Artz To Miss Final Season On Field, But Will Remain As Student Coach
Shaun Artz (73) and Melvin Meggs (77) practice run blocking during the preseason camp in 2012. Artz will forgo his final year of eligibility due to health issues but remain with the team as a student assistant coach.
The South Alabama football team will be without one of their returning offensive linemen this fall. Fifth year senior Shaun Artz decided that, for his own health, he would forgo his final season in a Jaguar uniform and will instead be a student assistant coach working with offensive coordinator Robert Matthews and offensive line coach Chase Smith.
Artz suffered from a series of injuries which included hernia, back pain and nerve issues which began in the spring of the 2012 season when he experienced pull in his back while lifting weights. He played the season after receiving treatment and would only miss one game that season. After the season and returning from Hawaii he had surgery on his back.
Artz played every game last season and went through the season working through issues from time to time. Late in the season he took “a pretty good hit” but finished the season. During spring practice he noticed that while running sprints he was limping and dragging his left leg behind him. He would go under the knife again to try to correct a disc problem he was experiencing.
The surgery went well, but the healing time of 3-4 weeks turned into six, then eight and there wasn’t any relief.
He was still having pain and the disc that had been operated on was herniated again. After talking with his doctor about how continuing to play may open the risk to further injury. After weighing the risks, he talked with his family and the coaches and made the obvious decision after he was able to take the emotion out of it.
But he will continue to help his team, though he will not be in pads on the field, but rather on the sidelines doing whatever the coaches need him to do.
“So now I’m in a position where I can help the team and I’ll be on the field,” Artz told AL.com. “I’ll be like a student coach. I’ll help the offense, help coach Smith and coach Matthews, and help out the guys I came in with as a freshman. These guys are like brothers to me and mean a lot to me, and that’s why I want to stick around and be a part of it.”
Coach Jones is happy that Shaun will remain with the team and made the best decision for his health and future. “He has done nothing but do great things for us,” Jones told AL.com. “He’s going to be around this fall helping out the coaching staff and doing some things. You never want to lose somebody who has been in that many wars and who is a very competitive guy, so it’s a big loss for us.”
Artz said that it’s becoming easier as time goes by. He has been playing football since six years old. He had played every year at USA and started the last two seasons. While Artz has been in the war on the field at Tennessee and ULL and he feels that, if nothing else, he will be able to bridge the communication between the players in those situations and the coaches. He just wants to help. He doen’t care if it’s holding cards or on a headset, he just wants to be there for his teammates in the trenches.
Artz benefited from the program being unclassified when he began playing at South Alabama. He was eligible to play all five seasons with his first being considered a redshirt season but still being able to play. In what he considers his senior season now, Artz helped the Jaguars to a 6-6 record overall and a 4-3 record in conference play to finish third in the Sun Belt. They finished the season with a three-game winning streak including a season finale win over Sun Belt Conference Co-Champion Lousiana-Lafayette 30-8. Though they were bowl eligible, they were not extended a bowl invitation.
Jaguars Pick Up Two More Verbal Commitments
The South Alabama coaching staff continued their hot streak of verbal commitments on Monday with two more.
Roy Albritton of Pensacola High School was spotted at one of their camps last week after he turned heads in the 40-yard dash. At 6’2″ 315-pounds he is a big guy who was timed at a 4.9 in the 40. Currently he is not rated by any of the recruiting services and does not have any other outstanding offers according to the sites either.
The ninth commitment overall and the eighth in the past week is Reid Rials of Satsuma. He is the son of Satsuma High School head coach Scott Rials.
Rials has played both quarterback and free safety in high school and may be recruited for wide receiver. He measures 6’1″ 181-pounds and was clocked at a 4.67 40 with a 34.6″ vertical leap. He has not been rated by the scouting services but he has offers from Southern Miss and Troy.
USA Dismisses Running Back
New helmets for the 2013 season.
The University of South Alabama has dismissed running back Cris Dinham for a “violation of team rules” according to head coach Joey Jones.
Dinham played one season for the Jaguars where he had 57 carries for 234 yards, third best on the team, for two touchdowns. The 5’10”, 205-pound back was expected to be part of the running back rotation in the backfield.
Dinham is the second running back that has been dismissed from the team since the end of spring drills. Kaleb Blanchard, a redshirt freshman from Denham Springs, Louisiana was suspended prior to the beginning of spring practice and dismissed from the team following the conclusion of spring practice for a violation of team rules as well.
Jay Jones, Kendall Houston, Terrance Timmons, Xavier Johnson and Berron Tyson are the remaining running backs for the Jags will others expected to join the program once fall practice begins.
Coach Jones spoke on WNSP that he feels good about the Jaguars depth at running back this season with a mix of seniors (Jones, Houston), players who have experience (Timmons) and a talented youngster (Johnson).
Jay Jones led the team rushing with 737 yards on 143 carries and five touchdowns. Houston rushed for 209 yards on 66 carries, seeing most of his action in short yardage and goal line situations. He scored six touchdowns for the Jaguars. Timmons rushed 16 times for 83 yards.
Fruitful Recruiting Weekend For Jaguar Football
Head coach Joey Jones and his coaching staff picked up four verbal commitments over the weekend.
Lackawanna CC tight end Julian Allen is rated the 83rd best Junior College prospect for 2015. South Alabama has had a long line of talent at the tight end position and looks to have another great season from that position in 2014 with Wes Saxton and Braedon Bowman. With Allen’s commitment, that should continue to be the for seasons to come.
James Bynes, another tight end/wide receiver prospect from Dodge City CC committed over the weekend. He’s been very vocal about his commitment while visiting campus and the coaches over the weekend.
The third commit over the weekend was class of 2015 offensive lineman Steven Clark of Brindlee Mountain School in Guntersville, Alabama. Clark recently visited South Alabama but also had good experiences with the staffs at Southern Miss and Arkansas State among others. But the difference was how the USA staff’s dedication to let him know how much they wanted him at South Alabama.
Quinton Lane, a cornerback from Itawamba CC. in Fulton, Mississippi also gave his verbal commitment to the Jaguars over the weekend. The 6’2″, 185-pound cornerback is rated a three-star by 247Sports.
These four come on the heels of Jalen Thompson’s verbal last Tuesday where he chose the Jaguars over a host of other schools including South Carolina, who was heavily recruiting him and had hosted him for a visit the previous weekend viagra online prescription free.
Jones and his staff currently have seven verbal commitments for the class of 2015.
Turner Brothers Get Press Coverage In Dothan
Jon Johnson of the Dothan Eagle had a nice writeup about South Alabama assistant coaches and brothers John and Brian Turner as they were in town for the football camps the Jaguar coaching staff have been hosting across the state of Alabama this week.
John and Brian were both hired in 2008 as head coach Joey Jones was assembling his first coaching staff. John, who now coaches tight ends for the Jaguars, and Brian, who is recruiting coordinator and defensive line coach, have both been with the program since the very beginning. Actually, they are the only remaining coaches from that first coaching staff.
Click here to read the article from The Dothan Eagle.
St. Paul’s Standout Corner Commits To South Alabama
St. Paul’s defensive back Jalen Thompson stretches for a pass during the 2013 season. Photo credit: AL.com | Mike Kittrell
The University of South Alabama, head coach Joey Jones and his staff and players as well as head baseball coach Mark Calvi, his staff and players all made a huge ripple in college football recruiting coverage today. In a surprise to the SEC schools recruiting St. Paul’s senior cornerback Jalen Thompson, none of them received his verbal commitment. Instead Thompson gave his verbal to the Jaguars.
Thompson, a 6′ 170-pound cornerback was heavily recruited by several SEC schools including Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Auburn and Alabama. His interest was not limited to SEC schools though. He also had offers from California, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Minnesota, NC State, Northern Illinois and Southern Miss, however he ultimately chose to stay close to home in Mobile to play both of the sports he loves at his hometown school.
Depending on which recruiting service you look at, he is either a 3 or 4 star recruit which is arguably the highest rated player to commit to the Jaguars to date. Though he cannot sign with the Jaguars until February 4, 2015 he claims to be “100%” committed to South Alabama.
As a junior in 2013, Thompson recorded seven interceptions and returned two for touchdowns while also forcing a fumble, recovering a fumble and recording 39 tackles. On the baseball diamond he was a Mobile Press-Register All-Region selection at shortstop while hitting .350 with 35 stolen bases as the St. Paul Saints finished the season with a 29-4 record and a berth in the second round of the Class 5A playoffs.
Thompson expects to move from shortstop to center field for baseball and play cornerback and return kicks for the football team.
Could Jalen be the domino that Coach Jones, Coach Turner and the rest of the staff have been looking for? Could he be the one that opens the floodgates of 3*, 4* and opens the door to potentially getting one of the elite 5* recruits to the Jaguars? Only time will tell.
The recruiting process is not over, Thompson will continue to get interest from the other schools who offered scholarships to him, but the hometown school has the upper hand with the Mobile standout.
“It’s close to home,” Thompson told AL.com. “I think South is a school on the rise, and I really wanted to play football and baseball. I’m excited.”
Congrats Jalen and welcome to #JagNation!
Coaching Staff Traveling Across State For Football Camps This Week
Head coach Joey Jones and his staff are in the midst of their June football camp trek across the state of Alabama.
It began with a two-day camp on campus on Friday and Saturday and continued last night in Dothan at Rip-Hewes Stadium. This week they will be in Montgomery from 5-7:30pm at Park Crossing High School, followed by Birmingham on Tuesday at Oak Mountain High School from 6-8:30pm and will wrap up on Wednesday at Decatur High School from 6-8:30pm.
Each of the remaining camps will cost $30 per participant and is open to ninth through 12th graders. These camps are shorter versions of the two-day camp the coaching staff hosted over the weekend at the University of South Alabama. The coaches will be working with the participants teaching fundamentals for each position.
On Saturday, USA Today’s Paul Myerberg posted the next in a series counting down to the beginning of the College Football season. He ranked the Jaguars 72nd in his list of 128 teams that he is counting down.
In his article he broke down the Jaguars in depth position by position. He heaped lots of praise on the Jaguars offensive line who he said should be the difference. He pointed to the Jags having All-Conference linemen at both tackles and both guard positions, which I think anyone would agree, is very impressive. Everything begins with the offensive line.
He also wrote about all the holes that need to be filled in the defensive front seven for the Jaguars. The Jaguar coaches and players have some big shoes to fill on the defensive line and at linebacker.
To read the whole article, click here.
South Alabama Adds Two Quarterbacks To The Team
Matt Floyd as a South Florida Bull against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Raymond James Stadium on December 1, 2012. | Photo credit: Kim Klement-USA Today Sports
University of South Alabama head football coach Joey Jones officially announced that Matt Floyd will be joining the Jaguar football program this fall after he signed a Grant-In-Aid with the school.
Floyd, a 6’1″, 200-pound Milton, FL native, joins USA from South Florida with two years of eligibility remaining. He was voted team captain prior to the start of the 2013 season. After sitting out his redshirt season in 2011, he saw action as a redshirt freshman with a 20-for-35 and 175 yard performance at Miami and in his first career start at Cincinatti he went 21-of-39 for 176 yards. He started against McNeese State last season going 9-for-20 for 72 yards.
He also garnered attention off the field by receiving the Freddie Solomon Community Spirit Award in 2013, which honors a collegiate football player from the state of Florida or South Carolina each year who has impacted the lives of others through giving and community service. He was also named to the American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team last season along with the BIG EAST All-Academic Team in 2012.
In high school at Milton High, he was a three year starter where he threw for 4,988 yards, 37 touchdowns and 10 rushing touchdowns in his career. In his senior season he led the area with 2,277 yards passing as he went 150-of-272 with 17 touchdowns as he earn Super Senior honors along with the IMG Academic All-Madden and First-Team All-Area squad honors. As a junior he threw for 1,711 yards and 14 touchdowns while completing 112-of-205 passes to be named to the Second-Team All-Area team. As a sophomore he threw for 1,000 yards and five touchdowns while adding five more on the ground.
South Alabama recruited Floyd out of high school but ended up choosing South Florida instead. Jones said that he was recruited both for his athletic ability but also because of his character and leadership skills. He fits in a similar mold that Ross Metheny filled the last two seasons as a dual-threat quarterback who can both throw with a strong arm and run with good size. He should fit into the Jaguars offensive scheme well.
Along with Floyd, the Jags added quarterback Hunter Vaughn to the to team. Vaughn, a former Robertsdale High School and Butler (Kansas) Community College quarterback transferred to USA and joined the team this summer. He is another dual-threat quarterback that the Jags were recruiting but they already had a commitment that season. Vaughn will most likely redshirt this season and had three years of eligibility remaining.
With the two newcomers, the Jags have a nice stable of quarterbacks for the approaching season. Current number 1 quarterback Brandon Bridge, last year’s number 2 quarterback and a senior this season, is sitting in the drivers position for the starting spot after showing lots of improvement in the spring and flashes of greatness last season. Trey Fetner, a junior, who knows the offense and has been regularly used in short-yardage “wildcat” situations but has a good arm is currently pegged as the number 2. Grant Powell, a sophomore, who has a good arm and can run, but needs more time to get comfortable with his decision making and the offense. Dallas Davis, a freshman, who will most likely be redshirted this season who is another dual-threat quarterback who should fit well into the offensive scheme Robert Matthews has going.
South Alabama will begin their season on September 6 against Kent State with kickoff scheduled for 1pm CDT. The Jags finished 6-6 and bowl eligible in their first season as a full FBS member, but did not receive an invitation to a bowl game. They also finished third in the conference with a 4-3 record after a three-game winning streak to close out the season with a 30-8 win over conference co-champion Louisiana-Lafayette to cap off the season.
Jaguar Football To Host Football Camps Across Alabama This Month
Head Coach Joey Jones talking with a wide receiver preseason practice.
If you live somewhere in Alabama outside of Mobile, there’s a chance that head coach Joey Jones and his staff will be hosting a camp near you this summer. Jones and his staff will host five camps across the state later this month, beginning with a two-day camp on the campus of the University of South Alabama followed by camps in Dothan, Montgomery, Birmingham and Decatur.
The two-day camp in Mobile will be for players from the ninth to 12th grades on June 20 and 21 on the University of South Alabama intramural fields in front of the Football Fieldhouse. The participants have a couple of options for the camp, they can attend both days and stay overnight on campus ($200), participate both days and commute ($180) or participate on one of the two days without an overnight stay ($100).
The four other camps will be held at locations around the state beginning with Dothan on June 22 at Rip Hewes Stadium from 6-8:30pm. Montgomery on June 23 at Park Crossing High School from 5-7:30pm. Birmingham on June 24 at Oak Mountain High School from 6-8:30pm. Decatur on June 25 at Decatur High School from 6-8:30.
Each of the four camps across the state will only cost $30 per participant and is open to ninth through 12th graders. The road camps will be shorter versions of what the coaching staff will be doing at the two-day camp in Mobile where they will be teaching fundamentals for each position.
Additionally the school will be sponsoring a 7-on-7 camp on June 19 from 4-9pm on the Jaguar Practice Fields behind the Football Fieldhouse on the South Alabama campus. It will be open to ninth through 12th graders for a full team and will be held in conjunction with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. It will cost $345 per team to participate.
South Alabama finished 6-6 overall and bowl eligible in their first season as a full Football Bowl Subdivision member and eligible for postseason play. Though they did not receive a bowl invitation. They finished third in the Sun Belt with a 4-3 record after finishing the season with a three-game winning streak including a season finale win over SBC Co-Champion Louisiana-Lafayette by a score of 30-8.
The camp is yet another way the Jaguar coaching staff is trying to get their name out to reach young prospects in the state of Alabama to build off of the name recognition last season brought the program. “People look at what we did in our first season of D1 (competition) last year and (prospects) saw the Tennessee game (close loss in Knoxville),” Jones told Alabama Media Group. “It’s just amazing what a game like that can do (in terms of recognition). There’s just a lot of excitement around the program and the players are seeing that.”
This season the Jaguars will open on September 6 against Kent State before returning home to host Mississippi State at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on September 13. They will also travel to South Carolina on November 22 and finish out the season at home by hosting Navy. Between Mississippi State and South Carolina, the Jags will play an eight game Sun Belt Conference schedule in nine weeks.
For more information about South Alabama’s football camps you can visit the website www.jaguarfootballcamps.com. Participants can register online or on site for the camps.
South Alabama Announced Kickoff Times For Mississippi State, Troy Home Games
Jaguar Pat Moore closes in on Mississippi State quarterback Tyler Russell in the first quarter of the Jaguars 30-10 loss to the Bulldogs on September 22, 2012.
The University of South Alabama announced the times for two more football games this fall.
The Jaguars home opener against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday, September 13 will kick off at 3pm (CDT) at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. It will also be be nationally televised on ESPN News.
The Jags game against the Bulldogs will be the second game in a 2-for-1 series. The Jags traveled to Starkville in 2012 and will return to Starkville in 2016 in the third and final game of the three-game series.
The Jaguars will host Sun Belt Conference and in-state rival Troy on Friday, October 24 with kickoff time scheduled for 6:30pm at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. In the third meeting between the two schools, it will also be the third time that their match-up will be televised. This season it will be televised on ESPNU nationally.
Last season the Jaguars trailed 24-7 early in the third quarter but the Jaguars scored 20 points in the fourth quarter with the 65 yard touchdown pass from Ross Metheny to Jereme Jones and a two-point conversion from Metheny to Corey Besteda to take a 33-27 lead with 0:48 left in the game. However a desperate heave into the endzone by Corey Robinson was caught by Eric Thomas to tie the game with the extra point giving the Trojans a one point lead 34-33 with 0:07 left in the game. The Jags were unable to get it into the endzone with one second left from their own 32 yard line.
Tickets for the Mississippi State home game are currently available only as part of a 2014 Jaguar Football season ticket plan with limited availability on the West side of the stadium. According to the South Alabama Ticket Office, single-game ticket availability is not guaranteed. A season ticket purchase will give you ticket to Mississippi State and Troy along with Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Texas State and Navy. Visit the South Alabama Athletics home page for tickets or call the South Alabama Ticket Office by calling 251.461.1USA.