USA-Coach Gregory

This was an interview from yesterday with one of Trey's coaches at South, Greg Gregory(GG)! 

I sat down with South Alabama offensive coordinator Greg Gregory. Gregory has been at some notable programs including his last position prior to South, as the OC at South Florida. You may remember in 2007 when South Florida beat Auburn at Auburn. Here is some of our conversation.

DB  South Florida is often considered the measuring stick by which other start up football programs are measured. Compare South Alabama to USF.

GG  "There is no doubt South Alabama will get to the same level as USF prior to them getting in Big East. Getting into a BCS conference, that's the big jump. I think this program can go as far as this administration  wants it to go.Having the Godaddy.com Bowl im Mobile, even though we (South Al) don't control it, I know we have some influence on it. That's a bit of a bargaining chip for us I think."

DB  Are you concerned with the challenges the offensive line will face with this year's upgraded schedule?

GG  "We block better than a lot of football teams that you see on tape.We truly block people. We don't have massive size but we are very athletic.I think we have enough talent to compete with anybody we play. I don't really worry about our line. They are tough and they are going to compete. I don't think it will be a major issue for us."

DB  Quarteback C.J. Bennett looks like a star in the making. Evaluate Bennett

GG  "Even when he came in last year as a 17 year old, all along I knew he'd be our guy. I think he's the best (college) quarterback in the state of Alabama. He's a player. He can really throw it. Smart, sees things. When he tells you something happened on the field, that's what happened. He is very polished. And he's very excited to be here. He's as accurate as you want, has as quick a release and the biggest thing is his willingness to pull the trigger. He's got the best release I've ever been around."

 DB  What incoming freshman has caught your eye?

GG  "It's another quarterback, Trey Fetner from Woodland. He has a cannon. He could really be an outstanding quarterback."

DB  This is a very balanced offense. Tell me about the running game.

GG  "With Demetre Baker and Kendall Houston we have a couple of really powerful backs. Baker has more flat out speed. Both of them are violent runners.They really run the ball hard. Kendall's probably a little more reliable right now at holding on to the ball but Demetre's a really good player."

DB  You lose a terrific receiver in Courtney Smith who is trying to make it in the NFL. What about the returning receivers?

GG  "Jereme Jones (from McGill) is probably our best receiver right now. He's been the most consistent. Our big thing is where are the big plays going to come from? Last year if we threw it up five times to Courtney, one of those was going to be big. So that's a big question."

DB  Any thought of B.J. Scott (transfer from Alabama) being part of the offense?

GG  "He'll be in the return game. He'll be one of our kick off returners. But as far as playing some offense, maybe a year from now. He's got too much responsability on defense. I think (playing both ways) is really hard to do."

Thanks to Greg Gregory for his time. It was a great visit. Next up we'll sit down with the player Gregory called "the best quarterback in the state of Alabama", C.J. Bennett