CHARLESTON, S.C. - Charleston Southern Head Coach Jay Mills and senior wide receiver Gerald Stevenson offered insight following Saturday's 35-25 loss to Gardner-Webb.

Head Coach Jay Mills
Thoughts on the performance against Gardner-Webb:
"It was inconsistent. I take responsibility, we did not perform to the level I think we are capable of playing. That is not to take anything away from Gardner-Webb University, we have always had some barn burner games with them. The last three years against them it has gone right down to the wire. I do not feel that we played close to our potential today. Defensively, we did some very nice things. Obviously kickoff returning was outstanding today, kickoff coverage was outstanding as well. You can talk about turnovers, talk about missed assignments, talk about dropped passes, missed throws and foolish penalties. In particular some of those happened in special teams as well. It wasn't indicative of Charleston Southern football. So what we have got to go in and take a look at the film and study and find out what the issues are. I am confident in the character of our young men, and I am definitely confident in our coaching staff's ability to correct it for the future."

On Gerald Stevenson's performance:
"Phenomenal. He is not at 100%. He has been banged up, he has been banged up for a number of weeks now. Obviously he didn't even play in the Hawaii game, he has been in and out. He is one of the movable parts that made things very difficult at times, with some of our injuries that occurred during the game. When he is on the field he gives it his all, in everything that he does. Those kickoff returns, they tried bouncing it, they tried kicking it deep, kicking it to the side. The key thing is when it's in his hands some special things happen. He is an exceptional player who ranks nationally with as good as there is in FCS football."

Senior wide receiver Gerald Stevenson:
On the mindset of the team:
"We fought hard. There was a lot to lose today. We're trying to stay in the championship race, but we have two conference losses now. We're just playing to win out now. But we fought hard; we never gave up even at the end. Right before the kick return we were down by ten, and we just had to go out and make a play. We tried to stay in the game, but time ran out."

On staying in the game after going down by two touchdowns early on:
"I'm very proud. I'm a senior, and these guys are my brothers. We came out here and fought for each other. We've got very good team unity. We tried our hardest, and we came back to make it a game.

On having two kickoff returns for touchdowns:
"It's a great feeling. I love having the ball in my hands. My teammates did a great job. I told them before the play 'Go out there and hold them off as long as you can and I'll make you look good.'" I tried my hardest. It's my teammates, not me. I've got some talent in running the ball, but my teammates went out there and fought for me. I'm thankful and proud for them."

On keeping team morale up with two conference losses:
"Trust me, I'll be in that locker room and I'll be there next week at practice. We've still got five games left. I don't care about the score; it's my senior year and I'm going out with a bang. I just love these boys and I'll play as hard as I can for them."

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