Coach Joey Jones Show Recap 2012-09-18
Head Coach Joey Jones looking on as the Jaguars warm up for their game at North Carolina State.
Lee Shirvanian and Jaguar head football coach Joey Jones is joined by defensive line coach Brian Turner at Baumhower’s Restaurant on Airport Boulevard in Mobile.
Lee opened the show by saying that the number 1 question people asked him was who is going to be the quarterback. Lee then talked about how quarterback is the one position in all sports that brings the most scruitiny and speculation.
Back when he was at Alabama, coach Jones said that they ran the wishbone a lot and so they rotated between two or three quarterbacks because they were kind of like running backs themselves. Now, you pretty much go with one quarterback the whole game. What the Jags are trying to do is to get one of the quarterbacks to seperate themselves from the rest so they can have a definite starting quarterback as they head into Conference play. He mentioned that the Jags plan to rotate again this week but that they have to make a decision after that for Troy. As for who played the best between the two this week, Coach Jones said they both played pretty well and that he could not make a call about who was better.
Jones continued by saying that both quarterbacks completed around 66% of their passes, which is very good, but third down was their issue overall as an offense. Coach Jones said that NC State’s defense had something to do with that, they did a great job rushing the quarterback. He continued saying that their defensive front was much better than last year. Coach Jones ended by saying that the Jags did well except for third down.
Lee pointed out an interesting stat that the Jags are last place in the Sun Belt offensively on third down, but the defense is in first place in the conference on third down. Coach Jones said that is something they have to correct.
Bo Bishop of Baumhower’s Restaurant, where the Joey Jones Show takes place, asked what he was going to do about the cowbells while in Starkville. Coach Jones said that they are practicing with speakers blaring the sound of cowbells so they will be used to it when they play Mississippi State on Saturday. Coach Jones said that they just have to be able to communicate.
Coach Jones then introduced Coach Turner, he is the defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator. Turner was part of the original staff and came to South Alabama from Troy.
Lee’s first question to coach Turner was to ask if he thought the Jaguar defensive line did well against a skilled, veteran NC State line. Coach Turner said that he thought they did play well overall. There were times that they didn’t play well and that caused problems and allowed a few touchdowns. But overall they played well.
Lee then asked coach Jones how he felt about the game and how it went. Coach Jones answered by saying that the offense was terrible and that third just killed them. But, if you look at the offense on first down, they played really well and more like what they wanted to do. They wanted to get five or six yards on first down but then their defensive front got to the Jaguar quarterback at times and caused problems. Additionally they were not able to run the ball effectively either.
Jones then spoke about the defense by saying they started off pretty well but gave up some big plays like the post route and wheel routes that went for touchdowns. But from that point forward, the defense did well and in the second half the defense played extremely well. Also, the offense started moving the ball in the second half and scored some points. He further mentioned they could have kicked some field goals but went for it on fourth down and that they missed a field goal before halftime and they had a bad snap on another attempt, so they could have had 13 points on the board like last year. But he said that they were not trying to just put points on the board but they were trying to come back and win the game.
Lee asked about what do they do after coming out from halftime down 28-0 against a team that, on paper, is a better team. Lee further asked if you stay with the game plan or do you throw everything you have at them. Coach Jones said that he thinks the best thing for you to do is to become fundamentally sound at everything you do and to go out and execute each play. They have to go out there and do what they have planned to do and not anything extra; just go execute your game plan.
But coach Jones was most pleased that his team never gave up and continued to fight the entire game. He said that they could have easily gave up after that rough first half, but they didn’t and that will pay off in the future. They just have to keep fighting.
Lee turned the conversation toward recruiting. Lee stated that they cannot mention any names of recruits, but asked if he can confirm anything about verbal committment numbers. Coach Turner said that they do have 15 verbal committments right now and are working hard to keep those recruits on-board with the program.
When asked about positions that they need for next season, coach Turner mentioned defensive linemen are a major issue and defensive backs. Additionally they need some wide receivers and running backs.
Lee asked a question that he has asked a few times before, would they like to see an early signing period like basketball has and suggested possibly August. Coach Turner would like to have it before August, because the “big schools” like Alabama and Auburn will be evaluating kids during camp and he would like for schools like South Alabama to have a shot to get those kids in camp.
Coach Jones reiterated his point that he thought it would be great for everybody. He said it would make it clearer for schools who are trying to fill needs on their team. Plus those schools don’t have to worry about getting a verbal committment then keeping that player committed for six months. Coach Jones also understands the negative of it where a kid could visit an Alabama and fall in love with it and sign early then the other schools do not have a shot at him. But he still thinks it would be more positive overall.
They then had the injury report sponsored by The Orthopaedic Group. Overall they did well. Romelle Jones had a knee injury but will be back this season, just not sure when right now. Also Corey Besteda who rolled his ankle and will be fine and should be ready by Wednesday.
Lee asked Coach Turner about Romelle and what he means to the team. His answer was that Romelle is a tremendous player and brings so much to the table. He does not know if he would be back for this weekend’s game, but hopes he could be back by the Troy game.
This led to Lee asking about the defensive line rotation. Coach Turner said that they average about four or five plays before they rotate some fresh players into the game. He tries to keep the linemen fresh, especially against the larger offensive linemen.
Lee asked for an explaination about “playing a perfect game” that many coaches refer to as a way to beat a team that they are an underdog to. Coach Jones said you cannot play a perfect game, but you need to play a mistake free game where you don’t make any turnovers and don’t give up any big plays. That’s about as close to perfect as you can get.
Coach Jones then lays out how he thinks teams like Louisiana-Monroe defeats an Arkansas. He said you have to keep the game close somehow until the third quarter and then you apply pressure onto that team. ULM kept it close, then Arkansas lost their quarterback and got some momentum going their way and suddenly they are tied. Last season the Jags did that before a late touchdown by State put them up 35-13. This season they couldn’t score early to keep it close. Plus they scored their first three touchdowns in quick succession.
Lee then asked Coach Turner if he was on the Troy staff when they started and what he saw then versus what he sees now. Turner said the first big game they played was Nebraska and were a 50+ point underdogs going into Lincoln. Then at halftime the score was 21-14 in Nebraska’s favor. But he said that once those players realized that they could play with Nebraska, it “snowballed.” They ended up defeating Mississippi State, Oklahoma State and Missouri in the next few years. The players believed that they could play with any of those teams. But they also played games where they were blown out, like a 50-0 defeat at Nebraska.
Coach Turner said that about 75% of it was recruiting. They had more players who wanted to play there after they began playing those type of teams. He said that the other 25% was mental.
Travis Toth, the associate athletic director of marketing, came on talking about the Mississippi State game for fans who are traveling. He said that MSU is proclaiming it as a “White-Out” but the team will be wearing their traditional home Maroon uniforms. So the school is encouraging Jags fans to wear BLUE to the game to stand out. Then the following week the Jags will be wearing Red for Troy. Lots of big things will be going on for the Troy game, including recognizing the 2012 Sun Belt Champion Lady Jaguar Softball team.
Lee mentioned that ESPN writer Ivan Maisel wrote about the Sun Belt this week in his article. Maisel wrote that Sun Belt teams are 2-1 in overtime games this season against SEC opponents and 2-5 overall. Previously, the Sun Belt was 0-35 total against the SEC with an average score of 40-11. ULM and Western Kentucky both have wins while Troy was very close against Mississippi State last week.
Coach Jones mentioned that ULM only won 3 or 4 games last season he thought. He said tht he thought these teams are putting a lot of money into recruiting and facilities and that that committment is paying dividends.
Lee then asked about Coach Turner about some things that the defensive line will have to do specifically in order to stop Russell, Perkins and the rest of the Bulldog offense. Turner said that their offense begins with their offensive line. Their line is big, athletic and do a good job at pass protection and also in run blocking. He continued by saying that their running back is very good and their quarterback has a good arm as well.
Turner also said that the Bulldog quarterback is more athletic than NC State’s Mike Glennon, but he does not have as strong of an arm as Glennon. He poses a different problem than Glennon.
Coach Jones said that the Jags HAVE to play better offensively. He said that they will be going up against a huge defenive line at Mississippi State.
Coach Jones spoke about how they have been working for the last few years to build a team and that now they are almost having to do it again as they are transitioning into FBS play. They need to recruit more good players to help build out depth.
Coach Jones went on to say that from here on out the Jags will be playing the best of the best at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. They have NC State and Mississippi State coming in here in the next few years along with the Sun Belt schools like Troy, ULM and FIU that will be here. They need the fans in the area to continue to support the school.
Sun Belt Looking For New Conference Headquarters
The Sun Belt Conference may not be calling New Orleans home much longer according to SportsNOLA.com. The conference office has called New Orleans for the home for their offices for the past two decades.
Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson said that the conference is considering their current home New Orleans along with Atlanta, Orlando, Nashville, Memphis and Birmingham as possible sites for the league’s men’s and women’s basketball tournaments as well as a potential home for the conference office.
The University of New Orleans is no longer a member of the Sun Belt Conference, but New Orleans still has ties to the league in the R&L Carrier New Orleans Bowl that invites the Sun Belt Champion each season.
Among the other cities that are under consideration, only two of them have Sun Belt schools located within or very nearby. Atlanta has Georgia State who will be joining the conference in 2013 and Nashville with long-time member Middle Tennessee State nearby.
The basketball tournaments are contracted to play in Hot Springs, Arkansas through the 2013-2014 season, but the city also has a 30-day window after the 2013 tournament to exclusively negotiate another contract with the Sun Belt.
Benson toured the Gwinnett Arena with members of Georgia State’s athletic department and the Atlanta Sports Council. Benson said he liked the facilities.
“The priority is finding the right location for our basketball tournament,” Benson said. The Conferences wishes to find a location that will be good for fans to travel to and that will provide a good experience for the fans that will result in better attendance. With the conference spread from Texas to Florida, he said somewhere central would be ideal.
Last seasons’ championship game between Western Kentucky and North Texas was attended by 4,216. The men’s tournament had a total attendance of 16,109 while the women had a total attendance of 13,253.
Benson said that Atlanta is “very, very preliminary.”
South Alabama’s Monday Press Conference
Jaguar head coach Joey Jones spoke to the media on Monday along with tight end Wes Saxton and defensive lineman Alex Page. Below are some highlights from the press conference.
Coach Jones’ opening statement: “We realize we are going up against a top-25 football team in Mississippi State, they have done a great job getting that program back on the map, so to speak. They have a great coaching staff and great players, and we are looking forward to playing a team like them.”
“Last week the game ended up 31-7, and I thought that we gave up a couple of big plays early in the game but the defense tightened up a good bit after that. Offensively, we just didn’t get the ball in the end zone even though we were working on some things there. They were very, very good defensively, their defensive front was about as good as we are going to face [this year], which had a lot to do with that.”
Coach Jones then spoke about what concerned him the most about the Bulldogs. “They are very big. You look across their front line on offense and defense and they have guys who are 6-foot-6 and 340, 330, 325 pounds. They have done a great job recruiting some very big linemen, which is the first thing you see. The second thing you see is that they are playing with a lot of confidence right now. They beat Auburn 28-10 a couple of weeks ago, they are playing at a high level and deservedly so. They are doing a good job early in the year.”
He then spoke about any lessons that the Jags learned at NC State that could help them this week. “There were a lot of things on film that were so correctable, which is still on us. Some of it had to do with how good they were, there is no doubt about that, but there were a lot of things we didn’t do ourselves that we can correct. That was probably the biggest thing.”
“The second thing was that our kids didn’t quit,” he continued. “I don’t say that trying to make anything sound better, we went out in the second half and could have easily folded since it was 28-0, but the defense came out and played really tough. The offense kept working and drove down and scored. We had a couple chances to kick field goals but went for it, we probably should have kicked looking back on it. The bottom line is we played much better in the second half. To me, that shows the character of a team. when you’re down, how are you going to react? I think the kids really fought hard and kept fighting, that’s one thing I like about this team.”
Jones then spoke about how the team held up at the line of scrimmage against NC State. “Their defensive front is very good. There were some times we held up and sometimes we didn’t. We fought hard, sometimes we just got run over by some of those guys in pass rush situations. I thought our defensive front held up a good bit and got to the quarterback some, and they stopped the run fairly well. I think we matched up pretty well other than some pass-protection situations.”
Coach Jones then spoke about his greatest offensive convern from last week. “The biggest thing is that we were 0-for-11 on third down, obviously that’s not very good. We’ve got to be able to correct that, if you make four of those then you continue drives. Against a team like N.C. State you have to convert and at least get field goals to try and put some points on the board, and we didn’t do that.”
“We went through each of those one-by-one, and there were separate things that happened. One was on the quarterback, one was on the receiver, one was on a lineman not blocking a guy. They all know what we have to do, and when you put it all together we can make first downs.”
He then spoke about how Mississippi State’s line compares to NC State’s line. “They are every bit as good or better, they are a good bit bigger on the defensive front. When you recruit SEC linemen, they are going to get those guys who can play in the middle. They are very well coached on defense and show a lot of movement in the secondary spinning coverages. At the snap of the ball you see one thing, and after the snap they are moving to something else.”
Jones then spoke about getting the Jags to believe they can win this week’s game. “You always prepare to win. If you’re an odds maker you might not pick us to win, but there is somebody who gets beat every week who isn’t supposed to. That’s the way I look at it. We will go out and prepare. We were watching film of last week’s game, and had we done some of the things we were supposed to do, the game would have been much closer. It all comes down to us, not how good our opponent is. If we do the right things and put ourselves in a position to win, we will have a chance, and if we don’t we won’t.
“We are going to get knocked around some, they have some big linemen. But we’ll keep fighting back and trying to make plays and do what we are supposed to do, that is what we have to focus on.”
Then coach Jones answered a question asking if he can take an upset like the ULM over Auburn game and bring it up to his team. “We don’t bring it up a lot, they know about it and we have talked about it a couple of times. The bottom line is that we have to believe in what we are doing and go out execute it. If we do that and keep the game close in the third and fourth quarter, then you have a shot like Troy did [last week]. It was 23-7, but they kept it close and suddenly the score was 23-14 and then 23-21 and all of it sudden it was a game. We have to do that in a game like this. Let’s face it, they are a good football team. We are going to have to make those plays and keep it close to have a chance to win.”
Finally, Coach Jones was asked if his familiarity with Bulldog offensive coordinator Les Koenning will help the Jaguar defense prepare for them. Koenning was the Jaguars first offensive coordinator but left the program before the Jags first spring practices as he was hired by Dan Mullen when he was assembling his staff after being hired at the Bulldogs head football coach. “I don’t think so, because a lot of what he is doing now with coach Mullen, they have tweaked some things more toward the Florida philosophy. I wouldn’t think there would be anything we could take from that. They are doing things differently than when he was here.”
Wes Saxton spoke about things the Jags need to correct from the NC State game. “We kept the defense on the field a lot, which made them tired. The offense couldn’t move the ball, so we have to make sure this game that we keep moving the ball and put it in the end zone.”
He then spoke about gaining consistency on offense. “We need to focus on discipline this week, and not commit as many penalties. Penalties are hurting us in games. If we cut down on them, we’ll put the ball in the end zone.”
Saxton then spoke about the team’s morale while trailing at NC State. “We kept fighting. No matter what happens, we keep fighting. We don’t drop our heads when things go bad, because there are going to be bad times. We just keep our heads up no matter what situation comes up.”
He also spoke about the Saturday’s game at Mississippi State. “We’re looking to go in and fight hard and try to get better. We didn’t succeed last week, but we’re going in strong with a great game plan and we’ll be ready to play.”
Defensive lineman Alex Page spoke about the defense’s performance at NC State. “We played well in the second half, but realize that we made some mistakes in the first half and gave up some big plays. Minimizing the big plays and getting off the field on third down is what we need to focus on. I believe if we do that then we’ll have more success against Mississippi State. We need to continue the good play by our defensive line. Getting pressure on the quarterback is always going to be key in a big game like this.”
Page spoke about how beneficial playing at NC State was this past weekend. “It was a big stage and our guys came out there ready. I don’t think it was a matter of the big stage affecting our performance as far as us not making the right plays when we needed them. But it prepares you being in front of crowds like that. I believe it will be even more hostile this week, so we have to be even more prepared this week and minimize the mistakes and not let the crowd become a factor like it can.”
Page also spoke about the defense’s progress so far this season. “I think we had a letdown in the first week based on our standards, but we came back the next week and performed. This past week, we were right there but just had a few mistakes. We all think we have a chance, and we need to have a good week of practice and try to be ready for the game Saturday and just try to improve from last week.”
Jags To Face First Top-25 Team In Mississippi State On Saturday
It’s official. South Alabama will face it’s first top-25 ranked opponent on Saturday when they travel to Starkville, MS. to face Mississippi State at Davis Wade Stadium. It will also mark the Jaguars first SEC opponent.
The Bulldogs are 3-0 on the season with wins over Jackson State (56-9), Auburn (28-10) and Troy (30-24) and have cracked the AP top-25 poll at #23. The Jags, a 34.5-point underdog to the Bulldogs, have a lot to overcome following their 31-7 loss at North Carolina State.
“We realize we’re going up against a top-25 football team in Mississippi State,” Jags head coach Joey Jones said. “They have done a great job getting that program back on the map, so to speak. They have a great coaching staff and great players. We’re looking forward to playing a team like them.”
MSU may be the biggest team the Jags have ever faced. “They are very big,” Jones said. “You look across their front line on offense and the front line on defense and they have guys who are 6-foot-6 and 340, 330, 325 and 6-7 and those kind of things. They’ve done a great job recruiting some very big linemen, which is the first thing you see. The second thing you see is that they are playing with a lot of confidence right now. They beat Auburn 28-10 a couple of weeks ago and they are playing at a high level and deservedly so. They are doing a good job early in the year.”
But Mississippi State has some chinks in the armor. Coming into last Saturday’s game the Bulldog defense ranked 11th in the country in total defense yet Troy rolled up over 570 yards of offense against their defense.
Bulldog head coach Dan Mullen likened the Jaguars to Troy. “They’re a tough team being a newer program,” said Bulldog head coach Dan Mullen. “They have a lot of similarities with the team that we played last week, a very similar offensive system. They’re going to try to spread you out and run the football. Defensively, they’re pretty stout. They’ve given up 300 yards a game, a very sound defensive team and they play hard. That’s what you see when you watch them on film.”
But in order to be successful, the Jags will have to improve their execution and limit their own mistakes. “There were a lot of things on film that were so correctable, which is still on us,” Jones said. “Some of it had to do with how good (N.C. State was), there is no doubt about that, but there were a lot of things we didn’t do ourselves that we can correct. That was probably the biggest thing. The second thing was that our kids didn’t quit. I don’t say that trying to make anything sound better, we went out in the second half and could have easily folded since it was 28-0, but the defense came out and played really tough.”
“The offense kept working and drove down and scored,” he continued. “We had a couple chances to kick field goals but went for it. We probably should have kicked looking back on it. The bottom line is we played much better in the second half. To me, that shows the character of a team. When you’re down, how are you going to react? I think the kids really fought hard and kept fighting, that’s one thing I like about this team.”
If you look purely at the numbers, it doesn’t look good for the Jags right now. The Bulldogs average 413 yards per game and 38 points per game while their defense allows an average of 351 yards per game and just over 14 points per game. On the other hand, the Jaguars offense only averages 300 yards per game and just under 16 points per game while their defense yields an average of 300 yards per game and 22.3 points per game.
But the numbers only indicate what they did in the past, not what will happen in the future. “You always prepare to win,” Jones said. “If you’re an oddsmaker you might not pick us to win, but there is somebody who gets beat every week who isn’t supposed to. That’s the way I look at it. We will go out and prepare. We were watching film of last week’s game and had we done some of the things we were supposed to do, the game would have been much closer. It all comes down to us, not how good our opponent is. If we do the right things and put ourselves in a position to win, we will have a chance, and if we don’t we won’t. We are going to get knocked around some. They have some big linemen. But we’ll keep fighting back and trying to make plays and do what we are supposed to do. That is what we have to focus on.”
Jags Fall 31-7 In Raleigh
Senior linebacker Jake Johnson zeroes in on a NC State runner for one of his 14 tackles in Raleigh, NC.
South Alabama fell in a tough road game at North Carolina State on Saturday night by a score of 31-7. The Jags (1-2) finally scored in the fourth quarter to prevent a shutout.
NC State’s Mike Glennon went 24-of-34 for 257 yards and three touchdowns (all in the first half) to lead the Wolfpack over the Jags. On the Wolfpack’s first possession, Glennon went 8-of-9 and accounted for all but five yards of the 80-yard drive. He capped off the first drive with a 33-yard touchdown pass with 9:22 left in the first quarter.
Glennon’s second touchdown pass came with four minutes left in the first quarter and went for 44-yards. His third touchdown pass put the Wolfpack up 28-0 before halftime.
Demetre Baker led the Jags with 45 yards rushing on seven carries. Kendall Houston added 17 yards on four carries.
Ross Metheny went 14-of-20 for 189 yards with an interception and a touchdown. C.J. Bennett went 10-of-15 for 74 yards with an interception. Both quarterbacks were sacked three times each.
Jereme Jones extended his catch streak, and tied the all time record set by Courtney Smith, with his eight yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter. Demetre Baker led the receiver corps with five catches for 55 yards. Wes Saxton added four catches for 72 yards. Corey Besteda got the offense going on the touchdown drive with a 43 yard reception. Besteda caught three passes for 68 yards. T.J. Glover added three catches for 10 yards. Three other Jaguars had two catches each and another three had one catch each.
Jake Johnson led all players with a season high 14 total tackles. Alex Page had five tackles, with two sacks for 14 yards. Clifton Crews and Anthony Taylor both had sacks as well.
The wolfpack had 22 first downs to only 14 for the Jags. Overall, NC State outgained the Jags 384-314. The wolfpack out-gained the Jags on the ground 127 to 51, but the Jags would outgain their adversaries 263-257 through the air.
In the Jaguars first drive, Bennett picked up first downs with completions to Saxton and Besteda, but a poor pass was intercepted on a third-and-15 near midfield. Then on the ensuing Wolfpack drive, one of Page’s sacks put the Wolfpack with a third-and-15, but a personal foul gave them a first down. But the Jaguar offense could not recover from the setback.
“We knew when N.C. State held Connecticut to seven points last weekend that they were a very good defensive football team,” South Alabama head coach Joey Jones said after the game. “When you look at their film from last year and this year, they are two totally different teams. They showed that today. They were very good up front, and got to the quarterback several times. We could have done some things better, but they are very good defensive football team.”
“I thought we fought hard defensively, and the positive thing was that I thought we won the second half,” Coach Jones continued. “I challenged them at halftime to win the second half, and we came out and did that. We didn’t quit. Our kids fought hard. There are obviously some things we can work on, but a lot of it had to do with the fact that they were pretty good on defense.”
If the Jags can limit their mistakes, such as turnovers, negative yardage plays and penalties at key times, the Jags offense could move the ball and score like they did in the season opener against UTSA. But it seems that, once the offense commits a mistake, they have a hard time regaining their forward momentum.
Metheny really looked good at quarterback tonight after Bennett started struggling. He did a great job getting the ball out to his receivers quickly. The offensive line had their hands full with a big, quick defensive line for the Wolfpack. Drew Dearman had another great block on a screen pass play that allowed the receiver to gain some extra yards.
The Jags will continue their two game road-trip with a Saturday night match-up with Mississippi State in Starkville, Mississippi. Kickoff is scheduled for 6pm.
Jones Happy With Wednesday Practice In Preparation For NC State
Receiver Jereme Jones looks in the pass from CJ Bennett in the first half of the 33-31 loss to Texas-San Antonio.
The South Alabama Jaguars returned to the practice field on Wednesday morning for a two-hour practice as they continue to refine their game play for North Carolina State on Saturday. Coach Jones said he was happy with what he saw during the practice.
“We had real good intensity,” he observed. “We had some real good one-on-one periods where the offense went against the defense. (We had) perfect intensity to the point where we’re not tackling but we’re playing hard to the point where we would tackle. That’s going to help us. As fast as they are on defense and as big as they are on defense, we’ve got to see that. As well as they execute on offense we’ve got to have the scout team showing good looks and they did that today.”
One of the keys to the game will be how the offense improves on it’s performance last week in the red zone. The Jags reached the red zone five times but had to settle for three field goals. But they also have to improve on their third-down efficiency to keep drives alive.
“We’ve got to control the ball,” he continued. “We can’t go three-and-out and put our defense in a bind throughout the game. We’ve got to be able to control the ball and run the clock. We’ve got to be able to convert when we have the chance to make big plays. We’ve got to be able to convert big plays. And that’s any game, but it’s more so when you are playing a team with a great defense like N.C. State.”
As the Jags get ready to travel to Raleigh for the game, wide receiver Jereme Jones is one game away tying the school record for consecutive games with a reception set by Courtney Smith at 17 consecutive games which is every game he played for the Jaguars. Jereme has a catch in the last 16 consecutive games for the Jags.
Ross Metheny is expected to get playing time under center on Saturday in Raleigh as he has in the Jaguars previous two games. Metheny transfered to South Alabama after he graduated in three years brought two years of eligibility to South Alabama.
While at Virginia in the ACC, Metheny faced the Wolfpack once in his three years there. Metheny knows some of the players on the NC State team, but he never traveled to Raleigh. Virginia hosted NC State last season and was the only time the two teams met while Metheny was on the roster.
But Metheny may have more experience playing in larger stadiums that most Jaguars. “Fortunately I have been in a couple of those big stadiums before. UVA is a pretty big stadium itself and I’ve been to Florida State and (Virginia) Tech and all those places. I have some experience going to those places. I got in a couple of game reps in an environment like that and that’s always useful to have. But it’s a new game and a new experience and a new team with these guys. I’m excited to get there.”
Metheny played sparingly at Virginia and this season he has gone 6-of-12 for 58 yards with no interceptions and no touchdowns. He has also run 10 times for 14 yards.
C.J. Bennett has taken more reps in game that Metheny as he has gone 26-of-44 for 293 yards, one interception and two touchdowns.
But Metheny is eager to do anything to assist the team. “Anything I can do to help the team win is the main thing,” Metheny said. “It was good to get in there. I was telling someone those were the first meaningful snaps I’ve taken in three years. Anytime I got in at Virginia and got some experience, we were down big. It was that kind of situation. It was good to get in the game in that kind of environment and that stage and perform. I think it’s definitely useful going forward.”
Metheny continued, “Anytime you get some reps it becomes more comfortable. There’s definitely areas to improve on and that’s never going to change. I was comfortable (with the offense) coming out of camp, but anytime you get more reps and you’re preparing for a team and you get to practice, you get a lot more comfortable. So I’d definitely say I’m getting more comfortable with things.”
According to quarterbacks coach Bryant Vincent, Metheny has also caught on to the new offense quickly and has pushed Bennett throughout camp and the beginning of the season. “I think Ross has gotten better every day, every week, since he’s gotten here,” he said. “He’s a very driven, hard-working guy that really pays attention to every minor detail. I think he’s been a good addition for C.J. and for our football team because he gives us depth at quarterback and he gives us competition at the quarterback position.”
Tight end Greg Hollinger is listed as day-to-day but is expected to play in Raleigh however, he has been limited in practices this week due to a sprained left thumb. Hollinger was the only reported injury by the Jaguars staff.
The Jaguars and Wolfpack kickoff in Raleigh at 5pm CDT (6pm Eastern) at Carter-Finley Stadium. The game can be viewed on ESPN3 and WNSP 105.5FM will also carry the game, as they do every Jaguar game.
Both The Jags And Wolfpack Coming Off Defensive Games
Myles Gibbon takes in Carter-Finley Stadium before the team takes the field for warm-ups.
The Jags and the Wolfpack both come off of defensive games where special teams play were key to their victories.
South Alabama’s Michel Chapuseaux accounted for a career high three field goals to score all of the Jaguars points. He is 4-of-5 on the season thus far and leads the team with 16 points. Punter Scott Garber averaged 43.6 yards per punt with two kicks downed inside the opponents 20 yard line. He also boomed a 69 yard punt in the contest to help flip field position into the Jags favor.
NC State’s Wil Baumann punted nine times against UConn with three downed inside the opponents 20 yard line. He averaged almost 39 yards per kick. Placekicker Niklas Slade gave the Wolfpack their final margin of victory by connecting on a 40 yard field goal that were the only points scored before halftime.
“I think they [N.C. State] are better defensively this year,” Jones said. “Their defensive front seems more active. They lost a couple of NFL guys at linebacker, but they replaced them with a couple of good ones. They are very well-coached and do a good job with their schemes.”
Mike Glennon, who went 17-of-20 for 274 yards and four touchdowns against the Jags last season, is 42-of-76 (55.3%) this season for 492 yards and two touchdowns. His favorite target so far is Tobias Palmer who has nine receptions so far this season. QUintin Payton has a team-best 177 yards receiving. While on the ground, Mustafa Greene leads a trio of running backs with 101 yards but Tony Creecy and James Washington have split the two rushing touchdowns by the Wolfpack.
“Offensively, it starts with their quarterback,” Jones said. “He’s very efficient, and they do a good job moving the ball down the field and are patient with their play calls. Our defense is looking forward to the challenge of playing them. They do a good job with run-pass balance. They can throw the ball underneath and downfield, and they can run the football. They put some pressure on you defensively to make sure you cover all parts of the field.”
Coach Jones believes their trip to Raleigh last season will be very beneficial to the Jags in preparing for Saturday’s game and handling game day emotions.
“I think it will help, the fact that we did play there last year,” he said. “But I always say that it doesn’t matter where you play, you play between the lines. Our kids will be ready to play no matter what, and that’s one thing we pride ourselves on. One thing we can control is ourselves, how hard and how well we play. I thought we walked out last year as confident as a team could be. It wasn’t a deal where we were star struck by the lights or the fact that it was our first FBS opponent. Our kids came to play. that’s what I like about our team, and I expect them to play well this year.”
Go Jags!
Jags Workout In Shells On Tuesday
Wide Receiver Bryant Lavender waits on the ball during Jaguars preseason camp.
South Alabama practiced in shells on Tuesday as they continued to prepare for the Jags road trip to NC State on Saturday. This will be the Jags second trip to Raleigh where they lost last season 35-13. It was the Jags first-ever game against a FBS team and will be their first FBS opponent this season.
Head coach Joey Jones was pleased with what he saw at practice and what they accomplished. “I thought it was really, really good today,” he said. “The kids are preparing the way they are supposed to. There was a little more pep in their step. We had a good physical day and the tempo was really good, I thought. The kids almost went 100 percent without knocking each other to the ground and that’s the perfect type tempo we need.”
NC State returns several starters from last season and coach Jones said that his team must stay focused and work on the details if they exepct to play well on Saturday. “N.C. State is fast and on offense and defense they can do really well and execute very well offensively,” Jones commented. “We’ve got to be sharp this week. I challenged our scout team. They’ve got to do a great job of giving us a look this week because N.C. State, they do things really well, so if the scout team gives us a good luck, we’ve got a good shot on Saturday.”
A year ago NC State quarterback Mike Glennon went 17-of-20 for 274 yards and four touchdowns against the Jaguars defense. The secondary will be tested again this season and they understand that they must be prepared for what the Wolfpack will throw their way. But the defensive front will need to put pressure on Glennon as well.
“First of all, I think we’re better in the secondary this year,” he said. “Our kids are really understanding the concepts back there now and we’ve got some better cover people there, so we feel good about that. As always, you’ve got to be able to play physical up front and that’s what we have challenged our kids to do. I think they understand that and that’s one thing we’re working on this week.”
The Jags played a tough game and kept it close until mistakes allowed NC State to pull away late. “We went up there and played a really good football game,” Jones said. “I thought we went out there and went toe-to-toe with them. Our kids are very competitive and want to be in these type of situations. You want to get into an atmosphere like you see in Raleigh. I’ll never forget walking out onto the field last year and how exciting it was to be in that atmosphere. Our kids are looking forward to it.”
Through two games this season, the Jags defense stacks up pretty well in the Sun Belt. They are tied for first place in red zone defense, kickoff returns, opponents’ third-down conversion rate and fourth-down conversions. They are either solely in second place or tied for second in total defense, sacks, passing defense efficiency and interceptions. But don’t get too excited about those stats just yet. It’s only two games into the season and the offense is not ranking that well.
In the 10 team Sun Belt Conference, the Jags are 9th in scoring offense, 10th in total offense, 10th in rushing offense, 9th in passing offense. But if you contrast that with the defense in similar categories and you see the disparity between the two. The Jags scoring defense is 3rd in the league, 2nd in total defense, 3rd in rushing defense and 3rd in passing defense.
Offensive coordinator Robert Matthews mentioned before the Jaguars game against Nicholls State, that they need to improve their third down efficiency. Heading into their game against NC State the offense has converted 12-of-32 third downs. That’s a mere 38%, which includes a 7-of-19 mark against Nicholls State last Saturday.
However, the defense is holding their opponents to a 4-of-24 third down success rate, which is a mere 17%. Both opponents were 2-of-12 in their games.
Jags Monday Press Conference
On Monday, South Alabama sat down with the press to recap Saturday’s win over Nicholls State and preview their upcoming game at N.C. State on Saturday. Here is some highlights from the press conference.
“We’re glad for the win this past weekend,” said Jaguar head coach Joey Jones in his opening statement. “I thought we played extremely well on defense, and kind of played conservative offensively. But a win is a win, it’s a team win whether offense, defense or special teams does well. I think our kids were glad to get it, and we were excited to get the win.”
Coach Jones then turned his focus towards NC State. “We look forward to ballgames like this. Last year, N.C. State was our first [Football Bowl Subdivision] game. We went up there and played a really good football game. They are very good opponent, obviously well-coached and have good players. I thought we went out there and went toe-to-toe with them. Our kids are very competitive and want to be in these type of situations. You want to get into an atmosphere like you see in Raleigh [N.C.]. I’ll never forget walking out onto the field last year and how exciting it was to be in that atmosphere. Our kids are looking forward to it.”
“I think they are better defensively this year,” Coach Jones continued. “Their defensive front seems more active. They lost a couple of NFL guys at linebacker, but they replaced them with a couple of good ones. They are very well-coached and do a good job with their schemes. Offensively, it starts with their quarterback Mike Glennon. He’s 6-foot-6 and will probably be in the NFL next year. He’s a very efficient quarterback, and they do a good job moving the ball down the field and are patient with their play calls. Our defense is looking forward to the challenge of playing them. They do a good job with the run-pass balance. They can throw the ball underneath and downfield, and they can run the football. They put some pressure on you defensively to make sure you cover all parts of the field.”
Coach Jones then spoke about how it helps to have experienced the atmosphere last season in Raleigh. “I think it will help, the fact that we did play there last year. But I always say that it doesn’t matter where you play, you play between the lines. Our kids will be ready to play no matter what, and that’s one thing we pride ourselves on. One thing we can control is ourselves, how hard and how well we play. I thought we walked out last year as confident as a team could be. It wasn’t a deal where we were star struck by the lights or the fact that it was our first FBS opponent. Our kids came to play, that’s what I like about our team, and I expect them to play well this year.”
Finally, he spoke about the Jaguars offensive production in the red zone. “We have to do a better job, and I do as well, of adjusting at halftime to something new. They [Nicholls State] ran a new defensive front that we weren’t expecting, and we did a good job and played hard. We got a little conservative in the second half. The defense was playing so well that we didn’t want to make a mistake, but we have to punch it in down in the red zone. That’s one thing we talked about as a staff.”
Running back Demetre Baker then spoke with the media beginning with his performance so far and his expectations for the NC State game. “At this point in the season, I have done OK. I’m not where I want to be. There are things that I can work on. There’s more time I can put in the fieldhouse watching more film. Our first two opponents were tough teams, they weren’t pushovers. They came out and were ready to play. I look forward to doing more studying and practicing harder this week and can give it all I can for N.C. State.”
Baker then spoke about playing a team from the ACC and how that environment increases the excitement level. “It is, one reason is because of the crowd, being in that atmosphere when it’s loud with 40,000-plus people. I’m wishing and hoping we can get that here one day, so we can get used to it. I don’t think it’ll be a problem for us, it motivates us and gets us really pumped up for the game.”
Finally, Baker spoke about the offensive performance against Nicholls State and bouncing back from the opening game loss to UTSA. “I’m not disappointed at all. I think we just have to put everything together. We have what it takes, we have the offense and we certainly have the plays to do what it takes to get in the red zone. We just have to finish up, do a little more polishing and practice harder and put one in. When we score that touchdown it will be exciting for us because we know we did everything we could to get in the red zone and score.”
Defensive back Tyrell Pearson then spoke with the media. He spoke about his performance so far this season and his expectations for the NC State game. “I feel that on the defensive side of the ball, as a unit we’re tough. The first game we didn’t come out fast in the first half, but in the second half we came out with fire and intensity. That carried over to the second game against Nicholls State. As you can see, we did very well with that. I’m not sure what we held them to in total yardage, but we did pretty well. Going in to North Carolina State, I feel like we’re going to do the same. I feel we’ll step up to the challenge on defense, especially in the secondary.”
He also spoke about facing NC State quarterback Mike Glennon. “Darrius Morrow and I have been talking about this the whole week. It’s going to be a big game for both of us. Playing at junior college, we expect to be playing against big competition and big-time quarterbacks. Our slogan is ‘Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games.’”
Coach Jones Sets Record Straight On Birmingham News Article
A Birmingham News reporter apparently took Coach Joey Jones quote out of context on Sunday. The Press-Register posted an article Monday evening concerning the misunderstanding.
The article had the quote, “We try to keep (the opponents’ score) in the 40s,” Jones said. “You’re going to get beat bad, but if you can keep them in the 40s it’s OK.”
However, as always, context is what matters. Coach Jones told the Tommy Hicks of the Press-Register, “There was a question from the audience about Savannah State getting beat 77-0 and so I made a joke and said, ‘Yeah, we try to keep ours (games against bigger schools) in the 40s and not the 70s.’ I was just making a joke obviously and everyone in the room laughed,” Jones said.
In 2011, the Jags played two FBS teams in NC State and Kent State. The Jags played the NC State Wolfpack closely before turnovers and mistakes let them finish with a 35-13 win over the Jags. Then the Jags traveled to Kent State and allowed them to take a big first half lead, but the Jags roared back in the second half by scoring 25 unanswered points and had the ball with a chance to drive the field for a chance to tie the game with a potential 2-point conversion.
In both of those games the Jags kept the score under 40 and were very competitive in both, nothing like the article suggested with the out of context quotation.