Coach Joey Jones Show Recap 09-10-2013
Head coach Joey Jones, Lee Shirvanian were joined by assistant coach Brian Turner at Baumhower’s Restaurant on Airport Boulevard in Mobile.
They were quickly talking about how good the Jags win over Tulane was for the team. The Jags came out quick and finished the game. Coach Jones was very proud of the team and mentioned that most of the plays went our way and we were able to get the win.
Ross is the first Jaguar to be the Offensive Player of the Week. He was ready to play, prepared well and knew where to go with the ball.
Lee asked about the blocked punt the Jags had against Tulane. He asked if that was schemed. Coach Jones said it was. They saw on film how they protected on punts and saw a gap between their wing and their tackle. He also mentioned that their personal protector moved up to the line to change the protection but the center snapped the ball before they could change it and they were wide open to block the punt.
Injury report by Coach Jones noted that Randon Carnathan is going to miss the remainder of the season with an Achilles heel injury. Late in the season last year he tore his ACL and spent the offseason rehabbing and earning his spot back and then this happens to him in the second game of his final season.
Jerome McClain, who went out of the Tulane game with a concussion, was cleared to rejoin the team on the practice field on Wednesday. That is a bright spot for the defensive line since they lost Will Thompson in the preseason because of ankle surgery and now Carnathan.
Lee turned to Coach Turner, who coaches the defensive line, and asked how Carnathan’s injury affects them. Turner said that it’s tough losing a player, especially a senior with the experience and leadership they bring and Randon bring personally. They are deeper at that position and they rotate lots of players so they should be okay.
Romelle Jones was named the defensive lineman of the week by the coaches for his performance against Tulane with seven tackles, two tackles-for-loss and a sack with four quarterback pressures.
Coach Jones said that they called a time out to see how they were going to line up for the onsides kick. That was ‘do or die’ as Jones said so he wanted to make sure and coach them up and have their hands team ready for the kick.
Lee asked about key plays that helped keep or swing the momentum back in favor of South Alabama. The first one that Coach Jones mentioned was the 43 yard reception from Ross Metheny to Shavarez Smith to get them out from deep in their own territory and had three turnovers early in the second half. It gave them confidence towards the end of the game.
The other is Sunanon’s field goal to end the first half. That was a big to give the Jags momentum back as they headed into the locker room for halftime.
Coach Jones pointed to the biggest change between game one and game two is going deep. They stretched the field, got some big plays and made their defense loosen up and opened things up all over the field for them.
Coach Jones and Lee talked about how the Tulane coaches may have underestimated Metheny and Brandon Bridge. Lee mentioned one of the press conferences where the refered to South Alabama have two quarterbacks and that one was a passer (meaning Metheny) and one was a runner (meaning Bridge). But Metheny really showed them that he can run and Coach Jones said that Brandon has an arm as well.
After scanning the depth chart, Lee mentioned that they will be starting a true freshman this week with Roman Buchanan at safety. Coach Jones said that he is a very good player and Jones thinks he is a mature guy and ready to play. But he will have to continue to work to keep his position.
After a talk with representatives from the Jag Gals organization, it spurred a talk about pregame supersititions if you will. Coach Jones mentioned that last week they did not put together a highlight film to show the players. Jones called it ‘roughing it’.
A caller stated that he noticed the defense pressuring the quarterback more late in the third quarter and in the fourth. He asked if that was planned or if it happened that way. Coach Jones said it was planned, they were blitzing more and bring five man pressures and played man-to-man.
Talking about Saxton getting more catches against Tulane than against Southern Utah, Jones said in the first game the progressions took the ball away from Saxton. This week it worked out and he had a big game. They want to get him the ball every game because he is a big target and can make plays.
They then turned to Western Kentucky with Coach Turner started the talk about the WKU offense. They put up a lot of points against Kentucky and, without the turnovers, they could have put up a lot of points against Tennessee. He talked about the size of the offensive line the and the talent they have a running back and receiver.
Coach Jones talked about the WKU defense with a linebacker that could be playing in the SEC and he said they look and play really well on the team. He even hazarded a guess that they would probably win the conference but that the team is looking forward to the game. The quarterback is very efficient, he had some turnovers against Tennessee but some of them were tipped passes.
Coach Jones mentioned two players that had some big hits in the game. Bryson James was double-teamed on a kickoff and he layed a big hit on one of them. He also mentioned Terrance Timmons hit on special teams as well that was huge.
Coach Jones mentioned that they have to continue working to improve themselves and focus because they have a very good team coming in.
Concerning recruiting, Coach Turner mentioned one of the big needs for next season is defensive line. They have six graduating and will need to replace them. They have one who is redshirting this season.
Jones ended the show saying how key it is to have a good crowd. He thanked everyone for coming out to the Superdome for the Tulane game and mentioned how much they need a good crowd for the game against Western Kentucky.