Artz To Miss Final Season On Field, But Will Remain As Student Coach
Shaun Artz (73) and Melvin Meggs (77) practice run blocking during the preseason camp in 2012. Artz will forgo his final year of eligibility due to health issues but remain with the team as a student assistant coach.
The South Alabama football team will be without one of their returning offensive linemen this fall. Fifth year senior Shaun Artz decided that, for his own health, he would forgo his final season in a Jaguar uniform and will instead be a student assistant coach working with offensive coordinator Robert Matthews and offensive line coach Chase Smith.
Artz suffered from a series of injuries which included hernia, back pain and nerve issues which began in the spring of the 2012 season when he experienced pull in his back while lifting weights. He played the season after receiving treatment and would only miss one game that season. After the season and returning from Hawaii he had surgery on his back.
Artz played every game last season and went through the season working through issues from time to time. Late in the season he took “a pretty good hit” but finished the season. During spring practice he noticed that while running sprints he was limping and dragging his left leg behind him. He would go under the knife again to try to correct a disc problem he was experiencing.
The surgery went well, but the healing time of 3-4 weeks turned into six, then eight and there wasn’t any relief.
He was still having pain and the disc that had been operated on was herniated again. After talking with his doctor about how continuing to play may open the risk to further injury. After weighing the risks, he talked with his family and the coaches and made the obvious decision after he was able to take the emotion out of it.
But he will continue to help his team, though he will not be in pads on the field, but rather on the sidelines doing whatever the coaches need him to do.
“So now I’m in a position where I can help the team and I’ll be on the field,” Artz told AL.com. “I’ll be like a student coach. I’ll help the offense, help coach Smith and coach Matthews, and help out the guys I came in with as a freshman. These guys are like brothers to me and mean a lot to me, and that’s why I want to stick around and be a part of it.”
Coach Jones is happy that Shaun will remain with the team and made the best decision for his health and future. “He has done nothing but do great things for us,” Jones told AL.com. “He’s going to be around this fall helping out the coaching staff and doing some things. You never want to lose somebody who has been in that many wars and who is a very competitive guy, so it’s a big loss for us.”
Artz said that it’s becoming easier as time goes by. He has been playing football since six years old. He had played every year at USA and started the last two seasons. While Artz has been in the war on the field at Tennessee and ULL and he feels that, if nothing else, he will be able to bridge the communication between the players in those situations and the coaches. He just wants to help. He doen’t care if it’s holding cards or on a headset, he just wants to be there for his teammates in the trenches.
Artz benefited from the program being unclassified when he began playing at South Alabama. He was eligible to play all five seasons with his first being considered a redshirt season but still being able to play. In what he considers his senior season now, Artz helped the Jaguars to a 6-6 record overall and a 4-3 record in conference play to finish third in the Sun Belt. They finished the season with a three-game winning streak including a season finale win over Sun Belt Conference Co-Champion Lousiana-Lafayette 30-8. Though they were bowl eligible, they were not extended a bowl invitation.
Three Women’s Golfers Named WGCA All-American Scholars
Photo: Mike Kittrell al.com
Three members of the South Alabama women’s golf team were named Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) Division I All-American Scholars for the 2013-2014 academic year.
Ashleigh Ryals, Ingrid Hagen and Jordan Knight earned the honor by meeting the minimum GPA of 3.50 and participating in half of the team’s competitions on the season.
This is the third consecutive season that Ryals and Hagen have received the award and the first for Knight.
This is the ninth consecutive academic year that USA has placed three or more student-athletes on the WGCA Division I All-American Scholar Team. There have been thirteen different recipients that have been honored 36 times as WGCA All-American Scholars since the 2005-2006 academic year.
Ryals was a senior last season, Hagen was a junior and Knight was a reshirt sophomore.
Four Former Jaguar Student-Athletes To Be Inducted Into USA Hall Of Fame
The University of South Alabama Athletics department announced that four new members will be added to the USA Athletic Hall of Fame this fall.
Henry “Dock” Richardson, Ronnie Powell, Shaun Rothuysen and Virgil Stanescu will be inducted in to the Hall of Fame in November, the time and date is yet to be determined. All four will also be honored on November 15 at halftime of the Jaguars football game against Texas State at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
Richardson played baseball at USA from 1965-1968, in the schools first four years of competition. He led the team in batting average and RBI for three seasons and stolen bases all four seasons. He had a career high batting average of .371 as a freshman with 12 RBI and 12 stolen bases in just 15 games. As a sophomore he led the team with 11 steals and 10 RBI. As a junior he hit .316 with 17 RBI and 13 stolen bases. Then to close out his Jaguar career, he hit .355 with 21 stolen bases his senior season to help the Jaguars to a 18-9 record.
Ronnie Powell was an assistant coach in baseball from 1987-2006 where he served as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. During his time at USA the team went 794-431-1 for a 64.8% winning percentage with 17 NCAA Regional appearances. During that time the Jaguars claimed nine Sun Belt Conference Regular Season Championships, four division championships and seven tournament titles. Five other times the Jaguars were one win away from a regional championship and a berth in the College World Series. Six pitchers under coach Powell earned All-American recognition while 35 signed contracts with professional organizations. Six players would go on and advance to the Major Leagues.
Shaun Rothuysen played men’s soccer from 1993-1995 and led the Jags to a 49-15 record, three Sun Belt Conference Championships and its first-ever NCAA play-in game in 1995. He was voted the league’s player of the year twice, was a three-time All-Sun Belt selection and named second-team All-South Region by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America as a sophomore. He led the conference, ranked eighth in the Region and 17th in the country in scoring with 40 points in 1993 as the team finished 16-5. He scored 40 points against in 1994 to help the Jags to a 18-2-2 record. As a senior he scored a team-high 45 points to end his career as the fifth highest at USA with 47 goals and 125 points.
Virgil Stanescu played men’s basketball from 1999-2001 and was a First-Team All-Conference selection as a senior. He was named the conference tournament’s Most Outstanding Player his junior season. In his final two seasons as a Jaguar he led the team in scoring and rebounding while helping the team to a 42-21 record overall and a 24-8 record in conference action during that time. He ranks 12th in school history with 1,126 points and sixth overall with 648 rebounds. He was selected to the SBC All-Tournament team twice and led the Jags to the Western Division Championship and a berth in the NIT his last season as a Jaguar.
The four additions to the Hall of Fame will make 68 former Student-Athletes to be enshrined in the South Alabama Athletics Hall of Fame since its inception in 1989.
The Sun Belt Conference Officially Welcomes Four New Members
The Sun Belt Conference said their farewell’s to one school and welcomed four more to the conference on Tuesday.
Western Kentucky officially became a member of Conference USA as Georgia Southern, Appalachian State, New Mexico State and Idaho all joined the Sun Belt. Georgia Southern and Appalachian State both join as full members while New Mexico State and Idaho both join as football-only members.
The with the loss of one and addition of four, it brings the total number of schools in the Sun Belt playing football to 11.
Georgia Southern and Appalachian State join the conference from the Football Championship Subdivision Southern Conference as they are both completing the second year of a two-year transition to Football Bowl Subdivision membership.
Idaho and New Mexico State both were recently members of the Western Athletic Conference and both were previously Sun Belt members.
Western Kentucky joins a number of other former SBC schools in Conference USA.
This brings the Sun Belt Conference membership to South Alabama, Troy, Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Texas State, Georgia State, Georiga Southern, Appalachian State, Idaho and New Mexico State in football. Arkansas-Little Rock and Texas-Arlington are both members of the conference, but do not sponsor football.
All 11 football teams will be eligible for the Sun Belt Conference football championship this season.
It has been repeated several times by Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson that it is the goal of the Sun Belt to get to 12 football-playing members so they can break into divisions and most importantly have a football Championship game.
ULL and Arkansas State shared the regular-season title last year with a 5-2 conference record while South Alabama, in it’s first season as a full FBS member and first season eligible for the title, finished second in the conference with a 4-3 record after defeating ULL 30-8 in the season finale. Though the Jags were bowl eligible at 6-6, they were not extended an invitation.
The conference begins play on August 27 when Georgia State hosts Abilene Christian. The Jags open their season on September 6 when they travel to Kent State.
Jaguars Pick Up Two More Verbal Commitments
The South Alabama coaching staff continued their hot streak of verbal commitments on Monday with two more.
Roy Albritton of Pensacola High School was spotted at one of their camps last week after he turned heads in the 40-yard dash. At 6’2″ 315-pounds he is a big guy who was timed at a 4.9 in the 40. Currently he is not rated by any of the recruiting services and does not have any other outstanding offers according to the sites either.
The ninth commitment overall and the eighth in the past week is Reid Rials of Satsuma. He is the son of Satsuma High School head coach Scott Rials.
Rials has played both quarterback and free safety in high school and may be recruited for wide receiver. He measures 6’1″ 181-pounds and was clocked at a 4.67 40 with a 34.6″ vertical leap. He has not been rated by the scouting services but he has offers from Southern Miss and Troy.
USA Dismisses Running Back
New helmets for the 2013 season.
The University of South Alabama has dismissed running back Cris Dinham for a “violation of team rules” according to head coach Joey Jones.
Dinham played one season for the Jaguars where he had 57 carries for 234 yards, third best on the team, for two touchdowns. The 5’10”, 205-pound back was expected to be part of the running back rotation in the backfield.
Dinham is the second running back that has been dismissed from the team since the end of spring drills. Kaleb Blanchard, a redshirt freshman from Denham Springs, Louisiana was suspended prior to the beginning of spring practice and dismissed from the team following the conclusion of spring practice for a violation of team rules as well.
Jay Jones, Kendall Houston, Terrance Timmons, Xavier Johnson and Berron Tyson are the remaining running backs for the Jags will others expected to join the program once fall practice begins.
Coach Jones spoke on WNSP that he feels good about the Jaguars depth at running back this season with a mix of seniors (Jones, Houston), players who have experience (Timmons) and a talented youngster (Johnson).
Jay Jones led the team rushing with 737 yards on 143 carries and five touchdowns. Houston rushed for 209 yards on 66 carries, seeing most of his action in short yardage and goal line situations. He scored six touchdowns for the Jaguars. Timmons rushed 16 times for 83 yards.
Fruitful Recruiting Weekend For Jaguar Football
Head coach Joey Jones and his coaching staff picked up four verbal commitments over the weekend.
Lackawanna CC tight end Julian Allen is rated the 83rd best Junior College prospect for 2015. South Alabama has had a long line of talent at the tight end position and looks to have another great season from that position in 2014 with Wes Saxton and Braedon Bowman. With Allen’s commitment, that should continue to be the for seasons to come.
James Bynes, another tight end/wide receiver prospect from Dodge City CC committed over the weekend. He’s been very vocal about his commitment while visiting campus and the coaches over the weekend.
The third commit over the weekend was class of 2015 offensive lineman Steven Clark of Brindlee Mountain School in Guntersville, Alabama. Clark recently visited South Alabama but also had good experiences with the staffs at Southern Miss and Arkansas State among others. But the difference was how the USA staff’s dedication to let him know how much they wanted him at South Alabama.
Quinton Lane, a cornerback from Itawamba CC. in Fulton, Mississippi also gave his verbal commitment to the Jaguars over the weekend. The 6’2″, 185-pound cornerback is rated a three-star by 247Sports.
These four come on the heels of Jalen Thompson’s verbal last Tuesday where he chose the Jaguars over a host of other schools including South Carolina, who was heavily recruiting him and had hosted him for a visit the previous weekend viagra online prescription free.
Jones and his staff currently have seven verbal commitments for the class of 2015.
Turner Brothers Get Press Coverage In Dothan
Jon Johnson of the Dothan Eagle had a nice writeup about South Alabama assistant coaches and brothers John and Brian Turner as they were in town for the football camps the Jaguar coaching staff have been hosting across the state of Alabama this week.
John and Brian were both hired in 2008 as head coach Joey Jones was assembling his first coaching staff. John, who now coaches tight ends for the Jaguars, and Brian, who is recruiting coordinator and defensive line coach, have both been with the program since the very beginning. Actually, they are the only remaining coaches from that first coaching staff.
Click here to read the article from The Dothan Eagle.
St. Paul’s Standout Corner Commits To South Alabama
St. Paul’s defensive back Jalen Thompson stretches for a pass during the 2013 season. Photo credit: AL.com | Mike Kittrell
The University of South Alabama, head coach Joey Jones and his staff and players as well as head baseball coach Mark Calvi, his staff and players all made a huge ripple in college football recruiting coverage today. In a surprise to the SEC schools recruiting St. Paul’s senior cornerback Jalen Thompson, none of them received his verbal commitment. Instead Thompson gave his verbal to the Jaguars.
Thompson, a 6′ 170-pound cornerback was heavily recruited by several SEC schools including Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Auburn and Alabama. His interest was not limited to SEC schools though. He also had offers from California, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Minnesota, NC State, Northern Illinois and Southern Miss, however he ultimately chose to stay close to home in Mobile to play both of the sports he loves at his hometown school.
Depending on which recruiting service you look at, he is either a 3 or 4 star recruit which is arguably the highest rated player to commit to the Jaguars to date. Though he cannot sign with the Jaguars until February 4, 2015 he claims to be “100%” committed to South Alabama.
As a junior in 2013, Thompson recorded seven interceptions and returned two for touchdowns while also forcing a fumble, recovering a fumble and recording 39 tackles. On the baseball diamond he was a Mobile Press-Register All-Region selection at shortstop while hitting .350 with 35 stolen bases as the St. Paul Saints finished the season with a 29-4 record and a berth in the second round of the Class 5A playoffs.
Thompson expects to move from shortstop to center field for baseball and play cornerback and return kicks for the football team.
Could Jalen be the domino that Coach Jones, Coach Turner and the rest of the staff have been looking for? Could he be the one that opens the floodgates of 3*, 4* and opens the door to potentially getting one of the elite 5* recruits to the Jaguars? Only time will tell.
The recruiting process is not over, Thompson will continue to get interest from the other schools who offered scholarships to him, but the hometown school has the upper hand with the Mobile standout.
“It’s close to home,” Thompson told AL.com. “I think South is a school on the rise, and I really wanted to play football and baseball. I’m excited.”
Congrats Jalen and welcome to #JagNation!
Coaching Staff Traveling Across State For Football Camps This Week
Head coach Joey Jones and his staff are in the midst of their June football camp trek across the state of Alabama.
It began with a two-day camp on campus on Friday and Saturday and continued last night in Dothan at Rip-Hewes Stadium. This week they will be in Montgomery from 5-7:30pm at Park Crossing High School, followed by Birmingham on Tuesday at Oak Mountain High School from 6-8:30pm and will wrap up on Wednesday at Decatur High School from 6-8:30pm.
Each of the remaining camps will cost $30 per participant and is open to ninth through 12th graders. These camps are shorter versions of the two-day camp the coaching staff hosted over the weekend at the University of South Alabama. The coaches will be working with the participants teaching fundamentals for each position.
On Saturday, USA Today’s Paul Myerberg posted the next in a series counting down to the beginning of the College Football season. He ranked the Jaguars 72nd in his list of 128 teams that he is counting down.
In his article he broke down the Jaguars in depth position by position. He heaped lots of praise on the Jaguars offensive line who he said should be the difference. He pointed to the Jags having All-Conference linemen at both tackles and both guard positions, which I think anyone would agree, is very impressive. Everything begins with the offensive line.
He also wrote about all the holes that need to be filled in the defensive front seven for the Jaguars. The Jaguar coaches and players have some big shoes to fill on the defensive line and at linebacker.
To read the whole article, click here.