Jaguar Football Announces Two Road Kickoff Dates This Fall
The University of South Alabama announced kickoff times for their first two road games of the 2014 season.
They will open the season on Saturday, September 6 at Kent State with kickoff scheduled for 1pm CDT and will be broadcast live on ESPN3. This will be the Jaguars second trip to Kent, Ohio and the third time overall they have met on the gridiron. The Jags lost the first game in 2012 in Ohio, then defeated them last season in Mobile.
The Jags will then return home for two games, including their home opener against Mississippi State and their conference opener against Sun Belt newcomer Georgia Southern.
Their next road game will be on September 27 when they travel to Moscow, Idaho to take on the Idaho Vandals in the Kibbie Dome. Kickoff for that game is scheduled for 4pm CDT. This will be the Vandals first season in the Sun Belt as they joined as football-only members.
Kickoff times for all remaining games are still yet to be determined.
Phil Steele Selects League Leading 18 Jaguars To All-Conference Teams
Phil Steele, sportswriter and analyst who releases one of the most popular preseason magazines each season, recently released his preseason All-Sun Belt Conference team with South Alabama well represented.
In all 18 Jaguars made it into his list, which is tops for the conference. The next closest is co-defending conference champion Louisiana-Lafayette with 15, then co-defending champion Arkansas State, Louisiana-Monroe and Texas State with 13.
Shavarez Smith WR, Wes Saxton TE, Melvin Meggs OG and Aleem Sunanon K all received First-Team selections.
Drew Dearman OG, Chris May OT, Ucambre Williams OT, Maleki Harris LB and Montell Garner CB all received Second-Team selections.
Jay Jones RB, Danny Woodson WR, Jerome McClain DT, Qudarius Ford CB, Terrell Brigham S and TJ. Glover KR received Third-Team selections.
Marvin Shinn WR, Jimmie Gipson LB, and Jesse Kelley DT received Fourth-Team selections.
Last season the Jaguars only had eight selections to Steele’s Preseason team. This season, four of the five starting offensive linemen were selected to either the first or second team. Three players from the secondary were selected and three wide receivers were selected.
If his selections are any indications as to how the Jags may fare against Sun Belt opponents this season, the season looks bright for the Jaguars.
South Alabama opens the 2014 season at Kent State on September 6 and open their home schedule the following week when they host Mississippi State on September 13.
Jag Coaches To Provide Instruction At GoDaddy Bowl Youth Clinic
The GoDaddy Bowl is played at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama and typically pits a Sun Belt Conference team against Mid-American Conference team. | photo: godaddybowl.com
The University of South Alabama head coach Joey Jones and his staff will be instructing children from age 5 to 13 in the GoDaddy Bowl’s football clinic on Saturday, June 14 at Mobile Christian School.
The youth clinic will feature instruction by coach Jones’ staff in several areas of the game as well as in proper technique and football safety.
Participants will have the opportunity to take part in all of the drills provided which also includes offensive and defensive positions. It will also include proper blocking techniques, passing and pass-catching techniques as well as many other position-specific drills. They will also learn about the importance of character development and sportsmanship.
Participants must register online and bring the waiver included in the registration process with them to the clinic. Participants should wear cool, comfortable clothing and cleats and other equipment are not required. It is suggested that participants arrive early so things may proceed in a timely manner.
“We are excited to be hosting this event again this year and are looking forward to having coach Jones and his staff back with us,” Kelley Wright, director of ticket sales for the GoDaddy Bowl, told Alabama Media Group. “We had well over 300 kids at this clinic last year and look forward to great participation and attendance again this year.”
For more information visit the GoDaddy Bowl website or click here to go directly to the event page for the telephone number and email address to contact organizers from the GoDaddy Bowl or to register for the clinic.
USA Football Ranked 86th By Orlando Sentinel
Matt Murschel of the Orlando Sentinel ranked South Alabama #86 in his ranking of all 128 FBS teams in the country for 2014.
While the ranking may not seem very high, that is truly a huge statement for a team that just finished their first season as a full FBS member and only the fifth year the football program has been in existence. Heading into last season the Jags were being ranked somewhere in the last five of the FBS teams after their 2-11 season as a FBS transitional team.
He wrote about last years team, breaks down the key losses, returning players, strengths and weaknesses of the team and the outlook for this season. He points to the loss of five defensive starters and Ross Metheny behind center as making it “tough to win enough games to earn one the Sun Belt’s limited bowl invitations”.
Head over to the Orlando Sentinel and read the whole thing for yourself and look at the other teams that they have ranked so far by clicking here.
USA’s Jereme Jones Selected One of 14 for ’14 Freakish Athletes In College Football
Jereme Jones was included in the list of 14 freakish athletes in college football for 2014 by Mike Huguenin on NFL.com. Jones will be a senior in 2014. Photo by John Adams | usajaguars.com
Jereme Jones was selected as 14 for ’14 Most Freakish athletes in college football by Mike Huguenin.
The Jaguar fans were posting this all around on Social Media sites, for good reason. Jereme Jones was named #12 on the list with his 84 receptions and 10 touchdowns over the past two seasons. But little did many know that he was pound-for-pound the strongest guy on the Jaguars team.
According to the article he reportedly is 5’8″, 167-pounds, squats 545 pounds, bench presses 365 pounds and hang cleans 335 pounds. He also has been timed with a 4.48 40-yard dash can vertical jump 37.5 inches and broad jump 10’1″. He reportedly only has 7.5% body fat too.
But what they did not note was his consecutive games with a pass-reception streak is currently sitting at 39-consecutive games and also his ability to make some amazing catches. Jereme has the heart of a Jaguar with the hands that seemingly are coated with stickum spray.
Jones is in good company with players from Arizona State, Oregon, Iowa, Florida State, Northwestern, Georgia, East Carolina, Mississippi State, Kentucky, Syracuse, Auburn, Baylor and Louisville.
Congratulations Jereme! I know all of the Jaguar fans look forward to see what you do your senior season.
Head over to NFL.com and read the article for yourself. Click here for the link directly to the page.
Jag Football Has Two Honored At SBC Banquet; New Additions To Team Are On Campus
Junior Rush Hendricks was named to the CoSIDA’s Academic All-District team last season and was named the Sun Belt Conference Postgraduate Scholar Athlete of the Year at the SBC Spring Banquet. Photo by John Adams | usajaguars.com
During the Sun Belt Conference Spring Banquet, the Jaguars had a member of the football team and a former member of the team honored last week.
Rush Hendricks was selected as the Sun Belt Conference Postgraduate Scholar Athlete of the Year. The 6’3″, 235-pound tight end from Jay, Florida earned his degree in exercise science earlier this month while graduating with a 4.00 GPA. Last fall he was voted to the first-team CoSIDA All Academic All-District IV team and has been twice named to the Sun Belt Commissioner’s List.
He was ranked among the team leaders in special teams tackles with six, two of which came against Kent State in the Jaguars homecoming win where he also caught a pass. He has lettered three times while playing tight end and on special teams since joining the team in 2010.
Hendricks will enroll in the physical therapy program this fall and has one season of eligibility remaining.
Ross Metheny was selected to be a representative on the Leadership Team after he earned second-team All-Conference honors in the fall after leading the team to a 6-6 record overall and a 4-3 record in conference play as the teams quarterback in the schools first season as a full member of the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision.
Metheny, a native of Stephens City, Virginia, received his master’s degree in education leadership with a 4.00 GPA earlier this month. He ranked in the top 10 in the conference in total offense, passing yards per game, pass efficiency rating and rushing yards per game.
He was also voted as the Jaguar Male Student-Athlete of the Year after his second season as a Jaguar and after his final season of eligibility.
New Additions On Campus
In other news about the football program. A number of junior college transfers and an incoming freshman are reportedly now on campus.
Defensive tackles Bryson Johnson and Dondre Chanet are now on campus. Johnson was listed at 6’4″, 295-pounds with a 4.8 40-yard dash. Chanet is listed at 6’2″, 304-pounds. Both come in to help replace a number of defensive linemen who graduated after five years with the Jaguars.
Jaguar Student-Athletes Honored At 5th Annual Pete Tolbert Night Of Champions
Several student-athletes were honored during the Fifth Annual Pete Tolbert Night of Champions, the athletic department’s event to honor the achievements of nearly 400 individuals on Thursday evening.
Junior pitcher Farish Beard of Fairhope, Alabama and senior quarterback Ross Metheny of Stephens City, Virginia were name the female and male Student-Athletes of the Year. This honors the most outstanding individuals based on scholarship, athletic ability and citizenship.
Along with Beard, Hannah Campbell and Kaitlyn Griffith were also honored from the softball team. Metheny was joined by teammates Trey Fetner, Bryson James and Alex Page from the football team. Noelle Jones, Garrett Schumacher and Derek Westbrook were honored from the Track and Field teams.
Several others were honored including just to name a few: Caroline Beebe, Mechell Daniel, Nini Rabsatt-Smith, Sharmyn Wall, Matt Bolger, Brandon Bridge, Robby Campbell, Michelena D’Alonzo and Kristin Parry.
Beard has recorded better than a 3.2 GPA in two-plus years at USA. This season she has a 18-5 record, a 0.99 ERA, 174 strikeouts in 127.1 innings and ranks in the top 20 nationally in four statistical categories.
Metheny has a 4.0 GPA and is working on his master’s degree in educational leadership. Last season he led the Sun Belt Conferecne in total offense per game with 269 yards, ranked in the top 10 in the conference in three other categories and finished in the top 50 nationally in total offense, pass efficiency rating, and passing yards. He was also selected to the second-team All-SBC team.
A full rundown off all the awards and their recipients can be found here.
Also, 56 current and former student-athletes were recognized as they will graduate at the end of the semester.
Congratulations Jaguars!
South Alabama Sports – Weekend Preview
Baseball
The Jaguar baseball team will host Arkansas State for a three-game weekend series at Eddie Stanky Field starting Friday evening at 6:30pm.
Locke St. John (3-1) will make his ninth start of the season against right hander David Owen (4-1) for the Red Wolves. USA enters the game after taking two of three games from Texas State last weekend but dropping a midweek game to Nicholls State 15-4. USA has an overall season record of 15-17 and a 5-6 record in the Sun Belt.
Saturday night the Jags and Red Wolves will get underway at 6:30pm again with right hander Kevin Hill (2-4) taking the mound against lefty Chandler Hawkins (2-4) for ASU. The two will round out the weekend with a 1pm start on Sunday with righty Bradley Wallace (3-3) taking the mound for ASU while USA has not named a starter for Sunday yet.
Arkansas State enters the game with an 18-15 record overall and an 8-4 record in conference play.
Softball
The Jaguars will be in Lafayette taking on fellow Sun Belt powerhouse Louisiana-Lafayette in a three game series. Saturday they will start it off with a double-header beginning at 2pm.
USA enters the game after a 3-2 win over Mississippi State and sporting a 31-6 record overall and a conference record of 8-2. ULL enters the weekend on a 13-game winning streak with an overall record of 28-6-1 and a perfect conference record of 9-0, which puts them on top of the standings for the conference.
Track and Field
The USA Men’s and Women’s track and field teams will compete in their third and final home event as they host the 14th annual South Alabama Invitational at Jaguar Track on Friday and Saturday.
Fellow Sun Belt schools Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette and Troy will be in attendance as well as Belhaven, Birmingham Southern, Loyola (La.), Tulane, West Florida and William Carey.
The Jaguars will also recognize 13 graduating seniors in a brief ceremony on Saturday. Tyler Agee, Nick Farell, Leah Hixon, Noelle Jones, Jarrod Kedzior, Tori Lawson, Jeff Long, Melissa McClusky, Adam Patterson, Garrett Schumacher, Alex Shields, Connor Smith, and Bobbie Williamson will be the ones honored.
Women’s Golf
The Women’s Golf team will compete in the Sun Belt Championships beginning on Monday at Steelwood Country Club in Loxley, Alabama. The event will run through Wednesday.
Football
Head coach Joey Jones announced that Quinton Dent has signed a National Letter-of-Intent to join the South Alabama football team this fall.
Dent played the previous two seasons at Laney (Ca.) Community College and is the second JuCo defensive back to sign with USA this spring and raises the number of secondary players in this recruiting class to ten.
Dent is a 6’3″, 180-pound native of Haines City, FL. He earned first-team all-Golden Gate Conference Central Division honors last fall as he helped his team to an 8-3 record. He recorded 32 total tackles, 23 of them solo, with three interceptions and a team-best 13 passes broken up.
South Alabama Sports – Weekend Preview
Baseball
The Jaguar baseball team will face Texas State for the first time on the baseball diamond this weekend starting tonight at 6:30pm in San Marcos, Texas.
The Jags are in the midst of a five game losing streak and carries a 13-15 record into the game. They lost midweek games against Southeastern Louisiana and Southern Mississippi. Though the Jaguars lead the conference in sacrifice bunts, they are last in the conference in hits, runs scored, RBI, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, total bases, doubles and home runs.
Texas State is 17-11 overall and 6-3 in conference play this season. They have won two of their last five games. They are batting .247 as a team with a staff ERA of 3.70.
Starting for the Jaguars in game one is Locke St. John (3-1). Kevin Hill (2-3) will start game two and the Jags have not announced a starter for the series finale on Sunday.
Texas State is currently third in the conference while the Jags are sitting eighth out of ten schools.
All of the games can be heard on 105.5FM WNSP or WNSP.com online. Saturday’s game will start at 3pm and Sunday will get underway at 1pm.
Softball
The Jaguar softball team will also be in San Marcos, Texas for a three game Sun Belt Conference series against the Bobcats.
They will play a double-header on Saturday with their first game set for 1pm and the second scheduled for 3pm. They will wrap up the series on Sunday beginning at 11am.
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USA and Troy To Play In Nationally Televised Game This Fall
The South Alabama football team will get more national exposure this fall as the Sun Belt Conference announced a change in the television schedule on Tuesday.
The Jags will host Troy on Friday, October 24 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in a Sun Belt Conference game that will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.
Previously the only other USA game to be broadcast nationally was the Jaguars game against Navy last fall which was carried on the CBS Sports Network. They have had a number of games carried regionally on the SEC Network and on CSS.
In their first season as a full FBS member and eligible for a bowl game and conference championship, the Jags finished 6-6 and 4-3 in conference play. They finished third in the conference after knocking off co-champion Louisiana-Lafayette 30-8 to get bowl eligible. However the Jags were not selected for a post-season bowl game.
The Jags vs Troy game will be one of two Friday night games for the Jaguars this season, both will be played on the field at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The other is against Navy in the regular-season finale on November 28. Kickoff time has not been scheduled for that game and it may be available on ESPN3.
“The opportunity to play, especially a home game, against an in-state rival on a national stage is priceless,” South Alabama Director of Athletics Joel Erdmann said. “In 2013 we received an extraordinary amount of exposure and feedback concerning playing on the SEC Network against Tennessee. Playing on the ESPN family of networks will increase that.”
“Having the ability to experience that exposure not only helps the football program, but every other sports program that we have and provides exposure of the University of South Alabama and the City of Mobile.”