FOOTBALL PRESS CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS--MERCER WEEK

MERCER GAME TICKETS

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The 21^st-ranked Samford football team will return home to host Mercer for homecoming and Senior Day Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Seibert Stadium. Head Coach Chris Hatcher and senior wide receiver Emmanuel Obajimi both met with the media Thursday to talk about the matchup.
 
To purchase tickets for Saturday's game, click on the following link: MERCER GAME TICKETS.
 
Below is a transcript of what Coach Hatcher and Obajimi had to say. To watch video clips of their comments, click on the following link: FOOTBALL PRESS CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS—MERCER WEEK.
 
QUOTING SAMFORD HEAD COACH CHRIS HATCHER
OPENING STATEMENT
"We had a tough defeat last week. I thought our guys played with great effort. We executed pretty well. But down the stretch, just like in the Mississippi State game, we couldn't find a way to finish the game and take care of business. So, we're extremely disappointed in our play in the last five minutes of the last couple of weeks. However, we have played some really good teams. I think in certain areas we've improved, and in other areas we have a lot of improvement left to do. We're excited about being at home. It's been a while since we played here in Seibert Stadium. We have another tough Southern Conference opponent in Mercer coming to town and our team still has a lot of its goals intact. So, it's very imperative that we come out and get off to a good start early on in the ballgame and do the very best we can to try to have more points than they do at the end of the night."
 
ON HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO EMPHASIZE TO THE PLAYERS THAT THEIR GOALS ARE STILL IN PLAY
"They know that. They understand, they read all of the social media, so they understand that we have a great opportunity ahead for us. The only thing we can't do is, we can't be the Southern Conference champs and we can't go undefeated. However, postseason play is still there. It's not guaranteed, but it's still there. And then the opportunity to have won seven games after this week is very appealing to the guys, other than just the sheer want to play. There's a lot out there for us. We've had a good week of practice and I expect us to come out and play really well on Saturday."
 
ON IF THERE IS ANYTHING HE FEELS THEY NEED TO PROVE TO THE PLAYOFF SELECTION COMMITTEE
"No. We've done what we're supposed to do. We talked about that on Monday, and I told the guys we wouldn't talk about that again. I just feel like we needed a pep talk to get back going. We've played a very difficult schedule. All of the teams that we've been defeated by were fairly close other than Chattanooga, but we're a lot better now than we were at that point of the season. They're nationally ranked and they were on the road. But, at the end of the day, that's all a moot point if we don't take care of business this week, and it won't be easy."
 
ON HOW THE TEAM HAS BOUNCED BACK FROM THE CLOSE LOSS AT THE CITADEL
"First of all, we were all bitterly disappointed. It's like I told the team on Monday, I asked them, 'do you want me to sugarcoat it or do you want me to be honest,' and they all wanted me to be honest and real with them. The bottom line is we blew the game. We had a chance to win it and didn't do it. But, you know, that happens. They're a team that's ranked fifth in the country. They have the 13^th-ranked defense, they run the option and they're very physical. We were playing in front of 18,000 people, it was a tremendous atmosphere. You forget, you have to give the other team some credit too. They made plays at the end and we didn't. So, we got over that and we're excited about playing again. That's all we can do is go play the next one. That game's history and as far as I know we don't have any history majors on our football team, so it's time to get ready to play Mercer Saturday at 2:30."
 
ON WHAT KIND OF CHALLENGES MERCER PRESENTS
"They play hard, they're very well coached. They're very similar to us in a lot of ways. I think they're more balanced offensively than the teams we've played up to this point. Defensively, they do a lot of movement, they show you a lot of different looks. They're a very solid football team and they're having one of the better years they've had since they re-instated their team. Again, it boils down to us executing, us playing with great passion and emotion, and we hope to have a great crowd to help us do that on Saturday."
 
SENIOR WIDE RECEIVER EMMANUEL OBAJIMI
 
ON WHAT THE TEAM STILL NEEDS TO IMPROVE ON TO GET READY FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF POSTSEASON PLAY
"I feel like we have a lot to improve on. I feel like we're not where we should be yet. But we know what we can do and we know what we can be, but we have to be more consistent with it and shorten up the mistakes."
 
ON HOW THEY'VE PUT THE CITADEL LOSS OUT OF THEIR MINDS
"You just have to keep fighting because it's not over yet, and we all know that. One day we might see the same team again in the playoffs, if we make it. We'll play way better for sure."
 
ON WHAT THE BUS RIDE BACK TO BIRMINGHAM AFTER THE CITADEL GAME WAS LIKE
"It was hard because it was so close. We were up 34-24, 10 points, most of the time you'd think we're going to win, but it's a four-quarter game and you have to finish it off. Unfortunately, we didn't do that. The Citadel is a good team that we can't just lay off of at all. We have to really attack. But that's over with now and we're on to the next game."
 
ON WHAT HE'S LEARNED ABOUT HIMSELF AND THE TEAM SO FAR
"I learned that it's about family. I learned that it's never easy to win. You have to really come together and know what works. If the offense is slacking, the defense picks it up, and if the defense is slacking, the offense picks it up. That's how it works for us and that's how we're going to keep playing."
 
ON IF IT HAS SET IN THAT HIS LAST HOME GAME IS SATURDAY
"Not yet, it hasn't set in at all. I don't really want it to set in. It's my last home game, and it's homecoming, so I'll probably feel it as soon as the game starts."
 
ON HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO KNOW THAT THE PLAYOFFS ARE STILL A POSSIBILITY
"It's really important. We can't lose focus because of a loss. We have to keep going. We've lost some pretty tough games. One thing about this team is, we're going to keep fighting, no matter what. We don't see an end, we just want to keep going."