What Southern Miss coach Jay Hopson said about Auburn

No. 10 Auburn welcomes Conference USA opponent Southern Miss to Jordan-Hare Stadium this weekend.

The two teams will play Saturday at 3 p.m., with the game airing on SEC Network.

Southern Miss coach Jay Hopson held his weekly press conference on Monday. Here's a look at what Hopson said about his team and Auburn heading into this weekend's matchup.

JAY HOPSON, Southern Miss coach

Opening statement...

"It's good to get the first conference win under our belt and now we move on to a tough non-conference opponent. I'm a worn-out record; it's another really good football team that we have to play, so we're just getting ready and prepared for the next battle."

On the team's progress...

"This football team is getting better and better. We did a good job offensively last Saturday and we certainly had a few more opportunities we didn't take advantage of. Defensively, other than a few plays here and there, we got a little bit better. We made some plays defensively and that's a big plus. Offensively we operated pretty well. We've got to keep that going. That's kind of our mission - every week, get better. I say that every week, but this week is no exception. We play an outstanding football team [this weekend] and we've got to get better."

On playing Auburn...

"They're an athletic team. They beat Arkansas 34-3, it could've been worse than that. They're a good football team, there's no "ifs" or "buts" about that. We know we've got a good challenge and we know we're playing a really good football team, so we have to prepare. I always say this - I worry about one team, I worry about us. So, we've got to get better from week three to week four and that's our journey and that's our climb."

More on Auburn...

"At Southern Miss we play SEC teams every year. That's part of our DNA. We know they're an athletic football team and a good football team. We're going to prepare the same way we always do. That's what we always have done and always will do. We know Auburn is a good football team, that doesn't surprise us. We're going to do what we do and prepare and get ready to play our best."

On having players from Alabama on the roster...

"We have quite a few players from Alabama. We've always had quite a few kids from Alabama here at Southern Miss. That's a big game for those guys to go back to their home state to play in front of their fans and family. It's a great time for those guys."

On how playing games like this helps recruiting...

"It's kind of who we are at Southern Miss, we're always going to play these games. That does help with recruiting because kids want to know who you're playing in non-conference. We have Alabama and Auburn for the next four years, next year we play Mississippi State. We've played LSU, Kentucky, and Tennessee in the last two years. We know what we're getting into and we know the challenge that we have ahead of us."

On getting ready for the environment at Auburn...

"We certainly will do a few different things with noise and we'll practice and get in the stadium to get them used to that environment. It's part of playing college football and most of our guys have played at Tennessee and Kentucky and they've been in those types of places. Auburn is no exception. As I player I played at Auburn, I know the environment that is at Jordan-Hare. We know it's a big-time environment. It's what happens between those white lines. The crowd is great, the fans are great, but it's what's between that square box that's going to matter Saturday at 3 p.m."

On the freshmen running backs...

"Trivenskey (Mosley) played really well, he made some really good cuts. Steven (Anderson) ran the ball strong, ran below his pads. Those two guys showed a lot of potential in what they can do and who they are. George (Payne) had a season-ending injury and he's a guy that - God bless him - we were looking forward to getting back but he had a knee injury two weeks ago and that's unfortunate. We had T-Rod Daniels leave a week ago from the team. Trivenskey and Steven were two guys who even two weeks ago were starting to take reps and they are guys that have proved they are really good football players."

On Auburn being a running team like Rice...

"Auburn is a team that can run the ball on you, they're a football team that's talented at quarterback. They've got speed at wide receiver, they'll give you a lot of different looks, a lot of different things to work on. They're multi-talented so it's a big challenge defensively, because you do have to stop the run but you also have to stop the pass. Being a defensive coach for a long time, you always want to stop the run, but if you hold them to zero yards rushing and they have 867 yards passing then that's not a good day at the office. You have to be aware of the run and the pass game. They're a football team that's talented, they come at you at many different directions. We know it's a stiff challenge for us defensively as well as offensively. They're an athletic football team on defense that gives you a lot of looks. We know we're playing a good football team and we know we have to have a good week of preparation."

On WR Jaylond Adams' work ethic...

"That was something that was built into him by his parents. Jaylond is a young man that has been a hard worker since he got here. I remember the first time he got out and did conditioning and running as a true freshman, he was a guy that was leading the pack. Jaylond is motivated, he's driven to be the best he can be. When you see him on Saturday it's a result of the hard work he puts in on the practice field. Jaylond is a guy that I really don't worry about as far as work ethic and preparation, he's going to go 100 percent."

On Jaylond Adams as a receiver that will also block...

"Jaylond is a physical young man, he's a strong young man. He's got a lot of great attributes. Our receiving core is a strong bunch as a whole. We have the ability to have some physicality out wide which is critical, especially this day in age in football to have guys out there that can block."

On attendance...

"One thing as the head football coach here is that I appreciate the people that are there at the game, I really do. I love Southern Miss and the fans that are there and come out and support. We've been pretty consistent now for about 10 or 15 years. We've probably been around that 20-23,000 for a while now. It would be great to have 35,000 there every Saturday, it would, but the reality is that I'm just appreciative of the fans that are there. It means a lot. As a football coach we have to worry about our football team and we're going to go out and do the best we can every Saturday. Our kids are playing hard. We had one slip up where we had a bunch of errors and we lost by one point, but I will say this - even that football game that Saturday night where we lost by one, that football team never quit. We were coming back. We took the ball all the way back down the field in the final seconds of the game to set up a possible game-winning field goal. I worry about what our football team is doing. I can tell you from the bottom of my heart I appreciate the fans that are there every Saturday at The Rock supporting us. We've got a lot of great fans that are there and I appreciate it."

On strength of the conference...

"We're always pulling for our brothers in Conference USA. The win by Old Dominion over Virginia Tech was big. We were all pulling for them and we were certainly excited about it. It says a lot for the strength of our conference. We had 10 teams that were bowl eligible last year. Our conference is a tough conference. Week in and week out in Conference USA it's always a battle. A lot of people were probably taking note of the strength of our conference."

On QB Jack Abraham...

"He was very accurate on Saturday. Jack had an outstanding game. He put the ball into play well and he was our offensive player of the week. Defensively, Rachaun Mitchell had a huge play in the second quarter that made him our defensive player of the week. Jeremy Sangster on kickoff had a huge tackle so he was our special teams player. Jack did a good job running our offense. Any time you're playing football you need really good football plays from your quarterback and Jack certainly provided that Saturday night."  

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

from Auburn Sports Impact http://www.al.com/auburnfootball/index.ssf/2018/09/what_southern_miss_coach_jay_h.html