Conque’s Comments: ‘Jacks Host No. 17 Nicholls for Senior Day on Veteran’s Day

Photo by: Hardy Meredith | SFA Photography

Conque’s Comments: ‘Jacks Host No. 17 Nicholls for Senior Day on Veteran’s Day

11/9/2017 9:22:00 PM | Football

SFA head coach Clint Conque talks about having a bye last week and Saturday’s tilt with 17th-ranked Nicholls

By: Luke Bolanos | Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

THE KICKOFF
The 17th-ranked Colonels of Nicholls will visit Nacogdoches for the final Stephen F. Austin home football game of 2017, presented by Pilgrim's. The senior day affair will kick off at 3 p.m. from inside Homer Bryce Stadium. It will be the second time the Lumberjacks have hosted a nationally-ranked opponent this season after welcoming then 25th-ranked McNeese to Nacogdoches on Sept. 30. For the fourth time this season SFA will take on an opponent ranked in the top 25 of the FCS Coaches Poll. Nicholls enters the matchup tied for second in the Southland Conference standings as SFA attempts to claim its fifth league win of the season for the first time since 2014.

FOLLOWING THE LUMBERJACKS
Saturday's game against Nicholls will be streamed live online at ESPN3, available at ESPN3.com or through the ESPN app. Rob Meyers, the voice of the Lumberjacks, will call the game along with color commentator Kevin Langford on Q107.7 FM, available online at Q1077.com as well as through the Lumberjack Sports Network on the TuneIn app. The duo's call of the game will also be heard on the ESPN3 broadcast. Live stats will be available at SFAJacks.com, complemented by Twitter updates from @SFA_Football.

THANK YOU SENIORS
Saturday will be senior day for 10 'Jacks who will be playing their final game inside Homer Bryce. Each has provided significant contributions to the SFA football program since their arrival on campus. Four, defensive end John Franklin (Greenville, Texas), cornerback Tarrin Mitchell (Dallas, Texas), tight end Will Taylor (Euless, Texas), and safety Marlon Walls (Pearland, Texas), were each a part of head coach Clint Conque's original recruiting class in 2014. The four came on board with SFA shortly after Conque was hired to lead the 'Jacks. Running back Kijana Amous (Mansfield, Texas), cornerback Aaron Foy (Kilgore, Texas), wide receiver Trae Hart (Mesquite, Texas), offensive lineman Josh Keith (Katy, Texas), cornerback Trent Perriman (Miami, Fla.) and offensive lineman Jaxon Salinas (Irving, Texas) complete this year's senior class as all 10 will be recognized prior to Saturday's kickoff.

THANK YOU VETERANS
Not only will it be senior day Saturday but it is also Veteran's Day. Four members of the SFA football program have made great sacrifices and put themselves in harm's way to protect and keep safe the United States of America. Current Lumberjack Mark Reed, a redshirt freshman tight end from Palestine, Texas, served as a rescue swimmer for the United States Navy. The Lumberjacks' director of football operations, Kail Kaiser, was with the United States Air Force in security forces. Alex Rodriguez, an assistant athletic trainer for SFA, is a former Seabee equipment operator for the United States Navy. Head athletic trainer AJ Van Valkenburgh, who handles athletic training efforts for the entire football team, was a member of the Texas Army National Guard's Combat Medic 91W unit for eight years.

ABOUT THE GAME
Coming off their bye week the 'Jacks aim for their third-straight win Saturday after a 27-10 home win over Houston Baptist (Oct. 21) and a 34-7 road victory at Lamar (Oct. 28). SFA has not had a trio of consecutive wins since September of 2016 when the 'Jacks defeated West Alabama, McNeese and Abilene Christian in a row. The last time SFA won three-straight Southland contests was in 2015. Having its open date in week 10 of the season, SFA was the second to last team in the Southland to have its bye week. Southeastern Louisiana will have its bye this weekend. A victory over the Colonels would move the 'Jacks into a tie for fifth place in the conference standings with the Lions. A win would move SFA to 5-3 in league play and mark the fourth time since 2009 that the 'Jacks have claimed at least five Southland wins. SFA is seeking its first win of the season over an out-of-state opponent after falling in its previous three chances against Southern Utah (51-14), McNeese (35-0) and Central Arkansas (24-20).

Head Coach Clint Conque's Comments

On the bye week and how much the team responded with a Sunday night practice
"The goal this week was to try to get well on several fronts. Number one from a health and rehabilitation standpoint. I feel like we're further along there than we would have been had we played a game on Saturday. There's no question. Number two, we got back into the weight room. So we were able to get four solid lifts and a couple of practices in. Our front-line guys worked one day last week – a little bit of a deviation – because usually we work twice but we only worked one day. Of course, they had off Saturday and I thought the spirit was good and I thought our legs looked really fresh on Sunday night. It was a little bit cooler and the energy was good. I felt like we got as much as we possibly could out of our open week."

On facing a nationally-ranked Nicholls team and what it means for the seniors
"Senior day is always a whirlwind of emotions for the players, for their families and certainly for us coaches as well. Some of these young men were part of our first recruiting class that was pretty hastily put together but – and we redshirted a few that year that will be seniors next year. When you start thinking about John Franklin and Marlon Walls and Will Taylor, some of those guys they've had outstanding careers here as Lumberjacks. But we have to be mature and get through that because we have a very talented football team coming in. I think they're 7-2 – nationally ranked as you mentioned – they're very well coached, play very hard. Their two losses were to Sam Houston State, their only conference loss, and of course Texas A&M in a close defeat down in College Station. They're a very well coached, very physical football team. They don't make many mistakes. They play very solid on defense, very opportunistic on offense. They have big receivers, speed receivers, running backs who run hard, offensive and defensive lines that are very stout. A kicking game that's very good, a veteran punter, he is one of the most outstanding kickers in our conference. It's a huge test, we are excited to have them at home. We will put together a good plan, and again, it's the last time the seniors get to play at Homer Bryce so we certainly want them to go out on a positive note."

On the biggest challenges when facing the Colonels
"They are speedy and they have great length at receiver. They have a change of pace running back, a quick back and then a power back. Their quarterback, (Chase) Fourcade, is a winner. He is a competitive young man, great bloodline in his family. He is going to be one of the all-time great players there, I really believe that. It all starts, to me, with their defensive front. They are very big, very strong and very experienced. They play eight/nine guys up there. They have given everybody fits up front. We are going to have to play well on the offensive line. Our backs are going to have to run well. We are going to have to protect the quarterback. They are a very gifted football team, big, strong, physical, fast. They are very worthy of their national ranking."

On what the message is to the team this week
"Well first and foremost you want to protect your home venue, and then of course we are playing for something a little bigger than ourselves, for these 10 seniors. Weather they have been here two years, three years or four years. They have put a lot of effort into this program, building the foundation for this program. Some of these young men played in our last national playoff game in 2014. We want to play hard for those guys, we want to coach hard for those guys that have put so much into our program. There is a lot to play for, we have a chance to get our fifth Division I win, keeps us on track for a winning season. We have been fortunate to have beaten at least one top-20 team in the first three years we were here, I think in 2014 we may have beaten a couple of them. So this gives us our last opportunity to do that. We are excited about the challenge. I know our young men will be ready to play. It's supposed to be a beautiful day, three o'clock on Saturday. This is all about the seniors and their families. We certainly want to put everything we can, all of our efforts and energies, into trying to steal one here at home against a great football team."

-SFA-