Jaguar Soccer Sweeps SBC Individual Awards, Places 7 On All-SBC Teams

November 5, 2014 · By · Filed Under NCAA, Soccer, Sun Belt Conference · Comments Off on Jaguar Soccer Sweeps SBC Individual Awards, Places 7 On All-SBC Teams 
Freshman Charde Hannah became the second Jaguar and second SBC player ever to win both Freshman of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year awards in the same season. Photo: usajaguars.com

Freshman Charde Hannah became the second Jaguar and second SBC player ever to win both Freshman of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year awards in the same season. Photo: usajaguars.com

South Alabama women’s soccer team dominance in conference play has yielded them a sweep of the individual awards and seven players named to the All-Sun Belt Conference teams at annual SBC Awards Banquet on Tuesday. The Jags set new records with seven student-athletes earning spots on the All-SBC teams, they also set a record with five student-athletes earning first-team recognition. Additionally, USA becomes the first school in conference history to outright sweep the major individual awards.

Freshman Charde Hannah received both the league’s Offensive and Freshman of the Year awards. Junior Nini Rabsatt-Smith earned the Defensive Player of the Year award and head Coach Graham Winkworth was awarded the Sun Belt Coach of the Year.

The Jaguars had five players on the All-SBC First-Team, a new school record, which included Hannah, Rabsatt-Smith, Rio Hardy, Sophie Haywood and Steffi Hardy. They also had Monique Autmon and Danielle Henley who were named to the All-SBC Second-Team.

Hannah makes the second consecutive Jaguar player to win both the freshman and player of the year awards in the same season. Lauren Allison accomplished the feat in 2013. Prior to Hannah and Allison, no SBC school has ever claimed both the freshman and player of the year in the same season.

Read more

USA Men’s Cross Country Win SBC Championship

November 3, 2014 · By · Filed Under Cross Country, NCAA, Sun Belt Conference · Comments Off on USA Men’s Cross Country Win SBC Championship 

newjagsmallThe University of South Alabama men’s cross country team won the Sun Belt Conference Championship on Sunday. Christoph Graf and Michael Pienaar finished first and second in the 8k race held at Battleship Memorial Park.

This is first conference title for the Jaguars since 2006 and their eighth overall for the program.

The women finished 7th place in the team competition in the 5k held earlier in the day.

In addition to the conference championship, the Jags picked up several awards. Graf was named the meet’s Most oustanding Performer, Pienaar was named the conference’s Freshman of the Year. Coach David Barnett was named the Sun Belt Coach of the Year.

The men’s race was close throughout the entire 8k with Graf and Pienaar both in the lead pack during the race. Graf’s victory was his second of the season, his first was at the Azalea City Classic in his Jaguar debut on September 13. He finished with a time of 24:26.6.

Pienaar posted his third top-5 in as many races and less than three seconds behind Graf.

Both Graf and Pienaar were honored with first-team all-conference honors.

Patrick Rohr finished 13th with a time of 25:16.5 which was good for third-team all-SBC honors, his third consecutive year to earn all-conference honors for the Junior.

Robert Mann and Joe Gratton finished 18th and 19th place respectively with Mann finishing with a time of 25:38.3 and Gratton finishing one second later. Justin Housley (28th), Daniel Carter (30th) and Buddy Soto (38th) also competed for the Jaguars.

Nicole Durham led the lady Jaguars as she finished 19th with a time of 17:50.5. Ivy Chastain finished 28th with a time of 18:19.2. Ashley Heitling (41st), Alivia Bryars (44th), Joanna McCoy (45th), Shannen Weyer (47th), Kayla Wheeler (54th) and Kristin Parry (64th) also competed for the Jaguars.

The postseason will continue on November 14 with the NCAA South Region Championships that will be hosted at Florida State University in Tallahassee.

USA Football Announces Finalization of 2016, ’17 Non-Conference Schedules

October 8, 2014 · By · Filed Under Football, NCAA, News · Comments Off on USA Football Announces Finalization of 2016, ’17 Non-Conference Schedules 
South Alabama Players thanking the fans for their support on the road in Knoxville, TN in 2013.

South Alabama Players thanking the fans for their support after a narrow defeat on the road in Knoxville, TN in 2013.

The University of South Alabama Athletcs announced that they have finalized their 2016 and 2017 non-conference football schedules.

The 2015 schedule, which was already finalized, includes a season opener at home against Gardner-Webb on September 5, at Nebraska on September 12, at UAB on September 19 and hosting North Carolina State on September 26. While the conference schedule has not been finalized with dates, they will be playing Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Idaho, ULL, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Texas State and Troy.

The 2016 schedule has the Jaguars opening their season in Starkville to face Mississippi State to complete their three-came contract. Hosting UAB on September 10 and Nicholls State on September 24, then on the road against LSU on October 15.

The 2017 schedule has the Jaguars opening against Ole Miss in Oxford on September 2, Hosting Oklahoma State on September 9 and Alabama A&M on September 16, then traveling to Louisiana Tech on September 30.

The complete list of dates on the future schedules (but time and date may be subject to change):

  • 2015: September 5 hosting Gardner-Webb, September 12 @ Nebraska, September 19 @ UAB, September 26 hosting North Carolina State, App St, Arkansas St, Idaho, ULL, @ Georgia Southern, @ Georgia State, @ Texas State, @ Troy.
  • 2016: September 3 @ Mississippi State, September 10 @ UAB, September 24 hosting Nicholls State, October 15 @ LSU
  • 2017: September 2 @ Ole Miss, September 9 hosting Oklahoma State, September 16 hosting Alabama A&M, September 30 @ Louisiana Tech
  • 2018: September 1 hosting Louisiana Tech, September 8 @ Oklahoma State
  • 2019: August 31 @ Nebraksa, September 28 @ Tulane
  • 2020: September 5 @ Southern Miss, September 19 @ Oklahoma State, October 10 hosting Tulane
  • 2021: September 4 hosting Southern Miss, September 11 @ Bowling Green

Troy Announces Retirement of Blakeney at End of Season

October 6, 2014 · By · Filed Under Football, NCAA, News, Sun Belt Conference · Comments Off on Troy Announces Retirement of Blakeney at End of Season 
Larry Blakeney at a press conference in Troy earlier this year. | Photo: wn.com

Larry Blakeney at a press conference in Troy earlier this year. | Photo: wn.com

Longtime Troy head coach Larry Blakeney is set to announce his retirement at the end of the season in a press conference on Monday. He informed his team after their Sunday practice.

Blakeney is the second-longest tenured active coach in the FBS ranks only behind Frank Beamer. He had seven playoff appearances in eight seasons as an FCS coach, including an undefeated regular season in 1995, with three wins over BCS teams. He won eight conference championships including five straight Sun Belt titles from 2006-2010. He has an overall record of 175-109-1.

But after the 2010 season there are different numbers that describe his team. Since 2010 he has not had a winning season and is 14-27 and 0-5 start this year, the first 0-5 start since the 1982 season for Troy, which includes a loss to FCS Abilene Christian, and an FPI ranking of 125th in the country.

Blakeney coached high school teams after graduating from Auburn and spent over a decade on the plains as an assistant. He arrived in 1990 to be the head coach at Troy as they were preparing to move up from Division II to FCS.

In 2001 Troy again moved up, this time to FBS and knocked off Mississippi State that fall to formally announce their arrival.

Three years later was arguably the pinnacle of Blakeney’s career. Troy hosted the #17 ranked Missouri Tigers at Veterans Memoral Stadium for a Thursday night ESPN2 game in 2004. They would knock off the Tigers 24-14 in front of the largest crowd in Troy history.

“We don’t have to beat them 365 days,” he told the Associated Press after the game. “We just have to beat them for one 60-minute segment of history. For that one 60 minutes, Troy was better than Missouri.”

In 2007 they stunned Oklahoma State in Troy. His program produced NFL stars DeMarcus Ware, Osi Umenyiora, Jerrel Jernigan, Leodis McKelvin, Cameron Sheffield, Sherrod Martin, Levi Brown and Jonathan Massaquoi. He was awarded the Sun Belt Conference 10th Anniversary Most Outstanding Head Coach award.

But after the 2010 season things began to fall apart. In 2011 the Trojans wen 3-9 and have not been above .500 since.

Read more

Paul Finebaum And Bleacher Report Both Pick South Alabama To Upset Mississippi State

September 11, 2014 · By · Filed Under Football, NCAA, News, Sun Belt Conference · Comments Off on Paul Finebaum And Bleacher Report Both Pick South Alabama To Upset Mississippi State 

Both Bleacher Report and Paul Finebaum think the Jaguars can upset the Bulldogs at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. What a time to be a Jaguar?!?

 

Bleacher Report prediction
MSU_Bleacher_Report

Phil Steele Updates 2014-2015 Bowl Projects

July 30, 2014 · By · Filed Under Football, NCAA, News, Sun Belt Conference · Comments Off on Phil Steele Updates 2014-2015 Bowl Projects 
Phil Steele Publications updated their 2014-2015 Bowl Projections and currently project South Alabama to play in the GoDaddy.com Bowl. | twitter.com/godaddybowl

Phil Steele Publications updated their 2014-2015 Bowl Projections and currently project South Alabama to play in the GoDaddy.com Bowl. | twitter.com/godaddybowl

Phil Steele of Phil Steele Publications and his College Football Preview has updated their 2014-2015 Bowl Projections. They currently have three Sun Belt teams in bowl games.

In the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl they project Air Force and Louisiana-Lafayette, in the Raycom Camellia Bowl they project Central Michigan and Louisiana-Monroe and in the GoDaddy.com bowl they project Northern Illinois and South Alabama.

If USA were to go to the GoDaddy.com Bowl, they would have their postseason game held at their own home stadium and would be on January 4, 2015 and would be the final bowl game prior to the College Football Playoff Championship on January 12, 2015.

This is another historical moment in USA history. Heading into only their sixth season of football ever and only their second season of full FBS membership and bowl eligibility, they are being projected to be a bowl team. But don’t count your chickens before they hatch, they have 12 games this season before they can even look towards a potentional bowl game.

They cannot look ahead, they have to take each game on their own and if they take care of business each week, then selection for a bowl game will come on its own.

Jaguar Men’s Golf Sets Program Record With Four Academic Honorees

July 24, 2014 · By · Filed Under Golf, NCAA, Sun Belt Conference · Comments Off on Jaguar Men’s Golf Sets Program Record With Four Academic Honorees 
Photo: Mike Kittrell al.com

Photo: Mike Kittrell al.com

Staying on other sports than Football today, the South Alabama Men’s Golf team had a program-record four student-athletes earning Academic Honors on Wednesday. The Golf Coaches Association of America announced that four Jaguars earned Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholars recognition.

Seniors Lane Hulse and Blake Kelley earned the honor for the second consecutive time while juniors Michael Garretson and Tyler Klava earned the award for the first time in their first season of eligibility. It also marks the sixth consecutive season the Jaguars have had at least one individual honored with the award.

Garretson earned the Sun Belt Conference Golfer of the Year back in April and was joined on the First-Team All-Conference squad by Klava with Hulse being chosen for the Second-Team All-SBC honors.

Klava ranked second in the conference with a 72.72 stroke average while Garretson was third with a 72.74 stroke average and Hulse was 15th with a 73.85 stroke average. Garretson, Hulse and Kelley each participated in 13 events this season while Klava participated in 12 after missing the opening tournament due to injury.

In order to be eligible for selection as a Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholar, individuals must be a junior or senior academically and have competed in at least three full years at the collegiate leven and participated in 50% of their teams competitive rounds. In addition to posted a scoring average of below 76.0 at the NCAA Division I level, they must also maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher, be of high moral character and be in good standing at their college or university.

These four Jaguars were among 207 NCAA Division I student-athletes to be honored this season.

Six Individuals And Women’s Team Earn All-Academic Recognition

July 24, 2014 · By · Filed Under NCAA, Sun Belt Conference, Track and Field · Comments Off on Six Individuals And Women’s Team Earn All-Academic Recognition 

newjagsmallThe University of South Alabama 2013-2014 Track and Field team had six student-athletes earn All-Academic honors from the US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Additionally, the women’s team was named one of the organizations All-Academic teams.

All six student-athletes earned All-Sun Belt Conference honors in their respective events this season while Kotze, Smith, Hixon and Beans all setting new Jaguar records in their events.

The women’s team were rewarded for finishing the season with a combined GPA of 3.29, which is well above the team-wide minimum required for All-Academic Team status, which is 3.00.

Jan-Louw Kotze, Connor Smith, and Patrick Rohr were honorees from the men’s team which included 496 student-athletes from 165 institutions. Leah Hixon, Kaitlyn Beans and Bobbie Williamson were among 727 women from 193 schools who were honored.

Kotze earned a 4.0 GPA through his sophomore year in exercise science while advancing to the NCAA Preliminaries in the discus for the second consecutive year and was just one spot shy of advancing to the national championship meet.

Smith earned a 3.48 GPA and was named to the list for the second-consecutive year. As a senior, he graduated with his degree in engineering while earning a spot in the regional preliminary round of the pole vault and finished 35th overall.

Rohr, also an engineering major, earned a 3.39 GPA as a sophomore and finished 44th in the regional competition.

Hixon led the lady Jags with a 3.85 GPA and earned her degree as a biology major while earning the honor for the second conecutive season. She finished 25th at the regionals in the javelin throw.

Beans earned a 3.58 GPA in her freshman year as a biomedical sciences major. She qualified for the NCAA Championships in the triple jump and finished 17th place nationally.

Williamson finished her career with a 3.36 cumulative GPA and earned her degree as a nurse major. She advanced to the regional competition in the hammer throw and was less than half-a-meter short of qualifying for the nationals as she finished in 13th place.

Harris And May Represent Jaguars At 2014 SBC Media Day

July 23, 2014 · By · Filed Under Football, NCAA, Sun Belt Conference · Comments Off on Harris And May Represent Jaguars At 2014 SBC Media Day 

Helmet_CameraThe student-athletes who represented the school and their teammates were Maleki Harris and Chris May. Here is a sample of what they had to say at the 2014 Sun Belt Conference Media Day at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Harris was named to the preseason second-team All-Sun Belt Team by Phil Steele and Athlon Sports. Last season he started 10 games but saw action in all 12 games. He finished fourth on the team with 63 tackles and 8.5 tackles for loss. He led the team with seven pass breakups and with two fumble recoveries. He also recorded 2.5 sacks, three quarterback hurries and an interception.

Harris, as a sophomore, also played in all 13 games and recorded 20 tackles while leading the team with two fumble recoveries and set a school game record when he recovered both of them in the same game against Hawaii.

May, a 6’5″ 290-pound native of Tuscumbia, Alabama, was selected as a First-Team All-Sun Belt player and was selected as a Second-Team All-Conference by both Phil Steele and College Sports Madness. He led the team last season with 65 knockdown blocks and was second on the team with an 87% grade overall after starting all 12 games for the Jaguars last season at right tackle. He allowed only one sack on 394 passing attempts by the Jaguars last season. He had a season-high nine knockdowns in the Jaguar win over Lousiana-Monroe.

As a redshirt freshman in 2012, he appeared in all 13 games and started the final seven at left tackle. He was named to the conference All-Freshman Team by the Sun Belt Conference beat writers and earned a coaches’ award on the offensive line three times to tie a season-record.

Chris May (Jr. Offensive lineman)

Speaking about his Sun Belt Conference Media Day: “It’s really cool. I was talking with Maleki (Harris) about how cool it is to not only be here, but to be here representing our team, university and city.”

Speaking about the offense’s greatest challenge this football season: “I think our main challenge will be to keep everyone on the same page. We have so many different athletes and so many people that can do so many different things that if we stay together and maintain great team chemistry then we can do some special things.”

Speaking about the cohesion among the offensive line: “We have some special players upfront. We get Melvin Meggs back who was a great player for us two years ago, but he suffered an injury and had to miss last season. Drew Dearman and Ucambre Williams, an All-SBC performer, and Joseph Scelfo will probably step up and play center for us this year. He has the potential to be really good too. Four of us that start on the line came in together in the same signing class. It’s been cool to see everyone mature and grow as players and men.”

Speaking about competing for the conference championship: “I felt like we were at that point last year. We obviously struggled a little late in some games, but we finished 6-6 and were bowl eligible. This year is a big year for us. We have a lot of returning starters on offense, and some guys who are building depth for us on defense. I feel like this is the year for us to not only compete for the Sun Belt (title), but to win the whole thing.”

Speaking about the team heading into this season: “Coach (Joey) Jones has really been hitting us hard with discipline and team-building exercises. We did a workout with some Navy Seals about midway through the summer. As long as we can have that team chemistry and can stay disciplined, I feel like we have the potential to have a great year.”

Maleki Harris (Sr. Linebacker)

Speaking about his role in the defense: “I definitely feel that I have more responsibility to lead the defense. When I first got here, I butted heads with some of the guys who were seniors last year. But they took me under their wing, and I think the coaches saw that and have put me in a position to be a leader. I feel a lot of responsibility for this season and how it goes, especially defensively. I feel like a lot of it is on me. If I can’t make the play, there may be something I can tell a teammate that they can use in certain situations. But I feel like there isn’t a play that I can’t make. At the end of the season when my career here is over, I want South Alabama to succeed. That’s part of being a leader. You have to lead, but you also have to prepare others to lead. When you have that, then you have a great program and that’s what we want at South Alabama.”

Speaking about the defense: “I feel like our weakness is experience, and the only way you can get experience is going through it. But our strength defensively is toughness. We are going to be a tough, hard-nosed defense because that’s how we are coached. It starts with our defensive coordinator Coach (Travis) Pearson. It is discipline and toughness, mental toughness to be more specific. That’s some of the points where we fell short last year. Those close games we lost came down to mental toughness. Now that we have been through that, I feel like we are ready for it.”

Speaking about the 2014 schedule ahead of them: “I see so much potential for a great year and the opportunity to get Mobile recognized for more than just the Senior Bowl. We want Mobile to be known as the home of South Alabama. We want to be nationally-known. We want that recognition but at the same time we are going to stay humble and keep working toward our goals.”

Speaking about what he learned by playing in the Sun Belt Conference last season: “It was tough, but it was fun. It can get a little crazy going on the road in the Sun Belt. But the team that wins on the road is the team that will come out on top. You have to do it. There is not a sport that you can succeed in if you don’t win on the road. It’s going to be a tough challenge, but I think we will be ready for it.”

Speaking about the team this season: “We want the Sun Belt championship. I feel like we are very talented across the board, and we may not have been able to say that at times in the past years. We are young, but this may be the most talented team to come through South Alabama. Talent-wise we won’t be lacking at any position.”

Sun Belt Media Day Rewind

July 23, 2014 · By · Filed Under Football, NCAA, Sun Belt Conference · Comments Off on Sun Belt Media Day Rewind 

7-21_Release_GraphicThe 2014 Sun Belt Media Day is in the books and the Conference is in a good position to make some noise this season. Especially South Alabama.

This big headlines for this season so far is the number of new quarterbacks taking the reigns for SBC schools when the fall schedule begins. Over half of the teams in the conference will be starting new quarterbacks. South Alabama is not the exception either. Ross Metheny played very well last season and, most notably, played very smart. He threw for over 1,300 yards as he helped lead the Jaguars to a 6-6 season and 4-3 conference record. Now it may be Brandon Bridge’s turn to help lead the Jaguars to a new level of success.

Bridge sits at the Number 1 quarterback after spring pratice but will have to continue to prove himself as the stable of returning quarterbacks will continue to fight for playing time. However they will also have to prove themselves against two new quarterbacks that will join the team this fall in HuCo transfer Hunter Vaughn and former South Florida quarterback Matt Floyd.

Only five Sun Belt schools have a returning starting quarterback and the biggest name is Louisiana-Lafayette’s Terrance Broadway. Broadway was voted the preseason Offensive Player of the Year honors. Along with him is Georgia State’s Ronnie Bell, Texas State’s Tyler Jones, Appalachian State’s Kameron Bryant and Georgia Southern’s part-time starter last season Kevin Ellison.

When Jaguar head coach Joey Jones arrived at the 2013 Sun Belt Media Day last summer, his team was picked to finish next-to-last in their first season as a full SBC and FBS member. After a season-opening loss to Southern Utah, the Jaguars regrouped and found their game. They finished the season with a three-game winning streak including a season-finale win over Sun Belt Conference Co-Champion Louisiana-Lafayette.

This season it toally different. Coach Jones’ team is picked to finish third in the conference. The potent Jaguar offense returns nine starters from last season. The two starters they lost were Metheny at Quarterback and Matt Calcagnini at center.

The story is a bit different on the defensive side of the ball as they are returning six starters, most of them in the defensive backfield.

But the conference acknoledged the talent that is on the Jaguar roster as nine student-athletes were named to the preseason All-Sun Belt Team.

The following was some of the things that Coach Jones had to say while speaking with the media in New Orleans.

Jones talking about whether he feels USA as good as any team in the conference. “I feel that we are starting to get closer in terms of talent. Two years ago we weren’t Division I quite yet and the talent wasn’t there. But last year was much closer and now we are probably getting to the point where we are comparable to the other teams in the league. But it all comes down to how you play, talent only does so much. you have to play well to win football games.”

Jones talking about quarterback Brandon Bridge: “I feel real good about Brandon.  He is a great character young man, he works hard at his craft and he cares about it. He’s very talented, I expect big things out of him. He understands his role isn’t to be the biggest playmaker in the world, it’s to be the starting quarterback at South Alabama and win football games for us, that means taking what the defense is giving you. He’s done a great job this spring.”

Jones spoke about the expectations of being picked to finish third in the conference in the preseason poll: “The way we finished last year definitely helped going into this season. We realized if we play well and do our part we’ll have a chance. One thing I know about the Sun Belt Conference is there are a lot of good football teams and a lot of great coaches. You better be ready to play every week.  You look not only at our games, a lot of one- and two-point decisions, but around the league and the other teams are going through the same thing.”

One of the most interesting questions for Jaguar fans is what it will take for USA to win the conference championship. Jones said, “The key in my opinion is we have to win close games, and we have to win on the road. Winning on the road is probably the biggest thing in this conference, most teams were .500 or below on the road last year. You have to find a way to win on the road in this conference to win the championship.”

Last season the Jaguars lost four games by two points or less, two of them by just one point. The Jaguars game against Tennesse was decided by just seven points and USA had a chance to tie or go ahead with under two minutes left in the game in the red zone.

Jones also spoke about the season-ending win over conference co-champion ULL and what it means as they head into the 2014 season. “Louisiana-Lafayette has been the team that everyone in our conference has looked at the last three or four years. Them and Arkansas State. To be able to have a chance to play well against them last year certainly helped our confidence going into this year. But this is a new year with different players and different coaches, we can’t look back, we have to keep looking forward.”

« Previous PageNext Page »