A tough start isn’t something Rich Rodriguez and Jacksonville State football fans are used to.
Despite two losses to open the season, the third-year Jax State coach made one thing clear on Tuesday: better days are ahead for this year’s team.
“I thought even though the score was not what anybody would like here, we made steps getting better on all three phases,” Rodriguez said. “I saw some improvements in some of the schematic things that our guys were doing, some of the missed assignments that we had in the first game, we didn’t have in the second game. Individually, we had a couple of guys that improved their game from game one to game two, so that was all positive.
“We’re not happy with the result, of course, but overall, we did get better and now we have to take the next step for this one.”
Jax State’s next challenge after a tough 49-14 loss at Louisville will be a trip to Ypsilanti, Michigan, to take on Eastern Michigan of the Mid-American Conference.
Last season, Jax State beat Eastern Michigan 21-0 at home.
RELATED: 5 takeaways from Jacksonville State’s 49-14 loss to No. 22 Louisville
“A big, tough, physical team,” Rodriguez said of the Eagles. “We knew that last year coming in and it was a very, very physical game. They kind of pride themselves on being big and physical and hard-nosed tough, and that’s kind of what we saw last year and we’re going to see even more of it this year. It’s going to be a big challenge because we’re their home opener and night game on the road, so we’ve got to play better than we did the first two weeks.”
Eastern Michigan opened its season with a win 28-14 at Massachusetts before traveling to reigning College Football Playoff runner-up Washington last week; the Eagles fell 30-9.
The Eagles boast a defense loaded with experience, with seven of the team’s 11 defensive starters on the depth chart being seniors.
“They’ve got a veteran team defensively, especially up front,” Rodriguez said. “I think all their starting defensive linemen are seniors and they’ve done a good job building that and it’s hard to get that with the transfer portal. They’ve done a good job of retaining some of their key players.”
As for Jax State’s defense, which has allowed 104 points and 1,162 total yards, both Rodriguez and the players saw some improvements despite the lopsided victory.
“We took a step forward from week one to week two with less missed assignments,” safety Antonio Carter said. “Like coach said, there were a lot of times and we’re there to make a play on the ball, but we’re not doing it. I think just taking that next step will help us this weekend and the week’s coming.”
Rodriguez said that while quarterback Huff had a strong performance on Saturday, he still views Huff and Logan Smothers as co-starters in the system, with UConn transfer Zion Turner sitting behind them.
Huff finished 17-for-27 with 160 passing yards, a touchdown pass to tight end Sean Brown and an interception against Louisville. He also ran for 101 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.
“It was inspiring to watch him, even though you don’t want your quarterback to lower your shoulder, but he was trying to win the game and make plays.” Rodriguez said of Huff. “That was pretty inspiring to watch him do that. It’s his first year in the system. He’s a veteran guy, but his first year with us, so I really thought he took a nice step forward with his play in that game.”
Center Brock Robey said seeing Huff make runs like he did against Louisville fires him up as an offensive lineman.
“I know some people get a little scared watching the quarterback take a hit, which that’s understandable,” the senior said. “But I mean, I’m on the field, I’m getting fired up. I’m yelling, hooting, hollering, chasing down the field with him when he takes off and it makes me want to block harder for him.”
Jax State’s game against Eastern Michigan on Saturday can be streamed on ESPN+, with kickoff set for 6 p.m.
