Southland Conference Football Media Day (ESPN3)

LAKE CHARLES, La. – HBU head coach Vic Shealy, senior tight end Kenneth Bibbins and redshirt freshman linebacker Garrett Dolan participated in Southland Conference Media Day at L'Auberge du Lac Casino Resort Wednesday.
 
The Southland Conference Showcase wrapping up the event can be seen tonight at 7 p.m. on ESPN3. Selected quotes from Coach Shealy and the student-athletes are highlighted below.
 
The Huskies open the 2014 season against McMurry at the new on-campus Husky Stadium Sept. 6 at 7 p.m.
 
Head Coach Vic Shealy
On joining the Southland this season
"The Southland brand within the coaching world has a respect that has been achieved in terms of quality football from top to bottom -- the placing of the conference nationally right now, you would be hard-pressed to find a better conference and I believe the Southland is the best FCS conference in the country. So with that coming in as a new program, while it's an honor to be attached to that and there's credibility having that name attached to you, we understand the tall order it is to compete."
 
On maturity from last season
"Last year we opened up against Sam Houston and most of the people in this room probably thought there wasn't a better team that could compete for a national title, and we took, obviously, a very young roster in there and the game was not close. We chose to play that game, because we thought at this point in time in our program that we would be a better football program. There's no doubt that there's been days this summer that you think about getting beat by a team you're going to see again. It gives you great motivation to work harder and sets the bar higher for our players to understand what one of the best teams in the country, not just the conference, looks like."
 
On working hard
I know that our players have been asked to suffer this summer and I say that in the sense that it gets a little warm in Houston. Our guys have come in to lift and I will put the work ethic of my kids up against anybody's in this conference and every coach probably feels strongly about what their kids are capable of doing this time of year. I think our players will go out and play with a fanatical effort and with the attitude that the investment they have made in this program is going to pay off and produce immediate results. They know this is a journey we're on and there are going to be good days and bad days, but we expect to have more good as we mature as a program.
 
On expectations
I'll be very disappointed if we don't find a way to win football game in the Southland Conference. Obviously it doesn't take much to look at the preseason polls and what a great honor it is to sit down there at the very bottom, because what that means right now is that no one believes that we can get that done. I know I've got a group of coaches and a group of players that have worked too hard to not see a lot of our goals met, so I expect us to finish better than we are predicted.
 
Senior tight end Kenneth Bibbins
On legacy at HBU
I really want to install a work-hard mentality -- always working, always trying to get better -- and just create more of a team and family atmosphere. I feel if I install all of that before I leave, I feel that will be a good thing for this program and the future of the program.
 
On improving as the season progressed
I feel it's going to start off a whole lot faster than last year for me. It had more to do with the team, everybody had to connect on different pieces. The O-line had to get better with the protections, quarterbacks had to understand the schemes better, so I just benefited from them getting better. I feel they've gotten better since last season and my season will be a very accomplished season – hopefully.
 
On transferring to a start-up program
It's been really humbling just from the fact that you have to start over and you know I had been at the University of Houston for about three years and once coming here, I had to start over just in everything; I had to get a new pair of gloves and everything. It was just really humbling and made me want to work harder and focus on the things that really matter to this family.
 
On senior leadership
We have a lot of guys – I feel everyone has gotten better – but some of the guys that have really stepped up are a couple of seniors like Darian Lazard, inside receiver, and TC Jones, offensive lineman. It all starts with TC, because the O-line is the foundation of the offense, and they've improved a lot, so the sky is the limit for us.
 
Redshirt freshman Garrett Dolan
On being the fifth member of his family to play in the SLC
It means a lot for me to be at media day, because I have so much family history in the Southland Conference with all my uncles and my brothers. It feels nice again to represent my family in the Southland Conference and being a freshman, it's been a really fun experience being here with all the other guys, it's been a blast. Seeing a bunch of these guys and how accomplished they are at other schools, it's a real eye-opener and I hope I can amount to some of the records they have put up and build some records of my own.
 
On being part of the building process as a freshman
I want to build a championship squad and I plan on doing that this year from day one. We've been in the summer day in and day out just grinding trying to build that team where we can actually excel in the conference and not just be mediocre. We are looking to be top tier and trying to compete with everybody else day in and day out.
 
On being counted on as a leader
It's a challenge, but I love it and I live for it and I'm just ready to get in and get after it. I don't feel that we're that far from everybody else, so I'm just ready to get in there and get after teams. It's special here at HBU. It's the ground floor and we're here –the first recruiting class, the first official season for us. Everybody else has low expectations for us, but we're coming in with fire in our guts ready to fire some people up next year and hopefully shock the world.