Freddie Roach leaving USA reportedly for off-field position at Alabama
South Alabama assistant coach Freddie Roach has left the Jaguar program, reportedly for a position at the University of Alabama. | Photo: usajaguars.com
Assistant coach Freddie Roach has accepted an unspecified position at the University of Alabama per reports by FootballScoop.com and AL.com. For the past two seasons he coached outside linebackers and defensive ends for the Jaguars.
Alabama currently does not have an on-field coaching position open, so it is likely that he is taking an off-field position.
Roach played linebacker at Alabama from 2002-2005 and returned as an assistant strength and conditioning coach from 2008-2010. He then spent a year at East Mississippi Community College in 2011 serving as the defensive line coach and strength and conditioning assistant at Murray State in 2012. He then came to South Alabama.
South Alabama Assistant Director of Media Relations Brian Fremund confirmed to AL.com that Roach has left the Jaguar staff.
Roach is the only defensive assistant to leave the program this off season. After the conclusion of the regular season, Robert Matthews was dismissed and replaced by former UAB offensive coordinator Bryant Vincent.
After the Jaguars first bowl game, head coach Joey Jones dismissed tight ends coach John Turner and running backs coach Robby Brown. Jones and Vincent brought in former UAB assistant Richard Owens to coach tight ends and former Alabama recruiting coordinator Tyler Siskey to coach the receivers, which shifted Tim Bowen from receivers to running backs coach.
Kaitlyn Griffith Name SBC Player of the Week
Griffith, a senior from Centre, AL, earned SBC Player of the Week honors after batting .467 with nine RBI, four runs scored and two home runs. She also tied a school game record with six RBI against Ball State with two home runs. | Photo: usajaguars.com
Senior Kaitlyn Griffith of the #22 ranked South Alabama softball team was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week on Monday. She helped lead the Jaguars to four wins in five games by tallying nine RBI and a .933 slugging percentage.
She batted .467 (7-for-15) in those five games last week with nine RBI, four runs scored, two home runs and a sacrifice fly. She also tied two Jaguar game records in their 14-6 win over 2014 Mid-American Conference Champion Ball State when she has two home runs and a career high six RBI. Griffith’s six RBI in the game was the most since former Jaguar standout Britany Campbell drove in six run against Southeast Louisiana on March 7, 2012.
Griffith also drew a key two-out walk against Nicholls State to load the bases for South Alabama’s go-ahead run.
Through 14 games she has 14 RBI this season and has moved into a tie for fifth in career home runs.
Griffith is the Jaguars second student-athlete to earn weekly conference honors in three voting periods so far this season. Freshman Devin Brown was selected as the SBC Pitcher of the Week on February 9, the first voting period of the season.
South Alabama will host Samford on Wednesday at Jaguar Field with first pitch scheduled for 5pm.
Jaguar Men’s Golf hold One-Shot Lead Going Into Final Round of Mobile Sports Authority Intercollegiate
Photo: Mike Kittrell al.com
The South Alabama men’s golf team improved by 16-strokes from their first-round total to take a one-shot lead heading into the final day of the Mobile Sports Authority Intercollegiate.
Daniel Jansen, Michael Garretson and Tyler Klava each shot 70 or better over the second 18 holes on Monday with Matt Sheehan and Ally Purdy both shooting a 74 as the jags posted a 5-under-par 283 in the second round.
The Jags are one shot ahead of 22nd ranked Auburn and Ole Miss with the three schools scheduled to play together in Tuesday’s final round at Magnolia Grove Crossings Golf Course. They will begin at 10am with a shotgun start, two hours later than originally scheduled.
Team Scores:
1) South Alabama 299-283—582 (+6);
T2) Auburn 291-292—583;
T2) Mississippi 292-291—583;
4) Memphis 302-285—587;
5) Louisiana Tech 294-294—588;
6) Michigan State 302-288—590;
7) Middle Tennessee 300-296—596;
8) Texas State 303-294—597;
T9) Davidson 307-298—605;
T9) Southern Mississippi 302-303—605;
T11) Mississippi State 309-298—607;
T11) Kentucky 309-298—607;
13) Western Kentucky 318-294—612;
14) Belmont 311-303—614;
15) Illinois State 321-302—623.
Individual Leaders:
1) Tyler Saunders, TXST 72-66—138 (-6);
2) Matt Gilchrest, Aub 74-67—141;
3) Blake Morris, Miss 73-69—142;
T4) Ben Robinson, Tech 71-72—143;
T4) Thomas Perrot, Mem 74-69—143;
T6) Daniel Jansen, USA 75-69—144;
T6) Mitch Rutledge, Mich St 76-68—144;
T6) Ashton Van Horne, BU 74-70—144;
T9) five individuals with 145.
South Alabama Scores:
T6) Daniel Jansen 75-69—144 (E);
T9) Michael Garretson 75-70—145;
T9) Tyler Klava 75-70—145;
T34) Matt Sheehan 74-77—151;
T40) Ally Purdy 78-74—152.
Jaguar Baseball Defeats Auburn 7-4
Junior Austin Bembnowski threw eight scoreless innings in relief to lead the Jaguar baseball team a 7-4 win over Auburn at Eddie Stanky Field Tuesday night and to a 4-0 record so far this season. He retired 13 of the first 14 Tigers he faced, and allowed only three hits and two walks while striking out six.
Auburn lept out to a three run lead in the top of the first inning as Jaguar starter Jared Gates walked the first two batters of the game. Both baserunners moved up one base on a sacrifice bunt by Jordon Ebert. Then Bo Decker hit a two-run double down the left field line to go up 2-0. Cody Nulph hit an RBI single through the right side of the infield to plate Decker for the 3-0 advantage.
In the bottom of the first, the Jaguar loaded the bases with one out after a single by Garrett DeGallier. Cole Gleason reached base after being hit by a pitch, then Daniel Martinez got on base on an error by the Tiger center fielder. Jared Barnes’ sacrifice fly to center field would score the only Jaguar run of the inning to make the score 3-1 through one inning.
Auburn would answer with a run in the top of the second after Kyler Deese led off the inning with a walk. He would later score on a wild pitch by Bembnowski to make the score 4-1.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Jaguars finally answered with a pair of runs after Barnes and Connor Hawthorne reached on consecutive leadoff singles. Ryan Raspino would advance the runners on a groundout to third. Then Adam Ballew hit a two-run single to left field to cut the Tiger lead down to 4-3.
South Alabama would then add four more runs over the next two inning as they went on to win.
Barnes went 2-for-3 with three RBI and a run scored to lead the Jaguars offensive attack. Ballew also finished 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored. COllura had two hits with an RBI and a run scored. Rapino also had two hits and a run scored.
Auburn righty Keegan Thompson (1-1) allowed six runs on eight hits and a walk through 5 1/3 innings to take the loss. Bembnowski (1-0) earned the win.
“It was tough falling behind early like that,” head coach Mark Calvi said. “But our guys kept fighting and we put some good at-bats together. They kept playing hard and we got back into it. We had one strikeout tonight, which was outstanding. We made them (Auburn) work for everything, and made them field every ball.
“Bembnowski was really good; he settled the game down for us. I didn’t plan to use him that long. It was going to be a long-relief role but he kept going out there and getting back in on offense. He’s an extremely strong kid, and he was ready to go out there and compete.”
South Alabama (4-0) will return to action this weekend they host Arkansas, #13 Maryland and Central Florida at Eddie Stanky Field as part of a round-robin tournament. The Jags will open the weekend tournament against #13 Maryland on Friday at 6:30pm.
USA Sports go 8-1 In Weekend Games
South Alabama had a successful weekend slate of home games this past weekend by going 8-1 in all four sports played on campus this weekend.
Men’s Basketball
The Jaguar men’s basketball team used a fast start to hold on against Texas-Arlington 97-91. USA held a 20-point lead at halftime but the Mavericks outscored the Jags 62-48 in the second half, as the Jags committed 14 of their 20 turnovers in the second half, but were unable to overcome the deficit.
The Jags improve their overall record to 9-17 and their conference record to 7-8. Texas-Arlington fell to 14-10 overall and 8-6 in conference play.
Sophomore Ken Williams led all scorers with a career-high 29 points with a personal best eight rebounds. He connected on six of 10 three-point attempts, five of them made in the first half. He was also 9-of-11 from the free-throw line.
They travel to Georgia State on Thursday to take on the Panthers for a 6pm tip.
Softball
The #24 ranked Lady Jaguars completed a four-game sweep of the Mardi Gras Invitational.
The weekend began on Friday with a 5-4 win over Oklahoma State. The game was decided in the bottom of the seventh when Stephanie Pilkington drew a bases-loaded walk to end the game.
On Saturday, the Jags scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the first and third innings then were able to cruise to the 4-1 win over Lipscomb. Freshman Kalen McGill earned her second win of the season (2-0) where the recorded three strikeouts an no walks. She only allowed a single earned run on four hits with her ERA holding at 0.51.
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Freshman Devin Brown earns Conference Pitcher of the Week honors
Freshman pitcher Devin Brown earned her first collegiate win in a one-hit shutout in her first appearance and earned her first save, both during the 2015 Sand Dollar Classic. | Photo: usajaguars.com
South Alabama softball freshman pitcher Devin Brown was named the Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week on Monday. This was the season’s first voting period.
During the Sand Dollar Classic in Gulf Shores, Brown went 2-1 with 29 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings. She recorded a one-hit shutout in her first collegiate start on Friday against Liberty as the Jags won 8-0 by the run-rule.
She has a 0.43 ERA to lead the team after allowed just three runs, and only one of them earned, on eight hits and five walks. She held opposing batters to a .143 batting average. She earned her first career save against McNeese State as she struck out both batters she faced to finish off a 5-1 Jaguar victory after coming in in the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded.
Additionally, she struck out 11 against Houston on Sunday while only allowing one earned run as the Jaguars snatched the 3-2 win in the bottom of the seventh after coming-from-behind.
Jaguars Recruiting Effort Pays Off With Strong Signing Class
The 2015 South Alabama Jaguar Football Recruiting Class is a very good one. This could easily be the most talented recruiting class that Coach Jones and his staff has landed in the programs six years of existence.
The Jaguars class was ranked 3rd in the conference after a late addition bumped them up a spot. But that rating only includes the JUCO and High School student-athletes in the class, it does not include the UAB transfers. Head coach Joey Jones said at his signing day social that he has no doubt in his mind that USA has the best signing class in the conference overall.
Two things you will notice about this signing class: 1) the secondary players are tall with three of the five who signed are over six feet tall, and 2) great size.
Roy Albritton, 6’2″ 310-pound defensive lineman from Pensacola HS. He played in both the Max Emfinger All-American Bowl and the Pensacola Subway All-Star Game.
Dami Ayoola, 5’10” 200-pound running back from Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. via Arizona Western CC. He helped his team go 11-1 and finish 5th in the NJCAA poll.
De’Themeus “Bull” Barge, 5’9″ 220-pound linebacker from Colquitt County HS in Georgia. He was rated a three-star athlete from 247Sports.com. He helped his team go 15-0 en route to the state 6A championship.
Cameron Blankenship, 6’5″ 285-pound offensive lineman from Alexander City, AL via UAB. He was a three-year letterwinner for the Blazers and started all 11 games he appeared in as a sophomore at Dodge City CC in Kansas.
James Bynes, a 6’3″ 230-pound tight end from Miami, FL., by way of Dodge City CC. He caught 30 passes for 269 yards in all 11 games as a sophomore at Dodge City C.
Austin Chipoletti, 5’11” 190-pound quarterback from Jacksonville, FL. by way of UAB. Chipoletti completed 172-of-302 attempts for 1,650 yards and eight touchdowns with 142 yards and two touchdowns on the ground in 2013 for Weber State.
Cody Clements, 6’2″ 200-pound quarterback from Whittier, CA. via UAB. In his first and only season with the Blazers, Clements finished 4th in Conference USA in pass efficiency rating (145.6) as he wetn 183-of-275 for 2,227 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Tavon Cox, 6’3 195-pound linebacker from Kissimme, FL., Haines City HS. Cox was rated a three-star prospect by Scout.com, ESPN.com and 247Sports.com. He had 71 tackles and four sacks his senior season.
Lee Dufour, 6’4″ 285-pound offensive lineman from Saraland, AL. by way of UAB. Defour was going to redshirt his freshman season but played in the last three games of the season to help the Blazers earn bowl eligibility for the first time in 10 years.
Gerald Everett, 6’4″ 215-pound tight end from Decatur, GA. by way of UAB. He cause 17 passes for 292 yards in his only season with the Blazers. He started one game but saw action in all 12 games.
Sean Grayer, 6’2″ 240-pound defensive end/outside linebacker from Glay HS in Green Cove Springs, FL. He recorded 81 stops and fourced five fumbles in his senior season as he was selected to the first-team All-District and second-team All-State teams.
Kalen Jackson, 6’1″ 200-pound linebacker from Magee, MS. by way of UAB. Jackson started the first two games for the Blazers but suffered a season-ending injury. Against Troy he had five tackles and a fumble recovery.
Quinton Lane, 6’1″ 185-pound cornerback from Ackerman, MS. by way of Itawamba CC. He recorded 25 total tackles, 20 solo, with a team-high eight passes broken up as a sophomore.
Nigel Lawrence, 5’11” 175-pound defensive back from Smiths Stateion HS in Alabama. He was rated a three-star athlete by 247Sports.com and among the top 35 players in the state. He had 91 stops his senior year of school.
JarMarkus Sims, 6’1″ 210-pound safety from Dothan HS in Alabama. He was rated a three-star athlete by 247Sports and was rated as the second-best safety in the state of Alabama by ESPN.com. He was also selected First-Team All-State.
Troy Thingstad, 6’5″ 275-pound offensive lineman from St. Paul’s Episcopal School in Mobile. He was rated a three-star athlete by Scout.com, ESPN.com and 247Sports.com. He was also named to the first-team All-State team as a senior after helping his team with the 5A state championship.
Jalen Thompson, a 6′ 170-pound cornerback from St. Paul’s Eposcopal School in Mobile. He was rated a three-star althlete by Rivals.com, Scout.com, ESPN.com and 247Sports.com. He was also rated the second-best cornerback in the state of Alabama by Scout and ESPN.
Tyree Turner, 6′ 265-pound defensive lineman from StockBridge GA. HS. He was selected to the All-Region team twice, including last season after helping his team to the semifinals of the 5A state playoffs and to an 11-3 record overall.
D.J. Vinson, 5’10” 180-pound running back from Pinson, AL. by way of UAB. He finished second on the team with 670 yards and nine touchdowns on 166 attempts last season. He also added 65 yards on 15 catches and a touchdown as well.
Rashaan Watson, 5’10” 180-pound cornerback from Pinellas Park HS in Largo, FL. He was a first-team All-District, All-County and All-Conference selection in 2014 after helping his team go 8-3 and qualifying for the 7A state playoffs.
Jeffrey Whatley, 6’1″ 265-pound defensive end from Dale County HS in Midland City AL. He was selected to the first-team All-State team his final two seasons and helped his team to the 3A state championship game as a senior with 105 total stops along the way.
Curtis Williams, 6’4″ 285-pound offensive lineman from Miami, FL. by way of ASA CC in New York. He was a second-team All-Northeast Football Conference selection in 2013 as he helped his team to a 7th place finish in the final NJCAA rankings.
Tyrone Williams, 6’2″ 200-pound wide receiver from Kiln, MS via Mississippi Gulf Coast CC. He was a first-team All-MACJC selection as a sophomore after leading his team with 46 catches for 812 yards and 12 touchdowns.
De’Arius Young, 6’7″ 310-pound offensive lineman from Cincinnati, OH by way of San Bernadino Valley, CA. CC. He was named to the first-team All-Region and All-Mountain Conference as a sophomore as his team averaged 413 yards and 36.2 points per game.
Alex “Speedy” Byers, 6’2″ 175-pound wide receiver from Antelope Valley College in California. He had 23 catches for 398 yards and six touchdowns in 10 games. He also returned 14 kicks for 496 yards and three touchdowns. He has three years to play two at USA.
Welcome to #JagNation!
Jaguar Softball opens season against Crimson Tide Thursday
#23 ranked South Alabama hosts #3 ranked Alabama on Thursday evening in their season opener and it will be in front of a sold-out crowd at Jaguar Field.
The Jaguars 2014 season ended with a 1-0 loss to the Crimson Tide that they hope to avenge to start the 2015 season.
Leading the Jaguars is a trio of Preseason All-Sun Belt team members.
Senior Farish Beard was one of two pitchers named to the All-SBC team after being a first-team All-SBC honoree in 2014 and finishing the year as a National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-South Region selection for the second season in a row. She also finished sixth in the NCAA in ERA with a 1.23 and helped the Jags finish atop the NCAA statistical category with a 1.29 ERA. She was also named to the Top 50 Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List.
Stephanie Pilkington and Blair Johnson combined to take two of the three Preseason All-SBC spots in the outfield. Pilkington was an All-Conference first-teamer last season with the second highest batting average on the team with .292 while leading the team in hits, triples and sacrifice hits.
Johnson was a second-teamer last season and was second on the team in hits, sacrifice hits and sacrifice flies. This is her third Preseason All-SBC team honor.
Additionally the Jaguars were voted to finish second in the conference behind Louisiana-Lafayette. The Cajuns had 79 total points and 7 first place votes while the Jaguars finished with 74 total points and two first place votes. No other school received first place votes.
2015 National Signing Day is here
Today is National Signing Day. This is the first day that football recruits can finally officially sign their National Letter-Of-Intent to join football programs around the nation.
Recruiting a never-ending job. Most of the recruits were probably evaluated as many as two years ago or more. Through all that time coaches have kept tabs on them, offered them, talked to them, visited them and re-evaluated them time and time again to ensure they have targeted players to fill the needs of the team.
Similarly, recruits are looking at schools who have offered them to see if they feel like its a good fit for them. They have coaches, family and friends in their ear almost every day telling them where they should go or where they shouldn’t go. Which leads to some interesting National Signing Day’s.
Each year fans and coaches eagerly wait for signatures to come in from the recruits because, until that signature is in, who knows where recruits will actually sign.
There are writers and analysts who make their living just by analyzing recruiting. Whole websites have started based on recruiting. It’s become big business and cause for speculation. Diehard fans read recruiting analysis daily. Some send tweets to recruits endlessly congratulating them for choosing their school or villifying them for shunning their school for another school or a rival institution.
It can get quite sickening to see supposed grown-ups tweeting such things to teenagers to be honest.
While this list is not a guarantee as to who will sign with South Alabama, these are prospects who have verbally committed to the Jaguars. It’s always likely that some of them will suddenly choose to sign with someone else and be replaced with names not on this list who have done the same thing to another school.
Current players who have already signed LOI’s with the Jaguars:
- Dami Ayoola RB Arizona Western College
- James Bynes TE Dodge City CC
- Quinton Lane CB Itawamba CC
- Tyrone Williams WR Mississippi Gulf Coast CC.
This list of commits have given their verbals to South Alabama and seem to be fairly solid at some point.
- Jalen Thompson CB St. Paul’s Episcopal (Mobile, AL)
- Roy Albritton DT Pensacola FL.
- Ryan Alexander TE Holy Trinity (Hicksville, NY)
- Bull Barge OLB Colquitt Count GA.
- Zach Davis OT Lauderdale County AL.
- DeSean Grayer OLB Clay (Green Cove Springs, FL.)
- Nigel Lawrence S Smiths Station AL.
- Uvakeious McGhee WDE Jefferson Davis (Montgomery, AL.)
- Gavin Patterson K Bradley-Bourbannais (Bradley, IL.)
- Jervohnte Riles WR Jones County JC (Ellsville, MS.)
- JaMarkus Sims OLB Dothan AL.
- Nelson Santiago OT Oakleaf (Orange Park, FL.)
- Troy Thingstad OT St. Paul’s Episcopal (Mobile, AL.)
- Tyree Turner DT Stockbridge GA.
- Rashaan Watson CB Pinellas Park (Largo, FL.)
- Jerrery Whatley WDE Dale County Christian (Ozark, AL.)
- Curtis Williams OT ASA College (Brooklyn, NY)
Check back this evening for a recap of who signed with South Alabama and a review of the 2015 signing class.
South Alabama announces home-and-home series with SDSU
South Alabama has filled two open spots in their 2015 and 2016 schedules by adding a home-and-home series with San Diego State University. The open spots were created after the sudden announcement that UAB would cease sponsoring football.
The Jags will travel to San Diego State on September 19 this year and SDSU will visit Mobile on October 1, 2016 for the return.
USA Director of Atheltics Dr. Joel Erdmann said that during the fall of 2013 they were beginning to work on a home-and-home series with SDSU but the opportunity to schedule UAB came up and in the interest of local interest, short bus ride and reasonable cost for a road game, it was “more logical choice to play UAB.”
However, when UAB shut down football the Jags were left with two open dates on their schedule. It was very fortunate that San Diego State had yet to find a FBS opponent that fit perfectly into their schedule for 2015 and ’16.
While the 2015 Sun Belt Conference schedule for 2015 will be announced in March, it will feature road games at Troy, Georgia Southern, Georgia State and Texas State with home games against Idaho, Appalachian State, Louisiana-Lafayette and Arkansas State.
The Jaguars 2015 non-conference schedule include a home date against FCS Gardner-Webb on September 5, a road game at Nebraska on September 12 and at San Diego State on September 19, then back home to host North Carolina State on September 26.
Head coach Joey Jones told AL.com “We look forward to playing those guys [San Diego State]. It’s a football program with a lot of tradition and we look forward to the series.”
He also mentioned that its a great addition to assure a tough schedule for the Jaguars.
USA’s 2016 non-conference schedule includes a trip to Mississippi State on September 3, home games against Nicholls State on September 24 and San Diego State on October 1, and a road trip to LSU on October 15. Sun Belt Conference opponents for 2016 have not been announced yet.
As previously mention, the school also formally announced the home-and-home series against Memphis for 2018-’19.