Jags Improvement Evident On Saturday
Head Coach Joey Jones speaks to his team after the conclusion of the Jaguars first practice of preseason camp.
South Alabama made big strides on Saturday against Arkansas State. It may have ended with a fourth consecutive loss on the season, but for a program who is making the transition into FBS and only in their fourth season of play, that’s not too bad.
Would they prefer to win. Absolutely. Does coach Jones like losing? Absolutely not. Do the players enjoy losing? Absolutely not, that is a stupid question if that even crossed your mind. They don’t dedicate numerous hours to practice, review film and prepare for each game because they enjoy losing. They do it to get better and to win.
Many people only see the scoreboard as the measure of results. That is not an entirely accurate metric for a new program making the transition to FBS. While the score may not have shown it until Arkansas State, but they have gotten better as a team.
“You can see that the team is growing,” head coach Joey Jones said after the game. “I saw some great things out there tonight.”
“I think if we had come in here and had a tough game, I don’t know how our kids would have reacted and I don’t know how our coaches would have reacted,” Jones said. “I know how they’ve reacted all year long and they’ve fought every day at practice. They keep getting better and better, though I know nobody sees that.”
“Nobody sees the hard work these young men and staff are putting into it. That’s the reason we played good. A lot of teams quit in this situation. We’re not going to do that so we’re getting better. It was awfully encouraging. But I still hate to lose.”
The offense appears to have gained some momentum by going with a single quarterback over the two-quarterback system they had employed in the first five games of the season. Ross Metheny, the starting quarterback, threw for 241 yards, three touchdowns and only one interception in his first game as the lone quarterback for the Jaguars. In the previous five games combined the Jags had only four touchdown passes.
Next up for the Jaguars is Florida Atlantic, another team in the Sun Belt that is struggling. FAU is at the bottom or near the bottom in most of the core statistical groups with the exception of passing defense where it ranks in the middle of the pack.