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!
Preview: South Alabama Visits Appalachian State For Final Conference Road Game Of Season
Kickoff: Saturday November 13, 1:30pm
Venue: Kidd Brewer Stadium – Boone, NC
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
#5 Jersey (wearing 55 for an offensive lineman): Trey Simpson
Thunderjags Twitter: @USAThunderjags
South Alabama didn’t get the result they were hoping for at Troy last weekend.
It looked like the Jags had a good gameplan from the start. However losing your starting quarterback on the opening possession tends to throw a monkeywrench into your plans. Then having a pair of mistakes by the next man up leading to two easy scores definitely doesn’t help matters.
Quarterback Jake Bentley, on only his second pass attempt of the game, stepped into the throw on a play-action pass and was hit low, below the knee, causing his knee to flex laterally. He was in visible pain on the ground after the play. After being attended to by the trainers, he jogged off the field but could still be seen favoring his left knee.
Desmond Trotter finished off the opening drive with a four yard touchdown run. On the next offensive possession, with the Jags at their own 24 yard line, a botched hand off resulted in the a fumble that was recovered by Troy. That turnover led to a field goal.
With the Jags trailing 24-7 Trotter was pressured and threw the ball in an attempt to prevent a sack, however Troy intercepted it and took it 32 yards for a touchdown. While it was their last points of the game, it would be all Troy would need for the win.
Bentley has a partially torn MCL and at the very least will miss this weeks game at Appalachian State. What his status will be going forward is still very much unknown. Team doctors will be involved as to any likelihood that he could suit up again for any of the remaining games. The concern is some “looseness” with his ACL.
The Jaguars still need to get one more win to bowl eligible with just three games left. The next chance is Appalachian State on the road this weekend. So let’s get started with the breakdown.
Appalachian State
The Mountaineers (7-2, 4-1 SBC) went to Arkansas State and earned a 48-14 win over the Red Wolves.
Arkansas State scored twice in the second quarter to tie the game at 14-all. But it was all App State after that with 34-unanswered points to close out the game. Among those 34 unanswered were two interceptions returned for touchdowns by the defense.
App State’s two losses came to #22 Miami 24-23 on September 11 and on October 12 at Louisiana-Lafayette 41-13.
They rebounded from the Louisiana loss on a Tuesday to defeat #14 Coastal Carolina on a nationally televised Wednesday night game on October 20.
Boone, NC is always a difficult place to play. But with with a forecast of a high of 41 degrees and winds between 10 to 20 MPH it doesn’t make it any more welcoming.
The Mountaineers are in their second season under the direction of head football coach Shawn Clark. He was named the head coach after Eliah Drinkwitz left after one season to take the head coaching position at Missouri.
Eight days after taking the reigns, Clark led the Mountaineers to a 31-17 win over UAB in the 2019 New Orleans Bowl.
In his first season as a head coach the Mountaineers went 9-3 and 6-2 in Sun Belt Conference play. They finished 2nd in the east division with a 56-28 win over North Texas in the Myrtle Beach Bowl.
Offense
Here is the offense by the numbers.
They average 36.9 points, 200.8 yards rushing, 263.3 passing yards, and 464.1 total offensive yards per game. They average 24.4 first downs per game.
They are converting 44-of-116 (38%) of their 3rd down attempts. They are also converting 11-of-20 (55%) of their 4th down attempts.
Their red zone efficiency is very high. Of their 34 red zone trips they have scored 31 times (91%) and of those scores 21 of them have been touchdowns.
Their offensive line has only allowed 9 sacks on the season.
They have 14 turnovers on the season. Six interceptions and out of 14 total fumbles, they’ve failed to recover eight of them.
Quarterback Chase Brice is 172-of-264 for 2,261 yards, 15 touchdowns, and six interceptions.
Corey Sutton and Malik Williams are the top two receivers with almost identical numbers. Sutton has 47 catches for 711 yards and 5 touchdowns with an average of 15.1 yards per reception. Williams has 45 catches for 678 yards and 5 touchdowns with an average of 15.1 yards per catch.
The receiving numbers drop off pretty substantially after those two. Thomas Hennigan is third on the team with 34 catches for 472 yards and two touchdowns. No other receiver has more than nine catches after him.
The rushing statistics are similarly dominated by two individuals. Nate Noel leads the way with 153 carries for 889 yards and three touchdowns. Camerun Peoples is next with 105 carries for 609 yards and 13 touchdowns (double checks the number…wow) in seven games. Both average 5.8 yards per carry.
Chase Brice is next in line with 43 carries for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Followed by Anderson Castle with 24 carries for 120 yards and two touchdowns. No other ball carrier has over 59 yards rushing on the season after those four.
Defense
The App State defense is allowing an average of 23.3 points, 133.9 rushing yards, 226 passing yards, and 359.9 total yards per game.
Opponents are converting 46-of-129 (36%) 3rd down attempts and 4-of-10 (40%) of their 4th down attempts.
Opposing offenses have had 31 trips into the red zone, they have scored 25 times (81%), but only 16 of them have been touchdowns (52%).
They have an eye-opeing 66 tackles for loss and have sacked opposing quarterbacks 24 times on the season. They’ve collected 17 turnovers on the season, forcing 13 interceptions and recovering 4 fumbles.
D’Marco Jackson leads the Mountaineer defense with a whopping 84 total stops, 42 of them solo, with 12 tackles for loss, five sacks, and seven quarterback hurries from his linebacker position.
The next closest defender is Nick Hampton with 48 total stops, 27 solo, with a team leading 12.5 tackles for loss and six sacks.
Steven Jones leads the team with six interceptions.
This is another case where the Jags offensve will have to be able to operate behind the down and distance schedule. The Mountaineers will get negative plays.
As with any game, South Alabama must protect the ball, but against a ball-hawking defense like App State they will be out to pick off Trotter if he makes an errant throw.
Special Teams
Chandler Staton is perfect on the season. He’s made all 38 extra point attempts and all 14 field goal attempts. His longest is a 48 yard attempt against Georgia State.
Xavier Subotsch has punted 29 times on the season with an average of 39.6 yards per kick, 17 of them have been downed inside the 20 yard line and one went 51 yards, the only one to go over 50 yards for him this season. While his average yards isn’t high, he’s hasn’t needed to be. He’s been very effective with over half of his punts being downed inside the 20 yard line.
South Alabama
The loss of Bentley came as he was playing some of his best football. The offense struggled when Trotter took over but eventually started to find their rhythm and had a chance at a tying drive late in the game.
With a week of practice, Trotter should be well prepared to take back over the role he had previously. Trotter completed 64.5% of his passes last season for 1,917 yards and 11 touchdowns.
There are things that Bentley does that elevated himself over Trotter and earned the starting position. However there are things that Trotter does better than Bentley. One of the major things is his legs. He can run and he can extend plays.
We saw him use his legs on the first snap he took in place of Bentley.
Troy took away the deep threat of Jalen Tolbert and Jalen Wayne. Trotter and company found success underneath with one of his favorite targets being Lincoln Sefcik.
In the second half offensive coordinator Major Applewhite and Trotter pieced together a 19 play, 76 yard drive for a touchdown that drained 9:52 off the clock.
Offense
Let’s get the stats out of the way.
On average the Jags are scoring 28.6 points per game. They are rushing for an average of 135 yards, throwing for an average of 252.9 yards, and putting up an average of 387.9 total yards per game.
They are converting 47-of-131 (36%) of their 3rd down attempts and 19-of-28 (68%) of their 4th down attempts.
Their red zone trips have resulted in points on 33-of-39 (85%) times, with 28 of them being touchdowns.
Jaguar quarterbacks have been sacked 19 times on the season.
With the interception and fumble against Troy the offense has now had 15 turnovers, six have been interceptions along with nine lost fumbles out of 12 total fumbles.
Jake Bentley currently stands at 184-of-262 passing which is a 70.2% completion rate for 2,122 yards, 15 touchdowns, and five interceptions. Trotter is 21-of-34 (61.8%) for 154 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Jalen Tolbert has caught 58 passes for 1,032 yards and six touchdowns, for back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons for the Jags.
Jalen Wayne has 37 catches for 414 yards and two touchdowns. Caullin Lacy has 34 catches for 269 yards and Lincoln Sefcik has 26 catches for 201 yards and three touchdowns. Avery is the last player with double-digit catches with 17 for 92 yards and three touchdowns.
Terrion Avery has hit triple digit carries on the season now with 118 for 474 yards with one touchdown. Bryan Hill has 67 carries for 297 and three touchdowns. Kareem Walker, who didn’t see any playing time last week, has 63 carries for 237 yards and four touchdowns.
Defense
The defense played quite a good game outside of a pair of touchdown drives late in the first quarter and early second. The other two touchdown came on a very short field after a fumbled handoff attempt and a pick-six.
On to the numbers.
The defense is allowing an average of 22.1 points per game, 117.2 rushing yards, 202.1 passing yards, and 319.3 total offensive yards per game.
Opponents are converting 39-of-125 (31%) of their third down attempts and 9-of-16 (56%) of their 4th down attempts. Opponents have scored on 20-of-30 (67%) of their red zone trips, out of those 20 scores only 14 have been touchdowns.
The Jags defense have taken the ball away from opponents 18 times, 12 have been by interception and six have been fumbles. They’ve also sacked opposing quarterbacks 24 times on the season.
Quentin Wilfawn leads the defense with 45 total stops, 18 solo with 1 sack and 2.5 tackles for loss. Trey Young is not far behind with 41 total stops, 24 solo, with 1.5 tackels for loss and tied for the team lead with three interceptions.
Charles Coleman III and CJ Rias are tied for the team’s sack lead with three each. Christian Bell is next in line with 2.5 sacks. Then Wy’Kevious Thomas, Chris Henderson, Shawn Jennings, and Jamall Hickbottom all have two sacks each.
Jamal Brooks leads the team with 5.5 tackles for loss. Wy’Kevious Thomas right behind him with five tackles for loss.
Darrell Luter is tied with Young with three interceptions.
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo made all four extra points and his only field goal attempt against the Trojans. He is now 29-of-31 on extra points and 10-of-14 on field goals, with a long of 48.
Jack Brooks has punted 38 times with an average of 42.5 yards per attempt with 11 downed inside the 20 and nine have traveled over 50 yards.
Keys to the Game
Establishing the Run
The coaches will probably ease Trotter into the game. Look for them to probably lean on the run quite a bit and use short, high percentage throws to make sure he is comfortable and get him going, especially against a ball-hawking secondary like the Mountaineers field.
With Trotters dual threat ability you’ll likely see more zone read looks than what they call with Bentley. If that is successful then that could open up Wayne and Tolbert for some big plays down field.
Stopping the Run
App State thrives on running the ball. The Jags defense loves to shut down the run.
Who wins that battle could determine the game.
App State runs the ball to open up the pass. When they can open up the pass they are a very hard team to beat.
The Elements
Weather forecasts are calling for a cold and breezy game in Boone. It may not snow but it may feel like it should when they are playing.
The training staff will have to ensure that all the players warm up properly in pre-game and stay warm throughout the game.
Cold weather tends to make skin and extremity injuries more painful due to the cold’s effect on the sensory nerves. Players also tend to be an increased risk of muscle strains and tears, usually to the hamstring, quadriceps and calf muscles. But with winds over 5 mph and temperatures around 40 or below you can experience hypothermia or cold-induced asthma.
Special teams players are usually at a heightened risk as they only play intermittently and are expected to go “all out” without significant warm up time.
Skill players also need to keep their hands warm or risk fumbles or dropped balls as well.
Prediction
It’s not like the Jaguars are having to prep and start a quarterback who’s never started before. Trotter has 14 starts in his career at South Alabama.
But the Jags will also be getting some players back from injury. James Jackson looks to be ready to suit up, but it’s not a certainty he will start or play. If an injury happens to occur, Trey Simpson could move back over to guard and Jackson could potentially play at center. Wilfawn and CJ Rias may both be able to play as well. Having any or all of these will help tremendously.
Will it be enough?
The Jags are a 21.5 point underdog on the road against the Mountaineers. With that number I’ll definitely take the Jags and the points.
Can the Jags win outright?
They’ve responded to losses like Texas State and ULM with some big wins. They need at least one more this season to get bowl eligible.
It won’t be easy on the road. Boone is a tough place to enter and leave with a win and the elements may not be the most favorable. But I think the Jags can do just that. It’ll be a bit of a statement win on the road against a conference foe.
Go Jags!
South Alabama’s Fast Start Leads To 31-13 Win Over Arkansas State
The South Alabama Jaguars got their third-consecutive win over Arkansas State and is now one game away from earning bowl eligibility after the 31-13 win.
A pair of Jalen Tolbert touchdown receptions in the first half and a pair of interceptions by Darrell Luter Jr in the second half propelled the Jags (5-3, 2-3 SBC) over the Red Wolves (1-7, 0-4 SBC).
The Jags opened the game with an 8 play, 79 yard touchdown drive on their first possession. A great mix of run and pass where the shortest gain was of 5 yards was capped off by a 13 yard touchdown pass by Jake Bentley to Jalen Tolbert.
The offense got the ball back after Arkansas State went three-and-out. The Jags only needed 7 plays to cover the 75 yards for the score. Jalen Tolbert got his second score of the game and his 9th overall against the Red Wolves when Jake Bentley connected with him for 30 yards.
Alan Lamar returned the kickoff 52 yards to give the Red Wolves the ball in Jaguar territory for the first time in the game. The Jags defense were backed up with ASU getting a 1st and goal at the 7 yard line after a pass interference penalty. On 4th and goal at the 1 Chris Henderson hurried quarterback Layne Hatcher and helped force an incomplete pass.
The Jaguar offense took over possession at their own 1 yard line with 1:41 left in the opening quarter. Terrion Avery barely got the ball out of the end zone saving a safety on the first play from scrimmage. When it was all said and done the Jags put together a 18 play, 99 yard touchdown drive that was capped off by a two yard touchdown pass from Bentley to Avery. The drive took 8:31 off the clock with the Jags up 21-0.
The defense forced another three-and-out and pushed the offense back 16 yards as they did it.
Bryan Hill took the first handoff and scampered 47 yards to the Red Wolves 14 yard line. Then Bentley connected with Brandon Crum for a 14 yard touchdown to cap off the 2 play, 61 yard drive for a 28-0 advantage.
Alan Lamar took the ensuing kickoff 100 yards to give Arkansas State their only touchdown of the game to make the halftime score 28-7.
“I thought it was a tremendous first half in terms of our execute,” head coack Kane Wommack said. “I thought we did a poor job on our kickoff unit, we have to get better there. But outside of that, we really played with a lot of effort and energy. We executed at a high level. It was a good response victory to a week ago against Louisiana-Monroe where I didn’t think we played anywhere near the standard offensively, defensively, special teams.”
Arkansas State came out hot early in the second half but the Jags defense got a stop when needed and forced a 32 yard field goal and cutting the score 28-10 with 10:05 left in the third quarter.
The South Alabama offense’s next three possession all were three-and-outs.
Arkansas State’s first two possessions after the field goal all ended with turnovers. The first was a fumble forced and recovered by AJ DeShazor. The second was Darrell Luter’s first interception of the game.
On the second play of the fourth quarter, Jake Bentley was intercepted when his pass intended for Tolbert was taken away by the defender. But the Jags would get it back a few plays later when Devin Rockette caught the ball as he was sliding down.
The Jags defense bent but refused to break again when the Red Wolves drove down to the Jaguar 17 yard line. A sack on 3rd and 7 took the option of going for it out of ASU head coach Butch Jones’ playbook and forced them to settle for a 43 yard field goal to shrink the lead to 28-13 with 6:22 left in the game.
The onsides kick attempt bounced and went off a Jaguar player out of bounds at the 50 yard line. On the kick Arkansas State’s Corey Rucker was injured. After a long time on the turf on the Jags sideline, he was finally helped up but immediately was assisted through the Jags bench towards the tunnel until the cart came to take him into the locker area.
Terrion Avery got 23 yards on the first play of the possession but the offense could not muster much else. Diego Guajardo made it a three score game with a 39 yard field goal for the 31-13 final score.
Darrell Luter got his second interception to ensure Arkansas State would not have another opportunity to score.
Game Stats
After putting up 352 total yards of offense in the first half. The Jags were negative in all three yardage categories in the third quarter. Their total yards was -5, their rushing yardage was -4 and their passing was -1 yard.
“I thought we played very hard and aggressive on defense the entire game,” Wommack said. “You look at the numbers and you can see that it was a dominating performance by our defense [only allowing] 242 yards total, giving up 38 yards rushing. They were 3-of-13 [on third down]. We stopped them in the red zone on fourth down. Obviously getting four takeaways on defense is huge and tremendous.
“Offensively, we did such a great job in the first half. I thought Arkansas State responded well in the second half. They competed their tails off, particularly their defense. I thought offensively, they did some challenging things that we had to continue to adjust to and we did. We’ve got to be more consistent though. When we can operate at such a high level at the beginning of the game, we need to do that in the third and fourth quarter as well.”
The Jags ended the game with 424 yards of total offense, they rushed for 173 yards and threw for 251 yards.
They were 5-of-14 (36%) on third down attempts and 2-of-3 (67%) on 4th down attempts. They had 23 first downs in the game, 20 of them came in the first half.
Arkansas State finished the game with 224 total yards of offense after going into halftime with 28 yards. They ran for only 38 yards and passed for 186.
The Jags defense held the Red Wolves to only 3-of-13 (27%) on third down and 1-of-2 (50%).
Arkansas State had 232 kickoff return yards, more than their total offensive output for the game.
Jake Bentley went 29-of-39 for 251 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Jalen Tolbert caught 8 passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns. Jalen Wayne, Caullin Lacy and Lincoln Sefcik all caught five passes for 42, 39, and 35 yards respectively. Brandon Crum cuaght 3 passes for 31 yards and a touchdown. Terrion Avery’s only catch of the game went for a 2 yard touchdown.
Terrion Avery carried the ball 22 times for 113 yards. Bryan Hill had one carry before injurying his shoulder and it went for 47 yards. Kareem Walker had 5 carries for 26 yards.
Quentin Wilfawn led the defense with 11 total stops, 6 solo with 1/2 sack. Ke’Shun Brown had two tackles for loss with one sack. Charles Coleman III had 1 1/2 sacks. Luter had one tackle for loss to go along with his two interceptions. Devin Rockette had 1/2 tackle for loss to go along with his interception.
Layne Hatcher was 19-of-37 for 186 yards and three interceptions. Corey Rucker caught 4 passes for 67 yards.
Lincoln Pare had 8 carries for 32 yards. Johnnie Lang had 7 carries for 20 yards.
The Jags have the most wins (5) since the 6-7 record in the 2016 season, the last appearance in a bowl game.
“…the standard and capability of this team is not five wins,” Wommack said. “It’s disappointing that it’s been so long since we’ve had five wins as a program, but at the same time we need to be process oriented. To me, we are not where we can be, but we’ve created an opportunity for this team to play our best ball at the end of the year and that is really exciting.
“You appreciate what you have, because at the end of the season there are a lot of teams sitting there that don’t get to compete or play their best football at the end of the year and they don’t have opportunities to better themselves in a bowl game and all the preparation that comes with that. We do have those things, but our process and consistency has to get better. This was a great win, but we need to move the dial forward in this program, and until we become a consistent football team, we will not achieve our goals.”
Next Game
The Jags will travel to Troy for the annual Battle for the Belt game against the Trojans. Kickoff in Troy, AL is scheduled for 2:30pm.
