Jags Practice Begins Preparation For First Opponent
Head coach Joey Jones speaks to his team after their first scrimmage of preseason camp at St. Paul’s Episcopal School on Saturday, August 15, 2014.
South Alabama hit the practice fields in full pads on Tuesday for a practice that lasted over two hours. During this practice, they began preparing for their first opponent Kent State on September 6.
Head coach Joey Jones was pleased with the defense as he commented that they continue to get better and know their assignments. Offensively he noted that they executed better than they did in Monday’s practice. But he thought the team was coming together well.
“It was our first day to work on our first opponent, so most of the practice was geared toward that,” Jones said after practice concerning how much practice time was focused on their first game. “But you always have to work on fundamentals, you’ve can’t ever forget that aspect of the game.”
Offensive player of the day went to Jereme Jones. “Jeremé has had every rep this camp,” offensive coordinator Robert Matthews explained. “He has not missed a practice. He comes in, prepares and really takes care of his body. He is really working hard and is in great shape, and that allows him to be productive on the field.”
Defensively the Player of the day went to the entire defensive unit. “These kids are starting to grow up, and there are some leaders starting to develop,” defensive coordinator Travis Pearson explained. “It showed today. I thought we came out a little slow. We had two or three guys take over and call the defense out, and practice immediately sped up. That’s really exciting for me to see, because I don’t play on Saturdays. I want them to embrace this defense and know that this is their defense, and I’m just along for the ride. I know they are excited to play and I’m excited to watch them play, but we still have to put that hay in the barn.”
Practice only had one team period which lasted about 10 minutes, but during that stretch, Davin Hawkins came away with the play of the day when he made a diving pass deflection on a pass that was intended for Jones.
Special teams focused on kickoff and punt coverage during their sessions. Kickoffs were early in the practice and punt coverage closed out practice. The only takeaway on the day went to Margo Reed who picked off a pass down the right sideline during the team period.
After 7-on-7 drills, the offense and defense worked on seperate fields against the scout team to begin their preparation for Kent State. That session lasted around 20 minutes.