Mid-Day Weather Update
As of 12:30pm, the South Alabama vs UTSA game is STILL scheduled to be played at 6:30pm on Thursday, August 30th at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
The long range forecase on www.weather.com currently has Thursday night with a low of 78 degrees with diminishing rain at around 40% with winds from the Southeast at 10mph.
The University continues to monitor Isaac for any changes in pattern and will continue to send updates.
Fan Day Success While Eyes Watch The Tropics
The coaches and players set up in the Mitchell Center for the annual South Alabama Fan Day. The players were set up at tables that lined the edge of the Mitchell Center floor with the USA Bookstore, Ticket Office and USA National Alumni Association in the center. The bookstore had a limited setup with tumblers, Nike game jersey’s, hats, seat cushions, autograph footballs and a new design t-shirt.
The lines were long as fans lined up to get autographs of the Jaguar’s student-athletes. But the impending storm in the tropics has everyone wondering if the Thursday night game is going to go on as scheduled or if it will need to be rescheduled.
The weekend forecasts kept inching the projected path further west with each update going from Panama City to Mobile itself then to the Biloxi area and now it is projected for New Orleans. However, there is a cone where they predict it to make landfall within. As of the 6am CDT update, Mobile is not currently within that cone, but Mobile does not need to be in the cone to drastically affected. The strongest winds and storm surge are on the eastern side of the eye of a hurricane.
Currently classes are going to meet as normal on Monday and a decision will be made by noon as to further class schedules this week. Any decision on the South Alabama versus Texas-San Antonio game will probably be made by 5pm on Monday. The current options look to be rescheduling the game for a Saturday evening or Sunday evening game. This depends on when UTSA would be able to fly into Mobile for the game.
As soon as any official decision is made, Thunderjags will post it online on the website, twitter and facebook.
Johnson And Scott Named To 2013 Senior Bowl Watch List
Just two short years ago South Alabama had it’s first player, Courtney Smith, selected to participate in the Senior Bowl. As the Jags enter into it’s fourth season, they have two players placed on the 2013 Senior Bowl watch list.
Linebacker Jake Johnson and Safety B.J. Scott were both named to their first-ever “Watch List” on Thursday. The comprehensive list names over 300 seniors and top NFL draft prospects from 114 different schools.
Johnson, a 6’1″ 240lb inside linebacker lead the Jags with 83 tackles last season and finished second with 6.5 TFL’s. He was selected as a Second-Team All-Sun Belt Conference selection by Phil Steele Publications. He led the team in tackles in all 10 games last season with two games where he reached double-digits in tackles.
Scott, a 5’11” 205 pound safety, is set to begin his second season with the Jags after transferring in from the University of Alabama. The Prichard, AL native started the first seven games last season before suffering a season-ending injury to his knee. Even after missing the final three games he still finished fifth in tackles with 48 and a team-best four passes defended. He also set a school record with 180 kick return yards against Georgia State in the Georgia Dome last season.
The 2013 Senior Bowl is set for Saturday, January 26 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The top 100 seniors will be invited to participate and appearing on the watch list is not a requirement for a player to earn an invitation.
Go Jags!!
Jaguar Fans Watching The Tropics
TS Isaac projected path from advisory 13A.
South Alabama is slated to open the 2012 football season on Thursday, August 30 against Texas-San Antonio with kickoff set for 6:30pm. However, the weather could cause problems with the game and possibly preparation.
Currently tropical storm Isaac is approaching Haiti and the Dominican Republic however the current track has the center of the storm very near Mobile by 2am Wednesday. If Isaac continues at it’s current speed, it should not gain much strength over the warm Gulf waters and make landfall as a Category 1. However if it slows then it could strengthen.
We will keep our eyes on the tropics this coming week and hope that it does not interfere with the game and preparation leading up to the game.
Jag Hold Final Preseason Scrimmage
Head Coach Joey Jones talking with wide receiver Carr Tigner during preseason practice.
Thursday morning the South Alabama football team held their final of three scrimmages in preparation for the 2012 football season. The scrimmage lasted about an hour and a half and was conducted in full pads, however there was no tackling during the scrimmage. The Jags did run through numerous game situations though.
The first and second team offensive and defensive teams took numerous snaps on the field. Additionally they worked on all aspects of special teams play with work on kickoff and punt coverage, kickoff and punt returns, field goals, Point after conversions and kick blocking. Later in the scrimmage they focused on several special game-like situations the Jags could face this season.
The team will return to the practice field for over an hour on Friday morning beginning around 8am then they will work out at 2:30pm on Sunday following a day off on Saturday. Also on Sunday, the coaches and players will be at the Mitchell Center from 6-7pm for “Fan Day”.
Head coach Joey Jones commented about the scrimmage afterwards.
“I think they were sharp today, I don’t think we had anybody miss from a substitution standpoint,” he said. “We were calling guys in and out, having the special teams running out there, and they were very alert. That’s what I was looking for today. Obviously it wasn’t a physical scrimmage, and we didn’t want it to be. It was three-quarter speed. But the mental side of it was real good.”
“I know the kids are excited and we are too,” Coach Jones continued. “Any time you have been in camp for three weeks straight you are ready to play somebody else, that’s just the way it is. You do all this to play games. I told the kids that we have done a good job in camp, now we can focus on our opponent. If you can’t get ready now, then you don’t need to be playing football.”
Additionally South Alabama formally announced that the Jags game vs Nicholls State will be televised by ESPN3 with kickoff scheduled for 4pm. Also the Jags road Sun Belt finale at Louisiana-Lafayette will also be broadcast on ESPN3 and Cox4 in the state of Louisiana.
USA Quietly Updates 2012 Schedule With Viewing Options
South Alabama quietly updated the online schedule recently. It added that the Jaguars second game of the season on September 8 against Nicholls State will be carried exclusively by ESPN3.
ESPN3 is an online streaming service provided by ESPN that delivers both live streams and replays of sports events. The network is available to households who receive their high-speed internet connection or cable tv subscriptions from an affiliated service provider. It is also available to about 21 million college students and US based military personnel with college/university and US Military IP addresses. It is not carried by traditional cable and satellite provider.
Jags Prepare For Final Scrimmage Before Game-Week Planning
Wide Receiver Bryant Lavender waits on the ball during Jaguars preseason camp.
South Alabama returned to the practice field to continue preparing for next Thursday’s season opener against Texas-San Antonio with a two hour session.
Players began with position drills before moving into goal line and short-yardage situations in the opening sessions of the practice on Wednesday. Then the offense faced the scout team defense.
Later, the offense practiced blitz pick-up against the defense. It was highlighted by a three receptions by Bryant Lavender and a touchdown run by Brandon Bridge. C.J. Bennet connected with Lavender twice while Ross Metheny also found him.
Towards the end of practice the Jags practiced skeleton passing drills. Metheny highlighted that session with two touchdown passes.
“I thought it was good,” head coach Joey Jones said after practice. “They came ready to work. I think our staff is doing a great job of getting the kids ready to practice. We talked to them about winning the game now, and not on Thursday or on a Saturday. We have to win it now and they bought in. We certainly have some things we have to clean up and get better at, but I’m pleased with the effort. We just have to get ready for that ballgame.”
The Jags will have their final scrimmage on Thursday morning which will be closed to the public. They will begin their full game-week preparation beginning Friday.
Help Jordan Means Kick His Cancer
Jordan Means – Photo from usajaguars.com
Former Jaguar kicker Jordan Means is fighting cancer. Friend Jacey Blaire has graciously announced that 100% of her tips from 5pm til close today will be donated to Jordan for his fight against cancer.
Jordan, the first Jaguar football All-American, graduated in May then diagnosed in June with cancer. After surgery to remove it in July, he received bad news from his oncologist that most recent bloodwork showed that he needs chemotherapy immediately.
Jacey works at Picklefish at 5955 Old Shell Road, right across from campus and the Jaguar Softball Complex.
Come out Jaguar Nation and help one of our own.
If you can’t make it out today you can also donate online at http://www.giveforward.com/insuranceexpired
Jags Return To Practice Field And Begin Prep For UTSA
Junior tight end Jared Palmer jumps to bring in a pass during preseason camp for the Jaguars.
After a day off to get settled into classes, the Jags returned to the practice field and the coaching staff began their preparation for their first game of the season.
The Jags practiced for almost two hours Tuesday morning with more time devoted to installing their game plan for Texas-San Antonio. The defense ran plays against the scout team for nearly an hour. The offense went against the scout team as well, but split into two sessions with the last one being about half an hour.
Near the midway point of practice, a 10 minute session was dedicated to inside running plays followed by a 10 minute session was dedicated to blitz pick-up for the offense and finished off with another 10 minute session of skeleton passing drills.
“There was good focus this morning,” head coach Joey Jones stated. “Sometimes after the first day of school they come in and are not focused on what they are doing, but I thought they looked pretty sharp on offense. I didn’t get on the defensive field as much, so I don’t know what they did.”
The coaches and players will return to the Jaguar Practice Facility on Wednesday at 7:25am. This will be the final preparation for Thursday’s final preseason scrimmage that will commence at 8:25am also at the Practice Facility. They will then return to practice on Friday morning before taking Saturday off. They will then return to the practice field Sunday afternoon for a practice before “Fan Day” at the Mitchell Center from 5-7pm.
“Our goal right now is to become perfect in our game plan between now and then [Thursday],” Coach Jones continued. “We’ve got a few days to work on that. We just started working on [Texas]-San Antonio, we’ve got a few days to work on that. We’ve got to keep it up in meeting rooms and on the field, and I think right now they are doing that.”
“I feel good about where we are, we just have to keep working,” Jones said. “One thing this football season is going to be about is just playing and practicing the next day and getting better. We can’t always focus on just results, we have to focus on the process. If we do that we will be good.”
Brendt Bedsole Glad To Be Back Coaching Again
The South Alabama football program’s newest on-field coach, Brendt Bedsole, has been waiting for this opportunity for about three seasons. Bedsole joined the program as the director of football operations but he said his true calling was to be on the field.
He last coached in 2008 which was his second year as an assistant coach for Hoover High School. Prior to that he served as a graduate assistant, Student assistant at Auburn, Trinity High, Murray State and Samford.
Bedsole is back coaching, but not the way he envisioned. The unexpected death of former assistant coach Kurt Crain hit the players and staff, including Bedsole, very hard.
When Head coach Joey Jones hired Bedsole for the director of football operations shortly after he was hired to start football at South Alabama, he let Coach Jones know that he was very interested in getting back to coaching when the opportunity arose.
“That was my original hope and I let that be known to coach Jones,” Bedsole said. “That’s where I feel more comfortable. It’s my natural position. It’s what I got into this profession to do, to coach on the field and affect young men’s lives. Not just coach them football but to teach them about other things outside the white lines, things about life and how to be a good daddy and be a good husband. … Not that I couldn’t do that as a football operations director, but you get more of a personal relationship with your players when you coach them on a day-in and day-out situation.”
Bedsole is thankful for his position to be back coaching again. “There’s 124 FBS teams and nine assistant coaches on each team,” he said. “The odds of getting one of these jobs is pretty slim. I’ve sat down before and done the math. There’s only 1,116 such jobs in the United States and I have one of them. That makes it pretty special. And I don’t take it for granted. Coaching isn’t a job, it’s a calling. It’s something I couldn’t get out of my system.”