Monday Press Conference Reflects on GSU; Previews Idaho
Maleki Harris, a senior from Cordova, Alabama, recorded his second double-digit tackle total against Mississippi State where he also forced two fumbles. The Sun Belt Conference named him the Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, September 15, 2014.
University of South Alabama head football coach Joey Jones was joined by linebacker Maleki Harris for their weekly press conference on Monday. They reflected on the Jaguars loss to Georgia Southern and previewed this weekends visit to Idaho.
Coach Jones began with his opening statement. “It’s obviously a big game this week. Idaho is scoring a lot of points, and really playing better defense as I have watched them throughout the year. Our focus is on that. I told the guys yesterday that last week doesn’t mean anything. We have to move forward; that’s the way life is. I wish we would have played a little better. We did some really good things and did some bad things, but our kids are playing their tails off. They’re playing with great effort. We’re going to fix some things this week and get ready to play.”
Jones stressed that the team is not playing at the level they need to be playing at in order to win games. On Sunday, he talked to the offense about what is going on and what they need to do in order to make corrections and win games.
“We have good players and we’re calling good plays; we’re doing a lot of things right,” Jones said. “But out on the field some of the things are clicking. We have to get to where everyone on offense is being more consistent, and that’s really all it boils down to. We addressed a lot of issues as an offense and we are going to implement those, but the bottom line is we have to go get it done on the field. We’re not far off and we’re not going to panic right now, but we certainly have to pay attention to detail and get better. If we don’t get any better on offense then we’re going to have a tough time. I feel like our defense and special teams are playing well enough to win right now, the offense just needs to pick it up a bit.”
“Offensively, their quarterback is a very talented player,” Jones said turning his attention to Idaho. “He stands in the pocket and throws the ball. He has a good arm and understands where to go with the ball. Defensively, they have improved. They were giving up some points early in the year, but their coaching staff has done a good job of simplifying their scheme. They are much more sound right now. It’s going to be a tough ball game, it always is. This conference has a lot of good teams, and we have to be ready for each one. But we have to get better ourselves and concentrate on that, more so than concentrating on Idaho.”
Maleki Harris told the media that the coaches are putting them into good positions to make plays, but the players need to go make the plays. He pointed out that Idaho is a good team and that he and the team need to go up there focused and take care of business.
When asked about his play, Harris said that he is listening to his coaches and they are putting him in good positions to make plays. “They are giving us a good game plan each week, and they have us prepared for every game. It’s just a matter of going out there and making sure I do everything they coach me on and just follow what they tell me to do.”
“I feel like our defense is as good, if not better than last year,” Harris said when asked about the defense. “We’re playing at a higher level. I feel like our secondary is playing better than they were last year. Our linebackers are playing well, and our defensive line is talented and has depth. Defensively, I feel like we’re on pace to pick up where we left off last season.”
“One of the things Coach (Jones) has been preaching is the little things are what separates the good teams from the great teams,” Harris answered when asked about the team. “We have to capitalize on opportunities when they are there, and just make plays and do our jobs and handle our responsibilities. The little things are the difference in us being 3-0 and 1-2.”
Coach Jones, the players and staff look to get back to even on the season when they travel to Idaho to take on the 0-3 Vandals. Kickoff is scheduled for 4pm CDT and can be heard on 99.9 WMXC or viewed on ESPN3.
Volleyball Defeats Georgia State 3-0
The South Alabama volleyball team defeated Georgia State on Sunday 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-18) in straight sets. The win improves the Jaguars record to 7-5 overall and 2-0 in conference play while Georgia State falls to 3-9 overall and 1-2 in conference play.
Abby Baker led the team with 11 digs while Mechell Daniel led the way with 11 kills. Emily Hundt had 20 assists to go along with nine digs.
Next the Jaguars will travel to San Marcos, Texas to face the Texas State Bobcats on Thursday, September 25 at 6:30pm.
Hannah Ties Record With Four Goals Against Francis Marion in 5-0 Win
Freshman Charde Hannah earned Offensive Player of the Week honors on Tuesday, September 16, 2014. She is the third Jaguar to earn a weekly honor this season. She tied a school record with four goals against Francis Marion on Sunday, September 21. Photo: usajaguars.com
South Alabama’s Charde Hannah tied a school record on Sunday with four goals in a 5-0 win over Francis Marion.
Charde got the scoring started with a goal in the 5th minute of the match and an assist by Danielle Henley. She would net her second goal in the 28th minute with an assist by Jordan Duncan on a shot into the upper right corner. At the half the Jags were up 2-0.
In the second half, Chelsea Followwell scored a goal after a rebound on a goal keeper save from about six yard out in the 50th minute of the match.
Just under six minutes later, Hannah scored a hat trick with a shot from about 20 yards out. In the 66th minute, Hannah could get her record tying goal on a throughball with an assist from Sophie Haywood.
Sarah Hay had six saves on the day.
The Jags held a 35 – 10 advantage in shots, 18-6 advantage on shots on goal.
Eagles Use Strong Running Game to Defeat Jags 28-6
The offense looks to the sideline for the play call against Georgia Southern on Saturday, September 20, 2014. GSU won their first Sun Belt Conference game 28-6.
Dropped passes, missed opportunities and inconsistent offensive play was the story for the second consecutive week for the Jaguars. The opportunities were there within reach, but they could not capitalize on them.
Brandon Bridge was 13-of-34 for 149 yards, a touchdown and two late interceptions while being sacked four times. Many of the incomplete passes were in receivers arms, but they could not be caught and it was frustrating to fans in the stands. Shavarez Smith led the receivers with four catches for 69 yards and the only touchdown of the game.
On the ground the Jaguars gained 147 yards with Kendall Houston leading the attack with 38 yards on seven carries. Jay Jones and Xavier Johnson both gained 37 yards on 12 and seven carries respectively.
The Jaguar defense played brilliantly at times, but were worn thin when the offense could not sustain a drive to give them a breather. Overall the defense allowed yards, 335 of them rushing on 52 carries. Georgia Southern quarterbacks were 6-of-11 for 85 yards and an interception.
The first quarter saw neither offense playing particularly well until the final play when GSU’s Matthew Breida went off left tackle and outran the Jaguar defense to the end zone for a 64-yard score and a 7-0 lead.
About five minutes into the second quarter the Eagles struck again on a 1-yard touchdown run by L.A. Ramsby. The highlight of their drive was a 48 yard pass completion from Kevin Ellison to receiver B.J. Johnson that was well defended by Qudarius Ford, but Johnson was able to haul in on the bounce.
The Jaguars responded late in the first half. Facing fourth and 1 at the GSU 28, Jaguar head coach Joey Jones called a time out to set up the offense. Shavarez Smith ran a short pattern near the right sideline and found a soft spot pass the first down marker, Bridge connected with him and Smith broke the tackle and sprinted 28 yards for the touchdown. Aleem Sunanon’s extra point attempt would be no-good, leaving the Jaguars trailing 14-6 at halftime.
Midway through the third quarter the Eagles extended their lead on a Breida touchdown from one yard out to make the score 21-6.
South Alabama had an opportunity to add to their score, but facing fourth-and-goal from the 7 yards line, Bridge suffered one of his four sacks to end the threat.
The Jags would a break when the Eagles field goal attempt would sail widel left, but again the Jaguar offense could not take advantage of that or any other opportunities the rest of the game.
GSU would score once more with 3:21 on a six yard touchdown run by Ellison for the final score of 28-6.
Breida led Georgia Southern on the ground with 187 yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns while averaging 8.9 yards per carry. Ellison added 96 yards on 16 carries.
B.J. Johnson caught five of the six completed passes for 76 yards. Kentrellis Showers caught the other complete pass for nine yards.
The loss drops the Jaguars to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in conference play. Georgia Southern evens their record at 2-2 overall and 1-0 in conference play.
South Alabama travels to Moscow, Idaho to face the 0-3 Vandals in the Kibbie Dome. Georgia Southern has a short week as they host Appalachian State on Thursday evening.
Preview: South Alabama vs Georgia Southern
South Alabama has worked all week to put Mississippi State behind them because they have a very good football team in Georgia Southern coming into Mobile on Saturday.
Let’s break down the Eagles. Through three weeks this season the Eagles lost to NC State by one point, 23-24, drummed Savannah State 83-9 with 599 yards rushing, and lost in the final minute of the game to Georgia Tech 38-42.
We’re going to throw out the numbers against Savannah State because they should give a more realistic statistics to compare the two teams.
Georgia Southern:
In the two games the Eagles offense has scored 61 points and allowed 66 points for an average score of 30.5 for the Eagles and 33 points for their opponent. They have rushed for 529 yards on 85 carries for an average of 6.2 yards per carry. The Eagle’s are 23-of-39 for 437 yards and two touchdowns through the air. That is 19.0 yards per reception and 11.2 yards per attempt.
Defensively the Eagles have given up 521 yards rushing on 88 carries for an average of 5.9 yards per carry and seven touchdowns. Through the air they have allowed 479 yards and seven touchdowns as opposing quarterbacks have gone 39-of-64 for an average of 12.2 yards per reception and 7.5 yards per attempt. The defense has six tackles for loss in the two games we are counting for an average of three per game. They have two sacks, one in each game. Turnovers wise, they have no fumbles but one interception. Six passes broken up, three per game.
On the special teams they have seven punts with an average of 45.7 yards per punt and a long of 60 against NC State in a game in which they had three 50+ yard punts. Kickoffs average 64.7 yards and have led to nine touchbacks. Placekicking, the Eagles have attempted four field goals and have made all of them with the longest being 37 yards.
South Alabama:
In the Jaguars two games this season they have scored 26 points and allowed 48 points for an average score of 13 for and 24 against. The Jaguar offense has rushed for 243 yards on 77 attempts for an average of 3.2 yards per rush. Through the air the Jags are 43-of-80 with one touchdown and two interceptions for 449 yards. That comes out to 10.4 yards per reception and 5.6 yards per attempt.
Defensively the Jaguars defense has given up 352 rushing yards on 73 carries for an average of 4.8 yards per carry. Through the air they have given up 439 yards as opposing quarterbacks have gone 33-of-64 for four touchdowns which is an average of 13.3 yards per reception and 6.9 yards per attempt. They have eight tackles for loss, three sacks, and 14 passes broken up. USA has forced three fumbles and recovered two of them, both against Mississippi State, and one interception.
On special teams, Brandon McKee has punted 17 times for an average of 40.1 yards per punt, with a long of 51 yards. He has downed six inside the 20. Aleem Sunanon’s kickoffs average 54.8 yards per kick with two touchbacks. Placekicking, Sunanon has attempted two field goals and made one from 26 yards, he had a 31 yard attempt blocked against Mississippi State.
SBC Statistics:
NOTE: These statistics, unlike the ones above, are based on all three games Georgia State has played. Above we excluded Savannah State because of the exorbitant numbers. Every team in the conference has played three games except USA, Appalachian State, Idaho and Texas State.
Georgia Southern leads the conference in scoring offense with their 48 points per game average. The Jags fall last on the rankings with an average of 13 points per game. USA is tied for second in scoring defense with an average of 24 points per game allowed, while Georgia Southern is a close fourth with an average of 25 points per game allowed.
GSU is second in the conference in total offense with 550 yards per game average, they are beat out only by Texas State who average 569.5 yards per game. South Alabama is 10th out of 11 schools with an average of 346 yards per game.
By far the Eagles lead the conference in rushing offense with 364.3 yards per game, and is nearly 70 yards per game more than the next team on the ranking. The Jags rank 8th with 121.5 yards per game rushing.
South Alabama ranks 7th in the conference in passing offense with 224.5 yards per game through the air, Georgia Southern is last with an average of 185.7 yards per game passing.
South Alabama ranks fifth in the conference in total defense at 395.5 yards per game average while Georgia Southern ranks seventh with an average of 431.7 yards per game.
The Jaguars rushing defense ranks third in the conference with an average of 176.0 yards per game allowed on the ground. Georgia Southern ranked 7th by allowing 202.7 yards per game rushing.
The Jags rank 5th in pass defense allowing 219.5 yards per game through the air while Georgia Southern comes in one spot behind them allowing 229.0 yards per game.
Both teams lost last week as the Jaguars struggled to find consistency on offense with several dropped passes. Defensively they had at least two dropped interceptions. GSU lost to Georgia Tech last weekend on a touchdown in the final seconds of the game.
Historically, the Jaguars have had a tough time against triple-option defenses. Georgia Southern runs it a little different though. They run the triple option out of the shotgun but that does not affect their effectiveness to run the ball.
Georgia Southern converts 56.7% of their third down attempts, tops in the conference. South Alabama ranks 9th converting 40% of their third down attempts.
Defensively Georgia Southern also tops the conference in opponents third down conversions by only allowing them to convert 31.8% of the time while the Jags rank 10 allowing opponents to convert 50% of their third downs.
The Jags are the least penalized team in the conference with nine penalties for 42 yards, which average 21 yards per game. Georgia Southern is tied for 4th in the conference with an average of 36.7 yards per game of penalties.
USA is second in the conference in time of possession with an average of 31:26 while Georgia Southern ranks 8th with an average time of possession of 27:53.
Conclusion:
Just looking at all of the raw numbers and rankings, you can tell it should be a close game. Each team is set up to exploit the weakness of the opponent.
This begins an eight-game stretch of conference games for South Alabama, while this is the first conference game for Georgia Southern so expect both teams to come in with high expectations. Hopefully the Jaguars have put the loss to Mississippi State behind them and have correct the issues that hampered them against the Bulldogs.
USA Has Four Teams Earn SBC Team Academic Awards
South Alabama had four teams earn 2014-2015 Sun Belt Conference Academic Awards on Thursday. That number is twice as many as any other conference member.
USA teams that earned awards were the Jaguar softball team, the men’s and women’s cross country teams and the men’s track and field team.
The conference office recognizes one team from each of the league’s 16 sports for for the award, which is calculated by totaling the student-athlete GPA’s for the team and dividing by the total number of student-athletes on the team. The team with the highest average GPA is named the Team Academic Award winner for that year. The GPA’s are based off of the previous school year and include the total GPA for the year, not the average of semesters.
In all, South Alabama Athletics had a record 100 student-athletes to make the Dean’s list, 189 individuals with a 3.0 GPA or higher, in the spring semester. Additionally, 10 sports programs carried a team GPA of 3.0 or higher.
South Alabama finished second in the Bubas Cup standings for the 2013-2014 academic year. The Bubas Cup recognizes the conference’s top overall program in competition. It was the school’s best finish in more than 10 years.
Jags Down ULL In Volleyball Conference Opener
The South Alabama Jaguar volleyball team started their Sun Belt Conference schedule with a 3-2 (25-23, 17-25, 25-14, 17-25, 16-14) win over ULL on the road.
Jessica Lewis led the team with 17 kills and two solo blocks. Mechell Daniel posted her fifth double-double of the season with 14 kills and 13 digs. Nikki Gittens tied a career high with 12 kills and led the team with five total blocks, one solo, as well as two service aces. Mallory Moore added 10 kills. Emily Hundt recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 44 assists and 10 digs.
SBC Defensive Player of the Week Abby Baker posted 25 digs.
The loss was the first for the Ragin’ Cajuns who are 10-1 on the season and 0-1 in Conference play. Meanwhile the Jags improve to 6-5 on the season and 1-0 in Conference play. They return to Mobile to host Georgia State on Sunday in a noon time match in Jag Gym.
AD Erdmann Addresses #JagNation Concerning Policy Changes At Ladd-Peebles
South Alabama athletic director Joel Erdmann releases letter to Jaguar fans concerning the water availability situation at Ladd-Peebles Stadium during the Jags sold-out game against Mississippi State on Saturday, September 13, 2013. Photo Credit: Matt Weaver | Special to Thunderjags
South Alabama Athletics Director Joel Erdmann release an open letter to fans on Wednesday addressing the water situation at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. In the letter he outlines the changes that USA and Ladd-Peebles will implement in future games to try to prevent the same situation from happening again.
Here is a link to a PDF of the letter.
September 17, 2014
Jaguar Fans and Customers;
The September 13th football game versus Mississippi State University will be remembered as one of the remarkable moments in South Alabama history. Beginning with the crowded Pep Rally Friday evening in downtown Mobile and carrying through to the tailgating and the game itself, tens of thousands of Jaguar fans experienced a tangible swell of pride and unity.
Please note that the 3:00 p.m. game time was established to allow for a nationally televised game on ESPNews. We anticipate and hope that similar opportunities present themselves in the future. The festive atmosphere of Saturday’s game combined with the sheer numbers of a sell-out crowd and the heat of a mid-September afternoon in Mobile, Alabama, exposed selected operational areas which will be addressed as follows.
1. Water – customers experienced access to warm bottled water at selected areas within the stadium. Moving forward:
• Spectators will be allowed to bring into the stadium two bottles of water per person. Small to medium-sized soft-sided coolers are now allowed and are subject to search. Please be sure such items are sized appropriately to fit within the designated seating area and does not intrude on adjacent fans.
• There will be roving vendors with beverages in both the West and East grandstands.
• Refrigerated trucks will be located in designated ground-level areas of the stadium. These locations will serve as points of sale with cold bottles of water assured. Due to various logistical and safety restrictions, water from these areas cannot be distributed to the concourses – thus a short walk to the areas will be required.
• All efforts will be made to continue to provide cold water in the concourses.2. Shuttles – Customers have access to ride the Wave Transit System from the Bel Air Mall parking lot (Near JC Penney) to Ladd-Peebles and return. The shuttles run non-stop from four hours prior to a game to two hours after. The cost for a round trip is $2.50. At peak times prior to Saturday’s game there were in excess of 30 buses in rotation. Moving forward:
• We will increase the number of buses in the rotation at peak-use times and balance those numbers with the desire to keep the cost of the shuttle at $2.50 per round trip.As our football program continues to grow, we have been provided a tremendous opportunity to call Ladd-Peebles Stadium our home. We view this opportunity as a true partnership between the Stadium and Jaguar Athletics. When issues which negatively impact the experience of our fans occur, we will be diligent in working together as a team to find reasonable solutions.
We deeply appreciate your support. Go Jags!!
Joel
Hannah Earns Offensive Player of the Week Honors
Freshman Charde Hannah earned Offensive Player of the Week honors on Tuesday, September 16, 2014. She is the third Jaguar to earn a weekly honor this season. Photo: usajaguars.com
Charde Hannah of the South Alabama Soccer team added to the Jaguars list of weekly honors on Tuesday as she was named the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week.
Hannah, a freshman from Tupelo, Mississippi, is the third Jaguar to earn the conference’s weekly honor after freshman Sophie Haywood and junior Nini Rabsatt-Smith swept the awards last week.
Hannah recorded three goals and an assist for seven points as the Jaguars sent 2-0 by defeating Mississippi State and Alabama A&M. She scored both goals in the win over the Bulldogs.
She currently ranks 16th in the nation in goals per match (.875) and 17th in points per match with 2.13. She leads the conference in both of those categories.
USA will try to extend their four-matching winning streak on Friday when they host North Florida at The Cage.
Jaguar Volleyball’s Baker Earns SBC Defensive Player of the Week Honor
Abby Baker, a sophomore from Fayetteville, Georgia, was named the Defensive Player of the Week for her performance in the Maroon Classic over the weekend. | Photo: John Adams usajaguars.com
Sophomore libero/defensive specialist Abby Baker was named the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Monday by the Conference office for the first time in her career.
Baker helped the Jaguars to a 3-1 record at the Maroon Classic over the weekend as she had 81 digs for a 6.23 digs per set average in four matches. She did not commit a reception error in the 54 times she was served.
She ranks sixth in the conference in digs with 3.80 per set.
Baker is the first Jaguar to earn a defensive honor since Jenna Hassell on September 10, 2012 and only the third recipient of the honor is South Alabama history.
Baker and the Jags will return to action on Wednesday as they open conference play at Louisiana-Lafayette. They will then return home to host Georgia State on Sunday.