Jags Pep Rally For Pikeville Game
Join the rest of the fans at the Jaguar statue in front of the Mitchell Center on campus at 7:30pm for a South Alabama style pep rally.
Less than three days till the Jaguars hit the field against Pikeville to being their second season of football.
Come out for the Pep Rally, then come out to Ladd-Peebles stadium and cheer on the Jags.
Women’s Rugby Recruiting Interested Players
Women’s Rugby at South Alabama is a strong possibility. Significant interest at JagFest has moved the rugby organizers to open the sport to women of South Alabama. The Lady Jag’s will be recruiting. Any interested girls should contact April Hill
All rugby players need to attend the first team meeting scheduled for Sept 14th at the new rec center meeting room at 6pm for practice and match schedules, officer elections, information about club dues, and also to fill out and exchange contact information. Go Lady Jags!
First Rugby Team Meeting Scheduled
The club sport Rugby plans to host its first team meeting at 6PM on September 14, 2010 in the new Rec Center Meeting Room. The main topics of the meeting shall include:
- Officer elections
- Paperwork
- Practice days and times
- Match schedule
- Constitution and Bylaws
- Club dues
- Exchanging of contact information
- General discussion
Contact information for the club president may be found here: http://www.southalabama.edu/sportsclubs/existingclubs.html
Anyone interested in joining the team is encouraged to attend this initial meeting.
Rugby Coming To South Alabama?
Hint: The answer is “Yes.” Though there are several things still in the works, and details are very sparse at this time, it seems Rugby is coming to South with matches starting as early as this coming fall. This is still undergoing preliminary development as a club sport at this time. For more information, you can visit the Rugby booth at JagFest coming up on August 21st. The official website is coming soon, but you can likely keep tabs on southalabamarugby.com for more information as it becomes available.
Two Basketball Players Dismissed; Cotton Joins Football Team
Basketball
On Monday, it was announced that South Alabama head basketball coach Ronnie Arrow dismissed Labree Sledge and Kentari Nettles from the basketball program. Both signed National Letter of Intents with South Alabama in November and enrolled in summer school classes but violated team and University rules.
Coach Arrow had this to say about Sledge and Nettles, “Due to recent circumstances we felt like it would be in the best interest of both the program and the individuals involved that we part ways at this time. We wish them the best in their future endeavors.”
Sledge averaged 9.8 points per game while attending Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas. Nettles attended LeFlore High School and led them to the 5A semifinals in 2008.
Football
It’s official, Raymond Cotton is joining the Jaguars and is expected to practice with the team when they hit the practice field for the first time on Friday morning. Raymond, a redshirt Freshman received his official release from Ole Miss on Wednesday.
He joins a good stable of quarterback at South Alabama. Brennan Sim, Myles Gibbon, Gabe Graham who were all there last season. Including incoming Freshman C.J. Bennett from Tampa, Florida and Matt Saucier who took snaps at quarterback in the Spring of last year but moved to Safety before the season started. Nick Owens transferred after last season when it became obvious that he was not going to get as much playing time with the Jags.
Cotton was ranked among the top 30 quarterbacks nationally by both ESPN and Scout.com as well as being in the top 15 players in the Mid-Atlantic region. He also participated in the Elite 11 Quarterback Camp last summer after his one season with Fort Meade.
It was also announced on Wednesday that Jarred Williams is transferring from Florida-Atlantic to South Alabama. he will also be able to participate in the teams first practice on Friday morning.
Williams is a 6’3″ 245 pound defensive end originally from Fort Walton Beach, Florida and will have four years of eligibility for South Alabama after redshirting last season with FAU.
Williams marks the fifth student-athlete to join the Jaguars from a NCAA FBS (formerly Division I-A) program.
As stated above, the Jags will begin preparation for their second season of football on Friday. They will be facing a tougher schedule so the coach staff made spring drills more physical and challenging to fit the bill. They also recruited well to fill specific needs and to add depth at certain positions.
The schedule will expand from seven game to ten with all of their opponents being four-year institutions as well as the Jags first three road games. Coach Jones expects 129 Jaguar players to report on Wednesday and will take care of all of their academic preparation on Thursday and probably have meetings to prepare for practice on Friday.
One of the positions that was of major concern was the secondary. Saucier was among the players who were converted from offensive positions to help give the Jags depth in the secondary. Another was Ken Barefield who flourished in the secondary. They added Jonathan Cameron from Mississippi Gulf Coast CC and Darrow Fisher for experience as well as some freshmen who will add to the depth.
Coach Jones also wants more depth on the offensive line. He said only about six players got the majority of the playing time last season and he wants to get more involved. “We need to have at least 10 guys that we feel like we can count on. We’re recruiting to try and get to that point. Playing the schedule we’re playing this year, we’ve got to create some depth there, and competition. Last year, those guys knew it didn’t matter what they did, they were going to start. We didn’t have any depth. Now we’re going to have some guys breathing down their necks and pushing them and that’s always good.”
Another position of interest to Coach Jones is defensive end. “We need to find guys who can come off the edge and sack the quarterback. We feel like we’ve got some big guys on the defensive line, some very good players, but we’ve got to develop some pass rush,” Coach Jones said. “They’ve really gotten bigger, faster and stronger. But most of those guys we’re playing with on the defensive line, they’re freshmen. We don’t have a lot of veterans there to help them out.”
Friday’s practice will go from 7:10-9:45am to begin the first of nine straight days of practice. Friday and Saturday the team will be practicing in T-shirts and shorts. They will then add shells for practice on Sunday and Monday then will practice in full pads beginning on Tuesday.
Raymond Cotton Leaves Ole Miss For South Alabama
According to Raymond Cotton Sr. his son Raymond Cotton has received his release from Ole Miss on Thursday and plans to sign with South Alabama. South Alabama could not comment since no scholarship papers have been signed yet. Also according to Cotton’s father, his release was only good for South Alabama.
Cotton has ties to the area when he led Faith Academy to the AISA final as junior before moving to Maryland. He originally committed to Auburn before changing his mind for Ole Miss. He threw for 2,243 yards with 24 touchdowns in Fort Meade, Maryland as a senior.
Cotton joins the Jaguars and will not lose any eligibility since South Alabama has not yet reached FBS status. Cotton adds to the Jaguars impressive lineup behind center with Myles Gibbon, Brennan Sim and Gabe Graham on the roster and incoming freshmen C.J. Bennett and Calvin Jenkins. Althought it looks like Jenkins may greyshirt, which means he would enroll at South Alabama in January. Nothing formally has been announced yet about his status.
At Ole Miss he redshirted his freshman year but threw for 178 yards and two touchdowns in the Grove Bowl, the Ole Miss spring game. He was bothered by a partially torn labrum but still came out of the spring drills as the Rebel’s number 2 quarterback.
Cotton’s departure from the Rebels leave them thin at quarterback with sophomore Nathan Stanley penciled in at the starter and a junior college transfer Randall Mackey as their only other quarterback on the roster. Several sites have been reporting that Jeremiah Masoli, who was suspended from Oregon’s team, could transfer in and walk-on for the Rebels as a graduate student.
As far as transfers goes, each announcement get higher and higher in profile. A former starting linebacker from Virginia Tech and now a quarterback with the ability to start in the best football conference in the nation, the SEC. Coach Joey Jones and his staff are racking up the style points quickly.
Mark Calvi From South Carolina Named Head Coach In Waiting
South Alabama formally announced the hiring of Mark Calvi as the ‘coach-in-waiting’ to replace Coach Steve Kittrell at the end of the 2011 season. Coach Kittrell announced his intentions to retire back in June.
Calvi was the pitching coach for the University of South Carolina, who just won the College World Series. He was named associate head coach and ‘head coach in waiting’ on Thursday and will be formally introduced on Friday at 1pm at a press conference at the Mitchell Center. Calvi will be only the fifth head coach in the South Alabama baseball program.
Athletic Director Joel Erdmann received interest from several qualified candidate, but chose Mark in the end. Erdmann stated the following about Calvi, “Obviously, we’re very excited about hiring Mark. He brings not only a wealth of coaching experience to the table, but a demeanor and various intangibles that are going to make him a great member of this family. A facet of the game that we looked deeply at was pitching, and his background in that area — as well as in recruiting, and his familiarity with the Sun Belt Conference, the southeast region and the nation — is very impressive. Mark has been with two very, very good programs, and he has demonstrated loyalty and longevity to those schools. And the key is that he has had success — success that includes conference championship levels and Regionals, while rising to Super Regionals and Omaha on the way to a national championship.”
Calvi has spent the previous six seasons at South Carolina and helped the Gamecocks to rank amon the SEC and NCAA leaders in pitching. He also spent 11 years at Sun Belt Conference foe Florida International. He has worked with 35, an impressive number, of pitchers that have either been drafted or signed with Major League teams.
This past season where the Gamecocks won the National Championship, his staff ranked in the top 10 nationally in ERA (3.75 7th in nation), strikeouts (8.9, 6th) and hits allowed (7.48 3rd) per 9 innings. While in the College World Series they posted a 2.15 ERA. The Gamecocks also finished the season with a sub 4.00 ERA and reached the NCAA Regional each of his six seasons in Columbia, SC.
While at Florida International, they advanced to the NCAA Regional seven times and the 2001 Super Regional. In 1995, the Golden Panther staff led the country with an ERA of 2.40. Add in their 16 shutouts which ties them with the 6th highest total in NCAA history.
Calvi is 41 and a native of Marco Island, FL.
Welcome to the Jaguar Nation Coach Calvi. You have big shoes to fill but we think you are the man to do it.
Sestercentennipost
The administration of ThunderJags.com would like to congratulate Brian on his 250th post on this site. We thank Brian for his continued devotion to the University of South Alabama Jaguars and his passion for sharing news about Jaguar happenings with the rest of the world through this site.
Mostly in part because of Brian’s continual postings, this site has seen a gradually growing fan-base of readers (with some surges during the football season).
Congratulations and thanks for all your work in making this site a success.
Jags Announce Three Transfers To The Football Program
On Tuesday, South Alabama announced that three players were transferring from other programs and joining the Jaguars this season. Among these three is the Jaguars highest profile player to date, former starting linebacker Jake Johnson from Virginia Tech.
Johnson is listed at 6’2″ and 232lbs. He was highly recruited by Virginia Tech, Maryland and Virginia out of high school and has a reputation as being a monster in the weight room. Johnson started the first eight games of the 2009 season and lead the team with tackles against Alabama. For the season he finished tied for fifth on the team with 55 tackles and 4.5 of them for a loss with two sacks.
However, at the end of the season Johnson lost his starting job and Beamer and Company moved him to defensive end in the spring. He asked and was granted his release back in May. Once the Jags heard he had his release from the Hokies, South Alabama make phone calls to see if he would be interested in the Jaguars. “It means the world to us to have a guy like him who has experience in big games and can provide that experience to our team,” Coach Jones remarked. “He’s going to bring a lot to the table. He’s a hard worker and a leader and we hope that’s going to rub off on our younger players.”
Johnson commented on South Alabama’s facilities by saying, “The main thing that attracted me is it’s going to be a Division I program in a couple of years and we’ll be playing against Division I schools. I’ll have three years of football, three years of school here and playing Division I teams, and you can’t beat that. I couldn’t get that from some other schools. All the facilities are brand-new and the technology is the latest stuff. I didn’t really know what to expect when I got here, but everything is great from the fieldhouse to the meeting rooms and weight room. I was really impressed. I can’t wait to strap the pads back on and start hitting again. I just love the game and I can’t wait to get started in August again.”
Kendall Houston, who was a high school standout at running back at Vigor. He helped them win the 2008 Class 5A title by running for over 2,000 yards and 25 touchdowns as an all-state selection. He transferred from Arkansas State and is listed at 5’10″ and weighting 180lbs. He participated in spring drills at ASU but never played in a regular season game. So he comes to South Alabama with five seasons of eligibility since the NCAA has South Alabama listed as an “unclassified” program, he is able to participate in games during what will amount to be his redshirt season in 2010.
The third transfer is Ben Giles from Pace, Florida. Another high school standout who transferred from Louisiana-Monroe to South Alabama. He is listed at 6’0″ and 235lbs. He sat out last season at ULM and comes to South Alabama with four years of eligibility. Coach Jones remembers recruiting Giles and said, “He’s a tough inside linebacker-type player. He plays tough and he’s a good addition to the team.”
With the addition of Johnson and Giles to the Higgenbotham and Dunn tandem, the Jags have firmly solidified the linebacker positions with even more depth and talent. Look for good things out of these four in the coming season.
South Alabama Football Announces First Division-I Foes And Travel Packages For 2010
Earlier this month South Alabama announced the school’s first two Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS or formerly Division-I) opponents. In the 2011 season, the Jags will play North Carolina State and Kent State on back to back weekends on September 17 and 24. Both games will be away games as part of a 2-for-1 series with both schools.
The 2011 schedule will have six other Division-I schools, four of which will be visiting Mobile. Lamar and UC Davis will complete their home-and-home contracts with Lamar visiting on September 10 and UC Davis visiting on October 1. Tennessee-Martin will visit on October 15 and Cal Poly will be the final game of the season on November 19.
Head coach Joey Jones had the following to say about how the future schedules affect South Alabama. “We feel like this is a great step forward for where we want to go. Obviously, playing all of these Division I schools on the schedule in our third year will present a challenge. In the grand scheme of things, it’s about where we are going and preparing for a schedule that will feature pretty much all FBS opponents the following year.”
He continued, “Each year we want to step up the level of competition on our schedule – our kids and staff want to be challenged. Certainly we will have some bumps along the way playing teams at this level, but it’s where we want to be and where this program is headed.”
As for the 2010 schedule, the Jags will have seven home games and the Athletic Department announced that all six of the Saturday home games will have 4pm kickoffs. While the lone Thursday night game will be the season finale against Arkansas-Monticello on November 11 with a 6pm kickoff.
The Jags will have their first road games ever this season and travel packages are available for those games. On September 25 the Jags travel to Dothan for their first ever away game when they play Edward Waters in the Wiregrass Football Classic. A game ticket and tailgating will cost $35 while a $78 package which includes travel to and from the game is also available.
The away game against Lamar on October 16 has a three day package including round-trip transportation from the USA Campus is available. It features two nights at the MCM Elegante Hotel and Convention Center with a reception and several other goodies for $75 up to $475 depending on the costs of the ticket, number of paying travelers and amount of people in the hotel room.
A three day trip has also been put together for the UC Davis game on October 23. It includes a two night stay in the Embassy Suites Riverfront Promenade and more. The cost is $260-$375 not including air fare.
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