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CONTRIBUTED BY ETSU ATHLETICS

JOHNSON CITY – ETSU Football held its weekly press conference on Monday, recapping Saturday’s win over Western Carolina as well as looking ahead to the Southern Conference title game on Saturday against Mercer.
Head Coach Randy Sanders addressed the media and was joined by linebacker Donovan Manuel (Ellenwood, Ga.) and running back Jacob Saylors (Jasper, Tenn.).

Below are comments from Coach Sanders, Manuel and Saylors:

Head Coach Randy Sanders
What do you have to do defensively to stop Mercer?
“They are a much different scheme that what you see every week. It will take a lot of discipline, especially eye discipline and attention to detail. They try to get one or two guys out of position a couple of times. You can play great for 65 plays, but if you have four plays that somebody loses discipline, then you look up and you have given up 28 points. The mental toughness it takes to play a team like Mercer is challenging.”

What are some similarities and differences between the 2018 team and this team?
“Some of the similarities is that the 2018 group had some older guys that were very, very hungry. That team was willing to listen to what they thought might give them some success and when we began winning, they truly bought in. I think this group has a group of older guys will trust and believe in the process. They have a lot more experience and they just try and play the next play. This group is more talented and I feel this road has been harder for this team. In 2018, we caught some teams that didn’t think we were going to be that good. That if they just played for 60 minutes, somewhere along the line they would beat ETSU. I don’t think we have surprised anybody but the first team this year. For the most part, we have gotten teams’ best shots and that is what you want as a coach.”

How important is it to have this caliber of a game at home?
“Well, our fans have been awesome this year, no question. I feel that there are a lot of good atmospheres in the conference, but none as good as ours. I think that we have the best atmosphere and some of our success as a team has helped. I also think that not being able to have this last year has brought fans to the stadium. We have been very fortunate weather-wise at our home games. The students and the fans have shown up. I certainly hope we have another record crowd on Saturday. It is our responsibility to get the fans fired up this weekend.”

Linebacker – Donovan Manuel
What would it feel like to be outright conference champions?
“We had to share it in 2018 which was cool to win, but two other teams got a ring as well. We were happy because it had been a long time, but we want to be at the top all by ourselves.”

What is different about this team, versus the team that lost to Mercer seven months ago?
“The difference is the mindset of this team. We have a new strength coach who did a great job of pushing us all summer long. The team had lacked in finishing games and finishing workouts strong. He really pushed the motor that we have to finish everything that we do and that we have to start faster.”

Running Back – Jacob Saylors
How much fun is it playing in front of your home crowd?
“It has been a blessing, especially coming off the COVID year where we didn’t really get to have fans. It is very exciting, especially for us because like coach said, we feed off the energy of the 12th man. They drive us and it has been great.”

When you get in a zone, does it seem like the gaps get bigger in the run game?
“It really was an easier game for holes because all of our offensive linemen did their responsibilities. All week long we had practiced on trying to get running backs one-on-one with the safety. It is fun to be able to go out on Saturday and just do what you have practiced all week.”

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