The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior defensive back Sema'je Kendall, head football coach Russ Huesman and senior offensive lineman Synjen Herren met with local media on Tuesday, recapping last week's game over Mercer and talking about the upcoming game against The Citadel.

Select quotes from Tuesday's lunch can be found below. For the full interviews, check out the MocsVision video links included within the story.

Kickoff for Saturday's Senior Day and Military Appreciation Day is at 2:00 p.m. in Finley Stadium. The game broadcasts live on the SoCon Digital Netowrk and 96.1 The Beat FM (radio). Links to live stats, video and audio are available on the football schedule page on GoMocs.com.

Sema'je Kendall, defensive back, senior
What is the overall feeling leading up to the game this weekend?
"Urgency. We know what's at stake. Sunday after all of our meetings and watching film, everyone was up there looking at The Citadel film. Everyone was thinking about The Citadel, watching their tape and already thinking about what we're going to do to stop them."

How tough is it going to be to stop them offensively?
"They're a good team. Their quarterback operates it very well. We have to run to the ball. We have to put a lot of effort in. We have to be disciplined. We have to be where we need to be. We have to run. We have to operate as a defense."

How do you reflect back on your time here so far?
"It was a struggle at first losing all of those games so close. It was fun to watch the program change. It was fun to watch the people's attitudes change. Once people's attitudes started changing, then our record started changing, and it started showing. We're trying to pass that along to the young guys. It was fun to watch people grow."
 
Head coach Russ Huesman
On The Citadel.
"It's probably the biggest game since we've been here with so much on the line. It's probably because of us, but it's also because of The Citadel. There's a lot on the line for them, and a lot on the line for us. With two good teams battling it out, they'll play hard, and I know we'll play hard.

"Obviously we're going to have to play better than we did last week. By better I mean we can't turn the ball over four times in a game and not get it in on the one yard line with two shots at it. We have to make sure we clean that up. It'll be tough, but we understand that. We're going to have a great week of preparation."

On The Citadel's defense.
"They're very stout. They're physical. They create turnovers, and they're getting a ton of interceptions. They're not overly complicated, but they're going to be in the right gap. They're going to tackle well. I've been extremely impressed with them defensively. I'd say their physicality and how they create turnovers makes them tough."

Offensively, what happened against Mercer?
"It wasn't our offensive line's fault on the short yardage points. They were blocking who they were supposed to be blocking. We moved the ball, and if we don't have turnovers, we probably have 500 yards in total offense. And you hope to get it in on the one yard line, but again it was miscommunication on that play.

"I give our offensive line credit. They matched them pretty well, but didn't communicate to certain people and got caught off the edge twice on the same play. The offensive line was fine. We weren't knockouts. I don't think we played as good as did against Western Carolina. If you take those turnovers away, we probably have more points, and we have to communicate on the goal line. You can't do those things and expect to win. You can't take them back. You can't say don't do this.

The Citadel was picked seventh in the preseason. Did you expect them to be where they are today?
I didn't know anything about anybody other than our team. I didn't have a feel for it. I talked on the conference call. They're playing with a chip on their shoulder whether they say it or not. You can see it. They were picked seventh in the league, and they're playing with a chip, very similar to how we played last year.

"You can see it in their confidence and how hard they're playing. They're finding ways to win games. Everybody in this league is very competitive. We know we have a tough one. Hopefully our guys are ready to go."

On Senior Day.
Senor Day has always been where the moms, and sometimes the dads, they're crying and hugging. It's like that everywhere. I don't want any boohooing. It's draining before the game. But now, I've got to go do this. How I'm going to respond as a parent will help me down the road and how I look at these guys for future seniors that are coming through.

"I'm going to tell our guys if you take care of business, it's not your last game at Finley, and it's not your last game. I felt a little twinge in there when I realized I'm going to be going through this. My son's not going to be playing for me anymore and his college career is coming to an end eventually."
 
Synjen Herren, offensive lineman, senior
Are you at all angry or excited that you're in this position, that it's all coming down to Saturday's game?
"We kind of did it to ourselves. It's an uphill battle now. We're focused on The Citadel and just planning on coming out and playing hard, better than we have all season."

How satisfying is it as a team to know you still haven't played your best yet?
"It's really good for us. We've had little glimpses at different positions, and offense playing really well one game and defense playing real well another game. We just need to put it all together and get everybody on the same page. When that happens, it will be great."

What is it about these big games that brings out the best in UTC?
"We all know the situation we're in. We have to keep winning to keep playing, to make it in the playoffs. Especially for me, I'm a fifth year senior. It's my last go around. So we have to keep playing and see how far we'll make it."