Coach Jones Q&A Session Before L’Arche Football Preview
A video was posted online of the question and answer session with Coach Jones before the DEX Imaging L’Arche Football Preview Thursday night at the Mitchell Center.
When asked about the status of the Jaguars Division-I transfers, he said that Brandon Bridge (quarterback) will not be eligible. Bridge is a transfer from Alcorn State and the NCAA did not grant a waiver. The Jags are still waiting to hear about the eligibility of offensive lineman James Elliot, who came from Kentucky and applied for immediate eligibility.
Coach Jones said that almost all of the incoming class are enrolled this summer, except for “about two or three” he said.
A question was asked about the players work in the weight room and how this year’s work will be as important as anything they do. Coach Jones said that, number one, they try to prevent injuries with their offseason strength and conditioning. Number two, they have to develop their athletes. He continued by saying that the other schools they will be facing have been Division-I programs for a long time and that this year will be the Jags first season as a Division-I school. This is their first “Division-I signing class.” They have to develop these players and move them along in the process. “If they’re 260 pounds, they need to be 285. We’ve got to have them at 285. It’s vital if we’re going to have a chance to compete.”
Q: Are you going to plug Jake Johnson (Senior Linebacker) for the Senior Bowl when you talk with Phil Savage (Senior Bowl Executive Director) tonight?
Jones: “No doubt. I certainly don’t make those decisions, but we’re excited about the possibilities of our players having a chance to play in the Senior Bowl.”
Q: What do you think of the changes in the Sun Belt?
Jones: “There’s a lot of shake up out there and everybody is trying to grab and pick, and conferences are grabbing and picking teams here and there. A couple of our teams, FIU and North Texas are going to Conference USA. So, therefore, we’ve gotten Georgia State and Texas State with Dennis Franchione and Bill Curry. With those guys, they’re goign to be good football programs. And with the Atlanta market you would think Georgia State’s going to be a threat down the road and with Franchione out there at Texas State they’ll get going as well. So it’s good to have both of them.”
On the video, which you can view below, he answers the following questions.
Q: Between now and August, what are your priorities and what do you hope to accomplish?
Jones: “First of all, I want our coaches to get away from about a week, this week. The kids came to summer school Tuesday and we made sure they all got settled in and got on the right track. Made sure they got with the people they needed to get with to get in class and got to know the strength coach and that type of thing. Then we have camps. Our goal with the camps is obviously to get as many kids in camp as we can and hopefully as many prospects in camp as we can so we can evaluate them and get to know them personally. Hopefully get to know their parents if they come into town and kind of get an unofficial visit type situation. It’s also a chance for them to see our facilities and see our university and the city of Mobile. We feel like if they come here to Mobile we’ve got a chance to get them. Even though our name is getting out there to households – we went down to Miami and people know us – we’ve still got to get kids on campus and let them see South Alabama. Just the name itself is not what some of the other names are right now, so we need to get them on campus. Once they see that, they see that we’re for real and we have a much better shot.”
Q: What’s your opinion on playoffs to determine the NCAA Football Champion? Do you support a four-team playoff?
Jones: “That’s something I think they needed. It’s something, a four-team playoff, that I always thought would be perfect. I think you have 1 against 4 and 3 against 2 in bowl games or wherever; they may be at home fields or whatever they decide to do – (but) having a semifinal-type situation and later a national championship game a week later, I always thought it would be a great thing for college football and I think that’s going to happen.”
Q: Do you favor playing the games at neutral sites or on campuses?
Jones: “I would vote for on campus. Crowd-wise, that’s going to create a much more electric atmosphere. If you go to a neutral site, sometimes that doesn’t work. So I think the home site would be a much better situation.”
Q: Why do you advocate student-athletes entering school the summer prior to the fall football season?
Jones: “A couple things, it gives the kid a chance to know the campus and to get acclimated academically. Then number two, obviously to get acclimated from a football standpoint. Also with that, get to know our players, over the course of the summer make some friends and get some mentors that they can count on. Lastly, having them in summer school gets them to graduate on time or early. If they graduate early, they can get started working on their masters before they leave here.”
This will be the fourth season for the Jaguars football team, and the second in their two-year transition into full FBS membership.
Latest News About South Alabama Sports
Lady Jaguar Softball Team, Sun Belt Champions
The South Alabama Lady Jaguar Softball team is in Tuscaloosa and will play Georgia Tech today at 3:30 pm in their first ever appearance in NCAA Regional play after defeating rival Louisiana-Lafayette in the Sun Belt Conference Championship. This will be the first time both schools have faced each other on the diamond. Georgia Tech season record stands at 36-21 overall. Most recently, the Yellow Jackets beat Virginia, No. 19 Florida State and Virginia Tech to become the 2012 ACC Tournament champions to get the #2 seed in the Tuscaloosa Regional. Visit the USAJaguars.com page for links to information about the Tuscaloosa regional and for links to live radio coverage this afternoon.
Coach Joey Jones and the South Alabama Football team announced recently that they have promoted Brendt Bedsole from Director of Football Operations to be an on-field coach. Last month coach Kurt Crain died unexpectedly. Coach Brian Turner will return to coaching the entire defensive line, defensive coordinator Bill Clark will coach the inside linebackers and Coach Bedsole will coach the outside linebackers according to an interview on WNSP’s Morning Sports Show. Coach Bedsole has coached at three Universities before; Samford, Murray State and Auburn as well as Hoover High School before joining the Jaguar staff.
Myles Gibbon takes in Carter-Finley Stadium before the team takes the field for warm-ups.
Myles Gibbon, the Jaguars first starting quarterback, graduated on Saturday and will be transferring to a school closer to his native home in Canada. He has two years of eligibility remaining and can play immediately since he has graduated with his undergrad degree. Gibbon was responsible for the throw to Courtney Smith for the first ever touchdown in Jaguar history against Hargrave Military Academy.
Gibbon started six of the programs seven games in it’s first season, missing the last game with an injury. That season he led the team in total offense with 632 yards, was 29-of-51 passing for 538 yards and six touchdowns and rushed for 94 yards and two more touchdowns. He then started the first two games of the 2010 season and played in seven of the Jags 10 games that year, passing for 325 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 68 yards and a touchdown. Last season, however, he played sparingly yet rushing for 105 yards and passing for just 82 yards and one touchdown. His career totals as a Jaguar stand at 865 yards passing with nine touchdowns and ran for 267 yards and three touchdowns, a total offense of 1,132 yards. He was responsible for 12 scores total.
Congratulations on your graduation Myles, you have been an excellent ambassador for the South Alabama program and remain a role model for student-athletes entering the program.
Memorial Services Announced For Coach Crain
Two services over the next two days have been announced for Coach Crain.
An open memorial is set for Thursday at 4pm in the worship center in Cottage Hill Baptist Church in Mobile. In Birmingham there will be a visitation at 3:30pm followed by a 5:30pm service of celebration at the Southern Heritage Funeral Home on Friday.
A statement was released on Wednesday by the family, “We appreciate all the kind words and prayers for our family as we face this difficult time. Kurt was a positive presence and influence on many lives, especially through his love of football, and we hope he will be remembered for all the gifts and passion he brought to the game. Kurt was also a wonderful husband and father, and we ask that you give our families time to grieve our loss privately. Thank you.”
Individuals wishing to assist the Crain family can make a donation to the “Crain Nation Fund” at any BancorpSouth Bank branch which has been established on behalf of his three surviving children.
Update: Local15 news has a video online where they interviewed Coach Joey Jones about Coach Crain’s death. You can view it here.
Associate Head Coach Kurt Crain Dead At 47
Associate head coach Kurt Crain was found dead today, he was 47. The cause is not known at this time per this AL.com article.
Spanish Fort police reported that he was found dead in his home this afternoon. Further details was not released but they did indicated that foul play was not suspected. Coach Crain was among the first coaches hired by Coach Joey Jones when he came to South Alabama. In a release by the University coach Jones was quoted saying, “We’ve lost a great man, coach and mentor at the University of South Alabama. In my opinion, Kurt was one of the best overall coaches I’ve ever seen. He cared about the players, they respected him greatly, and he was a tremendous football coach and motivator. I think about what a great man and what a great teacher he was for these young men. All Kurt would ever talk about was his family and how much he loved his wife and kids. That’s the kind of man he was.”
Coach Crain began by playing football at Auburn University where he was selected as an AP All-American linebacker and lead the team to a 19-3-2 mark as the 1987 SEC championship, two bowl berths and a top-10 finish finish in the polls both seasons. He was a two time All-SEC selection at linebacker and voted as a captain his senior season.
Crain played two seasons in the NFL with the Houston Oilers and Green Bay Packers. He began his coaching career in the early 1990’s as a graduate assistant with Auburn. He then went on to coach at Troy with Larry Blakeney and TCU with Pat Sullivan before coming to South Alabama.
Coach Crain worked with the inside linebackers for three seasons prior to this spring when he had moved to the defensive line. The inside linebackers, lead by him, lead the team each season with stops while helping the Jaguar defense to rank in the top 20 nationally in FCS in both pass defense and total yards nationally in 2011.
He will be sorely missed not only on the practice field and the sidelines, but in the field house. I spoke to coach Crain a few times and he, like all of the coaches at South Alabama, was humble and loved to talk about everything.
Please keep his wife and children in your thoughts and prayers as they go through this terrible time.
Update 8:45pm The Baldwin County coroner Stan Vinson says that Coach Crain died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. He suffered from prostatis, an infection of the prostate, last season which required at least three surgeries and IV antibiotics. The illness forced him to miss the Jaguars first FBS game at North Carolina State as well as a number of practices. He had lost over 30 pounds because of the illness and most of his prostate had to be removed.
The Press-Register quoted Coach Jones from a phone interview saying, “I always ask them, ‘How do you want to be remembered? When I think about Kurt, when I heard the news, all I thought about was the great persons that he was. Those kids, you could tell he meant a lot to them. He meant a lot to everybody in that room. … I told them to focus on the good that he did in his lifetime.”
“He was always a happy-go-lucky, loved-to-play-football guy when I knew him as a player. He was the same way here as a coach.”
Blue Squad Comes Out On Top In Red & Blue Spring Game
Coach Tommy Perry coaching the running backs during halftime of the Red & Blue Spring Football Game on March 24, 2012.
South Alabama unveiled their new offense to much fanfare on a beautiful Saturday afternoon at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. With sunny skies and a slight breeze, the Jags took the field to wrap up their fourth spring practice and their first preparing for a full FBS schedule.
Both squads began the game by trading interceptions. But the Blue squad would earn the first points of the game after a six play, 61-yard drive was capped off by a three-yard touchdown by Demetre Baker. Baker got the drive in gear with a nine-yard run then Bennett would complete three consecutive passes to Jereme Jones, Tyrome Bivins and Baker to move the ball down to the 10 yard line. Baker would then run for seven yards followed by the three-yard touchdown run.
The Red squad would answer with a 31 yard Michel Chapuseaux field goal late in the first quarter. The drive spanned 11-plays with Trey Fetner going 4-for-4 for 44 yards and walk-on freshman Terrance Timmons added 42 all-purpose yards with an 18-yard gain to begin the drive and a 22-yard catch to keep the drive alive on third-and-13.
The Red squad would see it’s only lead of the game after Julien Valentin scored with about three minutes left in the first half. After seemingly being stopped after a short gain, Valentin popped out and the defense thought he was down, however none of the referees blew the whistle and ended up scoring on a 45 yard run. “It was a freaky play,” Valentin explained after the game. “I don’t know where it came from but I had to just keep fighting and keep going. The next thing you know I’m in the open field and the ref is running with me, so I just ran as hard as I could to the end zone.”
Chapuseaux would tie the game for the Blue Squad after connecting on a 28 yard attempt with 41 seconds left in the half. Bennett would go 5-of-6 on the drive to move the team 64 yards in eight plays. He would connect with J.J. Keels twice with the second completion going for 35 yards before the drive stalled out at the 11 yard line.
After a short break and an opportunity for coaches to talk with players on the sidelines, the game continued.
The only score of the second half was by the Blue Squad’s Tyrannace Brazil to cap off a 12-play 80 yard drive spanning 4:58 on the clock. The Blue squad would take over the ball with 45 seconds left in the third quarter with Brandon Bridge at quarterback. Bridge would connect with Jereme Jones on the first play for a 16 yard gain. Later a 20-yard pass to Brazil would move the ball across mid-field for another first down. Bridge would find Wes Saxton for a 10-yard completion on fourth-and-1 at the 35 yard line. Bryant Lavender would make a nine-yard catch at the 14-yard line, but would be injured on the play as the back of his head would be struck by a players knee as he went down. The referees would flag it as a late hit personal foul to move the ball to the 7-yard line. Two plays later, Brazil would score to give the Blue squad a 17-10 lead.
The Red squad had the tying score in it’s sights on the next possession. Myles Gibbon would find Anthony Ingram open for a 67-yard gain after a blown coverage by McGaskin, but Ingram’s failure to secure the ball all the way into the endzone would let McGaskin make up for it by punching it out at the one yard line and having it go out of the back of the end zone for a touchback and possession going to the Blue squad.
The Blue squad would go three-and-out on their possession. After moving the ball for a simulated punt, Trey Fetner would be sacked by Byron Sneed for a loss of six yards. Then Charles Watson would stop Austin Powell short of the first down on a fourth-and-12 at the Red Squad’s 43 yard line to seal the game.
Keels, Bivins and Lavender all ended the game with three catches each to lead the team. Keels would rack up the most yards of the three with 52. Jones and Baker would each add two catches for the game as well. Bennett would go 11-of-14 for 128 yards and Brandon Bridge went 4-of-7 for 55 yards. The Blue squad would gain 192 of it’s 217 total yards through the air.
Valentin rushed 10 times for 88 yards and added two catches for 10 more yards. Anthony Ingram had four catches for 98 yards. Valentin and Ingram shared the game-high honors for all-purpose yards. Terrance Timmons added 50 yards and 24 yards more on two catches.
Fetner went 7-of-14 for 69 yards and Myles Gibbon went 3-of-5 for a team best 84 yards. The Red Squad gained 163 yards passing and 131 on the ground for 294 yards of total offense.
Qudarius Ford, Darrius Morrow and Andrew Philon all shared team-high honors for the Red squad with five tackles each. Justin Walker added four tackles and Cordivido Grive, Desmond LaVelle and Pat Moore all adding three tackles each. Moore would have a game-high of 1.5 tackles for loss.
Jake Johnson lead the team with six tackles and added an interception on the Red Squad’s first snap of the game. Dylan Hutto added five tackles with Davin Hawkins and Dionte McDuffy both added four tackles each. Logan Bennett, Jonathan Cameron, Robert Terrell, Charles Watson and McGaskin all added three tackles each. Logan Bennett would spend lots of time on the sidelines before leaving before the end of the game due to a possible concussion.
“We talked and bickered back and forth all week,” said C.J. Bennett. “It’s kind of fun going against each other and putting the pads on for real. In practice, they [the coaches] always want to stop you. It was a friendly game, I thought everyone played well, and the Blue team came out on top. I think the offense is coming along great, as you saw here we are capable of some long drives and getting that ball moving. If we take care of the ball, I think we have big things ahead of us.”
“I thought we did well, we’ve come a long way since the first practice of the spring,” said Jake Johnson after the game. “But we still have leaps and bounds to get better. I was impressed with a lot of the guys, we were mixed and matched but we all showed great ability out there.”
Coach Jones spoke after the game. “We kept both teams handcuffed, the defense could run a couple of fronts, the offense could only run so many plays,” Jones said. “We achieved what we wanted to, I don’t think anyone was hurt badly. Our evaluations through the first 14 practices were really what it was all about, we know where we are.”
When asked about the possible tying touchdown for the Red Squad late in the game, coach Jones answered, “It looked like he got stripped. That’s a lesson on both sides of the ball. On offense, securing the ball all the way across the goal line is paramount, and defensively to never give up. That was a great play to never give up.”
Defensive Coordinator Bill Clark was pleased with the defense in the game. “We didn’t blitz and we were in man coverage all day. We didn’t want to show anything.” With just over five months until the first game, they didn’t want to give anything away to upcoming opponents.
With spring practice over, we now have to wait for fall camp to begin and football season to arrive. South Alabama will open the 2012 season, their first playing a full FBS schedule and playing a full Sun Belt schedule, when they host Texas-San Antonio on Thursday night on August 30th.
Jags Prepare For The Red & Blue Game On Saturday
On Thursday the Jags had to move their practice indoors due to impending thunderstorms moving into the area. Their final practice before the Red & Blue Spring Game.
Their practice in Jaguar Gym lasted about 45 minutes in total. It began with special teams drills in helmets and shorts. They then broke into teams to go through scripts for the game on Saturday.
Head coach Joey Jones spoke after the short practice in Jaguar Gym. “I think the concerns we had going into the spring were the offensive line and the secondary,” he said. “I feel really good about our first offensive line. Now we have to continue to develop depth there. The secondary is another area where I feel like we have gotten better, and we’ve got a couple more guys coming in this summer who might be able to help us there too.”
“The three things we concentrated on this spring, and will continue to work on, were leadership, discipline and toughness,” Coach Jones continued. “We’ve been preaching all spring that you don’t always wins games, you lose games. Teams that make mistakes end up losing games. We became a more disciplined team this spring, and I think we have developed some leadership on this football team. You see it in the locker room, in the weight room and on the field, and we’re real proud of that. I think we’ve been a pretty tough team, and will continue to do that. Overall, as a team, there was so much more focus.”
Coach Jones previewed the Saturday’s game by saying, “It’s going to be a short game, the clock will be running. It will probably be about half a game with the amount of plays we run.”
Coach Jones also said that fans will only see about 25% of the offense because they will be holding out the rest for the fall.
On the Friday morning edition of the Morning Sportsdrive, Coach Jones spoke with Lee Shirvanian and Mark Heim about his team. Coach Jones said that C.J. Bennett has, so far, nailed down the starting position at quarterback with Trey Fetner moving up to the #2 spot. The first-team offense is farther along in their progression than he anticipated, but the gap between the first- and second-team offense is quite noticable. But he had compliments about lots of Jaguars from the spring.
The parking lot will open at 10am and gates will open at 1pm and both will be free and open to the public. Beginning at 11am the University of South Alabama College of Medicine will hold its annual Gumbo & Chili Showdown in the East parking lot with admission for the event being $10.
Seating will be available on the West stands as well as both end zones with limited concessions being sold in the West concourse only. Also in the West concourse the USA Ticket Office will be availabnle for anyone interested in purchasing season tickets and selecting their seats for the 2012 season. The USA Bookstore will be set up selling JagWear and Springdale Travel will have information available for travel packages through the “Runnin’ With the Jags”.
Following the game the fans will have a 30-minute session to go onto the field and get autographs from the Jaguar athletes and coaching staff.
As for the game, it will have 10-minute quarters with the first half having a regular game clock then in the second half will have a running clock with the quarters expanding to 12-minutes each.
Jags Return From Spring Break
Akeem Appleton looks the ball in for a catch during a spring scrimmage.
After a week off for spring break, the Jaguars returned for their final week of practice leading up to Saturdays annual Red-Blue spring football game.
After a week off, the Jaguars came with plenty of effort, but were lacking in execution.
They began practice with special teams working on punting. Next the offense and defense worked against each other by position. They then broke off into work with position coaches for about 40 minutes. Later they would come back together for another offense versus defense segment as they worked on inside plays. They also worked on skeleton passing drills and play-action passing drills.
In the final session, the team again worked on game-like situations by simulating two-minute drills. The defense kept the first and second team offense off of the scoreboard.
The first-team offense moved the ball into the red zone after C.J. Bennett threw completions to Jereme Jones and Bryant Lavender for a first down at the 19 yard line. Bennett would stop the clock by spiking the ball on first down but would not be able to score after three consecutive incompletions ended their drive.
Trey Fetner led the second-team offense by scrambling twice to pick up a first down and stopping the clock on the second by finding the sideline to step out of bounds. However the defense was not to be out done. Back to back sacks and a broken-up pass by Terrell Brigham would end the possession.
After practice coach Jones commented on what he saw. “Offensively, we came out and had a few missed assignments, we jumped offsides a couple of times. We were not quite as in sync as we were. It wasn’t a lack of effort or want to, it was just making some mental mistakes. Defensively, I thought we came out and had a pretty good practice today.”
“We are going to do a few fundamental things the first part of practice, then at the end we’re going to split them into their teams,” Jones continued. “Coaches have started talking smack to each other, and the players have here and there also. It will be a fun time, the culmination of spring practice, so we’ll give them the last 30 minutes to do that and get ready for the game on Saturday.”
They will practice once more on Thursday beginning at 6:30am at the Jaguar practice facility. The Red & Blue game at 2pm on Saturday, March 24 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium and will be free and open to the public with the Gumbo-Chili cook off during the morning.
Defense Stands Out In Second Scrimmage
Offensive Coordinator Robert Matthews calling plays during a spring scrimmage.
South Alabama hit the practice field for their second scrimmage of the spring on Thursday morning. Jake Johnson was able to participate after sitting out the first scrimmage with a fever and illness, but he was back to his usual form on Thursday.
The first score of the game came on the third series, the first by the second-team offense, starting at their own 2-yard line. Deonte McDuffy picked off a deflected pass and ran it back the 12 yards for the touchdown. Charles Watson picked off a pass in the second half. Then two plays later Maleki Harris picked off a pass and returned it 54 yards for the touchdown.
C.J. Bennett led the first scoring drive by the offense on the fifth possession of the scrimmage and the third overall for the first-team offense. Bennett would find freshman walk-on Terrance Timmons in the flat for a seven yard gain then Timmons would rush for another six yards for the first down. Demetre Baker then gained another first down after a pair of five yard rushes. On third-and-one, Timmons would come through with a nine yard run to move the chains again. Chapuseaux’s 45 yard field goal would cap off the 11-play 47 yard drive by the first team.
A couple drives later the first team offense returned to the field. Bennett would find Corey Besteda, for the longest play of the scrimmage, on a third-and-eight from their own 42 yard line for a 30 yard gain. Then two plays later he could complete a 20 yard pass to Corey Waldon to move the ball to the 2 yard line. On third down from the 3 yard line, Baker would punch the ball in for a touchdown.
Later in the scrimmage, Logan Rogers added a 3 yard touchdown pass later in the day. Also, Trey Fetner lead the second-team offense to two touchdowns on red zone drives at the end of the scrimmage. The first was to Waldon for 20 yards, then he ran a quarterback draw for 8 yards to score.
Deonte McDuffy and Maleki Harris returned interceptions for touchdowns. Charles Watson also picked off a pass on the day. Also defensively, they only allowed 142 yards on 69 carries for an average of just over 2 yards per attempt. Johnson lead the defense with seven tackles while Jesse Kelley added six and Terrell Brigham, Cordivido Grice and Davin Hawkings all added five each. Additionally Kelley racked up 3.5 tackles for loss. Jake Johnson and Ceasare Johnson both made two TFL’s while Pat Moore added 1.5 TFL’s.
On the offensive side of the ball, six Jaguar quarterbacks combined to go 18-of-27 for 180 yards while finishing with 322 yards in total offense in the scrimmage. First team quarterback C.J. Bennett lead the group by going 7-of-10 for 81 yards. Myles Gibbon went 3-of-3 for 56 yards and Logan Rogers went 4-of-4 for another 56 yards.
Corey Waldon lead the receivers with three catches for 44 yards. Akeem Appleton had one for 34 yards and Bryant Lavender also caught one for 14 yards.
Demetre Baker lead the rushing game with 32 yards followed by Terrance Timmons with 30 yards and J.J. Keels with 25 yards. Additionally Michel Chapuseaux made kicks from 45 and 37 yards in the first half of the scrimmage.
Coach Jones spoke after the scrimmage. “It was very similar to the last scrimmage,” he said. “When you look at the ones on offense and the ones on defense, they both look pretty good. They went back and forth a good bit. Offensively when you start getting down to the twos and threes, they didn’t move the ball very well. We just have to find more players. Once you get to the point where you’ve got two groups of guys who can move it you’re in good shape, but right now depth is an issue offensively, especially at the lineman position.”
“Discipline was one of the things we have focused on this spring,” Jones continued. “They ran a couple of sprints after practice for a turnover or two. We preach that if we stay away from mistakes, we have a chance to win ball games. But they have to learn to practice like that every day, and I think they are getting it a little bit. Concentration on that in the offseason will pay dividends this fall.”
Discipline was definitely visible on the practice field with only one flag on on the day – a false start late in the scrimmage.
“We’ve progressed,” Jones stated. “I’m proud of the players, they have really worked hard. The biggest thing is that they are watching film on their own, they are meeting on their own. That’s when you know you’ve got a team. We’re doing all those things right, so it is just a matter of sharpening things up on the field. We can always get better on the field, there is nobody who plays at a 100-percent level all the time. The challenge is to keep getting just a little bit better as we progress.”
As for Spring break, Coach Jones stated, “It’s a perfect time for a break. We’re a little banged up right now and they were a little tired this morning, but they came out ready to go. My challenge to them is to make sure that we don’t waste any time when we get back, we have to work those last three days and get something out of it.”
The Jags will return to the practice field on Tuesday, March 20 at 6:30 AM as the Jags will have a week off for spring break. When they return they will begin preparation for the Spring Game on Saturday, March 24.
Paul Bennett Participating In Troy University’s Pro Day
Paul Bennett dives into the end zone for a Jaguar Touchdown in 2010.
Former Jaguar Paul Bennett will be participating in Pro Day at Troy University on Friday March 9, 2012.
According to South Alabama’s records, Bennett only missed one game during his Jaguar career, in 2010. He ended his career with 18 catches for 226 yards and two touchdowns. However, his presence was felt by the opponents. His blocking was exceptional with several crushing blocks to seal off the perimeter for Jaguar running backs.
Bennett was chosen by his teammates to wear the honorary number 5 jersey in memory of Anthony Mostella who died after a motorcycle accident in June of 2010. The jersey is given to a graduating senior to works hard both on and off the field and, as Head Coach Joey Jones stated, “earns it.”
Jags Unveil Goal Line Offense In Tuesday Practice
Offensive lineman Drew Dearman signals pre-snap as the Jaguars work in Spring drills.
South Alabama hit the practice field at 6:30 AM on Tuesday morning for a workout in full pads. This was their last practice before their scrimmage set for Thursday at the Jaguar Practice Facility.
During part of the practice session, the players went through individual workouts and drills with position coaches. The linebackers worked with the defensive line against the offensive line and running backs. The linebackers worked on angle tackles and covering running backs out of the backfield. While they were working the receivers and defensive backs worked against each other on pass routes and skeleton passing drills.
During the team portion of the practice, the offense worked on first down plays, third-and-long situations and for the first time this spring, they used their goal line package.
Both the first and second team offenses ran four plays inside the red zone and four more on the goal line. This was during a 15-minute session during the team session of the practice.
Brendt Bedsole said mentioned two players who have caught his and Head Coach Joey Jones’ eye this spring as big surprises. The first he mentioned was Terrance Timmons, a walk-on from Davidson High School. Timmons was not highly recruited out of high school, possbily because of this size. He is only listed as being 5’7″ and weighing 175-lbs, but this works well at running back.
Bedsole said that Coach Riley from Davidson High School has lots of praise for Timmons’ work ethic and ability. He actually told the coaches that he would not be surprised if Timmons worked his way up to being a captain before he leaves the program. Bedsole mentioned that Timmons could see lots of playing time.
Another player mentioned was Chris May at left tackle, but was not able to go as much in depth about him as Timmons. May is listed as being 6’4″, 280-lb freshman.
Bedsole did mention that C.J. Bennett did well as did Trey Fetner at quarterback. He also mentioned that they have some big targets at tight end in JUCO transfer Wes Saxton and Greg Hollinger, who has moved from wide receiver to tight end this season. Saxton and Hollinger will create tough match-ups on linebackers this season.
“The kids came to work today,” said Coach Jones. “I thought we got better as a team. My challenge to them is, is everybody on the team getting better? You can certainly watch the film and find several guys that didn’t, but as a unit I thought we improved and that it was a good, spirited practice. We have to beat people on our schedule right now, we can’t wait until August to do it. We have to take advantage of every minute that we can to get better, and I think they did that today.”
“I don’t really care who won or lost, it’s just a matter of the physical part of it,” Coach Jones continued. “lining up two yards out from the goal line and seeing who is going to knock who back. That’s really what it boils down to on the goal line, it’s about attitude at that point when you get down there. We just ran some base plays offensively because we wanted to see who would step in there and get their nose bloody.”
As mentioned above, the Jaguars will have a scrimmage on Thursday morning before the players have a week off for spring break. The scrimmage will get underway around 6:45 AM and will run through around 8:30 AM. It will be around 120 to 140 play scrimmage and will not be controlled as much as a fall scrimmage. But it will have situational plays as well.
“It will be very similar to the first one really, except we’re going to infuse special teams into the scrimmage, instead of going for a while and then running a certain special team, if it’s fourth down we’re going to punt or kick a field goal,” Coach Jones said previewing the Thursday scrimmage. “As they score, we will kick off after that. We want to get them thinking it’s like a game. It’s not going to be exact game situations, but as we progress we’re trying to do that more.”