Jags Begin Spring Practice
Head Coach Joey Jones speaks to his team after the conclusion of the Jaguars first practice of 2012 preseason camp.
South Alabama began spring practice this morning as they gear up for their first season as a full FBS member in 2013. Though the Jags are coming off a 2-11 season and have questions going forward, there is an excitement and eagerness to meet the challenge head on.
The Jags defense last year played very strong and surprised many for a first year FBS program. But they allowed too many big plays.
Out goes Bill Clark, who accepted the head coaching position at Jacksonville State, and in comes new defensive coordinator Kevin Sherrer from Alabama. Sherrer will have experience on the defensive line with Romelle Jones, Montavious Williams, Randon Carnathan, Alex Page and Pat Moore all returning. Likewise, the Jags will return some linebackers that should be the core of a solid unit as well.
But the secondary will be where help is needed, which is where Sherrer will coach.
The offensive line will need to replace Trey Clark, who started every single game the Jaguars have played in the last four years. A group of experienced players return giving second year offensive coordinator Robert Matthews a lot to work with. Drew Dearman and Melvin Meggs return with redshirt freshmen Joseph Scelfo and Clay Machen, among others, looking to earn more playing time as well.
The position that gets the most attention year in and year out is quarterback. The Jags return Ross Metheny who won the starting job from C.J. Bennett last season, but cannot sit back and expect to keep that position with the stable of players behind him. Trey Fetner who came in at times last season on designed run plays on short yardage third and fourth down plays. Fetner has a strong arm, runs great strong with the ball and is settling into Matthews spread offense.
Many will be looking to Brandon Bridge to see what he does this spring. Bridge transferred in from Alcorn State and brings a big arm, but needed work on his accuracy. He is quick and could bring something extra to the spread offense. The key will be his accurancy, the Jags cannot afford many turnovers as a second year FBS program.
Redshirt freshman Grant Powell will look to get an opportunity to show what he has, and the same with Kolt Peavey.
South Alabama will need playmakers to step up and show what they have this spring. They lacked a big receiver who could be counted on to come through in key situations. They converted Gabe Loper to wide receiver from defensive back last season, but he has since graduated. Who will be able to fill that role this season?
Another big player at tight end is also gone as Greg Hollinger left after the season. Hollinger was a go-to guy who could make miss-matches against the defense.
More players will join the team in time for fall camp. But Coach Jones and his staff will be looking to see how the players have progressed from last season before looking at the the influx of mostly young talent this fall.
Spring Football Practice Begins Thursday
Head coach Joey Jones working with the field goal unit during South Alabama’s Scrimmage on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
The University of South Alabama football will take advantage of it’s location to open spring practice early. They will be one of the earliest schools to open spring practice in the nation, thanks to the more mild weather we experience in the southern portion of the US.
The Jags are set to hit the practice fields at 6am on Thursday in shorts and helmets for a two-hour workout. If you know the Jags, it’s not the only time they will hit the fields early in the morning either. Their Tuesday and Thursday dates will hit the field around 6am each time. Of the 15 practices they are allowed during the spring period, nine of them will be on Tuesday or Thursday.
They also have practices scheduled on Saturday’s and Sunday’s with one Saturday practice scheduled for 9am and the rest of them scheduled for around 9:45am. The Sunday practices are scheduled for 3pm. As always, these are tentative dates and are subject to change. (See bottom for complete schedule)
The Red-Blue game will be the only practice session that is not held on campus, but rather at Ladd-Peebles Stadium as in years past. The spring game is set to be the Jaguars final practice session of spring drills and will begin at 2pm on April 6.
The week of March 18th is spring break for the University and the team will have a break from practices as well. They are scheduled for a scrimmage on Thursday, March 7 then return to the practice field on Tuesday, March 19 after spring break.
Seven Jaguars will not be able to participate in spring drills when they being on Thursday due to injuries or recovering from injuries from last season. Ucambre Williams and Shaun Artz will not practice. Both are recovering from surgeries. Defensive backs Anthony Harris and Montell Garner, defensive lineman Randon Carnathan, running back Desmond Jones and tight end Jared Palmer will all miss at least part of and possibly all of spring practice.
DaMon Husband has informed head coach Joey Jones that he has decided not to play football. Husband, a 6’1″ 340-pound offensive lineman was a standout player for Williamson High School. He will continue pursuing his degree at the University.
Ceasare Johnson, who missed all of last season with a blood clot, is expected to be ready for the Jaguars first practice on Thursday. Johnson was redshirted in 2011 after transferring Coahoma (Miss.) Community College. As a sophomore, the 6’5″ 275-pound defensive lineman collected 70 tackles, 51 solo, and six sacks. Last spring he was voted the most-improved defensive lineman but developed the blood clots before fall camp began.
The Jags are expected to have 96 players on the spring roster with 55 on offense and 41 on defense. Coach Jones and Coach Matthews will have their largest group of players on the offensive line (16) and wide receiver (15).
Ross Metheny is the returning starter from last season. with C.J. Bennett transferring after last season, the Jags will still have five quarterbacks looking to get work at the position. Brandon Bridge, who had to sit out last season due to transfer rules, is one to watch in the group. Trey Fetner, Grant Powell and Kolt Peavey will also be working to improve and get more time.
In addition to new student-athletes joining the team, they will have new coaches on the field, all on defense. Defensive coordinator Kevin Sherrer takes over for Bill Clark who accepted the head coaching position at Jacksonville State University. Sherrer will coach the defensive backs as well. Travis Pearson will coach the inside linebackers while Freddie Roach will coach the defensive ends and outside linebackers. Coach Brian Turner, the lone coach returning on the defensive side of the ball, will coach the interior defensive linemen.
“On defense, it will be about getting our guys out there working together. We’ve got a great staff, guys who care about each other and the whole staff, but we need to get them to know our players and our players get to know them,” Jones explained. “Obviously we’ll have some changes with a new staff coming in, and we will implement those, but it’s very similar to what we’ve done so they are not wholesale changes at all.”
“The number one thing I was looking for on defense was hiring a great coordinator, and we did that with Kevin Sherrer,” Jones continued. “Then we wanted to hire a couple of energetic guys up front because I felt that Kevin could coach the secondary extremely well. We needed someone to coach the hybrid position, the drop end so to speak, and I expect Freddie to do a great job with that. I think all those guys will bring great energy to the staff.”
Coach Jones is also moving Chase Smith to help coach the offensive linemen with offensive coordinator Robert Matthews.
“Putting in a spread offense took time the first year, and now that our staff has been together a year they know each other and the players know what to expect from the coaches,” Jones continued. “The whole key for us is to just get better, we have to get better on offense to have a chance next fall.’
“I think moving Chase to the offensive line to give Robert help is critical because you have five positions and only one coach even though that is half your offense. Having two offensive line coaches is really going to help us, and it will also allow Robert to move around and watch receivers, running backs and quarterbacks, which will help him from the overall standpoint of coaching the offense.”
Coach Jones summed up the excitement by saying, “We’re looking forward to it, I’m real excited about our staff and the prospects we have for the future.”
Thursday, Feb. 28th, 6 a.m. (helmets)
Saturday, March 2nd, 9 a.m.
Sunday, March 3rd, 3 p.m.
Tuesday, March 5th, 6 a.m.
Thursday, March 7th, 6 a.m. (scrimmage)
Tuesday, March 19th, 6 a.m.
Thursday, March 21st, 6 a.m.
Saturday, March 23rd,9:45 a.m.
Sunday, March 24th, 3 p.m.
Tuesday, March 26th, 6 a.m.
Thursday, March 28th, 6 a.m.
Saturday, March 30th, 2:45 p.m. (scrimmage)
Tuesday, April 2nd, 6 a.m.
Thursday, April 4th, 6 a.m.
Saturday, April 6th, kickoff at 2 p.m., @ Ladd-Peebles Stadium
15 Schools Contacted By Sun Belt Commissioner For Expansion
The Las Cruces Sun-Times reported that 15 schools have been contacted by the Sun belt about potential expansion. Reportedly, the 15 schools received emails from Sun Belt commissioner Karl Benson about possible membership.
The schools reportedly contacted are Appalachian State (FCS Southern Conference), Delaware (FCS Colonial Athletic Association), Georgia Southern (FCS Southern Conference), Idaho (FBS WAC), Illinois State (FCS ), Jacksonville State (FCS Ohio Valley Conference), James Madison (FCS Colonial Athletic Association), Lamar (FCS Southland Conference), Liberty (FCS Big South Conference), Missouri State (FCS Missouri Valley Conference), New Mexico State (FBS WAC), Richmond (FCS Colonial Athletic Conference), Sam Houston State (FCS Southland Conference), Towson (FCS Colonial Athletic Association) and Tennessee-Chattanooga (FCS Southern Conference).
The Sun Belt Conference currently is set to lose four schools this summer which will leave the conference with 10 members, but only eight football schools. Two likely members that could join from the FCS ranks are Appalachian State and Georgia Southern. They both have a rich history in FCS play.
Two possible existing FBS members in Idaho and New Mexico State are looking for homes this coming football season since the WAC all but dissolved after the 2012 football season.
This could an interesting set of meetings during the basketball tournament in Hot Springs, Arkansas coming up soon.
USA Football Previewed How ‘Alabama Lite’ Could Work
The University of South Alabama received more good press on Wednesday. This time it was the football program being covered by Billy Connelly of SBNation. He posted an article titled “2013 South Alabama football’s 10 things to know: Alabama Lite could work”.
Connelly wrote about the Jaguar’s surprisingly stout defense last season for a first-year FBS trasitionary program and Coach Joey Jones’ decision to hire former Alabama director of player development Kevin Sherrer as the new defensive coordinator and former Alabama linebacker Freddie Roach as an assistant coach.
He covered the experience returning in 2013, the need for more playmakers on offense, more punch at running back, the size of the offensive line, how the Jaguar defense was disruptive but allowed big plays, how exciting the front seven is and how that excitement could continue in 2013, the hole left from Chapuseaux’s graduation and how the Jags could get a couple of wins this season.
Connelly had plenty of statistics so go give it a read here.
Jags Add JuCo Receiver To 2013 Class
South Alabama’s 2013 recruiting class is not quite over yet.
Head coach Joey Jones and the school announced 25 players who signed with the Jaguars on February 6th. But some of those were signed in December or January and the scholarships were able to be back-dated to 2012. Leaving five or six scholarships.
Tyrell Vinson, a wide receiver from Merced, California signed with the Jaguars on Monday. He is listed as being 6’1″ 190-pounds and is also listed as having two seasons of eligibility left to play for the Jaguars.
Last season Vinson caught 50 passes for 887 yards and six touchdowns. He also returned kicks for Merced College with an average of about 26 yards per return. He was also listed as being on the Basketball team for his freshman season.
The Jags are not done recruiting the junior college ranks for receivers as they hope to possibly add one more to their signing class this year.
South Alabama’s 2013 Football Signing Class
South Alabama signs 25 student-athletes in all to their 2013 signing class. Of the signees 17 signed National Letter-Of-Intents and two signed grants-in-aid on Wednesday.
Each recruiting site ranks the Jaguars differently in the Sun Belt Conference. Scout.com ranks the Jags third in the conference, Rivals.com ranks the Jags tied for seventh with Florida International while 247Sports puts the Jaguars recruiting class as #2 in the conference behind Louisiana-Lafayette. No matter how you look at it, it’s an impressive recruiting class for a program entering its first season as a full FBS and Sun Belt Conference member and only their fifth recruiting class in their short history.
The lure of competing for a Sun Belt Conference Championship and a bowl game berth aided the Jags in signing a class of good student-athletes on Wednesday.
“The reason we were able to get several of these really good football players is because we can go to a bowl game and we can win a championship,” Jones said in his press conference. “The last few years we have been selling South Alabama, facilities, the city of Mobile, which are all great things to sell, but at the end of the day you’re going to get better players when you tell them you’re going to be on television a lot, go to bowl games and compete for a championship.”
“There’s no doubt it especially helps with junior-college kids because they’ve only got a couple of years to play,” he continued. “They really don’t want to sit and wait for you and your program to evolve. They want it to happen right now. That’s the reason why I think we signed more quality junior-college kids.”
Among the 25 who signed with South Alabama, six junior college transfers signed in December while five more signed on Wednesday with 14 freshmen. The players had offers from schools like Alabama, Florida State, South Carolina, Michigan, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Clemson, Kansas State, Arizona, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Utah State, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Colorado State, Southern Miss, Boise State, Georgia Tech, Troy, Georgia State, Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Western Kentucky, Texas State, Louisiana Tech, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Middle Tennessee State, North Texas, Memphis, UAB, Tulane, Ohio, Toledo, Marshall, Bowling Green and UMass.
Their primary focus was on defensive linemen and defensive backs on the defensive side of the ball while focusing on skilled playmakers on the offensive side of the ball.
Caleb Alves is a 6’3” 175-pound Wide Receiver from Palm Bay Senior High School from Melbourne, Florida. He ranked seventh in the Orlando Sentinel’s MidEast Florida Super 60 and was selected to the third team All-State team his senior season. He chose South Alabama over Bowling Green, Florida A&M, FIU, UMass and Memphis.
Noah Armstrong is a 6’7” 300-pound offensive lineman from Lawrence County High School in Moulton, Alabama. Rivals.com rated him a 3-star recruit and among the top 100 offensive linemen in the country. He had offers from Arkansas State, Western Kentucky and Southern Miss.
Kaleb Blanchard, 6’ 200-pound native of Denham Springs, Louisiana and running back for Denham Springs High School, committed to South Alabama after visiting Mobile for an official visit in late January on Senior Bowl weekend. He had actually committed to Arkansas but after a coaching change his recruitment opened back up. Three recruiting services has him ranked as a three-star recruit while one had him as a four star recruit.
Blanchard is listed as clocking a 4.45 40-yard dash. Rivals.com has him ranked as the #35 nationally at his position and #15 in the state of Louisiana while 247Sports has him ranked as the #42 player at his position. Despite injuries in his junior year, he still gained 400 yards rushing with six touchdowns. He was then named offensive MVP of the Offense-Defense All-American Bowl back in December. He was offered scholarships by Arkansas, Cincinnati, Louisiana Tech and Louisiana-Lafayette among others.
Blanchard’s skill and potential explosiveness could give that extra punch that the Coach Matthews spread attack needs to open up both the running and passing games.
Roman Buchanan is a 6’2” 205-pound safety from Daleville High School in Daleville, Alabama. He was a four-year starter at his high school and was a first-team All-State selection by the Alabama Sport Writers Association in his senior year. As a junior, he had 72 solo tackles, 45 assists, four sacks, three forced turnovers, two fumble recoveries, two interceptions and four passes defended. Then he also added a blocked field goal.
Jacob Chaffin is a 6’3″ 260-pound defensive tackle from Spain Park, AL. Chaffin had 38 solo tackles, 8 tackles for loss and three sacks as a junior. He was rated a three-star recruit by ESPN.com which also ranked him among the top 10 defensive tackles in Alabama.
Devon Earl is a 5’10” 185-pound cornerback from Hoover High School in Hoover Alabama. He had 61 tackles, 5 interceptions, 10 pass deflections and 3.5 TFL’s as a junior. He was ranked fifth in Alabama at cornerback according to ESPN.com.
Dejon Funderburk, a native of Pensacola and wide receiver at Booker T. Washington high school, committed to the Jags back in the summer of 2012 and stayed firmly committed even though he had been pursued by several programs. Funderburk had offers from Rutgers, Alabama, Alcorn State, Cincinnati, Clemson, Colorado, Florida State, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, South Carolina, South Florida, Troy, UAB and Western Kentucky.
The Hilltoppers were the last to try to woo Funderburk but he stayed with his initial commitment. He contributed his choice to playing close to home so friends and family could see him play. His big play ability will be used in Coach Matthews spread offense.
DeMarion Harper, a 6’4” 275-pound strong side defensive end originally from Vicksburg Mississippi and Fort Scott Community College. He redshirted last fall at CC but was credited with 38 tackles in 2011 at Highland CC. He was being recruited by Louisiana Tech, Kansas, Ohio and Toledo among others. He will come to South Alabama with two years of eligibility as well.
Caleb Hayman is a 6’3” 215-pound wide receiver and tight end prospect from Gainesville High School in Gainesville, Florida. He was selected first-team All-State after helping lead his school to the state title last season.
Tony Johnson, a 6’3” 250-pound linebacker from Summit Mississippi and Southwest Mississippi Community College is rated a two-star by some recruiting services but is rated a three-star by the 247Sports composite ratings. He was originally verbally committed to Louisiana Tech but flipped to the Jaguars at the last minute. He also had an offer from UAB. He is listed as having a 4.8 40-yard dash speed. He could very well step in and fill the shoes left by Jake Johnson’s graduation.
Xavier Johnson is a 5’11” 170-pound running back from Chamberlain High School in Tampa, Florida. He rushed for 1,736 yards and 16 touchdowns as a junior. He was ranked among the top 30 running backs in Florida by ESPN.com and was an honorable mention for All-State in 2012.
Akeem Lewis is 5’11” 230-pound defensive end from Abbeville, Louisiana by way of Los Angeles Harbor CC. He totaled 14.5 TFL’s and nine sacks and ranked in the top three in the league last season.
Jerome McClain, a 6’2” 295-pound defensive tackle from Pensacola and Northwest Mississippi Community College. He is rated as a three-star recruit by recruiting services. He had offers from Arizona State, Indiana, FIU, Memphis, Minnesota, Ohio, Southern Miss and Western Kentucky. He is listed as clocking a 5 second 40-yard dash. He’s another addition to a defensive line that became quite thin last season due to injuries and will have a number of seniors graduating after next season.
McClain finished with 51 tackles and 10 tackles for loss last season. Northwest Mississippi CC finished in the top 10 in NJCAA last year.
Tevaris McCormick is a 5’10” 170-pound wide receiver from Biloxi High School in Biloxi, Mississippi. He racked up 769 yards receiving, 213 yards rushing and 265 yards on kick returns with 16 total touchdowns. He played in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic last year. He was rated a two-star from all of the national recruiting services.
Brandon McKee is from South Forsyth High School in Georgia and got on the Jaguars radar when he participated, and won, a punting and kicking competition in Mobile. But McKee did not stop there, he also won competitions at Appalachian State and Western Carolina, finished second at Auburn’s punting camp and was eighth out of 200 overall at the Kohl’s National Scholarship Camp in Wisconsin. He was a first-team All-State, All-Region and All-County selection last year.
During his senior season he had 33 punts for an average of 45 yards per punt and a long of 63. He also booted 10 other kicks over 50 yards each. McKee also went a perfect 25-for-25 on PATS and 8-of-9 in field goal attempts with a long of 45 yards. Another very impressive stat was 40 touchbacks on 45 kickoffs. All of those stats earned him First Team All-State honors in 6A.
McKee had interest from Arkansas, Auburn, Duke, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss and Oklahoma State plus some lower division schools. Texas A&M wanted him to join the program as a preferred walk-on. However he chose to verbally commit to South Alabama. The staff is primarily interested in him for punting duties since Scott Garber, who has handled the punting duties for the program’s first four years and has another year of eligibilty remaining is considering leaving.
But McKee may have an opportunity to placekick as well. Michel Chapuseaux graduated from the program leaving an opportunity for someone to earn his spot.
Theo Rich, a 6’3” 270-pound defensive tackle/strong-side defensive end from Portal High School in Portal Georgia and Itawamba Community College. He is ranked as a two-star prospect by some of the recruiting services. He signed with NC State before leaving the team in 2012 and going to Itawamba CC. He had offers from Middle Tennessee State and Georgia State but chose South Alabama in the end.
Rich will come to South Alabama with two years of eligibility remaining and will help to add depth to a defensive line that is full of seniors. He will also give the Jags experience on the defensive line next season as well.
Brett Sheehan, a 6’3” 184-pound quarterback from Suwanee Georgia and Collins Hill High School signed with South Alabama over Georgia State and FIU. He is considered a pocket passer and clocked a 4.93 40-yard dash. He is rated as a two-star recruit by some of the recruiting services.
DeVonta Staples is a 6’1” 190-pound safety from Valley High School in Lanett, Alabama. He was named to the All-State team by the Alabama Sports Writers Association
Jalen Wells is a 6’5” 230-pound defensive end from Dublin High School in Dublin, Georgia. He was projected at a number of positions by recruiting services such as tight end and linebacker. He had interest from Florida, Georgia, NC State, Mississippi State and Georgia Tech. Wells was rated a three-star recruit according to Scout.com and was named first-team All-Region and All-Middle Georgia last year.
Below are junior college transfers who signed with the Jaguars in December.
Cristobal Dinham is a 5’10” 210-pound running back from Lithonia Georgia by way of Independence Community College in Kansas. He ranked fifth in the NJCAA after rushing for 1,012 yards in 2012 with 10 touchdowns.
The Fuller twins are from Scooba, Mississippi and attended Kemper County High School. They both attended East Central Mississippi CC. Steffon Fuller is a 6’4″ 205-pound safety who recorded 54 tackles and four pass break-ups last season to be named first-team Mississippi Association of Community and Junior College’s First-Team All-State. He recorded eight tackles in three of the Warriors’ nine games including against nationally-ranked East Mississippi CC.
Steven Fuller is also 6’4″ weighing in at 200-pounds. He played in the secondary, at wide receiver and on special teams until last year. Defensively he had 20 tackles, three of them for loss, two pass defenses and a blocked kick. Offensively he caught seven passes for 95 yards while collecting 13 pancake blocks on run plays.
Montell Garner is a 6’1″ 185-pound cornerback originally from Colleyville, Texas and transferring from Navarro Junior College. He tallied eight pass break-ups in the season which tied him for fifth in the Southwest Junior College Football Conference. He also added 23 tackles and an interception. The Bulldogs finished ranked fourth in the NJCAA poll with a 10-2 record. Against nationally ranked Kilgore Junior College, Garner tallied 10 tackles in the 42-14 win. Then against Blinn JC he tallied seven tackles, three passes defended and an interception in the win.
Jay Jones is a 5’9″, 180-pound running back from Horn Lake, Mississippi and transferring from Northwest Mississippi Community College. Jones rushed for 504 yards and three touchdowns to rank in the top 50 in the nation rushing. He also added 11 pass receptions for 150 yards and a touchdown. He began the season with an 83-yard, one touchdown rushing performance with another 23 yards on three catches against Copiah-Lincoln CC. He followed that up with a season-high of 157 yards rushing on 29 carries in a win at Jones County CC. He then followed that performance with a 126 yard rushing performance with a touchdown against Holmes CC. He also had a 51 yard reception during the season.
Desmond LaVelle is a 5’11″ 230-pound linebacker from Decatur, Alabama who transfers to USA from Northwest Mississippi CC. He tied for fourth on the team with 53 tackles, with 4.5 of them for a loss, two fumble recoveries an interception and a pass defended while earning first-team All-Conference honors. His team finished 8-2 on the season ranked ninth in the final NJCAA rankings and a defense ranked 14th in the nation with 316.6 yards per game. As a freshman in 2011, LaVelle collected 25 tackles, two of them for loss, an interception and a fumble recovery.
Jaguar fans should be quite pleased with this recruiting class. If recent patterns continue, the staff should should do a great job of developing their talent to translate into outstanding play on the field. The defensive line and secondary added some very high quality depth. Offensively, the Jags added some big play threats and much needed depth at running back and wide receiver. They also picked up a huge offensive lineman, which was their target number for this class.
With the ability of back-signing the December JuCo signees to 2012, coach Jones said that he had five open scholarships and were still in the recruiting process for this class. The staff will have their eyes open for receivers to help build more depth and big play potential to the position.
Congratulations guys! We are glad that you chose South Alabama and look forward to watching you develop your abilities for the Jaguars.
USA Get Verbal Commitment From JuCo Pass Rusher
National Signing day is quickly approaching and the Jags got a verbal commitment from a much needed pass rusher on Thursday.
Akeem Lewis, a 6’3″ 242-pound Louisiana native, had an offer from Southern Miss but chose South Alabama to continue his college career. He totalled 17.5 tackles for loss and nine sacks last year in his sophomore season. He visited campus in early December and had since gotten interest from Washington and Arizona State then added Michigan, Illinois and Houston all showed interest later in his recruitment.
He told 247Sports that his family was a big factor in choosing South Alabama over other suitors. “Well, I’m from Louisiana, so it would be close to home,” he said. “My mom could come see me play, so it’s just the best fit for me right now. Just getting closer to home.”
Verbal commitments are non-binding. National Signing day is Wednesday, February 6th.
Jags Land Highly Rated Recruit
On the heels of the announcement that Terrence Upshaw had decommitted from South Alabama and committed to Samford, the Jags landed another running back, and a big one at that.
Kaleb Blanchard was among the large group of recruits who visited South Alabama over the weekend of January 25. He saw what the school and the city had to offer with tours of the football facilities and the school itself as well as taking in a Mardi Gras parade and the Senior Bowl.
According to multiple sites, he seemed to liked what he saw and was ready to commit.
Blanchard is rated a three-star prospect by 247Sports, ESPN Recruiting Nation and Scout.com while being rated a four-star prospect by Rivals. He is listed as having offers from Arkansas, Louisiana-Lafayette, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Cincinnati, Louisiana Tech and Tennessee by the recruiting sites.
He is listed as a 6′ 200-pound running back from Denham Springs High School in Denham Springs, Louisiana. According to Scout.com he is listed as having a 4.45 40-yard dash. 247Sports has him ranked at the #42 player at his position. Rivals.com has him ranked #35 nationally at his position and #15 in the state of Louisiana.
Blanchard suffered and injury that cut his Junior season short yet still managed 400 yards rushing with six touchdowns. In more recent news he was named the offensive MVP of the Offense-Defense All-American Bowl in December.
His recruiting opened back up after the new staff hired by Brett Bielema at Arkansas pulled his offer recently.
Jags Add Southern Utah To 2013 Football Schedule
There are reports that South Alabama will open the 2013 season against Southern Utah at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on a Thursday night on August 29.
Head coach Joey Jones and the University of South Alabama football team have completed their 2013 football schedule. The Jags have added a fifth non-conference game to fill the 12 game schedule after Middle Tennessee and Florida Atlantic negotiated their early exit from the conference this summer.
The Jags 2013 schedule of 12 games will be evenly split between road games and home games. They will have four Sun Belt Conference games at home and three road games. Of the Sun Belt teams returning this season, the Jags played road games against Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe and Arkansas State while playing a home game against Troy. The Jags did not face Western Kentucky last season.
This season the Jags will face ULM, ULL, Arkansas State, Troy and Western Kentucky with new additions of Georgia State and Texas State. They will have five non-conference games with only two of them scheduled to be at home. The newly added Southern Utah will visit Mobile on August 29 as mentioned before and Kent State will visit on October 19th.
The Jags will travel to play Tulane on September 7, University of Tennessee on September 28 and Navy on November 16.
The official Sun Belt Schedule will be released this spring. That is when we will know for certain who the Jags will face, where they will face them and when they will face them.
As for Southern Utah, they went 5-6 last season playing as a member of the Big Sky Conference.
Coach Jones Adds Freddie Roach And Travis Pearson To Staff
Head Coach Joey Jones speaks to his team after the conclusion of the Jaguars first practice of preseason camp. Chase Smith looks on behind Jones.
Head coach Joey Jones announced additions to his staff to fill open positions. Freddie Roach and Travis Pearson have joined the program and were in the football field house on Friday hitting the ground running.
Former University of Alabama linebacker Freddie Roach will join Brian Turner in coaching the defensive linemen. Roach was a four-year letterman for the Crimson Tide from 2002-2005. He was an assistant on the Alabama staff with the strength and conditioning program and was on the staff for the 2009 national championship team.
Roach was on the Murray State staff last season as defensive line coach. Prior to joining the Murry State staff, he helped the East Mississippi Community College team to a 12-0 record and the National Junior College Athletic Association national championship.
He ended his collegiate career as Alabama’s 10th all-time leading tackler and signed with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2006 but was released during the preseason due to injury. Travis Pearson was hired to coach the linebackers for the Jaguars.
Pearson was the defensive coordinator at Colquitt County High school the last two seasons where they had back-to-back semifinal appearances in the state 5A playoffs. He was also the head coach and athletic director at Jefferson Davis High School in Montgomery for two years prior to Colquitt County HS. In 2002-2004 he was the head coach at Elmore County High School. His final year at Elmore, he was selected the Metro 4A Coach of the Year after finishing the season 12-1 and an appearance in the quarterfinals.
He also served as director of football operations at Iowa State for the 2007 and 2008 seasons.
“You can tell when you meet Freddie Roach how hungry he is to be a great coach. He has that look in his eyes that I’m sure he had when he played,” Coach Joey Jones said. “He is going to demand a lot out of our players. And he is very technical, when I interviewed him he knew everything about playing defensive line. He understood it inside and out, from hand placement to the steps and how to attack offensive linemen. He’s a great coach now, and is going to be a tremendous coach as he gets some maturity about him.”
“I’ve known coach Pearson over the years going back to meeting him when he was the defensive coordinator at Oxford High, I’ve always been real impressed with the presence he had around the players,” Jones said. “He is one of the best coaches that I’ve seen: he is a motivator, he knows football and kids will do anything for him. When you’re coaching linebackers, you need a guy like that.”
“Everything is on the rise here,” Roach said. “It’s a new program with great facilities, the administration has done a great job of helping to get it going, and there are great coaches including a lot of Alabama guys. There are just a lot of great things going on, and I wanted to be a part of it and help this program be successful. I am in this business to help kids mature and become men, and also teach them how to play football. I was fortunate to play for and work with a bunch of great coaches, I’ve been fortunate all my life, so I would like to take what I’ve been given to help guys learn and accomplish what I have and more. And, there’s nothing like being back home.”
“First, I’ve known coach Jones, what he is about and the vision he has for this program, and that excited me,” Pearson said. “The opportunity to coach at South Alabama is also exciting to me, especially since I am from Southern Choctaw an hour and 45 minutes up the road. I want to win, particularly a conference championship, and get this program where coach Jones wants it to be. I think coach Sherrer is going to do an outstanding job and it is going to be a pleasure working with him as well.”
Sources have indicated that that’s not quite the end of the staff changes however. First year director of football operations, Chase Smith, may get a promotion to running backs coach to replace Tommy Perry who left for a position at North Texas. Prior to being named director of football operations before last season, Smith served as an offensive graduate assistant. He received his bachelor’s degree in 2005 and masters degree in 2008, both in physical education, from Jacksonville State University.
He also served as assistant coach at Spanish Fort High School from 2007-2010.
That would move Brendt Bedsole off the field and back into the position of director of football operations. Bedsole has performed that job since the beginning of the program until he was promoted to linebackers coach last season.
It is unknown who will take on the position of special teams coordinator that Coach Tommy Perry also held.
It’s a very opportune time to announce the hire as the Jags have their big recruiting weekend this weekend with about 21 recruits on-campus for visits.