Jaguars Wrap Up Week One And Begin The Critical Week Two Of Practice
Saturday August 8, 2009
Saturday morning the Jaguars hit the field for their fifth consecutive day of fall practice. But this day the Jaguars took the field in full pads for the first time this fall.
They started the practice with about an hour of drills then the offensive and defensive units played against each other in a full-contact ‘mini’ scrimmage.
Myles Gibbon took the majority of snaps with the first-team offense, however Coach Jones was quick to say that its still too early to name a starting quarterback. “We’ve got three guys working,” he said. “Kyle Stewart would be involved, but he’s injured right now. With the other three it’s close. Some guys do things better than others, but I’m really holding back until we see them for a couple of weeks because you don’t want to make a comment based on one or two practices.”
Gibbon was quoted after practice saying, “We all have different abilities that we excel in, so we’re all just battling for that spot. Every time we make a good throw it boosts us up, or every time we make a good read it boosts us up. Coach is right, it’s really close right now.”
The Jaguars offensive line opened some holes to help create a couple long runs and also helped Sophomore running back Brandon Ross score a 12-yard touchdown (an the only touchdown) at the end of practice.
Coach Jones thought the defensive unit was pretty good at times but also mentioned they gave up too many big runs. He continued, “If we can stop that, stop the 25 or 30-yard run, and make that a seven-yard run, then I’d feel a lot better about what we’re doing. But we can’t give up 25 and 30-yard runs.”
The practice ended with a bit of competition for the kickers. Each of the four place kickers lined up for 42-yard field goals to determine how many gassers the team would have to run. The offensive and defensive units formed a tunnel down the hash marks to cheer them on, and also to give them some pressure. combined they went 2-for-4 but Coach Jones gave them a double or nothing opportunity, which the team accepted. However the final attempt was just a little wide right, thus the team had four gassers to end practice.
Coach Jones commented about the end of practice competition by saying, “We want to continue to do that with our kickers. We want to constantly put pressure on them, because that’s what it is – they have to run out on the field after standing on the sideline for 30 minutes to kick a game-winning field goal. We’re trying to get them used to that situation. If you apply a lot of pressure on the kids in practice then the games are easy.”
The real challenge is coming in the second week of practice according to Coach Jones. “The first game is going to depend on how we do this second week. I’ve been coaching for about 18 years now, and that second week is vitally important for us to get better. It’s like I told the players, we’re in a tunnel right now and there’s not a light at the end of the tunnel. We’ve just got to keep working and working and working until we find some light, and hopefully that’s going to be here in about two or three weeks.”
Sunday was the teams first day off of fall camp but they returned to the field on Monday at 7am.
Monday August 10, 2009
The Jaguars are entering the second and most critical week of practice according to Coach Jones. This week ushers in the first two-a-day practices and their first fall scrimmage. “We’ve challenged the team,” Coach Jones said. “This second week has to be the best week of practice we’re going to have. “What we do this week is going to determine our identity. This is not a fun week – there’s no game coming up, they’re tired, we have two-a-days; all reasons for them to quit and give up – so if we can do it this week we will be able to do it throughout the year. If we can fight through that this week I know that we will get better as a football team during the rest of the season.”
The staff has several goals this week according to Coach Jones. They need to develop a depth chart, make progress with the playbook and focus on a segment of special teams that did not receive a lot of work in the first five practices. Coach Jones wants to hone the Jaguar kicking game. He said, “We’ve worked on parts of it so far, but we need to start putting that together so we have our base packages in by the end of the week. We also need to find out who our special teams players are going to be, and that goes back to the depth chart. We want to find guys who are backups, but good athletes who want to play – I’d rather have those guys on special teams in the game if they can earn the spot.” Coach Jones continued, “In an ideal world you want every special teams guy to be a backup player, but we are going to put our best players out there on special teams because we want to win. This just opens a door for backups to get on the field.”
Improvement was the running theme after practice from several players. Redshirt freshman linebacker Josh Chestang commented that the depth chart can change every day, so they have to continue to improve every day and not give up. Also redshirt freshman offensive lineman Trey Clark said, “Despite the heat and the two-a-days, we need to get better every day.”
Monday’s practice went from 7am until about 9am but starting on Tuesday, they will begin two-a-days with the first starting at 7am and the second starting at 3:30pm with each expecting to last about two hours.
After five straight days of practice last week, Sunday was a good day of rest for the team. Defensive coordinator Bill Clark said, “It was nice. We went to church and had a nice lunch before coming back for some meetings,” It gave us a chance to get our legs back underneath us, so it was good to have the day off. We needed it, especially after three days of hitting and getting after it.”
After five grueling days of practice, Coach Jones knew that the team needed a break. “Any time you go through a long week of practice, your body and your mind get worn down,” said Coach Jones. He also followed that up with a good compliment about Monday mornings practice by saying, “But, they responded great this morning.” Furthermore, he gave the team some high praise to begin this critical and challenging week by saying, “This is one of the best groups I have ever been around as far as coming out prepared mentally and physically for practice. I haven’t been around a group like this in a long time.”
The practice started with about 15 minutes of kickoff coverage adn return drills. Then this was followed by about 25 minutes of position drills. Next the offense and defense broke off into two units to square off in the next drill. Offensive line and running backs against the defensive front seven and safeties while the quarterbacks and receivers worked against defensive backs.
Around mid way through practice, the offense ran 7-on-7 skeleton passing drills against linebackers and db’s for about 15 minutes. The final 50 minutes of practice was situational work. About 20 minutes was devoted to running plays against scout teams.
The offense had three downs to get the first. On its first three attempts, they were successful. It was started with an eight yard run by Brandon Ross on the first snap. Nick Owens hit Corey Besteda on third down to get a first down. Then Gibbon hit Ralph Turner with a pass for another first down. But then the defense responded with three stops in a row, which included with two possessions ending with fumble recoveries. The second fumble was forced by Matt Saucier and recovered by Alex Page.
The day ended with about 10 minutes of third down situational drills.
Roundup of Wednesdays and Thursdays Jaguars Football Practice
Redshirt junior quarterback Brennan Sim preparing to thow a pass under the tutelage of offensive coordinator Greg Gregory. Photo by Doug Roberts.
Wednesday, August 5th
The second day of practice was another early to rise event for the players and staff. Another two-hour-plus practice beginning at 7am for another day in helmets and shorts.
The second day of practice was very similar to the first day. The Jags began with about 15 minutes of special teams work with a focus on punt returns being the difference between the two days. This was followed by about 20 minutes of position drills. Then the offensive and defensive units combined into groups for the nex portion of the practice.
All 11 players on defense worked on trapping runners near the sidelines while the quarterbacks threw passes to running backs. After that the offensive line was brought in to run through formations and plays.
Towards the midpoint of practice the defensive and offensive units came together for about 15 minutes of practice against each other. It was first broken down to 7-on-7 skeleton passing drills with the quarterbacks, running backs and receivers against the linebackers and secondary. Meanwhile, the offensive and defensive lines faced off in one-on-one drills to protect the passer. Then there was about a five minute segment where the offense and defense squared off in 11-on-11 action.
For roughly the last 45 minutes of practice, each unit worked on one half of the field with the offense continuing to go through formations, motions and plays and the defense also focusing on formations but also personnel substitions depending on down and distance.
With only two days of practice, Coach Jones said that almost the entire game plan, about 85-90%, has been installed with the Jags still two days away from practicing in full pads. Which goes back to what he had said several times on the Coach Joey Jones Show, that he believed in throwing the whole thing at them, then coming back with a more narrow focus and building it back up to the whole.
Coach Jones commented about how the offense tends mature more slowly than the defense. “Offensively, you’re always going to be behind the defense early on,” observed Jones. “That’s just because defense is easier to play mentally. What I’ve told the coaches that we have to do is make sure that we get as many players as we can involved now. To evaluate them, we need to get them reps – once we get to game week we will be getting the ones who are going to play ready. We have time now to make sure that we evaluate kids, so we want to make sure we do that and get them all on the field if we can.”
Coach Jones also commented that a days worth of practice was apparent on the second day of practice and manifested in what they were able to accomplish on their second day. “I thought we got better. The intensity level was higher and the concentration level was better today,” said Coach Jones. “I’m sure that was because of what everyone learned from yesterday’s practice. If we can continue to do that we will keep getting better. I saw some kids who made improvements too, so I’m pleased right now.”
Thursday, August 6th
Thursdays intensity picked up with another 7am practice but with shoulder pads for the first time this fall. However, full pads will not be used until Saturday morning. But, the third day saw a bit of a change in practice with different drills for the team.
Beginning the practice was special teams again for about 15 minutes with focus on pur and kickoff coverage.
For the first two days, the 11-on-11 practice lasted only about 15 minutes each day practicing running plays, on third day they practiced for about 30 minutes on run plays. The offense also worked on running plays against the defensive seven and safeties between 11-on-11 drills. Both sides were focusing on their game plans against a scout team for about 15 minutes each.
Also in addition to about 10 minutes of 7-on-7 skeleton passing drills, quarterbacks threw passes to wide receivers in one-on-one coverage against cornerbacks for another 10 minute session early in the practice.
Coach Jones commented on the intensity on Thursday saying that it might have been a bit more intense than he wanted it to be without using full pads. With lots of jawing between sides coach Jones commented, “That’s good. I would rather pull the reigns back than try to get them going.”
Coach Jones also mentioned that putting on shoulder pads to work out is not to increase contact in practice, but helps to prevent injuries. He followed that up with the statement, “It’s tough falling on the ground when you’re not wearing them. I wish we could use them most of the time.”
Running back Santuan McGee was quoted saying, “We’ve got to be more physical if we’re going to be able to pound the ball like coach Gregory wants us to. He’s told us that if we can run first it will open up the passing game for us.” McGee added, “There was a lot more flying around out there today,” he added. “The defense definitely got after us, so we just need to make sure we match their intensity come tomorrow and Saturday.
Coach Jones said that the staff will be concentrating on every position when watching the film of the increased 11-on-11 workouts. “My emphasis will be on the interior guys – the offensive and defensive linemen, and the linebackers – to see how they’re playing,” Coach Jones said. “Sometimes they get lost in the shuffle at practice. When you watch a ball fly through the air and a guy catches a touchdown pass that’s great, but I didn’t see the guard make that key block to keep his man from getting to the quarterback.”
Talking about the quarterback position, Coach Jones mentioned that Myles Gibbon and Nick Owens looked good throwing the ball. He added that redshirt Junior transfer Brennan Sim also threw the ball better in the third day of practice. However, Coach Jones said that a major concern of theirs right now is finding guys who can step up and and make plays in the secondary.
Jaguars Hit The Practice Field Early To Begin Their First Ever Fall Camp
Coach Jones looking on during the Jaguars first practice of fall camp. Photo by Doug Roberts.
The Jaguars had two firsts today for the program. This marked their first preseason football camp for their first season. But it was also the first time the Jags used their new field turf practice field on campus near the new fieldhouse.
Everyone was so excited that more than 150 people, including graduate and student assistants, managers and training staff were on the field before the 6:30am schedule and were ready for the day. The Jags practices for over two hours and worked through team and individual drills dressed in helmets and shorts.
Practice began with about 15 minutes of special teams work. Players not involved with this were working with position coaches around the perimeter of the field. Next they had about 25 minutes of individual drills for all players. Then the majority of the remaining practice time was focused on team drills with the offensive and defensive units separated on either end of the field. About midway through this portion of the practice, there was about 15 mintues of skeleton passing drills which was 7-on-7 drills. Then there was about a 10 minute session of 11-on-11 practice which included running plays.
Probably one of the biggest questions coming into practice is who will be the Jaguars’ starting quarterback. With Saucier, the most experienced quarterback in the Jaguars system, making the move to safety leaving that question without a definite answer right now. It wasn’t decided on the first day of practice, but coach Jones has said that the staff has a definite timeline in mind for deciding who will be where on the depth chart. Coach Jones reiterated, “By the end of week two we would like to have our ones and our twos picked. That doesn’t mean it will be over for the other players, but at some point we do have to make decisions.”
Coach Jones continued about the quarterback position, “Quarterbacks need a lot more reps than other players, it’s much more of a mental game at the position. Receivers and running backs need a lot less reps to get ready to play a game.”
Kyle Stewart, freshman from Tallahassee, FL, was quoted saying, “We’re all new to this, we don’t know the playbook very well but are learning. We’re equally talented, whoever picks it up the quickest and makes the biggest plays during camp is probably going to get the first shot.”
Myles Gibbon, freshman from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, also spoke about the quarterback position, “I think the coaches want to see someone who has some experience and can make the right reads. We have some great competition here between guys who have come from all over the place. It’s friendly and we’re having fun, but you want to make sure when you get in there you make the throw. I’m going to do my best and see what happens from there.”
Probably the player that somewhat has a leg up on the competition is Junior transfer Brennan Sim. His time spent at Oregon State has potentially given him two years of collegiant experience and maturity over his freshman counterparts. He has had two years to learn and understand the rigors of collegiant football.
Both Gibbon and Stewart spoke about the challenges they face in their transition from high school to college level football.
“It’s pretty big, so it was overwhelming when we were first given the book,” said Gibbon. “But, we’ve been working all through the summer in 7-on-7 drills so I’m used to the passing plays even though there’s a lot of concepts and many plays with receivers in different spots.”
“It’s a lot different than high school. The playbook is much bigger with a lot more formations and motions,” Stewart observed. “Plus, you have to read defenses a lot better than you need to in high school, and you need to learn many more signals. With all of this coming at you, you just have to keep working and studying the best you can.”
Coach Jones was quick to caution everyone about how much information one is able to get out of a single workout in helmets and shorts. “We’ll know more when we get into pads. You can tell a little bit about receivers and quarterbacks, and maybe defensive backs, but you can’t evaluate linemen and linebackers without pads on. Some of them may have looked great today but won’t when they start hitting, and others may not be as good in shorts as they are with their shoulder pads on.”
Coach Jones noted that, in addition to the heat and rain factors, two other factor were behind the early practice time. “I want some discipline in this program, and I think that waking up early and going to meetings before an early practice helps with that,” coach Jones said. “Plus, I had to do it when I was playing.”
Otherwise, Coach Jones was very upbeat and pleasant about their first practice. “The kids know it’s for real right now, so you could feel a heightened excitement on the field,” Coach Jones said. “They know that we have a game right around the corner, it’s always more exciting when you are looking forward to that.”
Gibbon said he was so excited that he couldn’t sleep Monday night. “We had to wake up a five, and I didn’t get to bed until 2:30 a.m. It’s great just to be out here, it’s been so long since I finished last season.”
The biggest difference for Coach Jones and his staff, when comparing the first day of spring practice to the first day of fall camp is personnel. He said “I saw a lot of better athletes out there. There are some quick guys out there who also have some size.”
Probably one of the most resonate and exciting statements was from recently announced transfer from Alabama, Charlie Higgenbotham. He said, “It was extremely exciting, I am thrilled to be here. I know a lot of these coaches know what they are talking about, and a lot of the players are great guys — everyone is working hard. Things are being run here the right way, which is really exciting.”
Having a player who has been under Nick Saban for two years say that Coach Jones and his staff are running things the right way is indeed something to be excited about.
The Jaguars will be on the practice field again on Wednesday at 7am to continue their preparation for the programs first ever game against Hargrave (Va.) Military Academy at 4pm on Saturday, September 5th at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
Coach Joey Jones Show Recap 2009-02-11
Coach Jones is in the studio with Lee Shirvanian at Wings Sports Grill. The Joey Jones show has been extended through March thanks to Bo and Gene Bishop and others. Thus as a thanks to the Bishop’s and Wings Sports Grill I wanted to pass along their Valentines Day special which is kids eat free for those who cannot get babysitters. They have a special Mardi Gras in Mobile menu that has some really great dishes to choose from. So go visit Wings and thank them for extending the Joey Jones Show and encourage them to keep it going beyond March. Plus if you don’t order from the Mardi Gras menu, then order “The Joey Jones Special” and if they don’t know what that is remind them that its the Black and White Chicken, a dinner fit for USA Football.
Four more signees have been added to the Football program. Keairon Wilson from Davidson High School here in Mobile was being recruited by several schools and decided to go with USA late. He is a 6’ 180 pound defensive back but he can play Safety, Linebacker or something in the nickel package. He was selected first-team all-region as a senior after posting 90 tackles and five interceptions.
Darious McMullen, 6’2” 280 pound, is ranked as the 33rd top defensive lineman in the nation by Scouts.com and ranked as the 21st best player in Alabama and 5th best in the state at his position in the state. He was being recruited by Florida but something happened there, he then committed to Vanderbilt and they eventually backed out late and took another lineman. Coach Clark was in the area and found out about him, talked to him and invited him down. He liked it and wanted to think about it another week and eventually decided to come to USA.
Mardavian Martin is a 5’11” 185 pound player out of Millbrook. He was a first-team all-county and all-metro choice as a senior. Coach Jones said he could be a cover corner or receiver type. He was being recruited by Georgia Tech but his grades are a little questionable so they are going to work with him on that.
Mytez Madden is a 6’1” 195 pound true inside linebacker from Anniston. He earned honorable mention all-state and first-team all-county honors. Coach Jones said he is very physical and runs the field very well.
USA also possibly has a kicker from Davidson HS that will be a walk-on for USA. They also have another kicker that will be coming in who went to Florida then transferred to Alabama. They also have a long snapper who is a transfer from Alabama who was not able to get on the field and play.
With all of these incoming freshmen, how many of them would you want to redshirt and have around in 2013 for Division I football? Coach Jones said that this is a very difficult question to answer. They cannot answer that right now and it will be a difficult thing to do. They will know more after spring and summer workouts. They have to have the players to play in the fall but if they have pretty good depth at positions they will look to see who they can redshirt.
They will definitely have some practices open to the public but the first week will probably be closed for the first week of practice. They will have some workouts at Ladd-Peebles but since many of the students get out of class at 2pm and have class again at 6pm they cannot take a bus, dress out, work out, shower and get back for their classes so they will be having practices on campus so they can dress out, work out, go back to their dorms to shower then go to class. While it is not that bad of a situation, it is not ideal by any means. This will only be a temporary thing until the field house is complete in late May.
Coach Jones then went through the signing class that was announced on Wednesday in the Mitchell Center but could not be named at the time of the Joey Jones Show last week.
Don’t forget to visit Wings Sports Grill and thank them for extending the Joey Jone Show and order “The Joey Jones Special” which is the Black and White Chicken, you won’t regret it.
GO JAGS!
Jags Add A Total of 43 Players In First Ever Recruiting Class
Here are the numbers: 31 players signed National Letter of Intents, 22 of those players helped lead their teams to the state playoffs. Six players would win state championships. 19 players came from the state of Alabama, 3 of those came from Mobile itself. 3 sets of teammates signed with USA from the state of Alabama. Plus, one player signed from Montreal, Canada.
Another 12 mid-year newcomers round out the total of 43 that Coach Jones and his staff signed this year for the first recruiting class for the University of South Alabama.
Coach Jones said, “We were interested in bringing individuals with good character who are good students so that they can come to South Alabama and earn their degree.”
Also, nothing breeds success better than those with experience with success. Thus, the USA staff looked to find players from winning programs.
Since the Jaguars will begin playing football for the first time come September 5th, 2009, Coach Jones and his staff had to be very disciplined about signing players for the positions they help with. They had to be very careful not to pick up an extra player at a position that was covered while they still had need in other places.
They did an excellent job at signing good multi-position players. The highlight video compiled for the event in the Mitchell Center yesterday seemed to show several players that could play positions on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Not just your typical defensive back that can sub as a receiver, but a linebacker that can sub as a running back or receiver.
Probably the most surprising signee was Myles Gibbon from Montreal Canada. Coach Jones relayed the story of his father driving 27 hours to come to the official visit at USA then turn around and drive 27 hours back to Canada when it was over with.
The event at the Mitchell Center was very good, it was covered by all three local television stations. President Moulton spoke about the football program and showed a short video recapping the beginnings of football on campus, the board of trustees voting on football, and the hiring of Coach Jones for the head coaching position. He then turned it over to Joe Gottfried who also spoke about the process of football and hiring of Coach Jones. Then Coach Jones spoke about the overall recruiting class and their process of evaluating potential recruits. They let us all know that they probably reviewed film on over 800 players in order to whittle down to these 43 signees.
Since Les Koenning left the program earlier this year, Coach Jones introduced the quarterbacks. He then let the position coaches come to the podium and talk about the recruits by position.
Once it was finished, they presented another film with highlights of each of the signees from the previous season. The coaches then assembed in the lobby of the Mitchell Center and signed autographs for the attendees.
Below are the players who signed and comprise USA’s first ever recruiting class:
Name (Ht., Wt., Class, Pos., Hometown, Previous School)
Matt Autry (6-4, 210, Fr., DL, Norcross, Ga., Norcross HS)
Logan Bennett (6-0, 205, Fr., LB, Cairo, Ga., Cairo HS)
Corey Besteda (6-2, 175, Fr., WR, Jackson, Ala., Jackson HS)
Zach Brownell (6-1, 190, Fr., DB, Prattville, Ala., Prattville HS)
Randon Carnathan (6-2, 265, Fr., DL, Leeds, Ala., Leeds HS)
Clifton Crews (6-3, 200, Fr., LB, Atlanta, Ga., Jonesboro HS)
Marquise Diamond (5-11, 190, Fr., DB, Piedmont, Ala., Piedmont HS)
Myles Gibbon (6-2, 190, Fr., QB, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Vanier College)
Dalvin Harris (6-0, 185, Fr., LB, New Orleans, La., John Ehret HS)
Ellis Hill (5-9, 190, Fr., RB, Tuscaloosa, Ala., Hillcrest HS)
Greg Hollinger (6-4, 205, Fr., WR, Frisco City, Ala., Excel HS)
Bryson James (6-3, 200, Fr., LB, New Orleans, La., East St. John HS)
Jereme Jones (5-9, 170, Fr., WR, Mobile, Ala., McGill-Toolen HS)
Romelle Jones (6-2, 270, Fr., DL, New Orleans, La., East St. John HS)
Sean Kennedy (6-4, 300, Fr., OL, Mobile, Ala., Theodore HS)
Bryant Lavender (5-11, 180, Fr., WR, Gulfport, Miss., Gulfport HS)
Gabriel Mass (6-4, 255, Fr., DL, Jackson, Ala., Jackson HS)
Alex Page (6-2, 240, Fr., DL, Prattville, Ala., Prattville HS)
Jared Palmer (6-2, 170, Fr., WR , Tuscaloosa, Ala., Northridge HS)
Alex Phifer (5-10, 180, Fr., DB, Greenville, Ala., Greenville HS)
Devondrick Richardson (6-3, 210, Fr., LB, Clayton, Ala., Barbour County HS)
Vernon Saffold (6-3, 250, Jr., DL, Clarksdale, Miss., Coahoma [Miss.] CC)
Kyle Stewart (6-3, 225, Fr., QB, Tallahassee, Fla., Florida HS)
Josh Terry (6-3, 280, Fr., OL, Fort Payne, Ala., Fort Payne HS)
Will Thompson (6-5, 235, Fr., DL, Huntsville, Ala., Buckhorn HS)
Tony Threatt (6-3, 180, Fr., DB, Leeds, Ala., Leeds HS)
Tyler Tisdale (6-3, 265, Fr., OL, Petal, Miss., Petal HS)
Corey Waldon (5-10, 165, Fr., WR, Tuscaloosa, Ala., Central Tuscaloosa HS)
Enrique Williams (6-1, 210, Fr., LB, Mobile, Ala., Blount HS)
Montavious Williams (6-2, 270, Fr., DL, Cairo, Ga., Cairo HS)
Tyrone Williams (6-1, 200, Fr., LB, Thomasville, Ala., Thomasville HS)
Below are mid-year transfer students who enrolled in school for the spring semester:
*Heath Blount (6-6, 290, Jr., OL, Cleveland, Miss., Northeast Mississippi CC)
*Levi Slaydon (6-3, 270, Jr., OL, Picayune, Miss., Pearl River [Miss.] CC)
*Corey Pittman (6-5, 300, Jr., OL, Chickasaw, Ala., Mississippi Gulf Coast CC)
*Chris Payne (6-3, 320, Jr., OL, Vicksburg, Miss., Copiah-Lincoln [Miss.] CC)
*Steven Pease (5-11, 175, Fr., DB, Williamstown, N.J., Millford [N.Y.] Academy)
*Early James (6-2, 190, Jr., QB, Killona, La., Jones County [Miss.] JC)
*Jon Griffin (6-2, 280, Jr., OL, Ventura, Calif., Ventura [Calif.] JC)
*Chris Brunson (6-3, 300, Jr., OL, Tyler, Texas, Tyler [Texas] JC)
*Kevin Helms (6-3, 235, Jr., TE, Gulfport, Miss., Mississippi Gulf Coast CC)
*Brian Krauskopf (6-3, 285, Jr., OL, Santa Fe, Texas, Blinn [Texas] JC)
*Jordan Means (6-1, 180, Fr., PK, Hoover, Ala., Alabama)
*Limbric Windham (6-3, 175, Fr., WR, Mobile, Ala., Alma Bryant HS)
South Alabama Signing Day To Be Broadcast Online
Fans and supporters of South Alabama Football who cannot be at the Mitchell Center Wednesday will be able to watch a live stream online. The USA Athletic Department announced on Tuesday that the schools first ever recruiting class will be broadcast live on USAJaguars.com starting at 4pm.
In order to view the stream you will be required to have Windows Media Player.
The stream can be accessed through the schedule for live audio/video events on the multimedia page of the site. It will be underneath the ‘Countdown to Kickoff’ on the righthand side of the website.
If you are in Mobile and want to be a part of history, this event is free to the public in the Mitchell Center. Afterwards you can stay for the USA Women’s Basketball team hosting North Texas with tip-off scheduled for 7:05pm.
GO Jags!
Coach Joey Jones Show Recap 2009-01-28
Lee Shirvanian is on the road with the Men’s basketball squad as they travel to Denver for their match-up tomorrow night. Brian Stross is taking his place on the radio show and he has recruiting coordinator Brian Turner and Wide Receivers coach Dameyune Craig. With just one week to go until National Signing Day is upon us we will talk a little about recruiting, the Signing Day Party, the unique situation these kids are coming into and a possible tradition to start for game one.
USA will host about 9 or 10 potential recruits this weekend for their official on campus visits. As for recruiting, Sunday it goes ‘quiet’. That means they can have recruits on campus but the coaches cannot leave campus to recruit. Then on Monday it begins the recruiting dead period. The coaches may only call a recruit one time a week during the dead period to check in with them. During open recruiting they can call as many times as they wish.
They spoke about the Signing Day Party that is scheduled for 4pm on February 4th at the Mitchell Center. Joe Gottfried will speak about the football program, Coach Jones will speak about the signing class and the position coaches will speak about the position players. They are at work on compiling videos to show for each of the recruits they sign.
In previous shows they talked about how the facilities are a huge recruiting tool for USA. They spoke today about the impact the Senior Bowl will be to incoming recruits as well. They really think its going to help with landing recruits because if a player is good enough for the Senior Bowl and with USA’s proximity to the game they will definitely look for talent nearby.
The situation at USA will be very unique. New kids will be coming in but they will not have older guys to learn from so the coaches must work extra hard to teach them in a way that they will understand so they can go out on the field and execute. However, thier teaching will extend beyond the sidelines of the stadium. They will have to mentor them about what they should and should not do off the field and on campus. They expect to see them get better and better as time goes on.
Looking ahead to fall football, a caller asked about when the football team would arrive at Ladd-Peebles Stadium for the game. Dameyune said they would normally arrive two hours before the game to being their warm-ups and such. Brian Stross also asked about possible traditions like what Clemson, Alabama and Auburn have and others like Georgia have picked up recently with their walks to the stadium. Coach Jones is eager to start a tradition like that from Game 1. He is thinking about having the buses let them off on Virginia Street somewhere and have them walk the rest of the way to the Stadium.
Get your football season tickets now, also come out and support the Jaguar basketball teams. Go Jags!
Coach Joey Jones Show Recap 2009-01-14
Joey Jones, Lee Shirvanian, Haven Fields and Daniel McCarthy were all at Wing’s Sports Grill in Mobile today for the Joey Jones Show. Most of the episode was dedicated to recruiting talk since we are in the home stretch before national signing day.
This weekend is a recruiting weekend at the University of South Alabama. About 13 prospects and their families are coming to tour campus and what Mobile has to offer. Most are verbally committed but there are some in the group who are not committed. They wil lbe housing them at the Battlehouse Hotel in downtown Mobile and will take them to a coupld good restaurants to eat, including Wing’s for lunch one day. While they are at USA they will have a chance to meet with some of the academia at USA. What the staff wants is for the recruits to leave USA and not have any unanswered questions.
USA is actively recruiting about 50 students heavily in order to fill their 30 scholarship alotment for the 2009 signing period. When asked, Coach Jones said that there are about 20 more students that are sort of on the fence. In the case of oversigning, one option is a gray shirt. A gray shirt is when a scholarship is held for them the next signing season and they agree not to enroll into school until that next spring. So, a 2009 recruit would hold off from enrolling at USA in the fall of 2009 and would enroll the spring of 2010. He would still get a scholarship and would then count against the 2010 scholarship alotment.
Haven Fields is the assistant athletic director for football, he was hired by athletic director Joe Gottfried. He was a former linebacker for Auburn from 1996-1999. He was associate director of athletic development at Auburn University before coming to the University of South Alabama. He works for the football program on the school side to work out things so Coach Jones and his staff’s day-to-day life is much easier and so they can focus on working with the student athletes and prepare for gameday.
Keith Ayers, in the Office of Public Relations for USA, stopped by for a few minutes to talk about a couple things. First he wanted to let the listeners know about the schools plans for national signing day on February 4th. At 4pm in the Mitchell Center they will announce the schools first signing class and they will have some video to show to everyone in attendance. This will be a historic moment for the University and the football program. Free T-shirts, autographs and much more will be available.
The second thing Mr. Ayers wanted to let everyone know is that ticket sales have been ramping up and wanted to urge everyone to call 461-1USA to get their season tickets before they are all gone. The third and final thing is that tomorrow evening the USA Men’s Basketball team will host Troy and it will be K-12 appreciation night so kids in K-12 will get free admission and the first 1,000 will get free USA Football T-shirts as well. This is all tomorrow night at the Mitchell Center.
Daniel McCarthy’s former team in Richmond just won a national championship for Division I-AA football. Lee Shirvanian asked if a playoff would work in Division I-A since it seems to work fine in Division I-AA. Mr. McCarthy said that going through it with his former team was probably the most exciting thing he has ever gone through. Just like every game in the Division I-A regular season is like a playoff game, every game in the Division I-AA is also like a playoff game as well because there are only a limited number of spots available in the playoff for schools to get in.
Mr. McCarthy is the compliance officer for USA, so he is the go-to guy on questions about proper and improper conduct by the staff on recruiting visits. Coach Jones says that when recruiting, “Its pretty much just use your common sense.” But he and the staff do sit down with Daniel from time to time in order to ask him questions, not to try to find a loophole, but to make sure everything is done within the rules set forth by the NCAA.
Mr. McCarthy said he would like to see football recruiting treated more like the other sports in college and have it opened up somewhat. Other sports are much more open than football so the kids get to know the coaches much better and he thinks this would help cut down the number of transfers by students to other schools. This will help players choose the right school and program for them and would allow the school of find good players that fit well in their program.
When asked about how they educate their student athletes about rules, both Mr. McCarthy and Coach Jones responded that they have meetings to go over what is acceptable and what is unacceptable. The caller who asked the question mentioned the Andre Smith situation with the University of Alabama before the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. Mr. McCarthy said that it has gotten to the point where agents have to be approved by the NFL and in some states they have to be approved and licensed by the state legislature to operate in that state. Sometimes they employ a back door runner, someone who might want to get into the agent market or whatever, to work their way into befriending student athletes to steer them to their ’employer’. It can start out innocently by giving them a few dollars then it can easily escalate to more and eventually becoming an NCAA violation. The staff and everyone involved work hard to make sure nothing like this happens.
It was mentioned in the show that Coach Jones is working hard trying to find the right person to fill the offensive coordinator position left vacant when Les Koenning left for Mississippi State recently. Lee Shirvanian made light that if people knew who has been contacted, interviewed or even were interested in the position, we would be amazed. But one person who was interviewed by Coach Jones for the position was former Hoover High School head coach Rush Probst. However, since his interview he has since let Coach Jones know that he is uninterested in leaving his position at Colquitt County High School, at least that is what he has told the local newspaper. We will see what transpires over the next few days.
So come out and support your Jaguars tonight as the Women take on Troy and tomorrow night when the Men host Troy both in the Mitchell Center.
GO JAGS!
Jaguar Football Defensive Scheme Scoop
On the noon radio broadcast today of the Joey Jones radio show, defensive coordinator Bill Clark was the guest from the coaching staff. One of the callers (not myself unfortunately) asked about the Jaguar defensive scheme. More specifically what would be their base scheme.
I suspected it was going to be the widely used 3-4 and those suspicions were confirmed on the show. Coach Clark said they would be utilizing a 3-4 base. To break it down for those who may not know football lingo too well the 3-4 scheme uses three down linemen, typically two defensive ends and a nose tackle, and four linebackers. Your linemen are typically larger and a little on the slow side, while your linebackers are still fairly large but are more manuverable. This leaves four defensive backs which are normally two cornerbacks and two safeties. The safeties may merely be referred to as safeties or could be broken down into a strong safety and a free safety. These guys cover the receivers downfield and are typically fast.
Many high school teams will use a 4-3 base defense (four down linemen and three linebackers). Since high school football tends to be more run oriented, the 4-3 is better suited for a strong run defense. This is not to say that a 3-4 is weak against the run.
Its all about a thing called ‘gaps’. When looking at the offensive line you have five linemen. Two guards, two tackles and a center. Between each of the linemen is a ‘gap’ which is four, then you have the left side and right side ‘gaps’ that bring the total up to six and if there is a tight end used as a blocker then there could be a seventh gap. Its easier to cover the inside gaps with four down linemen than it is with three typically. But if you look at Alabama and their nose tackle, you can get an understanding of how a 3-4 can be as good or better in stopping the run. Alabama’s nose tackle, Terrance Cody, is considered a ‘two gapper’ which means he is big and strong enough to take away the two gaps up the middle (on either side of the center). Which leaves you with six guys to cover four (or five) gaps. Its all pretty complicated with analytical geometry (not really just a Better Than Ezra quote there). But a 3-4 can also typically give you more speed on the field (another faster linebacker than a slower defensive lineman).
Back to what I started talking about. The jags defense will be a base 3-4 but will be flexible and will be able to run the 4-3 just as well. This is pretty typical, but he emphasized the fact that they want to be flexible which can also be translated into “we want to give the offense many different looks to keep them guessing”.
Other points of interest from the radio show was tickets. Hopefully in the next few weeks ticket information and prices will finally be available. They stated that it would be very affordable for everyone in the area. Also Joe Gottfried, and I suspect Coach Jones, is working on schedules. Scheduling is a long term thing and they are not put together a year or two in advance. It is a true vision of where you want the program to go in the future. So not only are they dealing with schedules for 2009 and 2010 but they are working on schedules six, eight and even ten years down the road. Its a long term plan to make South Alabama a strong and successful football program.
So keep checking back for the scoop on tickets and schedules and like always,
Go Jags!