Monday press conference for October 24, 2011
Quarterback C.J. Bennett speaking with coaches on a headset.
Jaguar head football coach Joey Jones with players Paul Bennett and Alex Page met with the media on Monday. They looked back on the Jaguars loss to Georgia State and previewed their upcoming game against Henderson State on Saturday.
Coach Jones opened the press conference with his opening statements. The always humble Coach Jones first congratulated Georgia State on their hard fought win and also mentioned that the Jaguars have been a marked team by their opponents. The then began to reflect on the game in the Georgia Dome.
“What I’d like to do is congratulate Georgia State on a big win for their program. It seems like now, and I don’t know why, that we are the circled team on a lot people’s schedules. We’ve had a lot of success over the last two years, and every coach I’ve talked to after the game says that they have circled our name. I guess we’re the new upstart program that has done fairly well.”
“I felt like we played hard, when you look at the film we played extremely hard. I thought we were focused, but when you look at the game there were four times we got inside the 10-yard line and didn’t score and two times we gave up big plays on defense. If you take those plays out the game is different, but unfortunately you have to count those six plays. It wasn’t a matter that our kids weren’t ready to play, there’s no doubt in my mind that they were. We just had a few critical errors that can cost you games.”
Coach Jones also commented on how the special teams play has improved over the course of the first seven games of the season. “I think our special teams have improved, they have become a real plus for our program. Early in the year I thought we were deficient there, especially the first ball game, and have gradually got better as the season has gone on. We were only a couple of things away from making every goal we have.”
“Henderson State is a team averaging 30 points a game, they are very good offensively and sound defensively. They run the spread and throw it all over the field. It seems like I’ve got up in front of the players and talked ad nauseam over the last three years about that teams that can beat you. When you look at a team like Henderson State, there is no doubt that they can, they are good enough, are well-coached and do a good job. They are really efficient offensively, so we have to be ready to play.”
“What we have done is focus on us and what we need to do regardless of the competition. One of the things we talked to the team about yesterday is that we should never focus on a team and try to play at their level. We need to play at our best level at all times, whether it’s N.C. State or anybody else. We need to play at the highest level possible, that’s the challenge for our team.”
Coach Jones then elaborated on what Henderson State does well as a team. “They really throw the ball very well. They throw a lot of quick passes where you can hardly get to the quarterback. He takes the snap and gets rid of it in about a second-and-a-half, it’s a lot of short passes and timing patterns. They are very efficient in what they do offensively.”
“Defensively what they are is a very sound football team. They don’t do a lot, whereas a lot of teams we have played this year have been multiple in their fronts and used slants, blitzes and different things. This team is more fundamental and just going to play good, well-coached football.”
“We played them last year and they have a lot of people back. I think they have 16 returning starters from last year’s team, and they gave us a game at the end last year, came back and made a run. Knowing their personnel, we feel better and more prepared playing them.”
Answering a question about the difference in offensive production from last year to this year, Coach Jones said. “I think it’s a combination that we are playing better teams this year, that’s always a factor, and the turnovers. The other night C.J. gets credited with four interceptions, but only one of them was him. Two were dropped balls that we tipped up and gave to the defense and the other one somebody hit his arm when he threw it and the ball went straight up in the air. Really we had one bad play the whole game.”
“I don’t know how we could have prevented them other than catching the ball, but turnovers have plagued this team for sure. Especially in some of the bigger games. Coaches can sit up here and talk about it all the time, but when you have five turnovers you’re just not going to win.”
“But in a lot of ways I think we are better. Last year we had T.J. Glover, who could make a big play for us when we needed one, and I think that area has hurt us as well.”
When asked about possible personnel changes this week coach Jones said, “We’re looking at some things and some different moves, but of course I’m going to keep that to myself at this point.”
He then answered a question about the Jags preparation for Henderson State’s offense with a new quarterback. “They are real similar. If you look at them they do the same things. I don’t think they look much different at all except that they have a new body at quarterback. He’s good, and a big kid – 6-2, 6-3 and over 200 pounds — and has a good arm. They don’t look much different when you look at them last year and this year. They might have averaged a few more points per game last year, maybe a touchdown more per game, but they are still very effective.”
When asked if the Jags will be able to dictate this weekend’s game on offense Coach Jones answered. “We’d like to hope so, that’s our goal every game. That’s who we are as an offensive team. We’re going to start with the run first, we feel like we’ll have some chances there, but we also have to be able to throw it. One thing we need to do a little bit more is throw the ball on run downs to help so that the other defense can’t load up on us. We’ve talked about that as a staff, we’ve got to mix that up a little bit to help us as well.”
Paul Bennett was next up speaking with the media. He was asked about areas of improvement. His answer was short and to the point. “We’re just going to keep practicing and doing what we’ve been doing. We just have to make it work this time.”
Another question was about the team’s state of mind after the Georgia State loss. “We hate to lose. We’ve been brought up here hating to lose. Everyone’s expectations are still high. We’re not going to conform to what everyone else wants us to, we have our own high expectations. We’re just going to keep practicing how we’ve been practicing, and just work out the kinks.”
Defensive end Alex Page was next and answered the same questions. On areas of improvement, “We have a rotation defensively, and it seems to have been effective so far. We’re just going to continue to practice and improve.”
On the team’s state of mind after the GSU loss. “It’s in the back of your mind, having suffered the loss. But as a player, you have to put it past you and keep practicing and preparing for the next game no matter how tough the loss was. That’s what we’re going to do this week.”
Some fans have been vocal online talking about personnel change, primarily at the quarterback position. Which I’m quite sure the personnel question was indirectly meant to address.
The quarterback position is the position that receives the most scruitnity when fans are a bit disgruntled. C.J. Bennett has thrown 13 interceptions to 6 touchdowns this season.
Should Myles Gibbon be given a chance? I don’t have access to all of the game film, but if what Coach Jones says is correct, then you cannot fault Bennett completely for all of those interceptions. They have played against very good opponents and the receivers have had chances to pull down some passes but couldn’t. But at what point to do try someone else to see if that sparks the team or even sparks the other player to work harder and make better decisions?
Go Jags.
Coach Joey Jones Show Recap 2011-10-18
The Jaguar Defense lines up against UT-Martin.
Along with Lee Shirvanian and Coach Joey Jones are joined by secondary coach Duwan Walker at Baumhower’s Restaurant on Airport Boulevard in Mobile Alabama.
Coach Jones, talking about Coach Walker, mentioned that Coach Walker has had to deal with quite a bit of turnover in the secondary in the two and a half years he has been at South Alabama. But has done a great job with it and is well liked and respected on the team.
Coach Walker mentioned that the defense did a good job keeping to their game plan. They kept the offense off balance early, did not allow many “home run balls” execept for one big play early. They also mentioned that Gabe Loper is coming along at an good rate in place of Damond Smith. Coach Walker said they had a really good problem in that they were trying to get him on the field, but it’s unfortunate that the Smith situation happened to get him on the field though. This is the classic case for the backup where you always have to be ready to play.
In the Fuego who’s hot segment coach Jones mentioned Gabe Loper defensively for stepped up in a situation where they weren’t sure how he would react, but thought he would play well, and he exceeded their expectation and had a great game. Offensively Paul Bennett and Kevin Helms were mentioned. Coach Jones said that their blocking has been outstanding lately. They are very physical like the rest of the team, but these two are on an extra level.
The Orthopedic Group injury update segment only had one questionable player. Melvin Meggs has a rolled ankle and will be evaluated the rest of the week to see how he is leading up to game time.
They mentioned that Jereme Jones is a fearless punt returner and it’s not from the coaches, he has the choice to fair catch they said. Coach Jones said that the rule of thumb on a punt is to put your heels on the 10 yard line and if you have to backpedal, let it go. Also, if there is any doubt let it go.
FIU and Arkansas State play tonight on tv. May not be much interest right now, but Coach Jones said that he watches whenever he has a chance to see how the Jags match up with future opponents.
A caller asked about Ameriol Finley and how he is coming along. They said he is a true freshmen with a great attitude and that he is a great athlete. He can play multiple positions and has played cornerback in a game recently for the Jags. Right now he is getting work at multiple positions and is a bit of a utility player for them right now.
BJ Scott brings alot to the table for the Jags. Mentally, he brings a sense of urgency to the team. He teaches kids how to prepare and how to watch film. The are little things that make such a big difference at this level.
Coach Jones said he has noticed that Scott has become a vocal leader on the team recently which has made a difference. Lee asked if they have considered using him on offense like he was used at Vigor. Coach Jones said he has thought about it often but jokingly he said the defensive coaches frown when he brings that up.
Turning towards Georgia State, they said that they are averaging around 16,000 for their home games, but the Georgia Dome seats somewhere over 70,000. The team isn’t doing so well are are currently 1-5 so far. Lee asked what Coach Jones sees in game film that is going on with their team. Coach Jones said that looking at the tape you can’t really tell what’s going on, they have some really good players and some really good coaches. Sometimes there are internal problems that can cause strife, but Coach Jones does not know if this is what is going on or not. He said that they are like a wounded dog, you never know when they are going to jump up and bite you, so you have to be prepared and not dismiss them because of their 1-5 record.
Lee asked if we recruit against Georgia State. Coach Jones said that we do, we recruit against them and we recruit pretty much the entire state of Georgia. Lots of recruits or potential recruits will be at the game to see who wins. It will be a measuring stick game for sure since both programs are pretty close in age. The state of Georgia has plenty of good players.
After a story by Coach Jones about the worst weather game he has ever played or coached in, Lee asked about conserving timeouts and his strategy with them. Coach Jones said that ideally you want to save them towards the end of a half, but he said that you just don’t want to “lose anything on a drive” which I believe he was indicating momentum. If it’s 3rd and 1 and you have an issue, you don’t want to make it 3rd and 6 if you have too many people or something, so in that case you may want to use a time out to keep the drive going and get that first down.
Asking about communication problems that the Jags had against UT-San Antonio in a dome, Lee asked how they can overcome that. Coach Jones answered that you overcome it by staying calm and poised. You can’t hear the snap count, so you have to go on ball movement and that the calm and composure is especially needed on the offense and offensive line to look at the ball and not to move until the ball is snapped.
Other than that, potential problems for players playing in a dome is the ceiling and lights. If you are not used to it, you can lose sight of the ball. What they did for the walk through before the UTSA game was to take some time and kick some punts so the returners can see what it’s like and get comfortable with it. They also had the quarterbacks throw some high, deep passes so the receivers and defensive backs could get comfortable looking for the ball as well. Coach Jones said that J.J. Keels had an instance where he lost the ball on a wheel route against UTSA.
Lee mentioned that they have three quarterbacks that they play. Coach Walker said that one of their quarterbacks, Little, gave us problems last year because he’s throws the ball very well but has a sternum problem. They have another one that runs the ball very well and can pose problems running. The third quarterback is a bit of a mixture of the other two so he can throw pretty well and also tuck it and run.
The final question was from a caller about the number of players that they will have next year. Coach Jones said they will have 85 scholarship players and will have a total of 130 players on the team.
USA Sports Marketing’s Lloyd came on to talk about the next home game on October 29th, which is just before halloween. This will be the third year of “trunk or treat” for the kids. He urged the fan to decorate for this and bring candy for the kids. They are doing a first, second and third again this year for the best decorated tailgating spot. But the biggest announcement is that the Jags are going to wear their all blue uniforms for the first time versus Henderson State for a “blue out.”
Coach Jones commended the fans for the environment for the homecoming game. They had the second largest crowd at Ladd-Peebles Stadium for a game in the programs history. Coach Jones also mentioned that the Jaguar Prowl was great.
Monday press conference previewing Georgia State
Jaguars taking the field vs UT-Martin
Anton Graphenreed joined head coach Joey Jones for Monday’s press conference at the University of South Alabama Football Fieldhouse.
Coach Jones opened the press conference with the following statement reflecting back on the Jags win over UT-Martin. “I thought our kids were extremely ready to play. They came out from the first play mentally, physically and emotionally ready to go. When you do that you’ve got a chance, and that was our challenge to them the last two weeks. We played a really good football team, in the first half I think our offense had it 48 plays and their offense had it 20 plays. We did all we could do to keep it away from their offense. Our defense came out and played great, and our offense kept it away from them in the first half, which was the difference in the half. We continued that in the third quarter and played really well, but in the fourth quarter their offense showed what it can do. They have a really good offense and scored 17 points in the quarter to make it a real close game there at the end.”
“I was real proud of our guys, I thought we played the game very well. We could’ve wrapped it up a little better, but as far as the way we played, I was extremely proud of that.”
Coach Jones commented on the homecoming crowd that was present for the game on Saturday. “It was a great crowd. One of the most exciting parts was getting off the bus when we went to the Jaguar Prowl, it’s probably the biggest crowd we have had for that since I’ve been here. They [the players] were excited, and the fans were very excited. The one thing our kids continue to do , they’re shaking hands and hugging little girls and having a good time walking through, it’s been a great tradition for us that I think will only get better and better as time goes on.”
When asked how well the defense played in the first three quarters, coach Jones answered with the following statement. “I think the whole team played well. The defense played real well, we stopped what they did well running the football, and that’s where you start trying to stop an offense. The stretch play — which is an outside running play — we did a great job of stopping that, and that was the best play they had in their offense. When they didn’t have that anymore, they had to resort to something else which I think helped. And again, offensively, keeping the ball away from them, running the clock, getting the third-and-twos and making it to move the ball as methodically down the field as possible; that’s the kind of team we are. And we didn’t have any turnovers. If we don’t have any, we have a chance to play with anybody.”
Coach Jones then began talking about this weekend’s contest in Atlanta against Georgia State. “As far as Georgia State, it all starts with the head coach. Bill Curry is a great football coach and a great man. They’re putting a program together like we are and have recruited some really good, athletic players. I have all the respect in the world for their coaching staff.”
“Offensively, quarterback Drew Little really makes them go. He gave us a hard time last year, completing a lot of passes. He’s a big guy, a Roethlisberger-type who is 6-foot-4, 250 pounds and can really deliver the ball. They’ve got two more quarterbacks that they’ve rotated into games, so you really don’t know what to prepare for other than to prepare for all of them. I think they are more athletic than they were on defense last year, they’ve done a good job recruiting real tall, rangy athletic guys. They run a lot of different looks, they’re real hard to prepare for from a standpoint of what we’re going to do so we have to cut our game plan down some offensively to be able to attack all the looks they have.”
Coach Jones was then asked what Georgia State does offensively that might concern him. “The biggest thing is the multiplicity of it, they have Kelton Hill who is a great runner and a good thrower, Drew Little is more of a thrower and not a runner, then you’ve got Schlechter, who is a combination of the two. The difficulty is being able to have plans when those guys come in the game, and our guys realizing when they come in and making adjustments accordingly.”
Another question asked about playing in a domed stadium again, the Jags won their previous experience in a dome against UT-San Antonio in double overtime. “That was a great atmosphere we played in at San Antonio. Our kids liked it, they really did. It was a little difficult to communicate with the crowd as loud as it was, but the kids really liked the atmosphere. I think they are very excited about going to the Georgia Dome, a lot of them haven’t been there so it will be the first time for most of them playing in the dome. It’s a great place and it’s their Homecoming so I would think they have a good crowd there as well.”
Jaguar cornerback Anton Graphenreed commented on the defensive performance in the first half against the Skyhawks. He said that they “We pretty much just stuck to what we practiced all week. I think we held on to our fundamentals a lot longer this game, especially in the first half. Everything was just dominant from the snap of the ball. I just wish we could have come out in the fourth quarter and put the nail in the coffin, but that’s something that we just have to work on and stay on each other about not letting up because no one is going to let up on us.”
Graphenreed also mentioned that this weekends game will be a bit of a homecoming for him being from Georgia. Lots of his family and friends will be there for the game. He also has experience in the Georgia Dome twice in high school.
He also said that last years game was similar to the last weekends game against UT-Martin. He said that the Jags jumped out early but didn’t finish well. He wants to make sure that they go out and not let up this weekend.
Jags hold on to 33-30 homecoming victory over UT-Martin
One of several punishing runs by Kendall Houston vs Tennessee-Martin.
South Alabama held on after a late charge by the UT-Martin Skyhawks to win 33-30. Although, their rally was aided by some questionable calls down the stretch by the officials.
South Alabama again did not play a complete game. They came out with an opening drive score but would continue to play well in the first three quarters. However the fourth quarter would see the Skyhawks put up 17 unanswered points.
The first half was all Jaguars statistically. They rolled up 239 yards to only 64 for the Skyhawks and possession the ball for over 21 minutes.
“Our guys were really physically and mentally ready to play, and I thought we had a great game plan. The coaching staff did a great job offensively, defensively and special teams,” said coach Jones. “We played really good football for three quarters. Had we not done that, we would have lost the ball game. There were a lot of positives in this game, so I was real proud of the way we came out ready to play. When we are ready to play, we’re a good football team.”
Coach Jones continued by talking about the Skyhawks. “That is a really good football team. After the first three quarters, people watching might not have thought so because we were playing so well. But you saw what they could do in the fourth quarter. They are very well-coached and they never quit.”
Stats wise, South Alabama and UT-Martin both had 325 yards of total offense. The Jags picked up 197 yards on the ground while adding 179 yards passing. The Skyhawks rushed for 131 yards and threw for 211 for their total.
The Jags dominated the time of possession statistic with 38:02 of possession time to UT-Martin’s 21:58. The Jags held the ball for 11:48 seconds in the second quarter alone.
Kendall Houston lead all rusher with 85 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns. Demetre Baker added 51 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown. While C.J. Bennett went 12-of-19 for 179 yards and a touchdown and zero interceptions.
Corey Besteda had three catches for 64 yards and the one touchdown through the air. Lamontis Gardner added 40 yards on three catches and Kevin Helms added 44 yards on two receptions.
Scott Garber punted seven times for an average of 43.4 yards per punt with one spectacular 64 yard punt. Jordan Means added two field goals of 21 and 32 yards but did have a PAT blocked.
Gabe Loper picked off a pass by Derek Carr from a deflection and returned it 27 yards for the Jags.
South Alabama had two good drives that consumed a fair amount of time off of the clock in the second quarter for points. The first was a nine play, 80 yard drive for a touchdown consuming 5:05 off of the clock. Their next possession was a 12 play 62 yard drive down to the UT-Martin 4 yard line but the Jags would have to settle for a field goal as time expired. It spanned 4:31.
In the third quarter, the Jags would capitalize on a turnover for a touchdown. After Gabe Loper intercepted the ball and returned it 27 yards, Kendall Houston would take the next play 16 yards and into the end zone.
UT-Martin would respond with an 80 yard drive in nine plays for a touchdown to cut the Jaguar lead to 10 points at 23-13 with 6:02 left in the third quarter.
The Jags would respond with a two play 42 yard touchdown drive. The drive would begin with a 40 yard completion from Bennett to Besteda to get to the UT-Martin two yard line. Then two plays later Kendall Houston would pick up the one yard needed for the touchdown to make it 30-13 with 5:07 left in the third quarter.
On UT-Martin’s ensuing possession, Alex Paige would force a fumble by Tevi Barksdale which he would recover at the Skyhawk 22 yard line. However the Jags were not able to put the ball in the end zone, but settled for a 32 yard field goal to extend their lead to 33-13 with 1:22 left in the third quarter.
UT-Martin would go three and out on their next possession as would the Jaguars in their possession after that.
UT-Martin would then begin their rally with a five play 40 yard drive to the South Alabama 21 yard line but would have to settle for a field goal.
The Jags would get the ball with 12:22 left in the game and would only manage one first down and use up 3:49 off of the clock before having to punt.
The Skyhawks would put together a 13 play, 87 yard drive in 4:39 to further cut into the Jaguar lead, 33-23 with 3:54 left in the game.
South Alabama would recover an onsides kick but keeping the ball on the ground with Kendall Houston would only get them six yards in three tries before having to punt. This gave the Skyhawks the ball with 2:07 left in the game.
UT-Martin would put together an 8 play 74 yard drive for a touchdown in 1:45. Another onsides kick would be recovered by the Jaguars effectively sealing the game with 22 seconds left. One kneel from the victory position would put the game to rest with the final score of 33-30.
South Alabama’s next game is their final road game of the 2011 season. The Jags will kick off against Georgia State in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia at 2pm central time with pregame coverage beginning on WNSP 105.5 FM at 1:30pm CT.
Jags end two game skid with 30-27 double-overtime victory
Coach Jones looks on as Demetre Baker looks to the sideline before blocking for a field goal attempt.
South Alabama went on the road for their third consecutive game this season and came away with a 30-27 double overtime victory over Texas-San Antonio to end their two game losing skid.
The Jags got on the board early after forcing UTSA to punt on their first series. Starting at their own 22 for their first drive, C.J. Bennett and Lamontis Gardner would spark the offense with a 35 yard pass. Then the Jags would methodically continue marching until Kendall Houston would put the ball in the end zone from the one yard line to cap off a 12 play, 78 yard drive that spanned 7:24 on the clock.
The Roadrunners would answer back on their next possession. After driving 25 yards out to mid field as the first quarter ended, they would open the second quarter with a 50 yard pass from Soza to Okotcha to tie the game at 7 each.
Again sparked by big offensive plays, the jaguars would respond on their ensuing possession. Bennett would find Gardner again for 11 yards to start the drive. Then would be forced to burn a time out when the play clock was running down. Coming out of the time out, Bennett would hit Kevin Helms for a 32 yard gain to go from the Jag 33 yard line to the 35 of UTSA. From there, the jags would have to settle for a 48 yard field goal by Jordan Means to retake the lead 10-7.
Not to be outdone, UTSA would mount their own drive but would stall at the Jaguar 31 yard line and also settle for a 48 yard field goal to tie the game again at 10 apiece.
The Jags next possession would start at their own 20 yard line and would drive out to the 43 before Kendall Houston would be hit in the backfield and fumbled the ball which would be recovered by UTSA at their own 48 yard line. Soza would connect with Kam Jones for 51 yards to the USA 1 yard line. Okotcha would take it in on the next play to take the lead over the Jaguars 17-10 with 2:54 left in the first half.
On the kickoff, Jereme Jones would find a seam and return it 55 yards to the UTSA 26 yard line before being forced out of bounds. However the defender would be flagged for a personal foul for a half-the-distance penalty to start the Jags at the UTSA 13 yard line. However the Jags offense never found forward gear. Houston would lose a yard on first down. Then an incomplete pass to Corey Waldon would bring up third and 11 going into the Roadrunner student section.
Brian Krauskopf would be flagged for a false start putting the Jags facing 3rd and 16 from the UTSA 19 yard line. After a time out, Bennett would float a lob pass towards the end zone which would be intercepted by UTSA ending the Jags hopes of tying the game before half time.
After running a few plays, the Roadrunners allowed the clock to run down and go into halftime with a 17-10 lead.
South Alabama would receive to open the second half and start at their 30 yard line. Houston would rush for no gain and five yards on back-to-back rushes to open the series. Then facing 3rd and 5, the Jags would burn their first time out of the second half with 13:33 left in the 3rd quarter when the play clock was running down again. Following the time out, Krauskopf would be flagged for another false start backing them up to the 30 and face a 3rd and 10. Bennett would find Gardner for six yards and would be forced to punt.
The Jags defense would hold the roadrunners to a three and out and force a punt. USA would be flagged for holding after the punt and would start their possession on their own 24 yard line. After a one yard run by J.J. Keels, Bennett would complete back to back passes. The first to Bryant Lavender for 17 yards then to Gardner for 18 yards to get into UTSA territory.
Keels would rush for no gain, then Bennett would be flagged for intentional grounding even though he was hit as he was trying to deliver the ball. After the 11 yard loss and loss of down, the Jags faced 3rd and 21 at their own 49 yard line. But Bennett would find Jereme Jones for 30 yards to get the first down at the UTSA 21 yard line. Demetre Baker would take it in from there to tie the game at 17 each with 8:09 left in the third quarter.
UTSA would start from their own 20 yard line after the kickoff. They would move down the field fueled by key long plays. The first was on 3rd down for 21 yards and a 16 yard pass on 4th and one at the Jaguar 46 yard line. However the defense would come up big and force a Soza fumble at the Jaguar 10 yard line which was recovered by Charles Harris.
Houston would end the quarter with three consecutive rushes for 6, 8 and 5 yards respectively.
As the drive continued to begin the 4th quarter, the Jags would again have to burn a time out when the play clock was running down with 13:20 left in regulation. Eventually the UTSA defense would hold and force a Scott Garber punt which would be downed at the 1 yard line.
The Roadrunners would move the ball out to the 25 yard line before a mishap on the snap would occur and be recovered by Soza back at the 3 yard line to face a 3rd and 32. A six yard pass would give the punter a little breathing room. Jereme Jones would field the punt at the UTSA 48 yard line.
Bennett would run for 10 yards and a first down to start the drive, but would then stopeed and forced to punt at the UTSA 44 yard line.
With 4:18 left in the game and UTSA in possession of the ball at their own 24 yard line, they began running the ball and the clock to set up a game winning score. Soza would start the drive with a 9 yard pass. Then Okotcha would run for eight yards and a first down. Soza would thrown on first down again, this time for five yards to their won 46 yard line. Then UTSA would rush four consecutive times to move the ball and continue winding the clock. Okotcha would go for five yards. Then Harrison for 18 to the USA 31 yard line but would go out of bounds to stop the clock.
Then Kam Jones for four more yards and again go out of bounds. Okotcha would rush for 6 yards and a first down to the USA 21. Kam Jones would try to throw the ball on first down but Gabe Loper, filling in for suspended Damond Smith, would be flagged for pass interference putting the ball on the USA 6 yard line with 1:12 left in the game.
Soza would be caught for a loss of 6 yards to the 12 yard line by Jake Johnson. Okotcha would rush on the right side for three yards to the 9 yard line. UTSA would take a time out with 3 seconds left on the clock to attempt a game-winning field goal. Coach Jones would take the Jags final time out to try to ice the kicker.
The 26 yard field goal attempt would be blocked by Randon Carnathan sending the game to overtime for the first time in Jaguar history.
USA would get the ball first to start overtime and would keep it on the ground. Baker would rush for 10, 2 and 12 yards to get the ball to the 1 yard line. Ellis Hill would take it in on the next play and Jordan Means would add the PAT to take the 24-17 lead.
UTSA’s ensuing possession would start with a false start. But Soza would hit Kam Jones for a 30 yard touchdown pass and add the PAT to tie the game at 24 and go into the second overtime.
UTSA would have the ball first and Okotcha would be dropped for a loss by Jake Johnson on the first play. Soza would rush for one yard then throw and incomplete pass as he was hurried by Montavious Williams. Ianno would kick a 43 yard field goal to take a 27-24 lead.
Demetre Baker would scamper 25 yards on the first play of the Jaguars possession to score the game winning touchdown for the final score of 30-27.
UTSA would outgain the Jags overall 409-351 and through the air 263-196. But the Jags would outgain them on the ground 175-146.
Demetre Baker would lead all rushers with 88 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns. Houston would gain 74 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown. Soza would be the leading rusher for UTSA with 70 yards on 15 carries.
C.J. Bennett went 11-of-17 for 176 yards and one interception while Soza was 15-of-22 for 263 yards and two touchdowns. UTSA’s Kam Jones would lead all receivers with 103 yards on five catches with a touchdown. Lamontis Gardner would lead the Jags with 70 yards on four catches.
UTSA held the ball longer, 33:51 to the Jags 26:09.
After the game Coach Jones had this to say. “We have a fighting spirit about us. It looked kind of bleak there for a minute when they had the ball down on the five-yard line. But we rushed through and sacked the quarterback and we block a kick, so they never quit. It was a big win for our program. I’m just so proud of them for fighting. We lost two games on the road, and to have another road game right behind them and to come back and win was real big for us.”
“I want to congratulate UTSA. I thought they came out and played a tremendous game — it was a big game for them,” Coach Jones also stated. “The crowd was into it; it was that typical home atmosphere. They had a great game plan and great coaching, and probably deserved to win the game in some ways. But on the other side of it, we said at halftime we were not going to quit.”
“We came prepared and had a good game plan. Good things happen when you fight your tail off,” said running back Demetre Baker. “Their defense was big and solid. I didn’t think they were very fast sideline-to-sideline, but they were much bigger physically.”
Linebacker Jake Johnson spoke highly of the roadrunners. “For a first-year program, they are a heck of a team. They had some great players and had a good game plan against us. I’m glad we came out on top. We had a few mistakes here and there, but that is all correctable. I’m just glad we got out of Texas with a win.”
South Alabama returns to Mobile for their first home game in five weeks when they host Tennessee-Martin for homecoming. The game will kick off at 2:30pm, earlier than normal, since it will be aired live on UTV44, Comcast Sports Southeast and nationally on ESPN3.com.
Jags travel without starting CB
Released yesterday, South Alabama has indefinitely suspended starting cornerback Damond Smith. When contacted for more information, Coach Joey Jones only confirmed that Damond Smith was indefinitely suspended and had no further comment about the situation.
When the Jags left Mobile yesterday, Smith was not with the team. On the depth chart, Eddy Cabrera is next in line to replace the 6′, 185 pound Junior. The secondary is deeper at Safety and could see someone move over to fill in at corner. If the Jaguars come out and get a big lead, I would look for Coach Clark and Coach Jones to try a few players at corner to find a good fit as Smith’s replacement.
University of Texas-San Antonio preview
The Jaguar Offense lining up against the Lamar defense.
UTSA is 2-3 on the season and is lead by former University of Miami head coach Larry Coker who was hired on March 6, 2009. He has been named National Coach of the Year twice. He posted a 60-15 record at Miami in his six seasons there. He won his first 24 games there and the first since Walter Camp in 1888-1889. He also led the Hurricanes to the 2001 National Championship in his first season and only the second coach in NCAA history to do so.
Through five games UTSA has outscored their opponents 135-101 or an average of 27-20.2. In first downs, they are fairly even with 105 for the season with a slight majority of them coming from the passing game with 52 with another 41 on the ground and 12 through penalties. While defensively they have allowed 74 first downs with 46 coming through the air and only 21 on the ground and a mere 7 by penalty.
Yardage wise they are still fairly balanced with 760 yards on the ground for the season so far. They have gained a total of 904 yards but lost 144 yards to attain that total. They have rushed 176 times for an average of 4.3 yards per rush and an average of 152 yards per game and 9 touchdowns.
Defensively they have held opponents to a total yards rushing gained of 606 yards but 156 yards lost brings that total down to 450 yards on the season. Opponents have rushed 157 times for a rushing average of 2.9 yards per carry and only 90 yards per game and 5 touchdowns through their five games this season.
Through the air, the UTSA offense has racked up 1056 yards during the season on 86-of-163 passing. They average 211.2 yards per game passing and 12.3 yards per catch with 7 touchdowns and 5 interceptions on the season.
Defensively they have given up 1263 yards passing on 95-of-164 and an average of 13.3 yards per catch. They give up on average 252.6 yards per game passing. They have 5 interceptions to 6 touchdowns allowed.
Total offense, UTSA edges out their opponents 1,816 to 1,713 with an almost identical yards per play average of 5.4 to their opponents 5.3. Per game, UTSA averages 363.2 yards of total offense while giving up 342.6 yards per game.
UTSA has been flagged 27 times for 249 yards this season for an average of 5.4 penalties per game for 49.8 yards per game.
Time of possession is almost even, with UTSA holding an ever so slight edge of 30:28 to 29:32. They are also converting 36% of their third down attempts and 57% of their fourth down conversion attempts.
When in the red zone, UTSA comes away with points 85% of the time. 65% of those trips are touchdowns. Their opponents only score 61% of the time in the red zone and of those trips, only 44% of them are touchdowns.
Scoring by quarters is pretty even for UTSA, their best quarter, the second quarter with 37 ponits, is only eight points better than their worst quarter, the fourth quarter with 29 points.
Defensively, their best quarter is the first quarter by only allowing 19 points which is pretty even with quarters two and three. However the fourth quarter they have given up 35 points. Being a new team, that stat doesn’t really surprise me, they would probably have depth issues considering they are a first year program.
UTSA’s quarterback, Eric Soza, is their second best rusher with 178 net yards on the season, though he does have 240 total yards gained before subtracting the negative yardage. Which is only one yard behind their best rusher Evans Okotcha with 179 net yards.
They also have two receivers that stand out from the rest so far. Both have 17 receptions and over 200 yards receiving through five games. Kam Jones has 261 yards and a touchdown while Brandon Freeman has 213 yards and two touchdowns. The next closes receiver has 9 catches for 153 yards and a touchdown. The rest of the receiver corps all have less than 100 yards receiving.
Kam Jones is the team’s leader in all-purpose yardage with 413 and an average of 82.6 yards per game. Kenny Harrison is second on the team with 286 yards with 199 yards of them coming from kick returns.
In short, UTSA is a pretty balanced offensive team with a defense that is strong against the run but susceptible through the air. Coach Jones said that this team reminds himself of the Jags just two short years ago when they began playing football.
I don’t think UTSA will win this game because of depth and size issues the Jags present. The Jags will have something to prove after back-to-back losses to FBS teams, though both times they did have stretches of very good play against bigger and faster opponents. With a week off to rest and prepare, the Jags will be ready to play and win.
Monday Press Conference
South Alabama Coaches talking together before the NC State game.
Monday’s press conference previewed the Jags upcoming game this weekend against the University of Texas-San Antonio in the Alamo Dome. The game is scheduled to kick off at 4:30 pm and will be televised on the Longhorn Network.
During the press conference Coach Jones said that the off week came at a good time both mentally and physically after two very physical games against FBS teams. He continued by saying, “As far as Texas at San Antonio goes, they are a very hungry football team. They remind me of us a couple of years ago, the way we came out that first year with a lot of hunger and excitement. They have some really good players. Offensively, they do a lot so we’re really working hard defensively this week to get prepared for all that they do. They are a really sound football team defensively; they’re very well-coached and have some real tough, hard-nosed guys inside. It’s not as multiple as their offense is, but they are very sound defensively. They are very similar to their offense in special teams; they do a lot of things with different return games and kickoffs. Their whole team is making us prepare for a lot of different things.”
Talking about the keys to preparing for a team with multiple sets. Coach Jones said that you have to prepare for everything they do and that it takes time away during the week. Coach Jones commented, “The key to their offense is the quarterback; he does a very good job. He can run and throw, and with that they can be multiple so we have to work on all of it because we don’t know what they are going to do.”
Coach Jones also spoke about having a bye week following two consecutive losses, the first two losses in the program’s short history. “I talked to the team today (Monday) about how the little things matter. When you do the little things right, the big things seem to work out. We have to work on us, and if we work on that this week and really concentrate on getting better then we’ll let the chips fall. But our kids are excited. They are excited about being back and playing games again, but that two-to-three day break helped us out.”
Safety B.J. Scott commented at the press conference that the off week allowed them to get their legs back underneath them and get to some rest. He wants to see how the team reacts after returning to play following two consecutive losses. While UTSA is hungry, he thinks the Jags are really hungry.
Scott continued talking about preparing for a multiple offense by saying his mindset is to watch as much film as possible to prepare. He said that UTSA has the most formations he has ever seen since he started playing football and that it’s going to take a lot of focus this week and during the game.
On improving as an individual contributor to the team, Scott said that he is never comfortable with his success or lack of it. He wants to play harder and that he never feels like his work is done and he feels that he has to get that through to his teammates as well. He wants them to follow the way he plays on the field.
Running Back Demetre Baker joined Scott in commenting at the press conference. Baker said that most of the players needed the week off to recover and allowed them to refocus and what they are doing wrong and to fix them. The loss helped them to refocus and remind them to stay hungry.
He continued saying that he is eager to get on the field again and that he thought the others guys were too. He said that is the point of the game, you’re going to win some and lose some, but when you lose it’s about how you respond. When you when it’s about what you learn from it. Every game is a battle and no game is going to be perfect, but the ones who fight the most are the ones who come out with the win.
Coach Joey Jones Show Recap 2011-09-27
Running backs and special teams coach Tommy Perry joined Lee Shirvanian and Coach Joey Jones at Baumhowers Restaurant on Airport Boulevard for the radio show. They covered the Kent State game and what they are going to do during this off week.
Lee jumps straight to the question that many people want to know after the last two game. Is this program ready week-to-week FBS competition? Coach Jones answered that he thinks the program is ready for that level of competition. Talking realistically, he said that when people looked at this years schedule and saw NC State and Kent State, they just hoping that those games would not get embarrassing.
But Coach Jones pointed out that the team played NC State close, even though the final score did not reflect that but if they had made three or four plays then the game would have been much closer. Then he said that the team came out and played “pitiful” in the first half against Kent State. He said that he takes the blame for not being as focused as they normally are for games. He said they played hard, but made some very critical mistakes and didn’t play smart. But they played good in the second half by gaining 330 yards of offense and holding Kent to around 80 yards but they had a chance to score the tying points late in the game.
But he said that they are a growing team, but that they are ready for the FBS level. They are only about 2 1/2 years into this program but they are certainly ready to play at that level.
Stepping back and taking an overall look, they played NC State very well and they played Kent State pretty well. They were in the games and could have made some plays to change the outcome of those games; could have beat Kent State and probably should have beat Kent State. While they may not be ready for Alabama or Auburn, they are surely ready for the lower level FBS teams.
Lee asked if Coach Jones could explain the difference from the first half and the second half. Coach Jones reiterated that he did not think that the team’s focus was there before the game. The looks in their eyes was not something that he had seen before, but that it wasn’t bad like they were completely unfocused but they didn’t have the concentration that they normally have. The second point he made was that this was the first time someone jumped on them. It was the first time that they made mistakes and before they knew it they were down 16-0. They had never been down like that before, they had been down 7-0 and came back against a lesser opponent, but they had not been down that much before so quickly it seemed.
Basically, the team was stunned a bit until someone made a big play in the third quarter to wake them up, loosen them up and get them going again.
Lee then turned his focus towards Coach Perry. He stated that normally the Jags have much better numbers from the running backs than what we had at Kent State. He asked him to talk a bit about that. Coach Perry credited Kent State’s front seven for being very good. He said they were very aggressive, did some movement that confused and slowed the Jags down up front.
Coach Perry went further on what Coach Jones had previously said about the team being stunned and said that the team needs to learn that they don’t need a big play to get going. That they need to keep working, ignore the scoreboard and manufacture good things out of nothing to be competitive. The Jags have talented, competitive players in the backfield but they made some critical errors in the game with lining up and who they picked up.
Perry continued talking about how tough and how physical those running backs were during the game. This is a good learning opportunity for them to look at how their work had a direct impact on the outcome of the game.
Coach Jones then jumped in and said that Kent State was the #1 rush defense in the nation the previous season for a good reason. He also said that they were, by far, the best defense that South Alabama has played thus far. The Jags had a problem running the football for a reason. Kent State has some good linebackers that are well coached. In the second half they were able to find a few things they could do and hit on all cylinders.
Lee then asked a question that many Jaguar fans had been wondering about during and after the game. Was Kendall Houston hurt? Coach Jones said that, before the game, his lower back was tight and the coaches could tell in warmups that he wasn’t the same.
Coach Perry jumped in to say that Kendall is a football player and that he took some hits the previous week at NC State that he was amazed that he was able to stay up.
Lee followed that up with a question about the running game being a staple of the Jaguar offense. He asked when do the coaches on the sidelines start to try to find something different? Coach Jones said that they worked on schemes all week in order to find a way to run the football. He admitted that they may have overdid that leading up to the game. When you go against a rush defense that good, no matter what kind of scheme you come up with, it’s going to be difficult to run the football. You just try to run, as a team, for about 120 to 130 yards and hope you can throw for over 200 yards.
A fan called in and spoke very positively of the coaches and the players. He said that many teams that go down by that much at halftime will come out and hang their heads but this team did not do that. They came out and played with heart and all of their might to try to get back into the game. He said that the fans were very proud of them and that the future is bright for the team.
Coach Jones said that they are not satisfied with losing and are not satisfied with making mistakes. They are going to keep working on those things. Yes they have accomplished some good things, but they want to get better and win.
Travis Toth joined after the first break to promote the Jags upcoming games. Particularly the homecoming game against Tennessee-Martin which will kickoff at 2:30pm and will be televised on UTV44 and ESPN3. Thursday October 13th will be a pep rally at the Bell Tower at 7pm. Starting at 6pm on Friday, they will have their homecoming parade which will be followed by moonlight madness. Moonlight Madness is South’s version of Midnight Madness where the Jags basketball teams can start practice, which will start at 7pm.
Travis also mentioned that they are getting calls for away game tickets. He said that they had to return the remainder of their allotment for the UT-San Antonio game but they still have tickets available for the game versus Georgia State in the Georgia Dome. They will be available up to October 7th before they have to return the remainder.
Lee then turned to Coach Perry again talking about kick returners and how Jereme Jones has done well, particularly in the punt returns. Coach Perry agreed that he has grown up quite a bit and is fitting in nicely. Lee also mentioned a couple of occasions where, if he had called for a fair catch, it would have been down between the 15 and 20 yard lines. But he returned the kick for up to around the 30 yard line. While it’s not the longest run, both coaches agreed that that is a huge difference in field position. Coach Perry ended the conversation by saying that it’s a hard position to coach because you want them to be aggressive but they have to be smart about it.
Coach Jones reporting during The Orthopedic Group injury report that they had a few small things. Corey Waldon has a sprained knee and they think he will be back soon and no later than by Monday. Corey Besteda underwent a minor surgery to remove a small “loose body” from his knee. It was reported that Besteda’s procedure went very well and should be back by the middle part of next week.
The Jags had actually scheduled to play UC-Davis this week, however they bought out their trip to Mobile. Coach Jones said he would have loved to face UC-Davis again, but the off week was needed and well timed after all.
The next question was about recruiting and priorities of their staff recruiting. Coach Jones said they are graduating several players off of the offensive line, so they will be looking to bring in guys up there. They also want to continue to develop depth in the secondary.
Another caller talked about how well the Jags did against a very good defense. Coach Jones agreed and said he was pleased because there was a defensive linemen that they blocked well that made Alabama look silly at times.
Lee read an email asking about what the quarterbacks coach is doing to improve C.J. Bennett and the other Jaguar quarterbacks performance. Coach Jones said that the biggest thing for them is to have their quarterbacks get their progression down and stick with it. They don’t want them to continually anticipate things. Coach Jones said that is the biggest thing for C.J. and that it’s not anything technical throwing the ball.
Lee asked to look back at the first half of the Kent State game and tell us if he got his progressions right. Lee also mentioned that we have to keep it in prospective because C.J. has only started seven games and he is only a redshirt freshman.
Coach Jones reiterated what he and Coach Gregory have said several times; C.J. is a great quarterback. The problem, he thinks, is that C.J. has learned the offense so well that he knows the coverages and where to go with the ball but that he thinks he can make every throw. It’s that he is too aggressive. But he does have an uncanny ability to go to the right guy. But in certain situations it’s the best thing to throw the ball away.
Coach Jones continued by saying that C.J. is a good quarterback and he is going to be a great quarterback. He has already made several big plays for the team and he will make more. Basically, they want a good game manager but they don’t want the quarterback to be scared.
Lee mentioned to Coach Jones a quote that was published from him that said, “losses will make us better.” Lee asked wouldn’t it be better if wins make us better? Coach Jones clarified that it’s not the losses that make you better but the reaction to the losses that make you better. Complacency in human nature is a tough thing to fight. All they have had is good things, they had a 19 game winning streak and all kinds of good things happening to the program. How they react to these two losses will determine what type of team they are and will make them better.
Coach Jones said that the players will have three days off at the end of this week while coaches are on the road recruiting. They will come back in on Sunday and begin their game week preparation for their trip to San Antonio.
Lee asked if they saw that the team was more banged up coming off of back to back FBS games than they did playing teams like West Alabama. Coach Jones, at first, indicated no but upon reconsideration he said yes but only a little bit. Because the FBS teams are bigger, they probably did have more bangs and bruises, but they fared very well through those two game.
Next season it’s going to be very tough he said, with back to back games against Mississippi State and NC State as well as games against Troy and Middle Tennessee.
At the end of the show, Lee asked coach Perry how his wife was doing. It was last year that they announced that she was diagnosed with cancer. But she has recovered well and is a big inspiration for Coach Perry and many others as well.
Monday press conference
Coach Jones pregame interview vs West Alabama
Coach Jones opening statement from his Monday press conference spoke volumes about how blunt and how humble coach Jones is. He was very forward about what he was worried about and what he saw from the sidelines and in the locker room in Kent Ohio on Saturday.
“First of all, I don’t think we were really ready to play like we normally are, and that’s my fault. We have got to make sure that our players are 100 percent ready to go, we’ve always had that in the past. It wasn’t terrible, it wasn’t a deal where they were not ready to play, it just wasn’t that focus that we normally have where we are 100 percent locked in. Again, I’ll take the blame for that. We didn’t play well early in the game and put ourselves in a hole, we made several mistakes as we all know. Critical mistakes, we can’t have that and win. It’s pretty simple to say.”
“What I was proud of was that we came in at halftime and said we had to correct some things, we’ve got some issues, but we have to go out and run these base plays. Let’s just do what we do, and once something good happens we’ll be fine. We needed a good play, something to get our momentum going, and it did – from that point forward we played extremely good.”
“My concern is from kickoff until that play happened, did we have enough leadership to stop the bleeding so to speak without having to have a play on the field happen? Something needs to happen with the leadership on the sideline, which is one thing we looked at.”
“On the flip side, I was real proud of the fact they came back and really fought. A lot of teams could have folded at that point, but they came back and made a game of it – we had the ball on the 20-something yard line with a chance to tie it at the end of the game. The last time I remember being in a game like that was when we played Penn State, we were down 34-7 and came back and almost won the game; it was a real similar situation.”
“They proved they could play, but obviously you have to play both halves and 60 minutes – all those coaching clichés you’ve got to have – to win big games. In some ways I’m glad this happened; you never want to lose a ballgame, but sometimes you learn a lot of lessons when you’re held to the fire. I think our team was held to the fire the last two weeks. Did we play some good football? Yeah, we played some good football. Did we learn some lessons about ourselves? Yes, we probably learned some lessons about ourselves as well. Sometimes you don’t really analyze yourself until something bad happens. You tend to overlook little things. That’s some of the things we’ve looked at this week.”
“I had a long meeting with our staff, we talked about what we thought we could do to improve from A to Z, we’ve got some things we know we can do to improve our football team. I talked to some of the seniors, had a meeting with them, and it was the same thing. I got some feedback from them, and they had a couple of little ideas that were good. It was a good dialogue.”
“I think you dig deep when things like this happen, I think our kids will respond.”
I go back to an old saying, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” That’s a dangerous thought process and can easily seep in when things are going right. But that opens yourself up when you play teams as good as NC State and Kent State. Those teams are good enough that they can capitalize on tendencies that you normally get away with.
Like Coach Jones said, you learn a lot of lessons when pressured and when you end up on the losing end. Does this mean you like to lose? No. But you learn from those mistakes and tendencies to make yourself better.
Coach Jones continued speaking about how the first four games affest the rest of the season. “I know a lot of people looked at our schedule and predicted 8-2 because of the two D-I [Football Bowl Subdivision] teams that we were going to play. That doesn’t really matter to me, but looking back over the last four games I think that we played both teams tough. We’ve got some things to work on, but I think that it has renewed us a little bit.”
“I think we’re going to grow up much more than had we beat a weaker team 45-0. How it affects us the rest of the year I don’t know, but the bottom line is I know that there is definitely a fire in their eyes right now that I hadn’t seen this year. Some times when you’re hungry you tend to want to eat more, and when you’re not hungry you’re fat. You don’t really care about things as much, you don’t really analyze things. I think it has us hungry again.”
When asked about how the team is going to approach the remaining games on the schedule Coach Jones answered with the following statement. “They realize we’ve played some pretty good football. We’ve made some critical mistakes in those games, but if we don’t come out ready to play like we did against Kent, not taking any credit away from them, they came out ready to play, we didn’t. We will get beat. I think our kids realize that.”
“And we always need to focus on what we do and not what the other team does. I think we focused on the other team the last couple of weeks rather than just on us and what we need to do, sometimes that comes from an experience team that understands that. I think our kids will understand that better now that we have had some negative experiences with that, and take that into the last six games in a positive way.”
When asked about how big this week off is to the team he answered, “It couldn’t have come at a better time. I don’t care who you are when you go on the road twice and fly while they are home to play; things may have been different had we played N.C. State or Kent State at home. It makes a difference, that’s why people want to have games at their place. We’ve just got to respond.”