BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Each week during the 2021 spring football season, Kevin Blackwell will host The Chris Hatcher Show. The show, featuring head football coach Chris Hatcher, will look back at the previous week's football game and look forward to the upcoming contest.
 
Samford played host to the 19^th-ranked VMI Keydets last Saturday, falling in overtime, 38-37. Hatcher said while he likes the effort his team is showing, missed opportunities continue to plague the squad.
 
"I really like the effort and the energy our team is bringing to the game each and every week," Hatcher said. "It is a lack of execution, it's the same old song each and every week. It's just self-inflicted wounds that are causing us to come up a little short late in the ballgame. But, you have to take your hat off to VMI. They're an undefeated, top-20 team, they found a way to win and they played a great game.
 
"But there are a lot of plays in the first, second and third quarter that if we're able to make, the game's not even close going into the fourth quarter," Hatcher said. "That's the frustrating thing, and it all starts at the top, with personal accountability for myself and our coaches. And then, our players have to have that same accountability to work on the weaknesses that we have in order to improve, week-to-week, and hopefully we can do that as we head into this next game versus The Citadel."
 
Senior quarterback Liam Welch had another strong game last week. He set a Samford and Southern Conference record with 570 passing yards.
 
"I thought he played an outstanding game," Hatcher said of Welch. "You always could play better, and he knows that. We had great protection for the most part, receivers caught the ball, and had a lot of yards after the catch. Our running backs played well. And then our defense got the ball to the offense a good bit, to give them plenty of opportunities. But, we had some miscues. We threw some misreads and a couple of drops or we could have had close to 713 yards passing when you add those things up. So, there's always room for improvement, but that is an awesome record."
 
Several receivers also had big games in the contest. Ty King caught three passes for 135 yards, including a 96-yard touchdown pass. A.J. Toney hauled in eight passes for 122 yards, while Montrell Washington had eight catches for 108 yards and three touchdowns.
 
Nathan East led the Samford defense with 17 total tackles, including eight solo stops. Trimarcus Cheeks had 12 tackles and an interception on the day.
 
"I thought we played a good game over there," Hatcher said of the defense. "There were some plays in the fourth quarter, we had three fourth downs that we could have gotten off the field on that we didn't convert; they out-executed us. I think we're playing well on that side of the ball, it's just like with the offense, we have to be more consistent in the fourth quarter."
 
This week, Samford will go back on the road to play at The Citadel.
 
"Going to Charleston is a very difficult place to play," Hatcher said. "Samford hasn't won a game in Charleston since before I got here in 2014. It's a tough place to play. It's always been a very good game."
 
The Citadel runs the triple-option offense. Hatcher talked about the problems playing against a team like The Citadel poses.
 
"They are a traditional option team," Hatcher said. "We talk about Furman and Wofford, they are a lot more zone option, but these guys line up and they are physical and come right at you. It's not something you see each and every week, so we're going to have to be really good in the trenches. They really slow the game down. We're going to have to get some three-and-outs, force them into some long-yardage situations so that we can get the ball and, offensively, we have to stay on the attack for four quarters this week."
 
Saturday's game is set for a 12 p.m. (CT) start from Johnson Hagood Stadium. Fans can watch the game live on ESPN+ by clicking on the following link: WATCH LIVE.
 
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