I couldn't be prouder of these men and the way they played tonight. I think the way we played says a lot about the character of the team.

Camp has been going very well. Our guys have been going out there and are working hard and competing. Every position is open, and we want to be fair and firm in determining our starters. We want to ensure that we put the best 11 guys on the field. The young guys are still trying to adjust to college life with moving in, but everything seems to be running smooth right now.

I'm very excited about this class. We have a lot of athletes in this class. We've got good solid kids. We needed to fill some holes particularly on the defensive side and the defensive back field.

The knowledge of the game for Chris (Hester) has improved so much. He understands the scheme of the defense and the tempo of practice. He's grown so much and is a man now. He has a wife and kid but has handled everything well.

It's been tough. Tough on everyone. All of south Louisiana, course the Gulf Coast, and we've had members of our team be affected by this storm and playing the ball game today really gave us something to look forward to,

It's certainly been very tragic. But all of our players are safe, all of their family members are safe.

It's nice to have a Thursday-night game because it gives opponents less time to prepare for the option. It'll be hotter at 2, but we practice in the heat everyday so hopefully that will work to our advantage.

It's not very important. A lot of our players have come to realize and appreciate what they have. Just to have air conditioning, to have a hot meal, opens your eyes. It changes the way you look at life now. Football is not the main thing here right now.

It was exciting for the players to put on full pads. Full pads allow the coaches to better evaluate the players. The players seem to step it up a notch when the full contact starts.

Northwestern has always been a tough team to play, and we have to play them on the road, which will make it tougher.