU was going to load up the box, and that's what they did and they forced Frost to throw the ball. Overall, I thought [Frost] played solid; he'll sit there and tell you he wished he had those two interceptions back, but that's part of the game and part of the learning process. He'll get better with the more plays he gets."

On the injuries that impacted Mercer…
"Well, Tee Mitchell didn't play [at ETSU]. Our guys joked a bit on the headsets when all of our injured players came through the tunnel after the rest of the team [before kickoff] and I was like, 'man, there goes half of our team right there.'

"[Cornerback] Harrison Poole didn't play and of course [quarterback] Kaelan Riley was out. We had a couple other guys out, too. But in football, you're going to have a lot of injuries and it's been an injury-heavy year for us. But we've really had other guys step up and play well, like Tyray Devezin. [Devezin] has played plenty for us this year, but I told him before the game that he may get 30 carries, and he got 29 [vs. ETSU]. He was ready to go and he was running through everything in front of him…I was proud of his effort. At the end of the day, other players have to step up when you have injuries like we've had."

On the loss to ETSU…
"We played extremely hard and fairly well. I want to complement our defense; I thought our defense played its best game of the season. They had to defend a 20-yard and 40-yard field after two interceptions and they played a solid game the entire way. They really ran to the ball well, really hustled and really gave great effort.

"Offensively, we did some good things. You're limited without [Mitchell's] speed and limited at the quarterback position, and obviously we didn't get it done. I want to say I am proud of our team and proud of the effort they gave."

On Chattanooga…
"If you look at Chattanooga, they're 6-3 [in SoCon play] and beat Samford in week four after we beat Samford. They've got three conference losses just like we do, so they really got eliminated [from the SoCon race] this past weekend with a 16-10 loss to Furman. [Head Coach] Tom Arth has done a good job in his second year with the program and it all starts on defense…they are really good on defense. Chattanooga is leading the SoCon in scoring defense and they're third in total defense. They're the top team in the league and 10th nationally in turnover ratio at +8, so they take care of the ball. They huddle up, run a pro-style offense. Nick Tiano is their quarterback and he weighs about 250 pounds and has been very efficient this year."

"They have a JUCO running back who has over 600 yards. And then, Bryce Nunnelly, a wide receiver has over 1,005 receiving yards. They are a dangerous offense. But, it starts on defense and starts up front, because they're very stout on the line. We have a great challenge in front of us."

On his message to the team this week…
"Unfortunately, our goals change at this point in the season. We certainly wanted to get the win on Saturday [vs. ETSU] but we weren't able to get it done, so our goals change. In the team meeting on Sunday, we had to set our new goals. The bottom line is that we have two games left and we've got to try to win out and get to 5-3 in the league. That's not what we wanted [at the start of the season], but that's where we are now. 5-3 in the league has never been done here; we were 4-4 two straight years [2016, 2017], so we'd like to go 5-3. It all starts at Chattanooga on the road."

On the difficulty of the SoCon…
"It's a weekly deal. As you've seen now, we've got three losses, Chattanooga's got three losses, I think there are three teams now sitting with two losses, and of course ETSU sitting with one loss. There's still a lot of football to be played. It's been one of those years…I was joking with our staff yesterday that in reality, when you see a lot of onside kicks at the end of games, it means you know games are close. We've had a lot of onside kick formations that we've had to go over during the course of the year. That just shows you how close this conference is and how close these games are coming down to the wire."

On the injury status of Tee Mitchell and other players…
"[Mitchell] is feeling better, but [his injury] is day-to-day. Robert Riddle is day-to-day. Harrison Poole and David Durden – who suffered a concussion on Saturday – are day-to-day. Destin Guillen suffered an ankle injury and is day-to-day. The list goes on and on, but that's part of the game and part of it being late in a football season. When you're limited to only 63 scholarships at the FCS level, it does make it limited to what you can do with your roster."

On whether he has ever had to deal with as many injuries as he's had to this season…
"In my coaching career, I've only had to use my third-string quarterback once, and that was probably back in 1992, if I can remember back that far. As far as the number of injuries, sometimes you get a lot of them and sometimes you can get guys back but we just have them week after week after week…it's just one of those things that's hard to explain."

Quarterback Harrison Frost
On his opportunity to start at quarterback vs. ETSU…
"It was definitely exciting. It had been a long time [since he last started a football game at quarterback] and I didn't really know how to react. Every week I try to prepare like I'm going to play…whether I'm on the third team, sixth team or whatever team. So, it was exciting for my family and I and it was definitely an experience."

On how he'd evaluate his performance…
"It was definitely a learning experience. I didn't play as well as I hoped I would. There's a lot that I can improve on. I'm going to work hard this week to improve, especially on my accuracy. I didn't think I was very accurate on Saturday in my decision-making. I left a couple [passes] out there that I could have made a better decision on, but there's always room to improve."

On how preparation for this week's game will differ from last week…
"I probably won't be as nervous, but Chattanooga is definitely a good team. I don't know much about [Chattanooga] yet; I'll probably learn plenty about them around 5 o'clock today with film study. They'll definitely be a tough opponent and we'll just have to prepare the right way in order to win."

On any guidance provided by Kaelan Riley and Robert Riddle…
"It's definitely nice to have them there to be with me. Robert has only played like two full games, really, and Kaelan obviously played last year. But we are all kind of in the same situation where we haven't played a ton – obviously I've played less than both of them. It was really nice to have them on the sideline to tell me things and [Offensive Coordinator Joe] Pizzo was helpful as well."

On how he can improve upon last week's performance…
"I just need to improve every week. The main thing that I am going to work on all week is accuracy, like I said."

On how the team will prepare, knowing there are only two games left this season…
"We definitely wanted to get the win this past weekend, especially for our seniors…we wanted to get to the playoffs for them. But these next two games can help lead us to a 5-3 record in the SoCon and hopefully I can do everything in my power to make sure that happens."

On having multiple offensive weapons to help him in the passing game…
"Marquise [Irvin], David [Durden], Stephen [Houzah, Tucker [Cannon], Tyray [Devezin]…all of them and all the others are so talented and I wish I could have got the ball to them a little more on Saturday. When they get the ball, it is nice to see how they can bail you out every once in a while. It just gives you confidence to put it in their hands and see what happens."

Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Football, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerFootball (Twitter), /MercerFootball (Facebook) and @MercerFootball (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.

Bobby Lamb Weekly Press Conference - Nov. 10

Players Mentioned

BJ Bohler

Tyray Devezin

David Durden

Cole Fisher

Harrison Frost

Destin Guillen

Tee Mitchell

Harrison Poole

Robert Riddle

Kaelan Riley

Footer

Mercer University Athletics