South Alabama Dominates Nicholls State 48-7 In Season Opener
The South Alabama Jaguars put in a dominant effort in their season opener against the Nicholls State Colonels to start their 2022 campaign with a 48-7 win.
Carter Bradley threw three touchdown passes and ran for another in his debut as the Jaguars signal caller. Jalen Wayne caught two of them for touchdowns. La’Damian Webb, also making his debut with the Jaguars, ran for two scores while finishing just shy of 100 yards. Mobile native and true freshman Braylon McReynolds added a receiving touchdown in his collegiate debut.
The Jaguar defense did not allow the Colonels to score until the fourth quarter when they had started letting reserves sub in for game experience.
South Alabama opened the scoring on their second possession of the game. On 2nd and 1 Bradley connected with Caullin Lacy for 35 yards to the Nicholls 36 to get the Jags offense in gear. Webb capped it off when he rushed off right tackle, barely untouched, for a 15 yard touchdown.
On the second snap of the Colonels ensuing possession, Brock Higdon recovered a fumbled snap to put the Jaguars back in business at the Nicholls State 24. The offense couldn’t get anything going and settled for a 39 yard field goal from Diego Guajardo for a 10-0 lead with 1:54 left in the opening quarter.
Defensive coordinator Corey Batoon’s squad forced a three-and-out. Starting at their own 17 yard line, it would only take Bradley and the offense three plays to put more points on the board. A pass to Terrion Avery on the left side for 14 yards, followed by a pass to DJ Thomas-Jones for 15 yards on the right side. Brandley would cap off the drive with a beautiful touchdown pass to Jalen Wayne just inside the left hash on a go route to put the Jags up 17-0 early in the second quarter.
The Jags defense forced a pair of three-and-outs but on the second punt from deep in their own territory, a poorly handled snap led to a 13 yard loss by the punter setting up the Jags offense at the 4 yard line. Bradley rolled right, tucked the ball and scampered in for the touchdown to put the Jags up 24-0 about midway through the second quarter.
Guajardo would add a 48 yard field goal with 1:30 left in the half for the halftime score of 27-0.
Both teams started out slow in the second half before a failed 4th down conversion by the Colonels gave the Jags the ball at their own 34 yard line. Three plays later Bradley connected with Wayne for this second touchdown of the game, this time from 37 yards out to put the Jags ahead 34-0 at the 6:58 mark in the 3rd quarter.
Another three-and-out by the Jags defense and a poor punt put the Jags in great field position at their 40 yard line. McReynolds converted back-to-back first downs on runs of 9 and 15 yards before Bradley connected with him on a pass out of the backfield, McReynolds cut back inside and took the ball in for an 18 yard touchdown to put the Jags ahead 41-0 at the 3:52 mark in the 3rd quarter.
Nicholls would break the shutout on their ensuing possession, a 9 play 75 yard drive consuming 4:28 off the clock. The drive was capped off by Gums’ 10 yard touchdown run up the middle.
South Alabama would answer right back though.
Desmond Trotter led the drive in relief of Bradley and on the second snap he connected with Lincoln Sefcik for a 24 yard gain on the right side. Webb capped off the drive with back-to-back carries for 7 and 2 yards to put the final score on the board.
The defense wasn’t quite done yet though. AJ DeShazor picked off a pass at the Colonels 29 yard line with 6:24 left in the game.
Stats
The Jags offense rolled up 508 total yards of offense, 332 came through the air and 176 came on the ground. The Jags rushing yardage was more than the Colonels total offensive yardage (165). USA had 24 first downs and averaged 6.9 yards per play on offense.
The Jaguar defense only allowed 165 total yards, 106 came through the air and only 59 rushing yards to the Colonels. They had 10 first downs and averaged only 3 yards per offensive play.
South Alabama played a pretty clean first half, but the second half saw the Jags commit a number of penalties. They were flagged 10 times for 80 yards. Nicholls State was only flagged twice for 9 yards in the game.
Bradley finished the game 17-of25 for 260 yards, three touchdowns and only suffered one sack. Trotter was 9-of-10 for 72 yards and also took one sack.
Webb led the Jaguar backfield with 98 yards on 18 carries with the two touchdowns. McReynolds added 25 yards rushing on three carries. Avery and Omni Wells both had 23 yards on five carries.
Caullin Lacy led the Jags receivers with 6 catches for 72 yards. Wayne had 3 receptions for a game high 98 yards with two touchdowns. McReynolds caught all four of his targets for 39 yards and a touchdown.
Jack Brooks punted six times with four of them downed inside the opponents’ 20 yard line with a long of 58 yards.
The Colonels duo of Julien Gums and Collin Guggenheim combined for a total of 45 yards, Gums earned the only score of the game for Nicholls.
Kohen Granier finished the game 15-of-27 for 106 yards with an interception. KJ Franklin was also kept in check with only three catches for 14 yards. Neno Lemay led the Colonels with 40 receiving yards on three catches.
This breakout win was the most points scored by the Jags since posting 52 against Idaho in 2015. The margin of victory was the largest since the 45-0 win over Alabama A&M in 2017, and the most points scored in a season opener since the Jags put up 56 points against Pikeville in 2010.
“It was the momentum you want to build the first game of the season with,” said Jaguar head coach Kane Wommack. “We saw some of the things that we had talked about all offseason long: physicality, being able to establish things in the running game.”
“You saw some of the dynamic talent we have in your backfield,” coach Wommack continued.
“La’Damian did a tremendous job of getting his body back and getting ready to go,” Wommack said of the former Mr. Football who suffered a broken foot in spring practice and a broken hand over the offseason. “We had a short time frame to get him to the point where he could be rolling. I’ve said this before, but a tremendous job by our training staff and our strength staff. There was talk at one point about him being limited all the way up until the fifth or sixth game of the season, and he was full-go going into our first game.”
“He’s a back, that as he gets going and starts feeling it, and as our offensive line improves, I think his best football is ahead of him.”
“I thought Carter did a pretty good job of taking care of the football,” Wommack said. “He made some pretty good choices with the ball. He did a good job seeing what the defense was giving us and taking advantage of that. Obviously, you can see his arm talent, some of the things he was able to do down the field.”
“It took me and Carter a minute to jell and get our chemistry right, but we’ve been working as hard as we could this past summer to make sure we could come out clicking,” Jalen Wayne said. “Nowadays, it’s almost like catching a handoff from him. He puts it right in my stomach. It’s easy. He can throw it, though.”
“Defensively, I thought we did a tremendous job of keeping the main thing the main thing: stopping the run. We established the line of scrimmage,” Wommack observed of the defense.
“We talk about playing the ‘Swarm D’ mentality,” Wommack observed. “Our linebackers did a great job of being physical and tracking the ball all night. And when the ball was in the air, there was never a time we didn’t have somebody right there after them.”
Next Game
South Alabama travels to Mount Pleasant, Michigan to take on Central Michigan. Kickoff is set for 12pm central with TV coverage on ESPN+ and radio coverage on the Jaguar Radio Network.
Preview: South Alabama Host Nicholls State In Season Opener
Kickoff: Friday September 3, 4:00pm
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium – Mobile, AL
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
#5 Jersey: Keith Gallmon
Thunderjags Twitter: @USAThunderjags
Game one of the 2022 season is finally here. The time has come for me to dust off my notepad and get back to writing again. It’s not that I haven’t wanted to write, or that I didn’t have ideas, but it’s just been a busy off-season for this member of the Thunderjags crew. So kick back and read through this rather lengthy preview. Because not only do I preview Nicholls State (I know they prefer to drop the “State” from their preferred reference, but that’s the name of your school), but basically introduce you to the fresh new faces that help to comprise the 2022 Jaguar football team. In an age where it’s encouraged to include a few photos, maybe a couple videos, an instagram reel or two, and the obligatory tiktok video, you the faithful Thunderjags reader will be treated to almost three thousand words of South Alabama football.
The Season Is Here
After a spirited 2021 season under first year head coach Kane Wommack, the Jaguar fans are looking forward to what the 2022 season has to offer. Last year was a marked improvement over the last few seasons.
It’s hard to point to last season and say there were disappointments.
The team improved their record to 5-7, the most by a South Alabama team since 2016. They had several opportunities throughout the season to win games but just came up on the short end of the scoreboard. A missed field goal in the waning minutes of the Ragin’ Cajun game. A four-overtime loss at Texas State. Then an overtime loss to Coastal Carolina in the season finale. The Louisiana-Lafayette and Texas State games were decided by two points each. A seven point loss to Troy, which also an illegal hit on Jake Bentley that injured him and the team for the rest of the season, then a six point loss to Coastal Carolina (where Bentley returned but clearly wasn’t fully healthy) demonstrates how the Jags have closed the gap against some of the Sun Belt Conference foes.
I guess the feeling of having bowl eligibility within your control and not being able to grasp it can be a little disappointing, even if nagging injuries contributed to it. But the returning Jaguars have instead channeled that into motivation.
“Our best days are ahead of us,” is one mantra you will hear Coach Wommack say from time to time.
Season two of Coach Wommack’s tenure will start to display results on Saturday. The 2022 season really got into full gear after the final whistle of the Coastal Carolina game in 2021. He and his staff have put lots of hard work into what the program will be in 2022 and the next few years through recruiting, spring practice and preseason camp.
The staff had some great talent leave the program through graduation. A few of the most notable departures from the 2021 team are Jalen Tolbert, Jake Bentley, Tre Young, Devin Rockette, Chris Henderson, Kareem Walker, Jamal Brooks, Shawn Jennings, Christian Bell, and Ja’Chai Baker. The Jaguar staff brought in new faces to help fill those positions and to further bolster the roster in positions of need.
A mixture of true freshmen, junior college transfers, and players from the transfer portal joined the program this year. Carter Bradley, who was named the starting quarterback, transferred from Toledo.
DaMarcus Thomas (tight end), Jalen Jordan (cornerback), and Jamar Richardson (wide receiver) all transferred in from Ole Miss. Dontae Lucas, an offensive lineman, transferred from Florida State and will also start. James Miller, an inside linebacker, rejoins coach Wommack from Indiana to play for him again as a starter. Marvin Martin, a safety, transferred in from Kansas State and will start in place of the injured Keith Gallmon who was lost for the season due to a torn pectoral muscle requiring surgery. PJ Dixon, offensive lineman, from Jacksonville State will start. They also added Jacob Meeks, a placekicker, from Texas Tech.
The running back position has had an almost complete makeover. Terrion Avery and Bryan Hill are the only returners in the Jaguar backfield. They added La’Damian Webb from Jones (Miss.) College, Omni Wells from Mississippi State, and Marco Lee from Virginia Tech.
There were some surprises when the two-deep roster was released for the first game of the season. Webb will start at running back, Jalen Jordan will start over CJ Thompson, though Thompson took the majority of reps throughout the spring and preseason camp with the first-string. Former walk-on Reggie Smith will start at right guard with Anterrious Gray, who started at the same position last season, being listed as second-string at left guard. Diego Guajardo remains the starting placekicker, however Jacob Meeks will handle kickoff duties.
Nicholls
Nicholls State is an FCS team that the Jags have hosted three times previously, all Jaguar victories. However, the last time they visited Mobile they took USA to overtime before the home team could prevail 41-40.
The Colonels finished the 2021 season with a 6-5 record overall and a 5-3 record in conference play. They earned a 45-42 win over #15 ranked Southeastern Louisiana to cap off the season. Also, earlier in the season, they put some pressure on Louisiana-Lafayette however the Ragin’ Cajuns were able to eek out a 27-24 win.
Head coach Tim Rebowe has lead the Colonels to five consecutive winning seasons, which is a first in program history. They also made three consecutive appearances in the FCS playoffs from 2017-2019. In 2018, the led the Colonels to their fourth FBS win, and their first over a power 5 team, when they defeated Kansas.
Offense
Nicholls State returns one of their more explosive players this year. Julien Gums was named to the Stats Perform FCS Walter Payton Watch List for his senior season. Over his career he has rushed for over 2,500 yards and 32 touchdowns. His 2021 season was cut short due to an injury in their second game. But he opened the season with a 139 yard, 19 carry performance against North Alabama, then had 105 yards on just six carries in the first quarter against Houston Baptist before his season ended unexpectedly. He is 1023 yards short of breaking the all-time rushing record and 3 touchdowns to break the all-time record for rushing touchdowns for the Colonels.
Colin Guggenheim also returns to the Colonels backfield. He rushed for 930 yards on 145 carries, to average 6.4 yards per carry, with 10 touchdowns. He finished the season with five consecutive 100-yard rushing performances while setting the schools single-season rushing record with 103.3 yards per game average. That includes three games where he had no carries, one single carry, and one game with only seven carries.
Offensively the Colonels had five players selected to the first-team All-Southland Conference preseason team, Guggenheim, tight end Lee Negrotto, receiver K.J. Franklin, center Evan Roussel, and placekicker Gavin Lesseigne. They also had two players named to the second team, quarterback Kohen Granier and offensive tackle Mark Barthelemy.
Franklin, a 5’9” junior receiver, enters the 2022 season 10th on the all-time receiving yardage list with 1,277 on 96 catches. He was the starting slot receiver and the primary punt returner.
Negrotto, a 6’3” 225lb sophomore tight end, finished his freshman season as a second-team member of the All-Southland Conference team. He was the primary receiving tight end and finished fourth on the team with 235 yards on 20 catches and had at least one catch in nine games in the fall.
Lasseigne, a junior placekicker, enters the season 12th on the all-time scoring list and is five extra points away from setting the all-time record. He also finished the 2021 season on the All-Southland Conference Second-Team after ranking 4th in the conference in scoring and leading the league with 11 field goals on 13 attempts. He make all three attempts in the season finale, including a career long 45-yarder in the win. He was also 46-of-47 for PATs on the season.
Granier, a senior, served as backup quarterback before starting the final two games of the 2021 season, but played in a total of eight games. He was 46-of-84 for 616 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions. With Franklin, he has two other pass catchers returning who have caught 15 or more passes last season.
The Colonels averaged 33.4 points, 493.2 yards of total offense, 246.5 passing yards, and 246.7 rushing yards last season.
Defense
The Colonel defense only had one preseason All-Southland Conference first-team selection in defensive lineman Perry Ganci. Linebacker Hayden Shaheen and defensive back Jordan Jackson were second-team selections.
Ganci, a 6’2” 260lb junior, finished his sophomore season fifth in the conference with 9.5 tackles for loss and tying for fourth in sacks with 6. For the season he had 34 total tackles, 24 solo, with a season high of seven against North Alabama with 3 TFL’s and 2 sacks. He was named to the All-Southland First Team, All-Louisiana Second Team, and Southland All-Academic teams.
Shaheen, a 6’ 215lb sophomore, started all 11 games last season and finished second on the team with 56 total tackles, 36 solo, and 6.5 for loss (13th in the conference), with a fumble recovery and an interception. He finished the season with selections to the All-Southland Second Team, and Phil Steele FCS Freshman All-America Third Team.
Jackson, a 5’10” 170lb junior, played in all 11 games last season with 25 tackles (23 solo) with a career high five against Southeastern. He had two pass breakups and one interception, that he returned for a 44 yard touchdown.
The defensive unit allowed an average of 28.6 points, 385.9 total offensive yards, 246.4 passing yards and 139.5 rushing yards per game last season.
Special Teams
As mentioned previously, Lasseigne was 11-of-13 on field goals and 46-of-47 on PATs last season. Though his career longest kick is 45 yards, he was 3-for-3 from 40-49 yards out and 2-for-2 from 30-39 yards out.
Punter Craig Walker, a junior, averaged 38.1 yards per punt. In his 33 kicks last season he had 14 fair catches, 10 downed inside the 20 and one kick of 50+ yards.
Walker handled 67 of the 70 kickoffs with 15 touchbacks but he also had 5 kicks go out of bounds. Lasseigne appears to only handle onsides kicks.
USA
Offense
Beginning with the offensive line, the Jags have lots of new faces slated to start for the Jags, with three of the five listed at over 300lbs. James Jackson, who started 7 of the eight games he appeared is back at center. Trey Simpson, who started all 12 games last season in multiple positions on the offensive line, is listed as the 2nd string center.
Antawn Lewis, who started in all 11 games he appeared in, is slated to start at right tackle with Josh McCulloch, who started in one game and appeared in four, as his backup.
PJ Mixon (left tackle, Jacksonville State), Dontae Lucas (left guard and Florida State) are all newcomers to the program. Reggie Smith (right guard, walk-on) only previously saw action on field goal and PATs in 2020 and played in three games on the offensive line in 2021.
Anterrious Gray played in 11 contests, starting 10 of them last year, is listed as the second-string left guard. True freshman Adrien Strickland is listed as the second-string left tackle to start the season.
Moving out from the offensive line, the Jags have two sets of tight ends listed. Lincoln Sefcik is listed as one starter with DJ Thomas-Jones as his backup. They tend to be more of the big, pass catching type of tight ends the Jags have had success with over the years. Brandon Crum is listed as the starter with Jacob Hopper as his backup on the other list. They tend to be more of the blocking type of tight ends that came to be part of the offense over the Campbell era.
Sefcik earned third-team all-Sun Belt Conference, second-team all-league by Pro Football Network, and third-team all-conference by Phil Steele, and honorable mention all-SBC from Pro Football Focus last season. He caught 32 passes for 218 yards and five touchdowns to lead his position group in all three categories. He ranked in the top 10 in the conference in total touchdown catches by a tight end and had the most since Gerald Everett’s eight in 2015.
Crum caught nine passes for 95 yards and a touchdown. He saw action in 10 games, with four consecutive starts in October. He posted a career high three catches and 31 yards against Arkansas State with his lone touchdown.
The starting receiver are Jalen Wayne at the X and Devin Voisin at the Z receiver positions and Caullin Lacy at the H, or as some will call the slot receiver. Wayne was honored with a number of accolades in 2021, honorable mention all-Sun Belt Conference selection, second-team all-SBC from Pro Football Network, fourth-team all-conference by Phil Steele Publications. Last season he had 53 catches for 630 yards and two touchdowns. The sixth-year “super senior” will look to make his name as the Jags #1 receiver this season. Voisin played in four games last season but did not record a catch. Lacy played in 11 games last season, he started six of them including the first two games of the season, he caught 41 passes for 291 yards and added 26 yards rushing on 10 carries.
La’Damian Webb beat out Terrion Avery as the starting running back on the depth chart. Webb had been healing some injuries in the spring and preseason camp but looks to be ready to go now. Webb rushed 221 times for 1,399 yards and 14 touchdowns. He averaged over six yards per carry and just under 140 yards per game and just over six yards per carry.
Carter Bradley was named the starting quarterback over Desmond Trotter. Bradley spent the previous four seasons with the Toledo Rockets. In 2021 he played in eight games as they posted a 7-5 record. He went 77-of-130 for 972 yards and four touchdowns. He went 18-of-28 for 221 yards and a touchdown against #7 Notre Dame in a three point loss.
The Jaguar offense only averaged 24.9 points per game last season, something the staff look to improve upon this season. In doing so they averaged 367.4 total yards, 256 passing yards, and 111.4 rushing yards per game.
Defense
Similarly, the Jaguar defense returns several from last year.
Starting up front, Jamie Sheriff is back from injury and starting at Bandit end with Brock Higdon as his backup. Nose guard Wy’kevious Thomas , who started all 12 games last year, is also back as a starter with Brock Higdon as his backup. Charles Coleman, who started nine of the 12 games last season, is set to start at defensive tackle this season with Ed Smith listed as his backup.
At Wolf linebacker CJ Rias is starting with DK Bonhomme or Lamondre Brooks listed as backups. Rias played in 11 games last season. Transfer James Miller is starting at Mike linebacker with Ke’Shun Brown listed as backup. Quentin Wilfawn is starting at Stinger linebacker with Trey Kiser listed as backup.
Husky (nickel) safety is Yam Banks with Tremel States-Jones listed as backup. Jamar Richardson is starting field corner with Ricky Fletcher as backup. Darrell Luter is the starting Boundary corner with Marquise Robinson as his backup. Transfer Jalen Jordan is starting at Rover with CJ Thompson as his backup. Transfer Marvin Martin is starting at Free safety in place of the injured Keith Gallmon, with Jaden Voisin listed as backup.
The defense allowed an average of 26.4 points per game, which included the 60 points that Tennessee put up on the Jags in Knoxville. That breaks down to 354.7 total yards, 208.4 passing yards, and 146.3 rushing yards per game on average.
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo and Jack Brooks return at the starting placekicker and punter. Transfer Jacob Meeks will handle kickoff duties over Diego this year.
Caullin Lacy and true freshman Braylon McReynolds are listed as the kick returners for the Jags.
Keys to the game
Control the game
The Jags need to come out and take control of the game from the opening kickoff until the final whistle. They need to prove that they are an FBS team playing against an FCS team.
The Colonels under coach Rebowe have played FBS teams very tough. They defeated Kansas a few years ago, they put a scare into Louisiana-Lafayette and defeated #15 Southeastern Louisiana in the season finale.
Stop the Run
Nicholls State have two talented running backs on their roster and they will look to use them. It’ll be up to the defensive front to keep them contained. Their offense is very balanced, but if they can take away two of their big playmakers at running back then the Jags can upset their offensive balance and get them off their rhythm.
Establish the Run
Last season the Jags did not particularly run the ball well. With an average of 111.4 yards per game over the season, it’s pretty obvious. With a new running back room, the Jags intend to change that. Nicholls will be a good test to see how well they do behind a rebuilt offensive line.
Prediction
Nicholls State is a good FCS team that South Alabama should defeat. Should. But the last two meetings between the two schools have been much closer than anticipated and for comfort. Going to overtime in 2016 and needing to stop a game-winning two-point conversion attempt twice was anything but comfortable.
They have risen to the occasion when facing FBS and strong FCS opponents. They would like nothing else but to start the 2022 season with an upset win over an FBS team. Let them get that next Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe if they want it so bad.
I think the Jags will play this game close to their vest and try not to show a lot on film for Central Michigan and UCLA to see in preparation.
Vegas Insider has South Alabama favored by 10 points. I think the final score will be a little closer. I’m thinking 34-27.
If you made it all the way through, I hope you enjoyed this read. I’ll make sure to be more concise going forward. You can blame my editor.
Go Jags!
Jags Defense Prevails In Annual Red-Blue Spring Game
South Alabama concluded their spring practice schedule on Saturday with their annual Red-Blue spring football game.
Injuries have been an issue throughout spring practice. Several players projected as starters or second string missed parts or all of spring drills. Then a couple of players had their day cut short by non-serious injuries leaving the Jaguar offense particularly shorthanded by the end of the day.
Taking into account the number of injuries coming into the game, the coaching staff took a scrimmage-like approach to the final practice. They interspursed game-simulation scenarios with skills competitions to entertain the fans in attendance.
The entire morning was geared for the fans and families. An easter egg hunt was held for kids in the Jaguar Training Center, the covered practice field next to Hancock-Whitney Stadium. There was also a “yard sale” of game-worn jersey’s and practice wear.
In the spirit of a game and keeping score, the offense and defense competed against each other with modified scoring for each side during the final session of the day, which they called “Red Zone Lockout.”
When the scrimmage wrapped up the Jaguar defense won 19-9.
All of the points for the offense came by field goal. Diego Guajardo had two conversions and Barret Pickering added one score.
The defense scored points by keeping the offense out of the end zone. While the offense put three points each on the scoreboard for their field goal conversions, the defense added four points to their total for keeping them out of the end zone. The defense sealed their victory when outside linebacker Dalton Hughes put seven points on the board by recovering a fumble on the final possession of the session.
The scrimmage began with kickoffs and alternating 1’s vs 1’s and 2’s vs 2’s attempting to drive the field.
When that session ended the quarterbacks competed in an accuracy competition where two golf carts crossed the field at different depths with a target on the back. Each player had four attempts at each of the two depths and then one stationary target deep down field. Carter Bradley edged out Desmond Trotter for the win based on points.
Later the receiver skills competition had a number of receivers run across the playing surface starting at the near sideline with quarterbacks and GA’s tossing balls at them from both sides for them to catch before turning downfield along the sideline for a deep pass attempt. Two receivers tied with a perfect score.
The “Big Man Punt Return” skill was, arguably, our favorite. Three offensive linemen and three defensive linemen each had two attempts to field punts launched from a practice machine. The offensive line won the competition by one in walk-off fashion.
In a presentation given to the crowd, head coach Kane Wommack spoke about building new traditions. But in keeping with one of the earliest traditions of the football program, he brought back the tradition of the #5 jersey.
The tradition of honoring a player with the #5 jersey began in the second season of South Alabama football after the tragic death of Anthony Mostella. In a different twist to the tradition, a different player is honored each game week with the jersey. During the spring game coach Wommack announced that senior-to-be safety Keith Gallmon Jr. will dress out in the honorary #5 for the season opener against Nicholls on September 3.
Quotes
“We had a couple of guys that got dinged up early, so offensively we were down at the end there,” coach Wommack observed after the game. “We wanted to make sure we kept it as clean as possible. [The injuries] limited some of the things I feel [offensive coordinator] Major [Applewhite] was going to do today. We wanted to do some things with Desmond [Trotter] and Carter [Bradley], but when you’re that limited you really just want to get out of the game as healthy as you can at that point. That’s part of it.”
“We go some great things done this spring,” he continued. “I think we realized where we have strengths, and some of the things that we’ve got to make sure that we address before we walk into that first game in September. We’ve got time to do those things. We’ll also have some scholarship numbers to address those needs as well. I feel we’re in a really good place right now. I told both the players and coaches that ‘Spring doesn’t finish with the final game. You build your team off the things you did well and off the tings you’ve got to improve on.’ It’s going to be a critical next couple of weeks for us.”
When asked about a position group that caught his eye during the spring, Coach Wommack said “You have to tip your hat and give kudos to our offensive linemen, especially the guys who have been able to stay out there. There were a lot of guys that were banged up every single day and they just refused to come out of practice because they knew they would be hanging their teammates out ot dry if they did. That was really impressive.”
“Our linebacker corps has take a tremendous step forward,” Wommack continued. “I think ‘Q’ [Quentin] Wilfawn is a huge piece of that. Trey Kiser has improved greatly, and then you add a piece to the puzzle like James Miller, who was with me at Indiana, and that group has taken their game to another level. It’s the hardest position on our defense in what we ask them to do, so of course in year two, you’re going to see a tremendous amount of improvement from that group.”
Desmond Trotter spoke about the game saying, “I feel like we executed better and were able to take care of the ball throughout the game. We had that one fumble on the run, but other than that we took care of the ball. We have some guys who are banged up, so when you have some of your starters out its kind of hard to get explosive plays, but I think we were able to still execute throughout the scrimmage.”
“For myself, it’s timing,” Trotter said when asked what he will be working on between now and fall camp. “Just working on my layups, the ones that are wide open, I can’t miss those. Then just getting reps and reps in with different routes with the receivers and the guys coming in so I can create that connection going into the fall.”
Gi’Narious Johnson spoke about the progress the team has made since the start of spring. “At the start of spring, they told us that we have to learn how to finish and be more physical,” Johnson explained. “Those two items were our main focuses for the spring. We are playing fast, physical and running to the ball. It’s great and I feel like we are going to be a much more dominant team this year compared to last year.”
Keith Gallmon Jr. spoke about being honored with the #5 jersey. “It’s a blessing and an honor to wear this jersey and to be able to represent South Alabama. I know it has put a lot of pressure on me to be a better leader throughout the summer and throughout the fall to get this team prepared to win games.”
When asked about what the team accomplished this spring, Gallmon said, “I feel like we made a big jump from year one to year two. Everybody is flying around. Our communication is next level for us on the back end. I feel like everybody has been able to react quicker and make plays faster. It definitely showed up today.”
Desmond, who took reps with the 1’s on Saturday, said he felt more comfortable with Major Applewhite’s offense now. He admitted that he had trouble picking up the new offense quickly last season. He also looked more comfortable, which will only get better as the countdown to fall camp begins in earnest.
Next:
South Alabama has not announced when fall camp will begin. The first game of the 2022 season will be on Saturday, September 3 at Hancock-Whitney Stadium.