Jags streak end with loss at NC State
Coach Joey Jones speaks with an NC State coach during team warm-ups.
South Alabama may have lost the game if you looked at the scoreboard, but if you watched the game and look at the stats, you will see it wasn’t a total defeat. In only it’s third year of football, the Jags proved that they have come a very long way in a very short time.
Facing their first FBS (Division I-A) team, the Jags performed well. It’s easy to say that NC State now knows who South Alabama is.
The game by the numbers. NC State outgained the Jags through the air 297 – 182 yards. However the Jags outgained the Wolfpack 104 – 95 on the ground. State held the overall yardage gained 392 to 286 yards.
The Jags gained 18 first downs to State’s 19. The Jags averaged 3.2 yards per rush on their 33 attempts while State rushed 37 times and averaged 2.6 yards per rush. The Jags ran 65 offensive plays to 59 for the Wolfpack.
The Jags punted four times for an average of 41.8 yards per punt. The Jags also held the time-of-possession advantage 32:45 to State’s 27:15. South went 7-of-15 on third down conversions while State was 5-of-9.
Unfortunately the Jags were flagged nine times for 50 yards while State was only flagged once for 15 yards.
Kendall Houston rushed 18 times for 117 yards with a long of 24 and averaged 6.5 yards per touch. Demetre Baker added 18 yards on eight carries with the Jags first touchdown against a FBS opponent. CJ Bennett went 17-of-32 for 182 yards and two interceptions.
Corey Waldon lead the Jaguars receivers with 5 catches for 57 yards. Jereme Jones added five catches for 35 yards. Bryant Lavender caught three passes for 39 yards. Besteda, Houston and Gardner all had receptions as well.
Jordan Means made field goals of 46 and 36 yards but missed an attempt from 44 yards.
The Jags defense played very well most of the time. Jake Johnson paced the team with eight total tackles, five solo and a sack. Charles Harris also added eight total tackles, three solo. Romelle Jones sacked Glennon twice for 17 yards. Alex Page also added a sack for the Jags total of four sacks.
With a cleaner game penalty wise and some better coverage on a few big plays, the Jags would have made this a much closer game that it ended up being. Even with those miscues, the Wolfpack did not have an easy game like they first thought.
The Jags have some things to work on this week in preparation for their trip to Kent State. But they have many things that fans and coaches can be proud of. Being outsized and out manned, the Jaguars played with heart, and when they played smart and disciplined, they outplayed the Wolfpack.
Greetings from Raleigh
I have checked into my hotel room with a view of Carter-Finley Stadium. I had an enjoyable drive through some beautiful countryside on my way over here.
The Athletic Department is holding an Alumni event and Pep Rally at the Renaissance Raleigh North Hills Hotel beginning at 6:30 Eastern.
NC State Preview
Jereme Jones scores a touchdown against Lamar.
As South Alabama prepares for their first FBS team, it’s time to break down NC state some.
Through two games, NC State is averaging 235.5 yards per game passing and a little over 130 yards per game rushing for an average of 371 yards per game. Defensively the wolfpack has held their opponents to a mere 106 yards rushing per game. Physically, the wolfpack has a height and weight advantage over the Jags at most positions.
Coach Jones talked about some of the key NC State players earlier this week. “Offensively, they have a great quarterback who is 6-foot-6 and can throw it. He has an extremely good arm,” Coach Jones explained. “They have playmakers on the outside to get it to, a good running back and big offensive linemen. They have some real weapons on offense. Defensively, they are a very well-coached football team with good players running around who know how to play. They really get after it.”
South Alabama’s C.J. Bennett went 9-of-14 passing for 144 yards and two touchdowns last week against Lamar. With Demetre Baker adding 13 touches for 82 yards and a touchdown along with Kendall Houston’s 13 touches for 43 yards and another touchdown. This lead South Alabama to 349 yards of total offense without a turnover.
The Jaguar Defense held strong only allowing 238 total yards, 123 of them through the air. The starters departed the game in the third quarter allowing the 2nd and 3rd string defensive players to see some much needed play time.
NC State will be coming off of their first loss of the season. They fell to fellow ACC member Wake Forest 34-27 on the road. Wolfpack quarterback Mike Glennon threw for 315 yards and three touchdowns while completing 24-of-41 attempts as he led them back from a 27-6 deficit in the third quarter. Curtis Underwood ran for 56 yards and James Washington ran for 49 yards as they finished with 424 total yards.
The NC State defense allowed Wake Forest to rack up 438 total yards with 337 yards passing.
In Monday’s press conference, Jake Johnson spoke about the differences between playing a FBS team versus who the Jags have already played. “The biggest thing when you play a team like that is how they execute during a game,” said Johnson. “We’ve played some good teams since I’ve been here at South Alabama, but when you play a team like North Carolina State, their execution is going to be perfect. I like that better because I can read their linemen better. That’s the biggest thing for me; everything is smoother because they’re so well coached.”
NC State will be the first of three consecutive games on the road and four of the next five games will be on the road. Kickoff in Raleigh is scheduled for 5pm Central time (6pm Eastern) and the game will be available on ESPN3.com as well as WNSP through their webcast on WNSP.com and through the air on 105.5FM. Some local sports bars and restaurants will probably be showing the game as well. Baumhower’s and Buffalo Wild Wings would be two local eateries that may be showing the game. Call beforehand to make sure.
Go Jags!
Coach Joey Jones Show Recap 2011-09-13
Coach Joey Jones and Lee Shirvanian were joined by director of football operations Brendt Bedsole at Baumhower’s Restaurant on Airport Boulevard.
First thing was a quick look back at the Lamar game. Coach Jones said that the Jags played pretty well. Both the offense and defense were solid but special teams needs more work. One of the major miscues in special teams play was a kickoff that went out of bounds. The talk quickly turned to Saturday’s game against NC State. Coach Jones said that they are well coached, they have a good quarterback and good receivers. Their defensive front is sound as well. He also mentioned receiver “number 6″ T.J. Graham, a 6′ 180-pound senior wide receiver for the Wolfpack, as someone who scares him.
As for preparations, Coach Jones said that they will prepare for this game just like any other game. However a deviation from their normal preparations thus far will be the addition of stadium noise to their practices. NC State will have 60,000+ fans there, they will be loud and will be a factor. So they will use speakers to play music, fight songs and general crowd noise.
The first email question asked about getting second and third string players into games. Coach Jones said this is key to helping build depth by exposing them to game situations. It also helps to let those guys get repetitions that can’t get so many at practice.
The next question was about offensive linemen.
Another email question was about the Sun Belt wins against BCS teams. FIU defeated Louisville, Troy has traditionally been a strong team, Louisiana-Lafayette has been coming along. North Texas has hired a good coach that should turn them around and a new stadium. Florida Atlantic should be turning it around as well with a new stadium. But wins speak well for the conference tring to find it’s way.
Asked about scheduling Southern Miss as a regional rival and what took them so long to do that. Coach Jones said that they make a great rival because these two schools are so close together. But they had their schedules set so far out that it was difficult to schedule with them. The date that they had open sooner was already scheduled with another team for the Jags.
Back to NC State, they said that the players will not have the opportunity for a walkthrough of the stadium until around 6pm on Friday evening. Even then the weather may be suspect. The players should not be overwhelmed in their stadium. Carter-Finley stadium seats 57,583 people but Ladd is not a dinky stadium seating nearly 40,000 itself.
Coach Jones mentioned again that NC State has a good, big quarterback who stands at 6’6” with a good arm. He does a good job of making the most of what’s around him. After a loss last weekend to Wake Forest, they will bounce back and be ready for the Jags.
Logistically speaking, South Alabama will send 68 players and 65 staff and support personnel. President Moulton, the vice president and others will all be on the flight as this is a historic event for the school.
They did take some time to joke about last years flight to UC-Davis and how old the plane was. One of the jokes was that the kids knew it was old because it still had ashtrays.
Lee asked if they have challenges now that they also have replay. Coach Jones said that they do, if the challenge does not go the Jags way then they lose a time out. They have two challenges per game. This is a bit of a test this year before getting into Sun Belt games next season.
Caller said that the Jags have gotten off to a great start with the program and asked if that was a help or a hinderance in scheduling games. Coach Jones said that, when you are talking about FCS teams it may be a hinderance. Teams that are kind of like South Alabama would probably see a hinderance, but SEC teams like LSU and such aren’t worried about them. They will pay lots of money (Coach Jones said $1 Million) to play them.
Someone emailed a question about Anton Graphenreed and that it seemed that he was getting beat by the receivers. He asked how that can be corrected for a team like NC State. Coach Jones said that some of those were because of communication problems between the safety and the corner. The corner thought he had help over the top by the safety when the safety did not properly communicate that he was not helping over the top. Things like that.
Another question was asked about rotating Kendall Houton and Demetre Baker at running back and if that might hurt them by trying to establish a flow in the game. Coach Jones said no, he thinks it’s great to give those guys a rest. It will help them over the course of a season to not take as many hits, keep fresher legs and wear down defenses. It may cause problems with a quarterback, but running back he doesn’t think so.
An email question came in asking about trick plays. Coach Jones said that everyone works on some trick plays but you don’t use them often. Coach Jones isn’t a big believer in trick plays, but you always have them ready just in case you need to swing the momentum in your favor in a close game. If you are ahead, you don’t want to waste that play. You only use it when you need it.
Lee turned to Bedsole and asked him to talk about facing a team like NC State. He said that even at FCS schools, the starting 11 could probably play at some FBS schools. But South Alabama, in his estimation, has probably 35-40 guys that could play at a school like NC State at this point in their program.
Lee asks about the mental part of the game. Could NC State look past South Alabama to their next game. Could they lose focus. Coach Jones said that it can happen. As a coach, he has seen times when it was hard to get the team up for a not so good opponent. But with NC State coming off of a loss, he does not think that will happen. South Alabama’s challenge is to not over hype the game and to make sure they peak towards the end of the week just in time for the game.
Talking about travel, the Jags will travel two weeks in a row. But they did that last year with Lamar and UC-Davis. However it would be nice to have a week between NC State and Kent State.
Monday press conference reflecting on Lamar, Looking ahead to NC State
Coach Turner working with the Offensive line between drives.
On Monday South Alabama head coach Joey Jones and two players participated in their Monday press conference recapping the Lamar victory and their trip to Raleigh, North Carolina for their first game against an FBS opponent.
Similar to Coach Jones post game comments, he reiterated that he thought the team played well overall. But that there are always things that can be worked on. He was pleased with the intensity and how physical the team played as well. Also, he thought the team played smart by not turning the ball over unlike last week when the Jags turned the ball over four times in the first half.
Coach Jones then turned towards the next game against North Carolina State. He mentioned their quarterback whis is 6’6″ with a strong arm. They also have good play makers outside with a good running back and big offensive linemen. Defensively, they also have good players and are well coached.
Coach Jones spoke about the team facing it’s first FBS team. “I think the biggest difference is that we’re going into a stadium that will probably have 60- to 70,000 people at the game,” said Coach Jones. “The crowd noise can be a different factor. Obviously we have never been in front of a crowd the size of the one that could end up being at the game. We’re going to make sure we get the crowd noise playing during practice to try and mimic that as much as we can so we’ll be used to it. Other than that, our preparation will be the same. We prepare for every game the same way. Our kids are excited about playing in an environment like that. I think that anytime you have a game like this, the emotional level is always going to be up. You want to go out and gain the respect of whoever you play against. Our goal each week is to gain the respect of our opponents by how hard and smart we play, and by the discipline with which we play.”
Both tight end Kevin Helms and linebacker Jake Johnson said that they are preparing for NC State just like they would any other game. They are not going to treat them special and they are not deviate from what has gotten them to the point they are now.
Kevin Helms spoke about what this game means to the South Alabama program. “It will show us who we really are and what kind of teammates we have on our team. We’ll see who has the heart and who is really a football player. This will either make us or break us. I hope the recruits and fans can see what kind of a team we are. Coach Jones preaches ‘be physical, be tough and be nasty,’ and hopefully we can go out and show everybody what kind of team we are.”
Talking about the differences between NC State and previous teams that South Alabama has faced, Jake Johnson said, “The biggest thing when you play a team like that is how they execute during a game. We’ve played some good teams since I’ve been here at South Alabama, but when you play a team like North Carolina State, their execution is going to be perfect. I like that better because I can read their linemen better. That’s the biggest thing for me, everything is smoother because they’re so well coached.”
He continued speaking about the difference preparing for a team like NC State and the expected crowd. “It will be nice playing in front of a huge crowd. I haven’t played in front of 60- or 70,000 people in awhile. But that’s the only thing that will really be different. It will be nice playing in a great atmosphere.”
Helms also spoke about the difference preparing for NC State and the crowd. “I’ve never played in front of a big crowd, except here in Mobile. I came from a junior college, where there aren’t a lot of people watching and the same in high school. The big difference will be how loud N.C. State’s fans will be. Noise really makes a difference, you can have stupid penalties if it’s real loud. Hopefully we’ll go through practice this week and prepare for it.”
South Alabama and NC State kicks off at 5pm central time (6pm eastern) and will be televised on ESPN3.com with radio coverage by WNSP on WNSP.com and 105.5 FM.
Go Jags!
South Alabama defeats Lamar 30-8
Corey Waldon makes a leaping touchdown grab.
The Jaguars greatly improved from week one to week two when they hosted Lamar University at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Saturday. This was the first time the Jaguars faced an opponent for the second time in the programs history. But the outcome was similar as they won 30-8 and improved their all-time record to 19-0.
In the Jaguars first game, they had to overcome four turnovers to defeat West Alabama 20-10. After an extra two days between games, the Jaguars returned to the field and played brilliantly against the Cardinals.
The Jags outgained the Cards 349-238 in total yards while rushing for over 200 yards for the second straight game this season. Demetre Baker was the leading rusher with 13 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown, half of his yards came on the opening drive. Kendall Houston added 13 carries for 43 yards and a touchdown. Myles Gibbon added 45 yards in the second half.
Bennett went 9-for-14 for 144 yards and two touchdowns. Bryant Lavender caught three passes for 41 yards. Corey Waldon caught 2 passes for 47 yards and a touchdown. Kevin Helms caught 2 for 36 yards, Lamontis Gardner had one for 10 and Jereme Jones caught one for 10 yards and a touchdown.
Coach Jones summarized the improvement this week by saying, “I thought it was a much better game this week. We played much more soundly and stayed away from the turnover game,” said Coach Jones. “Offensively, we were much more efficient with the football and defensively we played well again. I felt like it was a good game. Lamar is really talented, they are going to win a lot of ballgames. We just played hard tonight and some good things happened by the way we approached the game. Our week of practice was much better, and our backs were against the wall a little. We knew this team could come in here and beat us, and we came out and played really well.”
The Jags will turn their focus towards North Carolina State and their first ever game against a FBS school. Kickoff is scheduled for 5pm Central (6pm Eastern) in Raleigh, North Carolina. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN3.com.
Jaguars are focused as they prepare for Lamar
Players celebrate with Jaguar fans who made the trip to Beaumont after their 26-0 win last season.
Lamar will come into Mobile today coming off of a 58-0 win over Texas College in it’s season opener. They will be looking for revenge for last seasons shutout loss to the Jags at home. It was the only game the Cardinals were held scoreless last season.
Coach Jones believes that his team understands the expectations and focus that will be required on Saturday. Coach Jones said, “They understand where we are and they understand how big this game is and they understand how good Lamar is going to be, so I think they have definitely picked things up a good bit in practice.”
One of the major points in Thursday’s practice was two-minute drills. Coach Jones also addressed this in his talk after practice. “You never know who to pull for – you want the defense to stop them and the offense to score. But the bottom line is the offense made some big throws late on third-and-long and then on a fourth-and-short and made a big play. We ended up kicking a field goal at the end. It was a good drill.”
As for the fairly meaningless rankings talk, South Alabama moves up in the Jeff Sagarin Computer Rankings. They are now one position right behind fellow Sun Belt team Middle Tennessee State. They are ahead of such teams as Indiana (119), UNLV (120), Army (122), future opponent Kent State (124), Tulane (138), UC Davis (152), Memphis (154), UAB (99), Lamar (162), Samford (174), and Georgia State (184).
Sun Belt teams ranked in Sagarin’s rankins are as follows. Troy (84), Florida International (108), MTSU (116), Arkansas State (125), Florida Atlantic (135), Louisiana-Lafayette (137), Louisiana-Monroe (139), Western Kentucky (163) and North Texas (172).
Also the South Alabama sports website has a good question and answer session with Jaguar punter Scott Garber. Go check it out here.
Go Jags!
Preview of the rematch with Lamar
The Jags take the field in Beaumont lead by the cheerleaders and Courtney Smith.
The trip to Beaumont, Texas last year was the first true road game by the Jaguars and they passed that test with flying colors. Yes, they had a road game in Dothan but it was nowhere near a real opponent. No disrespect meant towards Edward Waters, but they were outmatched on the field and the facilities were glorified high school facilities.
While the Jags won the game with a shutout 26-0, it was a hard fought game. The Jags first score was a fumble returned for a touchdown about four minutes into the game. After that, the Jags musted a field goal late in the first quarter by Lawson McGlon and missed one as time expired in the second quarter.
McGlon kicked a field goal with about 10 minutes left in the third quarter. Then Ellis Hill scored a one yard touchdown on a pass from Brennan Sim. McGlon added two more field goals in the fourth quarter to cap off the scoring.
Kendall Houston led the way on the ground with 166 yards on 21 carries for the Jags and averaging 7.9 yards per rush in his first start for the Jags. Houston was promoted to the starting position after Brandon Ross went down with a season ending knee injury. Courtney Smith lead the receivers with 59 yards on 7 receptions.
But Coach Jones expects Lamar will be much improved from year one to year two like the Jags were from year one to year two.
Last year the Jags outgained the Cardinals 376-160 in an extraordinary defensive showing by the South Alabama. However the Jags only converted one of 14 third down attempts. C.J. Bennett went 13-of-16 for 109 yards. They also won the time-of-possession 34:21 to 25:39 and the turn-overs 4-to-1.
“They played us really well last year,” Coach Jones said. “I thought we had a good day offensively, but we didn’t score much. We need to be able to punch the ball in the end zone more and our kids are fully aware of that.”
Defensively, South Alabama recovered four out of five fumbles, held Andre Bevil to 105 yards passing on 15-of-30 passing and a mere 56 yards rushing on 27 carries. They also held the Lamar offenseto 2-of-13 on third down conversions.
But Lamar had lost one of their defensive players to an injury. They have added some big transfers to the offensive line, a new quarterback as well as some guys on the inside of their defense. This will not be the same team that the Jaguars faced last season.
“They are a much-improved ball team,” Coach Jones continued. “They brought in some really good players on their offensive line and shored up some things. They’re trying to run the football more, you can tell they have really spent some time on their running game. They will be a much more balanced team offensively. And defensively they are more athletic, especially inside. They have some defensive tackles who are very good football players”
In their 58-0 win over Texas College, Lamar racked up over 200 yards rushing on 53 attempts. They totalled 320 total yards in the game. When they play in Ladd-Peebles, they will rely on their big offensive linement to open holes in the Jaguar defense for their running game. The Jaguar’s linebackers and safeties will need to play a good game to contain their offensive ground attack.
The Jags cannot afford another turnover laden game like they had against West Alabama.
The kickoff for the rematch against the Cardinals is set for 4pm on Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
Coach Joey Jones Show Recap 2011-09-06
Coach Jones and Lee Shirvanian was accompanied by defensive coordinator Bill Clark for the Joey Jones Radio show from Baumhower’s restaurant on Airport Boulevard.
Lee asked about perspective about the UWA game. He asked if he thought that the Jags played a good game. Coach Jones started off by saying “I don’t know,” he then continued by saying that he thought the players played hard, that they got after it physically, they were there emotionally and were ready to play. But he said that they did make some mistakes and did not play what he considers ‘South Alabama Football’. He mentioned the four turnovers in the first half and the play on special teams.
He also mentioned the field position because the offense didn’t play well and the mental mistakes and the special teams play had them, on average, starting at their own 19 yard line. He did not know where the defense averaged their starting position but he thought it would be near midfield.
He then said that if your field position is that bad you are not going to play well. But, bottom line, those things are fixable and they have to turn them around quickly. If they want to be a good football team, they have to fix them quickly.
Lee then mentioned to Coach Clark that they have less to work on than Auburn’s defense. Coach Clark was quick to deflect that by telling Lee that, to them, it’s all about the next game. As they were looking back on the game, they liked the effort but they also have things they want to work on and get better at. Coach Clark also mentioned that it he likes that they have film of their opponent for the next game. For UWA all they had was what film they had from the previous year.
Lee then went about talking how Steve Spurrier benched Steven Garcia then he came off the bench to lead the team to a come-back win. He then transitioned that into talking about Kendall Houston and Demetre Baker being suspended for the first half of the game against UWA and asked if they have been in the game, would it have been different?
Coach Jones said yes it would have been different, however you don’t know for sure that it was. Jones also said that when you walk out onto the field without two guys like them and Corey Besteda, who is another big play guy at receiver, it leaves a bit of a void that the team has to overcome.
The Jags did score on their opening drive of the game, but Coach Jones said they threw the ball alot in that drive. But then the turnovers took over. He rounded out the answer by saying in the future they want those guys out on the field and that they do not want that to happen again.
Lee introduced the ‘Who’s hot’ feature sponsored by Fuego Mexican Restaurant. On offense, Jones recognized Kendall Houston for his job coming in and playing a good game and breaking lots of tackles. Defensively he recognized Enrique Williams for his performance. Williams had 11 tackles after coming back from a shoulder injury in preseason camp.
Lee and Coach Clark began talking about the defense and the secondary. Lee asked about how B.J. Scott, Damond Smith and Charles Harris in the secondary changes the defense. Coach Clark agreed with Lee’s comment that they are good cover guys so they can leave them in coverage and get a good pass rush on the quarterback.
Jones agreed with what Lee Shirvanian said about what a good job the defense did to prevent Worsham from making any big plays. While he did lead their team with five receptions for 44 yards, his longest was 13 yards.
Lee mentioned that in previous airings of this show, Coach Jones had said that special teams had improved. So he asked Coach Jones if he had a better game at that phase of the game. Coach Jones said no, but he did say that there were some positive things and negative things. But they know what they need to work on and they will get to work to correct them.
The first email question that Lee asked was if there have been any difficulty keeping the players and staff focused with NC State and Kent State games approaching. Coach Jones said he has not thought about those games and cautioned that his players better not be thinking about those games either. He cautioned that Lamar has had this game circled since last year and want to come to Mobile and win. So his players better not be caught looking ahead because Lamar could jump up and bite them.
Coach Clark answered from the prospective of the staff that it has not been hard to stay focused on Lamar and not look ahead to the two games ahead.
The next question emailed to Lee asked if that was indeed the wishbone formation that he saw near the goal line against UWA. Jones confirmed that it was the wishbone and went on to say that they use it when they get near the end zone.
Lee stepped back after a short talk about the wishbone and the single wing offense to talk about high school football. When he moved to South Alabama in the 80’s, he said that the offenses were ‘the quarterback hands off to the running back’ type of offenses. Now you see shotgun formations, trips left and trips right. The offenses have really opened up.
Coach Clark then chimed in talking about how the high school offenses have evolved. The rise of the throwing quarterback then the advent of the running quarterback. Then you put those together. Coach Clark also mentioned that Coach Jones was one of the first to use the spread and throw the ball around alot in the high school ranks in Alabama.
The next sponsored segment was the Orthopedic Group injury update. Coach Jones said that the team came out of the game looking great on the injury front. Looking back to what they were like during the summer, they are looking really good. He said it was about two pages of injuries, down to one page, down to half a page and now it’s only about three players with injuries. He announced that Greg Hollinger will be back for the Lamar game, which is a tall receiver that has shown some good play in practice.
Coach Jones said he came in last year and tore his quad muscle then this year he hurt his shoulder at the beginning of the summer. Greg is about 6’3″ and weighs about 215-lbs. Jones said that last year he was a terror against the first team defense, which Coach Clark agreed with. They are now ready to get him on the field.
Lee asked about Melvin Meggs, who he saw leave the game. Coach Jones said he had cramps and that was all with him. He also mentioned B.J. Scott having cramps late in the game as well. Other than those, he said that they don’t have any injuries.
Lee asked about Enrique Williams and his injury last year going into this year. Coach Clark said that it wasn’t a worry that he was missing practice time. He continued by saying that he has been in the system for a while so they were comfortable with his play, but he was still out there with Coach Crain and the linebackers so he would know what was going on without physically participating.
Lee asked coach Clark as to who is their field guy who makes sure they are lined up correctly and takes control on the field. Coach Clark said that they depend on the Mike Linebacker who is either Jake Johnson or Bryson James and they also depend on their safeties Scott and Charles Harris.
Lee circled back to Hollinger and asked how much playing time he would see. Coach Jones said that they rotate in receivers quite a bit and feel they are interchangeable. They are two deep so he would expect Hollinger to see action for about half the game because they feel he is that good of a receiver.
Lee made light that Lamar will be the first team that we will have faced twice. He also said that the defense played very well, shutting out Lamar at home. Coach Jones agreed, he said that it was the start of a three game series with road games against Lamar and UC-Davis before returning to Mobile to face Georgia State. They really considered it the first road game too, the Dothan game wasn’t the full road game experience to them.
The WNSP staple caller Scooter called in and asked a few questions and made a couple comments. One of his questions was to Coach Jones about his preference of field, was it grass or artificial. Coach Jones said he was a traditionalist and preferred grass, but that field turf has come a very long way and makes such financial sense now for many places. Scooter followed it up with a question about burns and scuffs on the artificial turf. Jones said that they do still get burns and scuffs, but it’s not like what it used to be on the old turf.
Lee asked about the field turf and drainage since it rained heavily on Thursday. Coach Jones said that it drains very well, within 30 minutes or so it was drained and in great condition. It’s one of the major advantages of the artificial fields.
Another caller asked that, if South Alabama defeats NC State, would he name every player on the team as captain for the rest of the season like Coach Belichick. Coach Jones said that was a great idea and he might do that if they win, but he quickly turned the conversation back to Lamar.
Lee turned the conversation from TV, that one caller was calling about, to uniforms as being a big issue after the first week of play. Coach Jones let out a very audible “Oh god” when uniforms were mentioned. Lee asked if USA would ever go to something like the Georgia uniforms. Jones was quick to say “no.” However, he did mention that his wife liked the Georgia uniforms. But Coach Jones said that the Georgia uniforms were nowhere near as bad as the uniforms that Maryland wore for their game.
Coach Jones said that he has liked some of the Nike ProCombat uniforms that they have designed in the last few years, but that the Maryland uniforms were horrible. Coach Clark agreed and said that they took away from the game itself. They like to do things that the kids like, but Maryland’s were just too over the top.
Lee mentioned Tim Brando and what he said on his show about the uniforms. Brando said part of the allure of college football is the tradition of college colors so he was against it. Coach Clark said that they (South Alabama) likes to mix it up, but as long as you stay within your colors.
Another caller asked for Coach Clark to comment on Ken Barefield’s play on Saturday. Clark acknowledged that it was a very good comment. He said that Ken is a very good player and since his move to linebacker from safety, it gives them a fifth defensive back in the game in a way. They felt that they have found him a better place to play because of his agressiveness during the game. He can be their Sam or nickle linebacker. He is very mobile, as fans saw during the game when he leapt over the offensive player attempting to block him. Plus he added an interception in the red zone.
Lee asked both Coach Jones and Coach Clark as to what Lamar brings when they come to Mobile on Saturday. Coach Clark said that they had two of their starting receivers out and their starting tight end out on offense, but from last year to this year they added three transfers to their offensive line. The guard they added was the #2 guard in America two years ago and signed with USC but didn’t get in there. The right tackle came from Arkansas, is a big guy at about 6’7″ or 6’7″ and 300+ pounds who transferred to them. Their quarterback threw for over 400 yards before playing us last year. But they brought in a transfer at quarterback that signed with West Virginia and was the #5 running quarterback in the state of Texas, while also returning their quarterback from last year. He also said that they just have good players across the entire team.
Lee asked if the Jags would see much of a change in their defense from last year. Coach Jones said that they have changed personel some, but the biggest change has been the interior of their defense. They have changed from a 4-2-5 to a 4-3 defense. Last year they had lost two linemen to injury. They will have some big guys inside and he said that probably their two best players are the two guys on the inside.
Lee said that Kendall had a break-out game against Lamar by rushing for over 160 yards against them. He asked if the Jags could do that again. Coach Jones said he hopes so, but that the offense has to be balanced and they have to be mindful of the plays that they call.
Lee said he was a little hesitant to ask, but he asked both coaches what they thought of the Kent State game. Coach Jones said that the Kent State defense scared him a little because they were getting through Alabama’s offensive line at will early in the game. They did a good job of stopping the run early. But he wasn’t really watching them all that closely, they were watching the game as a game and preparing for Lamar. They will get to Kent State when it’s time.
Jags return to practice on Sunday
The Jaguars returned to the practice field on Sunday afternoon after two days off following the season opening win against West Alabama on Thursday night. They got out to the practice field between rain bands from Tropical Storm Lee.
Coach Jones said that they worked on several concerning issues that was evident in the West Alabama game as well as began preparation for Lamar. “We went out and introduced the game plan to them and covered every special team and just gave them an introduction (to Lamar). They’ll be off Monday and then we’ll be back at practice Tuesday through Friday. With bad storms coming, we wanted to get practice done before all that.”
Speaking about the practice, “I think they really did a good job. I think they realized they didn’t play a great game. One thing, I thought they played extremely hard and physical, but I thought we had too many things that I think aren’t Jaguar football and that’s too many turnovers and penalties and bad special teams play. We addressed those. I think they definitely want to come out and play a good bit better this week and they’re going to have to, with a good team like Lamar coming in here.”
Coach Jones said he spent part of Saturday watching his Alma Mater the University of Alabama vs upcoming Jaguar opponent Kent State. “I noticed one thing,” Coach Jones said. “When Trent Richardson rushes for only 33 yards, it tends to worry you a little bit. Those suckers are strong, they really are. Alabama had a hard time running the football. Kent State was ranked, I believe, last year in the top 10 in the country in rushing defense. I could see why.”
Coach Jones said that watching them on TV “just gives you a feel for them. You can’t study it like you would on film but you could see they know how to play defense, for sure.”