Reflecting Back On The 2012 Season
Head coach Joey Jones working with the field goal unit during South Alabama’s Scrimmage on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
The South Alabama football team concluded it’s 13-game schedule that marks its final year of a two-year transition into Football Bowl Subdivision play.
The Jags played 12 other FBS schools and one FCS school in Nicholls State. Of those 12 FBS schools, eight of them were Sun Belt Conference schools, another first for the school. Those four other non-conference FBS schools included road games against North Carolina State, Mississippi State and Hawaii.
Though the win-loss record (2-11, 1-7 SBC) was not what players, coaches and fans wanted to see there were lots of positives to take away from the season. On four occasions, the Jags lost by eight points or less including a 36-29 game in Jonesboro, AR against eventual conference champion Arkansas State.
But now the focus shifts to recruiting and the team’s offseason workout program. The coaching staff is targeting several junior college players that can come in and make an immediate impact as they have layed a solid foundation for the future with freshmen. Every freshman signed back in February of this year were redshirted except wide receiver Cameron Broadnax.
The coaching staff will hope to do something similar again in 2013 with the incoming freshmen unless they have some outstanding talent that could make an immediate impact on the field.
When asked about his look on this past season he said he was very excited about the future. He pointed out the team this year and stressed the Seniors that have given so much to the program to get us to this point. He said they have built the program the right way and have played competitive football. While they are not there yet, they played several teams down to the wire and earned respect in their first season.
He also said that he was excited about next year. He credited the players and his staff for working hard to prepare them and he believes that it’s going to carry over to next year. He stressed that is a fundamental part of having a good program, the things behind the scenes that people don’t see. “When you see a team keep preparing as hard as it can and wanting to win every game, there’s a lot of teams that quit in these situations and this didn’t and that’s going to carry over. It’s one of the things I think we learned this season,” Jones said.
Jones said that the toughest part of this past season was coming out on the losing side of those close games this year. The Jags were picked to win two games this year in preseason picks, but Jones expected to win more than that. Jones is used to winning close games throughout his career and there were so many close games that they lost. But that’s another part of the learning process, how to come through in those situations. “That’s probably the most disappointing thing because if we had won three or four of those games we would have been bowl eligible in our first year and that would have been a tremendous year,” said Jones.
Jones always stresses that there are three or four playes in most games that determine who wins, but the Jags didn’t get those plays this year. He said that they have to find out what happened and why they didn’t make those plays and win those games.
Some positives that Coach Jones can take away from this season were that they played a lot of great Division I teams this season and kept it close. Arkansas State, as mentioned before, defeated Middle Tennessee 45-0 in the season finale for both teams. But ASU only beat the Jags by a touchdown. The Jags prepared for every game as though they were going to win. While nobody saw that other than the players and staff, Jones said that was evident behind the scenes.
Another big positive is that next year they are going to have a large senior class for the first time. While the seniors have always led the team, they have never had more than a handful of them each season. In 2013 the Jags will have over 20 scholarship seniors to help lead the team on the field.
Now that the Jags are an “official” division I team, they now have something more to strive for. “Now we’ve got that carrot dangling out there in that we do have a chance, we can go to a bowl game,” Jones said. “We had four teams in our conference this year go to a bowl game; it should have been five. It gives us hope that the Sun belt Conference is putting teams in bowl games and if we can do our part we can be in a bowl game next year. That’s what’s exciting about this coming year.”
The Jags will look to fill needs this offseason. Offensively they will be looking for playmakers. As they learned this year, you can never have too many running backs. But they will also be looking for a receiver and a running back with speed. On the defensive side of the ball, they will be looking for more players to help them rush the passer better. The Jaguar defensive line did well this season, but were razor thin at times with injuries.
Depth is still an issue, three defensive linemen sufferred season ending injuries and three running backs were injured and out for the year. On the offensive line, the Jags redshired six player and will be two-deep for the first time in program history.
When asked to be realistic about how soon he thought the Jags would be competitive in the Conference, Jones anwered that he thought they competed this year. He thought it was obvious that they competed with some of the teams this year. The question he asked himself was how long before they can beat those teams. Jones said that would be a big jump because they have work to do. He has challenged his players to make that big jump. If they do their work in the offseason and prepare and recruit players and do a better job as a staff, then the Jags can and will win those games.
They will have to work, because it’s not going to be given to them and it’s not going to happen just because they are a year older. The Jags have to improve in every facet of the game and in every facet of the program. The players and staff are hungry enough to make those changes and get better. Now it’s a matter of going out and doing it.
CJ Bennett Announces Intention To Transfer
C.J. Bennett reads the defense while head coach Joey Jones looks on from the sidelines in Starkville Mississippi.
Quarterback C.J. Bennet announced via Facebook and Instagram that he intends to transfer to Murray State in Kentucky. He will be eligible to play immediately for the Racers.
In his post he said “When I committed to South I had no idea it would be this tough to say good bye.”
Bennett took over the starting duties for the final three games of the 2010 season and the entire 2011 season. He started the 2012 season but rotated with Junior transfer Ross Metheny before Metheny was named the starter in the Jaguars sixth game of the season after their off week.
Good luck CJ! Once a Jaguar, always a Jaguar.
Jaguar Arts Holiday Contest
Our friends over at Jaguar Arts is conducting a holiday photo contest for Jaguar Nation. Follow these instructions to win a print of the Inaugural Season from Jaguar Arts.
- Like the Jaguar Arts facebook page and share the contest photo.
- Post your favorite Jag holiday picture to the Jaguar Arts timeline by December 25th.
- Get your friends to like your photo in the album, “Christmas Starts with Jaguar Arts.”
- The photo with the most likes by December 31st win a framed print of the Inaugural Season.
The earlier you submit your photo, the better your chance to win is. Jaguar Arts will be uploading the pictures as they come in and spotlighting them throughout the month of December.
Trey Clark Named To Capital One Academic All-America Team
From left to right is Offensive coordinator Robert Matthews, Center Trey Clark and offensive lineman Drew Dearman in the Jaguars first practice preparing for the fall football season.
Trey Clark has been one of the most consistent players for the South Alabama Jaguars football team over the program first four years of existence. He is the only individual in that time to start every game in the program’s existence. But he is also a consistent performer off the field and in the classroom.
For his accomplishments off the field, Clark was named to the second-team Capital One Academic All-America team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
In order to qualify for the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team, Clark had to be selected first-team academic All-District, to be nominated for the organization’s academic honors, individuals must carry a minimum of a 3.30 cumulative GPA, have sophomore status both academically and athletically, and be a starter or important reserve.
Trey has been voted first-team academic All-District each of the last two years and was also selected to the FCS Athletic Directors Association Academic All-Start Team in 2011. South Alabama’s district includes the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.
Clark is one of only two players to start every game on offense this season for the Jaguars. But he is the only Jaguar from the offensive team to be on the field for every one of the school’s 938 snaps in all 13 games this season. He earned a season-high 91% mark at 23rd ranked Mississippi State on September 22. He went on to finish the season with an 89% grade. He averaged more than six knockdown blocks per game as well.
Trey was the lone individual from the Sun Belt to be named to the 2012 Capital one Academic All-America team.
Trey is a native of Prattville, Alabama.
Malzahn Will Not Coach ASU In Bowl Game
On Wednesday, Arkansas State Athletic Director Terry Mohajir announced defensive coordinator John Thompson will be the Red Wolves interim head football coach effective immediately. This move means that former head coach Gus Malzahn will not coach the Red Wolves in the GoDaddy.com Bowl at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on January 6.
Thompson has over 30 years of experience at the collegiate level both as an assistant coach and as a head coach. He will oversee ASU’s preparations for their bowl game and fill the head coaching duties at game time.
“Not only does coach Thompson’s wealth of experience make him an excellent fit to assume the role of interim head coach, but he is also man of character with great leadership qualities who has earned a great deal of respect from this administration and the players,” Mohajir stated. “We are confident he will help our football program make a smooth transition into the postseason, while also giving this team a tremendous opportunity to finish the season on a successful note in the GoDaddy.com Bowl.”
“The decision to move forward with an interim head coach for the GoDaddy.com Bowl was not made lightly, but we feel it is in the best interest of our student-athletes since Coach Malzahn will understandably be consumed with his commitments to Auburn and not be able to give his full attention to this team and its upcoming preparations for the postseason bowl,” said Mohajir.
Thompson, as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach this season, oversaw the Red Wolves defense that ranked first in the conference in scoring defense and third in total defense. ASU led the conference with 10 selections to the All-Sun Belt Conference.
“We have a mature group of players with strong leadership, and I am certain this team and coaching staff is going to rise to the occasion,” Thompson said. “The team has improved on a weekly basis, and we expect it to continue to get better and compete at an even higher level. This has been a special season and everyone associated with this program wants to finish the year strong, none more so than our players and coaches. I know we will continue to show the same commitment we demonstrated all year that resulted in a Sun Belt Conference championship.”
Names that have been mentioned as possible head coaches for Arkansas State are: Texas A&M offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, Texas’ Co-Offensive coordinator Major Applewhite, former University of North Carolina head coach Butch Davis and former University of South Florida head coach Skip Holtz.
More Coaching Changes Coming To The Sun Belt
More coaching changes are coming in the Sun Belt.
It began with Arkansas State’s Gus Malzahn accepting the head coaching position with Auburn University. Now Florida International has dismissed Mario Cristobal after a 3-9 season.
Last season Cristobal’s name came up for several opening around the country but he stayed with FIU. His first three seasons with the Golden Panthers were tough but he showed improvement. In 2007 his team went 1-11, then in 2008 they improved to 5-7, in 2009 they slipped back to 3-9. But in 2010 they went 7-6 with a win in the Little Caeser’s Bowl. Then in 2011 they started off strong but finished with an 8-5 record and a loss in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl.
His overall record at FIU was 27-47 (20-26 SBC, 1-1 Bowls). This season they had wins over Akron, South Alabama and Florida Atlantic.
FIU’s Executive Director of Sports and Entertainment Pete Garcia announced Cristobal’s dismissal with the following press release. “Today we informed Coach (Mario) Cristobal that a change was being made in the direction of our football program. I want to thank Coach for all that he has done to develop the football program over the past six seasons. We will now turn our attention to attract the very best candidate to fill the position of head coach. We will begin a national search immediately.”
There are reports swirling that Western Kentucky’s head coach Willie Taggart may accept the position at the University of South Florida that became vacant when the University fired head coach Skip Holtz earlier this week.
The leading name for the FIU position is former UNC head coach Butch Davis. Other possible names are FSU OC James Coley, Miami DC Mark D’Onofrio, Texas DC Manny Diaz, Navy OC Ivin Jasper, Lousiana Tech OC Tony Franklin and Jacksonville Jaguars assistant offensive line coach Ron Prince.
Four Jags Earn Conference Honors
Game Captains for South Alabama Romelle Jones, B.J. Scott, Greg Hollinger and Alex Page meet the Troy captains at mid-field for the coin toss in the two teams first meeting and the Jaguars first Sun Belt Conference game.
Four Jaguars have been honored with All-Sun Belt Conference honors on Wednesday.
First-team selection Jake Johnson was the top tackler in the conference. Alex Page was voted to the second-team All-Sun Belt team. While B.J. Scott and Enrique Williams were chosen for honorable mention recognition.
Voting was conducted by the 10 head coaches in the conference and selected members of the media. This was the first time in the programs four year history that they were able to be selected for All-Conference honors.
Jake Johnson is a 6’1″, 240-pound senior linebacker from Fredericksburg, VA. He is the only player in the conference that averages double-digits in tackles after totally 131 total stops in 13 games this season. He ranks third in the conference with 15 tackles for loss with at least one in every game this season. He also has three sacks and six quarterback hurries. He led the team in stops seven times this season and had double-digit tackles in a game five times this season.
Alex Page, a 6’1″ 245-pound junior defensive lineman from Prattville, AL, ranked fifth in the conference with six sacks and eighth with 11.5 tackles for loss. He recorded a career-best 64 tackles which ranked fifth on the team and the most among the Jags defensive linemen. He also became the first player at his position in Jag history to record double-digit tackles with 10 against FAU.
B.J. Scott is a 5’11” 205-pound senior safety from Prichard, AL. He transferred to South Alabama from the University of Alabama with two years of eligibility. Scott ended the season with 84 tackles, six of them for a loss. He also had two interceptions, three passes broken up and two forced fubmles with a fumble recovery. He had four games with double-digit tackles including a career-best 12 in the season finale against Hawaii. He finished tied for 15th in the conference this season with an average of 6.5 tackles per game.
Enrique Williams is a 6′, 235-pound junior linebacker from Mobile, AL. He finished the season with 105 tackles, which was good enough for seventh in the conference, with six of them for losses. He finished four games with double-digit tackles and led the team in tackles on five occasions. He had a career best 12 tackles against then #23 ranked Mississippi State and again at Arkansas State in the Jags first ever conference road game.
The defense, led by these four individuals, allowed an average of 383.7 yards per game to finish the season ranked second in the conference in total defense and ranked 3rd in the conference against the pass. The Jags also led the conference in red zone defense and was second in opponent third-down conversion percentage as well.
Arkansas State Looking For New Head Coach For Second Consecutive Season
Photo from astateredwolves.com.
Arkansas State is searching for a head football coach for the second year in a row as Gus Malzahn accepted the position at Auburn University. This also marks the second season in a row that the Red Wolves will visit the GoDaddy.com Bowl without their head coach.
Sources did not know if ASU would name an interim coach for the bowl game or if Malzahn wants or intends to coach the team in the bowl game.
Tim Hudson, chancellor of ASU and Terry Mohajir, director of athletics, issued statements yesterday concerning the football program.
“Coach Gus Malzahn informed us this afternoon that he would be accepting the head coaching position at Auburn University,” ASU Chancellor Dr. Tim Hudson said. “We appreciate his contributions to our conference championship season and wish him well.”
Hudson, Mohajir as well as ASU System President Dr. Charles L. Welch will begin an immediate search for Malzahn’s successor.
“The back-to-back championships in the Sun Belt Conference make this a very attractive position, and we’re confident we’ll have a lot of interest,” Mohajir said. “This administration, this community and the entire Arkansas State family have demonstrated our commitment to have a nationally prominent intercollegiate athletics program and will continue to do so.”
Mohajir said that he would be meeting with Malzahn to discuss the transition and “keeping the interests of our student-athletes foremost in mind.” Mohajir’s plan is for Malzahn and his staff to coach the Red Wolves in their bowl game on January 6 against Kent State in Mobile, AL.
“We remain firmly committed to our facilities upgrade plans,” Welch said. “We owe this to our student-athletes and fans, and we remain excited about the opportunities ahead for the Red Wolves.”
However, after Malzahn meets with Auburn officials to finalize his contract and timeline those plans by Mahajir may not pan out.
But Arkansas State may not be the only team in the GoDaddy.com Bowl with a new coach or searching for a new coach. It is being reported that Kent State’s head coach Darrell Hazell has accepted the head coaching position at Purdue University according to Brett McMurphy of ESPN.
More Coaching Changes In The Sun Belt
More coaching changes are coming in the Sun Belt.
It began with Arkansas State’s Gus Malzahn accepting the head coaching position with Auburn University. Now Florida International has dismissed Mario Cristobal after a 3-9 season.
Last season Cristobal’s name came up for several opening around the country but he stayed with FIU. His first three seasons with the Golden Panthers were tough but he showed improvement. In 2007 his team went 1-11, then in 2008 they improved to 5-7, in 2009 they slipped back to 3-9. But in 2010 they went 7-6 with a win in the Little Caeser’s Bowl. Then in 2011 they started off strong but finished with an 8-5 record and a loss in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl.
His overall record at FIU was 27-47 (20-26 SBC, 1-1 Bowls). This season they had wins over Akron, South Alabama and Florida Atlantic.
FIU’s Executive Director of Sports and Entertainment Pete Garcia announced Cristobal’s dismissal with the following press release. “Today we informed Coach (Mario) Cristobal that a change was being made in the direction of our football program. I want to thank Coach for all that he has done to develop the football program over the past six seasons. We will now turn our attention to attract the very best candidate to fill the position of head coach. We will begin a national search immediately.”
There are reports swirling that Western Kentucky’s head coach Willie Taggart may accept the position at the University of South Florida that became vacant when the University fired head coach Skip Holtz earlier this week.
Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson Releases Statement Concerning Bowl Selections
Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson released the following statement on Monday regarding bowl selections.
“While I am happy to have a record number of Sun Belt teams in bowl games this season, I would be even happier if Middle Tennessee would have received a bid. Additionally, our persistent efforts working for Arkansas State to appear in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl were not rewarded. I am disappointed with both of these outcomes and I understand why our fans feel so strongly about the results. Like our fans, coaches and student-athletes, I wanted what was best for Arkansas State and Middle Tennessee.
“I am also disappointed to hear that there is public opinion that I worked against schools in our conference – that could not be further from the truth. In fact, a great deal of work was done with our member institutions in an attempt to get the best possible outcome for bowl games.
“I also understand that there is frustration that Middle Tennessee was not selected since they finished in a tie for second place in the league standings, but it is important to note that between our two bowl agreements only the league champion must be accommodated. Arkansas State as league champion will be playing in the Godaddy.com Bowl and the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, which by contract had first selection regardless of standings, chose Louisiana-Lafayette. The AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl and Little Caesars Pizza Bowl are not bowls that the Sun Belt Conference is contracted with, thus they were free to take whichever school they wanted. The same is true with the AutoZone Liberty Bowl and their desire to take Iowa State. Those bowl games chose the teams that they wanted the most.
“There has also been a lot of talk about Middle Tennessee being left out of a bowl game because they have announced that they will be leaving the Sun Belt Conference. At no point in time was that ever part of any conversation between Sun Belt officials and a representative of a bowl game. It truly was a nonfactor in how the selections were made. Again to reiterate, the bowl games selected the teams that they most wanted.”
Some Middle Tennessee State fans suggested that Benson did not work to get their team a bowl berth because the University has announced it is leaving the Sun Belt Conference in favor of Conference USA. However commissioner Benson addressed that in his press release.
Arkansas State was hoping to play in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis. However that did not come to fruition.