CALLAWAY INTERVIEW

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—The 21^st-ranked Samford football team continued its preparation for Saturday's home finale against Mercer with a two-hour practice in shells Tuesday afternoon at Seibert Stadium.
 
The Bulldogs continued working on their game plan for Saturday's game during the workout. Samford offensive coordinator Russ Callaway said he likes the attitude the team has entered this week with.
 
"I think the guys came out after the loss last week with a mindset to get better," Callaway said. "That's really all we're trying to do, get better each and every week and make sure we're continuing to concentrate on executing. They've come out so far and done that."
 
Samford enters the week with a record of 6-3 overall and 4-2 in Southern Conference play. The team has shown improvement each week of the season so far. Callaway said the upward trend of the team's performance is not a surprise to him.
 
"The group of guys we have as the core of this football team are really, really good players and good leaders and good people," Callaway said. "They love being around each other, they love having fun. To me, that's the biggest difference in us getting better each and every week."
 
Callaway works specifically with the team's receivers. That group will lose three senior starters in Karel Hamilton, Emmanuel Obajimi and Devon Schmitt. Callaway talked about the impact that group has had on the Samford program.
 
"What they've done for this program is unbelievable," Callaway said. "And I couldn't be more proud to coach those guys. But, there are some guys up front and some guys on defense that have done just as much as those guys. I just think we have a really, really good group and we enjoy coaching these guys."
 
Mercer comes into the game with a record of 5-4 overall and 3-3 in SoCon play. Callaway said he has been impressed with what he's seen from the Bears.
 
"Mercer does an outstanding job," Callaway said. "I think Mercer is a really good team. I know they have a really good coaching staff. I know they've done a great job in recruiting, and obviously they've done a really good job of developing players."
 
Samford will practice again Wednesday afternoon. The workout is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. at Seibert Stadium.
 
Saturday's home game against Mercer is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. at Seibert Stadium. The game will air locally on FM-99.1 The Game, and it can be seen live on ESPN3.
 
To purchase tickets for that game click here: MERCER GAME TICKETS.