Georgia Southern coach Willie Fritz talked with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in a short Q&A looking ahead to the season.
Q: You were hired in January. What was it like to make such a quick transition to this job?
A: I came out Jan. 8, and they offered me the job in a day, so my wife went back to Texas, and I stayed out here. We had two weeks to recruit and put together a staff. I thought we had a really good signing class for coming in so late. We landed a good staff. … It's been a real whirlwind. It's the latest I've ever taken a job. I've had 93 speaking engagements, not counting talking to recruits, since I've been here. We are trying to put the message out there we are an (FBS) program.
Q: You have players on the roster who were recruited to play for an FCS program and now will play an FBS schedule. Is that a challenge?
A: I came from an FCS school at Sam Houston State, and I always felt like the top-notch FCS programs could play with the majority of the FBS programs. We are going to find that out this year because every week we will be playing an FBS opponent, where in the past Georgia Southern would play one game a year against an FBS opponent. … It's going to be a great challenge.
Q: Georgia Southern has a rich football tradition, and a lot of that is built on the triple-option offense. You are doing something different. What’s the reception been like to that here in Statesboro?
A: It's been OK. People here love that offense. They are very knowledgeable fans. … They know their football. They've had a lot of success with that offense. We are running a type of triple option, but not the exact same way Georgia Southern has been doing it. They've been doing it more under center. We are going to be more "pistol" and shotgun (formations).
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