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.”

Demetre Baker, Paul Bennett and Kendall Houston line up in the wishbone at the goal line.

The Jaguars get the job done, but it wasn’t pretty. The Jags had to shake off four turnovers in the first half to get the 20-10 victory and extend their all-time record to 18-0.

The Jaguars racked up 205 yards on the ground and another 151 yards in the air in the game. The rushing attack was lead by Kendall Houston who ran for 78 yards on 11 touches for two touchdowns after being suspended for the first half with three other players. Ellis Hill added 40 yards on seven carries in the start. Demetre Baker, another player suspended for the first half, added 39 yards on six carries. C.J. Bennett ran for 31 yards on eight runs with a touchdown. Santuan McGee chipped in 17 yards on four carries.

C.J. Bennett was 12-of-21 for 151 yards and three touchdowns with one sack. Bryant Lavender lead the receivers with three catches for 55 yards. Corey Waldon also had three catches for 21 yards. Jereme Jones added 27 yards with his two catches. Four other receivers had receptions in the game, highlighted by Lamontis Gardner with a 28 yard reception.

South Alabama gained one more first down than West Alabama with 18 to their 17. Both teams gained 10 first downs on the ground. The Jaguars rushed for 205 yards on 36 carries to UWA’s 167 yards on 47 carries. USA averaged 5.7 yards per rush to UWA’s 3.6 yards per rush. Also the Jags only lost 10 yards while running the ball compared to UWA’s 49 yards lost rushing.

USA was 12-for-21 passing with three interceptions for 151 yards while averaging 7.2 yards per attempt and 12.6 yards per completion. UWA went 10-for-22 passing with two interceptions. They averaged 4.6 yards per play and 10.1 yards per completion.

South Alabama gained 356 yards on 57 offensive plays with an average of 6.2 yards per play. USA fumbled three times and lost one, both of the recovered fumbles were by Baker. West Alabama ran 69 plays while gaining 268 yards while averaging 3.9 yards per play. They fumbled twice and recovered both of them.

UWA won the time of possession battle 32:39 to 27:21 and also possessing the ball for 10:18 in the fourth quarter.

Quarterback Gary Johnston was the Tigers leading rusher with 72 yards on 22 runs and a touchdown. He also threw for 101 yards while going 10-for-22. His favorite receiver was Gerald Worsham with five receptions for 44 yards. Ken may added 48 yards on three catches. Two other players had receptions as well.

UWA’s Gabe Poe lead all players with 12 total stops. Enrique Williams lead the Jags with 11 total stops, five solo. B.J. Scott  added 10 more stops, 8 of them solo. Ken Barefield was credited with a sack for 12 yards and Clifton Crews with Enrique Willams both credited with half a sack.

After the game Coach Jones commented on the game. “Not having Kendall and Demetre the first half didn’t help, but they are great running backs,” he said. “Those two guys are probably the core of our offense running the football. We’re a very good football team with those two guys running it.”

“Obviously it wasn’t a great ball game; we didn’t play extremely well though I thought West Alabama played really hard,” Coach Jones continued.  “When you have four turnovers in the first half, it’s not a good thing — we have to learn to protect the football. We had some penalties and untimely things happen, so we have to go back to work and see how we can get better.”

“But I think that was a great second half. We pounded the ball at them and ran it really well, we got Kendall and Demetre in there and controlled the ball,” he continued. “I thought we played better in the second half, but we have to play four quarters to beat good teams and we just didn’t do that tonight; we didn’t play extremely well the whole game.”

West Alabama coach Will Hall commented after the game as well. “I thought they wore us down a little bit. It’s a credit to them and their defense as well. We came out offensively in the second half and went three-and-out, and USA got it and went down and scored. There were some good adjustments by USA at halftime.”

“We spilled our guts out on the field. I expected our kids to do that, but I’m so proud of how they did. Credit to coach Jones and coach [Bill] Clarlk. They do a great job and have a great thing going here at South Alabama. I think these are the two most up-and-coming programs in the state of Alabama. I can’t say enough though about what they do at South Alabama and I can’t say enough about our kids’ effort tonight. I really think we have a chance to have a good D-II football team.”

Tremain Smith went off in the first half with the trainers looking at his hand, plus Melvin Meggs had to come off the field but redshirt Drew Dearmon came in and performed well on the line. Meggs should be back next week and hopefully Smith’s re-aggravated injury isn’t serious.

South Alabama will host Lamar on September 10th with kickoff slated for 4pm at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

South Alabama took the opening drive 80 yards in nine plays in 4:29 seconds to take an early 7-0 lead. Ellis Hill opened the game with a one yard rush, followed by a three yard scramble by C.J. Bennett. Bennett then found Jereme Jones for 15 yards to get the first down. A hold on Trey Clark would back the Jags to their 29 yard line. Bennett then found Lavender for 22 yards for the second first down of the drive to the UWA 49 yard line. A personal foul by the Tigers would tack on 15 more yards to put the Jags at the UWA 34. After an incomplete pass, Brian Krauskopf was flagged for a five yard false start. Bennett would complete the next two passes to Lavender for 13 then Waldon for six more yards to earn a first down at the Tiger 20. Ellis Hill would run for two yards before C.J. Bennett would take it in from the 18 with a run. Jordan Means would add the PAT.

UWA would start their first drive on their own 28 yard line. On 3rd and 11, Johnston would run for 15 yards and a first down at their 42. However an illegal formation on first down would back them up five yards. A few plays later a third down rush out to the UWA 49 would be negated by a 15 yard personal foul setting up 4th and 18 and a punt.

The Jags next drive would start at their own 27 yard line. After a rush by McGee, Bennett’s pass would be tipped at the line and caught by Justin Hawkins at the 28 yard line.

UWA would open the drive with a one yard rush to the Jaguar 27. A miscommunication caused a snap when quarterback Johnston was looking to the sidelines. The Tigers would recover it at the Jaguar 41 setting up 3rd and 23. Johnston would be penalized for intentional grounding when Ken Barfield leapt over the offensive linemen and was about to sack Johnson. On 4th and 35 at the UWA 47, they would take a five yard delay of game penalty forcing a punt on 4th and 40.

South Alabama would go three-and-out on their next series. Scott Garber’s first punt would be called back on off-setting personal fouls. Garber’s second attempt would be shanked and only netted 24 yards to the USA 46 yard line.

On UWA’s next drive, they would face 3rd and 12 at the Jaguar 48 yard line when T-Ray Mitchell would run for 31 yards to the three yard line. Johnston would take the ball in on the next play to tie the game at 7-7.

USA would start their next possession on their 23 yard line with one minute left in the first quarter. Bennett would complete a pass to Kevin Helms for nine yards out to the 32 yard line. Ellis Hill would end the quarter with an eight yard run for a first down at the 40 yard line.

Ellis Hill would open the second quarter with a second consecutive eight yard run out to near midfield at the 48 yard line. C.J. Bennett would fumble the ball away to UWA at the Jaguar 49 yard line.

UWA would start on the USA 49 before losing a yard on a rush. They would then run Matthew Willis for back to back gains of nine and three yards to get a first down at the USA 38. In a three play span Johnston would lose two yards, throw and incompletion and then lose four more yards. Facing 4th and 16 at the Jaguar 44, UWA would down their punt at the one yard line.

Starting at their own one yard line, Bennett would fall forward for two yards then complete a key pass to Lamontis Gardner for 28 to get a first down at their own 31 yard line. McGee would rush for nine and seven yards on the next two plays get another first down. However Paul Bennett would get flagged for a personal foul to back them up to their own 32 yard line again with first and 10. Bennett would complete a pass to Waldon for seven yards before being sacked for four. On 3rd and seven at the Jaguar 35, Bennett’s pass to Waldon would be intercepted at the UWA 47 and returned to the Jaguar 48.

UWA’s Johnson 2nd and nine pass at the Jaguar 22 would be intercepted by Ken Barefield at the 13 yard line. He would return it 15 yards to give the Jaguar offense the ball at the 28 yard line.

Ellis Hill would open the drive with three consecutive rushes for 5, 12 and 4 yards. After an incomplete pass and facing a 3rd and six at the Jaguar 49, Bennett would run for seven yards and a first down. After another incomplete pass, Bennett would again rush for three yards The Jags would take a timeout to think about the 3rd down and seven at the UWA 41 yard line. After an encroachment call on Waldon for five yard, Bennett would be intercepted by the Tigers at the UWA 7-yard line.

With 1:49 left until halftime, UWA would run three consecutive plays to run out the clock.

UWA would open the second half with a reverse on the opening kickoff to get the ball out to their own 45 yard line. However the offense would go three and out.

USA would start their first drive of the second half at their own 22 yard line. Kendall Houston would open the drive with a seven yard rush. Bennett would find Jeremy Jones open for 12 yards and a first down at the USA 41. Houston would rush for five yards then no gain on the next two plays. Then Bennett would complete a pass to Houston for four yards just shy of the first down. On 4th and 1 at the midfield stripe, Houston would run the draw up the middle for seven yards and the first down.

Demetre Baker would come in for Houston and rush for gains of 11 and 10 yards on his first two plays. At the UWA 22 Baker would fumbled but the ball would be recovered by the Jags at the 22. USA would use a timeout with 8:33 left in the 3rd quarter. Houston would return to the game after the timeout. Bennett complete a pass to Lavender for 20 yards down to the Tiger 2 yard line. Houston would cap off the drive with a two yard run for the touchdown. The PAT snap would go awry leaving the Jags up 13-7.

UWA would take the kickoff out to their own 24 yard line. After driving 6 plays for 35 yards, they would punt from the Jaguar 41 yard line, but it would go into the end zone for a touchback.

South Alabama would take the ball at their own 20 yard line and rush Baker for four yards then Houston for five yards to set up third and one at the Jaguar 29. However Paul Bennett would be flagged for a false start. Bennett would scramble for one yard before Scott Garber would punt the ball 35 yards and returned six to start their drive at their own 46 yard line.

UWA would start driving from near midfield just before the end of the third quarter. On first and 10 from the USA 24, Anton Graphenreed would be flagged for a personal foul putting the ball on the Jaguar 9 yard line with a first down. On first down, UWA would lose one yard on a run. Quarterback Johnston would the rush for four yards to the six yard line and the Jaguars would take a time out on third and goal.

UWA would be flagged on the third and goal play for 10 yards backing the Tigers up to third and goal on the 16 yard line. After some confusion on the defenses part and frantic arm waving on the Jaguar sidelines, South Alabama would use their final time out of the second half with 11:26 left in the game.

Gary Johnston would complete a pass to Ken May for 11 and was pushed out of bounfd at the 5 yard line by B.J. Scott. The Tigers then lined up and kicked a field goal to cut the Jaguar lead to 13-10 with 10:58 left in the game.

The Jags started their drive on the USA 34 yard line. Kendall Houston would take the first hand out 23 yards to the UWA 43 yard line before being forced out of bounds. Demetre Baker would take the next handoff 11 yards to the UWA 32 yard line. Baker would also take the next handoff and fumble the ball but recover it himself for a nine yard gain to the UWA 29. Bennett’s pass would fall incomplete after being rushed by the Tiger defense. His next pass would find his target, Corey Waldon, for eight more yards and a first down at the UWA 21 yard line. Kendall would take the next two handoffs for 11 yards and 10 yards to score the final points of the game. The Jordan Means PAT would give us the final score of 20-10 with 8:13 left in the game.

The next West Alabama possession would start at their own 29 yard line and drive down to the Jaguar 18 yard line before the defense would step up to stop the scoring threat. Charles Harris would intercept the Johnston pass at the goal line and return it out to the Jaguar two yard line. Bryson James would be flagged after the play for unsportsmanlike conduct backing the Jags to the one yard line.

The Jags would get some space for Garber’s punt while running almost two minutes off of the clock.

UWA would have the ball with 2:25 left in the game, all three of their time outs and only down by 10 points. However they seemingly gave up and had no sense of urgency. They continued to run their offense normally without calling any timeouts.

South Alabama extends their winning streak to 18 games with their win over West Alabama Thursday night 20-10. However two adjectives describing what people saw during the game was uncharacteristic for this team. Inconsistent and messy.

The four turnovers in the first half very uncharacteristic for the Jaguars. Particularly three interceptions by C.J. Bennett, who only threw two all last season. The Jaguar defense stepped up and refused to allow West Alabama to capitalize on them.

Opening game jitters? Maybe. But if you know these coaches and players, you also know that they will work hard to correct these mistakes. Are they ready for their back-to-back trips to NC State and Kent State? Not on Thursday night but they have two weeks to get there.

Coach Jones liked one aspect of the game, it will help to keep the team honest. “We do have to look at ourselves honestly and not through rose-colored glasses,” he said.

Check back for a full breakdown of the game soon.

The first email question asked about an update on several players, so they went straight into the Orthopedic Group injury update. Greg Hollinger will not play this week. Santuan is good to go, Enrique is good and ready go. Tremain smith is good to go, surgery on pinkie, will have to wear a cast but will be good to go. Most improved player in the classroom and has Division I size. Also he is a junior with a lot of ability.

Another question said that USA seems thin at receiver, especially with T.J. Glover not being eligible. Might we see some new personnel to get involved and also trick plays, wild Jag and such. Receiver wise, Coach Jones said he feels better this year than last year. While they lost Courtney who was a big play guy, but he feels that we have a few guys who can make the big play. But Coach Jones feels that they have more guys that can play. Losing T.J. hurt from a big play standpoint, but the 2 deep at receivers can rotate in and do well.

Coach Gregory joined in to help answer the question and said that they are a very balanced, a 60/40 run to pass ratio is pretty balanced because there are certain down and distances where you just don’t throw the ball that much. If you are successful running the ball then you should be about 60/40, but if you’re not able to run well and you start getting up there around 50/50 or 40/60 then your probably not that good of a running football team.

The Jags want to be a running team, they want to wear the opposing team down, run play action passes and still be able to drop back and throw it. Coach Gregory also mentioned that he and Coach Antoine were talking the night before that they are really excited about their wide receivers. They have worked hard and as a whole group they think they have been improving dramatically right now.

Asked about size, Coach Gregory said that Corey Besteda is 6’2 1/2″, while it’s not 6’5″ like Courtney but he is a tall guy. The others range between 5’9″ and 6′ but Jereme Jones, who may be the most powerful of them all, is only about 5’7 or 5’8″.

Coach Jones says there’s not another guy like TJ on the roster, he was comfortable as a running back and a receiver. They thought they had one that could do that in Anthony Ingram, however he was injured and will miss the season.

Coach Gregory was asked via email about C.J. Bennett’s possibility of being a 5 year starter and if that was something that has ever happened in college football before. Coach Gregory said that not to his knowledge but it’s possible someone has done that before where they started a couple games then got injured and was redshirted. Coach Gregory said that was really how they got Bennett in the first place, because of the extra year of play.

Lee Shirvanian asked if Bennett was heavily recruited out of High School. Coach Gregory said he was recruited, he had verbally committed to Wyoming, then South Florida brought him in for an official visit the week before signing day but held short of offering him a scholarship which helped USA get him.

Lee then asked about a quote coach Gregory had said that Bennett was the best quarterback in the state. Coach Gregory said that we will find out this year, but he thinks he is a very good player. One thing that is unique about C.J. is that when he comes off of the field he can tell you what happened while other guys just cannot. Coach Jones then joined in talking about his quick release and how smart he is with the ball. His negatives is his height, which holds back your SEC caliber schools.

Back to talking about the game, Coach Jones stressed that West Alabama is a talented team with lots of junior college transfers, 14 of the 22 starters will be JC transfers. Last season they went 7-4 and their largest lost was by four points. He also said that they are being coached by a new coach so the Jags have to ready for everything. They could come out with on-sides kicks, trick plays or anything else.

Coach Gregory started breaking down the Tiger defense some by saying they will probably mostly play a four man front with some three man front. UWA is very high on a new free saftey they have and think he will be able to make some plays for them. They are big inside with a guy that is about 325 pounds and looks bigger than that. Also have a 6’5″ defensive end that is fast.

Coach Gregory mentioned that these guys can be very good players. They may not have been able to qualify at the Division I-A level but could get in Divison II. Lee asked if we would see both Demetre Baker and Kendall Houston in the backfield at the same time. Coach Jones acknowledged that we could see that throughout the year because they are both very good players and they don’t want them to be on the sidelines.

Coach Gregory answered Lee’s question about the two running backs and if they were similar. He said that Houston is a very voilent runner, he hits very hard and may not be super fast but runs hard and is hard to tackle. While Baker is fast, he likened him to a locomotive. He’s going to run over you but if he gets an open field he probably has close to 4.5 40 speed. When asked who else may see some action Coach Jones said that Ellis Hill will probably see some time because he has worked hard and done well in preseason camp. He is a good inside runner at about 5’9″. Santuan is a very good running back and has made some good runs and will see some time. Also J.J. Keels got mentioned as someone who is coming around.

Some very, very good news was that Coach Perry’s wife is doing very well. Last season it was announced that his wife had been diagnosed with breast cancer and was undergoing treatment. Now we know that she is recovering well.

Lee asked Coach Jones about the specials teams. He answered by saying that he feels much better about special teams this season. Kickers are kicking much better than last year when they were having problems kicking kickoff’s out of bounds and such. They are more consistent on kickoffs and on field goals as well.

Jereme Jones will return punts and kickoffs this season and B.J. Scott will also be back for kickoff returns and some punt returns.

When asked why he settled on Jordan Means as being the placekicker, he said that he kicked the best. He was more confident standing over the ball and make more kicks. So they felt the best with him but said that Lawson McGlon was neck-and-neck with Means so he shouldn’t relax just yet.

In the Fuego Who’s Hot segment, Coach Gregory said that normally you would think of a skill player when you think of someone who has been hot the previous week. However Coach Gregory said that he thought it was the offensive line this past week. He added that he is very excited about those guys.

Coach Jones singled out Jake Johnson as the standout guy on the defense for his leadership, he work in the preseason, during game week preparations and in the weight room as well. Lee also mentioned that there is not many more players on the roster on the defensive side of the ball who has played more games against Division I opponents. Coach Jones agreed highlighting Jake’s time at Virginia Tech and that he started the first eight games of his freshman season including a game against Alabama.

Lee asked about the defensive secondary and how it has changed this season. Coach Gregory said that it is a major difference between last season and this season. He also said that he thinks that you are looking at bonafide Division I football players in all of the positions in the secondary. They have speed, range, coverage and they are tough.

He also said that he thinks it has been great for the receivers to face that kind of pressure. Early in preseason the receivers were getting beat up at the line but they have worked hard against them to get better.

Lee asked Coach Gregory if it was difficult for the Jaguar receivers to get separation from the defensive backs. Coach Gregory said yes, but also said that it was hard for them to get off the line.

Lee mentioned that everyone wants to talk about Alabama transfer B.J. Scott. Coach Jones agreed, saying Scott originally played corner back at Alabama and got moved around before injuring his ankle. But Coach Jones said he sees him as a safety because he is a very physical guy. With his skills he fits well in the South Alabama defense because the safeties are key in their defensive scheme because they need to be able to cover the run and the pass. Which Scott is able to do.

Damond Smith was the next player mentioned by Lee as someone who intrigues him. He is a transfer from Western Michigan and was highly recruited coming out of high school. Coach Jones agreed and added that he is a great player. He even mentioned that he saw about two or three plays of his highlight reel and said that this is a great player.

Lee asked coach Gregory about the quarterbacks and if he is going to stay with one quarterback this season. He answered that they are fortunate to have two great quarterbacks, but Bennett has won the starting position but Myles Gibbon is very talented, started lots of games and has played in the system for two years now. They would not have any problem with him going into the game, but reiterated that C.J. won the job. But he did say that there may be times when you could see both in certain situations.

They then started talking about walkon freshman Trey Fetner. Coach Gregory said that Kolt Peavy committed to USA early but Fetner had attended camp last year and was a very good prospect. However USA was not in a position to offer him a scholarship at that point.

They recruited him like a scholarship player and were fortunate to get him and was able to put him on scholarship when one became available in preseason camp. They would like to reshirt him, but they will have to wait and see how the season goes. He has a strong arm with good speed and is both physically and mentally tough.

Lee asked if there were any other players who were able to walk on, work their way into a scholarship. Coach Jones said they have over the last two years but this year Cori Barnett came in and earned a scholarship and will be starting at the Sam position. He said that each year they have one to three who earn scholarships that way.

Lee said that, looking at the depth chart, there are a few freshmen in the two-deep. Coach Jones mentioned Desmond LaVelle as being one that will be a great player and will not be redshirted this season. he continued saying that they are really good at linebacker again this season. Which is good after Higgenbothom and Dunn, both two year starting inside linebackers graduated last season.

Another freshman that could see playing time would be Maleki Harris according to Coach Jones. He is listed at both outside linebacker and safety.

On the offensive side of the ball, Coach Gregory said that J.J. Keels would be a freshman that could see plenty of time. He continued by saying that he probably has the best feet of the running back. He is able to get through very tight spots and has all of the skills that you want to have in a running back. As for being able to hold onto the ball, that is something that they develop and he said they will see how quickly he will develop that.

Lee asked Coach Jones about his thoughts on starting the season on a Thursday night. Coach Jones answered by saying that it’s his favorite way to start the season. Actually, if it was completely up to him, he would do it every year. The kids are ready to play, they have been working for about a month and they are playing when no one else is pretty much. But it also gives them an extra two days to prepare for the next opponent.

It also allows them to go through camp, then game prep, then the actual game and then let them get away for a day or two before picking it back up to continue their schedule.

The Jags have three days until kickoff against West Alabama at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. They will have two more practices in preparation for the game then a walk-through at the Stadium on Wednesday before going into full gameday preparations before the 6:30pm kickoff.

On Tuesday, the first Jag-Gals social of the football season will be held at Tacky Jacks on the Causeway from 5:30pm-7:00pm. Head Coach Joey Jones, Associate Athletic Director Travis Toth and Equipment Operations Manager Jeff Bailey will be there previewing the upcoming season. Also they will be talking about the Jaguars gameday operations.

Jag Gals Tickets are available for $15 in advance or $25 on the day of the event.

When West Alabama visits Mobile, they will be lead by a new head coach. Division II legend Bobby Wallace announced his retirement last season and former Offensive Coordinator Will Hall was chosen to take over the head job. Will Hall, at age 30, has established himself as a rising talent in the college football ranks.

In 2009 Hall’s offense ranked 3rd in the Gulf South Conference and 21st in the nation. In the 2010 season the offense ranked 17th in the nation with the passing offense finishing 10th in the nation averaging over 300 yards per game.

The Tigers will test South Alabama’s newly revamped secondary

Go Jags!

Michel Chapuseaux kicks off at the Fan Day scrimmage.

On Thursday the Jaguars held a situational scrimmage at the Jaguar Practice Facility. With the September 1st season opener less than a week away, the coaches wanted to cover as many game-like situations that the player could face this season as possible.

The first team and second team offenses and defenses faced the scout teams for about 80 plays as well as all special teams. The scrimmage began with a kickoff by Jordan Means with the first-team defense starting the day against the scout team offense at the offense’s 20-yard line.

The defense forced a three-and-out then the first team offense started at mid-field. The offense ran six plays with Kendall Houston rushing three times and C.J. Bennett finding Corey Waldon open for a seven yard gain. The offense got to the 35-yard line, but a field goal attempt was missed wide left.

The first team defense forced a second three-and-out. However they were quickly back on the field following a simulated turnover where the offense took over at the defense’s 45-yard line. The defense answered with a Charles Harris interception in the back of the end zone to end the drive.

First half highlights include a Lawson McGlon 37-yard field goal as well as a two-yard Demetre Baker touchdown run followed by a Jordan Means extra point.

The second half highlights saw a 41-yard touchdown run by Ellis Hill, a Gabe Loper interception in the back of the end zone during two-minute drills and extra points by McGlon and Means.

“It was a pretty crisp practice. We didn’t have a lot of mental errors out there,” Said head coach Joey Jones after the scrimmage. “The kids came focused and ready to go. I think they are ready for the game next week – there’s no doubt about it. We keep talking about working hard, and they have done that. They have paid their dues. We have been here three weeks and a lot of good work has been done, so they are ready to play.”

Coach Jones continued, “They know it is game week and that from this point forward we have three or four days of practice before the first game. They have worked all year, from January until now, just to have a chance to play in the game. That’s one thing about football; you work a long time just to have a few chances to get out in the spotlight, so our kids are looking forward to it.”

Coaches and Players return to the practice field at 7:15am on Friday morning to continue preparation for West Alabama.

The Jaguars backed off some in Wednesday’s practice by hitting the practice fields in shells ahead of Thursday’s scrimmage.

The usual flow of practice continued with special teams focusing on kickoff returns which was followed by individual work, skeleton passing drills and inside drills. Later in practice, the team faced the scout teams for about 30 minutes with the offense running over 30 plays on the turf field while the defense ran plays on the grass field.

A 10 minute segment near the end of practice focused on two-mintue drills. Both the first team and the second team defensive units prevented the offense from putting up any points. The second team had a chance after Trey Fetner completed a long pass to Jake Howton down the left sideline to set up a field goal attempt. However missed in the waning seconds of the drill.

The Jags ended the practice with more special teams work focusing on kickoff coverage.

Coach Jones thought it was a good practice, but he had one concern. “I thought it was a really good practice, though we lost our focus a little bit at the end. Just watching the offense I thought we had some missed assignments late. But other than that, it was a great practice. We have to learn to focus at the end when it’s the fourth quarter and we’re a little tired and it’s hot.”

Coach Jones also previewed the Thursday scrimmage. “We’ll start off with kickoff and bring the defense out,” he said. “We’ll run a few plays and have the punt return team come out, we’ll play it just like a game. Every situation can come up, I have a script that we go through that will include situations that we haven’t been able to cover in practice; special things like taking safeties, kickoff return after a safety and the last play of the game where we take a knee.”

The Jags will return to the Jaguar Practice Facility in full pads on Thursday for the situational scrimmage. No time was announced for the srimmage.

Coach Turner talking with defensive lineman Rodney Thomas during preseason camp.

Tuesday morning the Jaguars hit the practice field to continue to get ready for the quickly approaching season. The practice session lasted around two hours and the players were in full pads.

Practice kept the same flow with special teams work first before going into individual drills. During individual drills the offensive line focused on screens and pass fundamentals while the skill positions worked on routes and blocking. They also worked on inside running drills before transitioning into skeleton passing drills. While Skeleton drills were occurring, the offensive linemen were working on pass protection.

The offense and defense then faced scout teams with the offense running around 35 plays. After scout team work, the offense and defense then came together to work on picking up the blitz. The defense recorded three sacks and four forced incompletions in an eight play series. The lone completion was a four yard gain by Corey Waldon on a pass from C.J. Bennett.

The Jags then ended the practice with more special teams work as they worked on punt returns.

Coach Jones commented on the practice by saying, “I thought it was a very good practice with good intensity. We picked it up during inside drills. I felt good about practice today. The kids came out a little slow at first because it was so early, but after 15 or 20 minutes they kicked it in gear.”

He continued speaking about the defense, “Defensively, we have a good feel for what they [West Alabama] have been doing on offense, and hopefully we can adjust to some of the things they do. The coaches are doing a good job of getting them a lot of reps and seeing things that we think they are going to do. Offensively, they are a little different coverage-wise from what we’ve been going against in practice so we have to look at those coverages. The front is fairly similar, so we’re going to make sure we expose our kids to that as much as we can the next week-and-a-half.”

The Jaguars return to the Practice Facility on Wednesday at 7:15am to continue preparing for the season. The Jags open season game against West Alabama is only eight days away.

Go Jags!

Coach Jones looks on as Demetre Baker looks to the sideline before blocking for a field goal attempt.

The Joey Jones Radio Show started season three with host Lee Shirvanian and guest Joel Erdmann today.

They started the show off by talking about the depth chart now that they are finished with preseason camp and are into game prep mode. The first thing that Lee asked coach Jones about were there any surprises that emerged that he wasn’t thinking about. Coach Jones said that they don’t have many changes.

He mentioned on the offensive line that Levi Slaydon did not return so they had to fill that position. Jermaine Smith and Brian Krauskopf have stepped up and are neck-and-neck for that starting job. Other than that change, the offensive line is the same as last season. At tight end it is pretty much the same with Kevin Helms and Paul Bennett there. A little bit of a change will be the backfield with the addition of Georgia transfer Demetre Baker with Kendall Houston. He indicated that they would be co-starters in the backfield.

When coach Jones moved onto receivers, he mentioned that they have more names out there than they did last year. Last year Courtney Smith was the big name and the other receivers were ‘the others’.

Lee then started talking about the defense and mentioned that there were many familiar names on that side of the ball. He first mentioned Cori Barnett at the Sam position with Ken Barefield as his backup. Barefield played defensive back last season for the Jags.

When asked about how Cori emerged as being a starter, Coach Jones said that he had a great spring and awarded him with a scholarship for how well he did in the off-season. He mentioned that he is a bit undersized but still plays very well, he’s smart and knows all the answers to questions over on defense. Ken will still play alot.

The secondary will be very different this season. The lone returning starter is Anton Graphenreed, but he is joined by newcomers Charles Harris, Damon Smith and Alabama transfer B.J. Scott. When asked if he and defensive coordinator Bill Clark, coach Jones said it does not bother them. They are very good players and they feel very sound in the secondary.

Lee asked Dr. Erdmann about opening night for the Jaguars. He said that they are lots of ‘moving parts’ but that everything is coming along well. They are putting the final touches on Ladd-Peebles Stadium to make it a unique experience for South Alabama fans. They are also working on implementing instant replay and putting the final touches on that as well.

Turning back to training camp, the Fuego ‘Who’s Hot’ feature was C.J. Bennett on the offensive side of the ball. He has really stepped up as a quarterback, not only throwing ability and reading defenses but as a leader. Coach Jones said that Bennett is emerging as a great leader on offense. On defense, Coach Jones singled out Damon Smith at corner back. Saying that he has brought lots of energy to the team. He continued by saying that he is a very physical cornerback and can cover receivers well. He finished up talking about him by saying that he is a better player than what they thought they were getting when he arrived.

Lee asked about the quarterbacks behind Bennett since he seems to be a solid #1 on the depth chart. Lee said that on the depth chart the 2nd string position was listed as being Myles Gibbon or Trey Fetner, a freshman. Coach Jones said that Fetner has moved up really quickly and that Gibbon and Fetner are neck-and-neck right now. This is Myles’ third year and has done well while Trey has come in as a freshman and has been throwing the ball well with a strong arm. But he was quick to say that they are very fortunate to have three guys who are great quarterbacks that they can count on in case someone gets hurt.

Lee then asked Coach Jones what needs to happen between now and gameday against West Alabama. Coach Jones answered that they started ‘dabbling’ with the gameplan some during last week’s practice. But said that they really got into it yesterday. He said that what they need to accomplish is to do a situational scrimmage on Thursday that covers situations that they have not covered in practice. They will treat it kind of like a game with running onto and off of the field. They want to make sure that the players are paying attention on the sidelines and get onto and off of the field in a timely and orderly manner.

Lee then directed a statement to Dr. Erdmann that he thought that people see the undefeated 17-0 record and tend to take the program a little bit for granted about how far the program has risen in such a short amount of time. Dr. Erdmann immediately said that it cannot be overstated what Coach Jones and his staff has done in starting this program and getting it to this point when just about two years ago it didn’t exist.

Lee then transitioned into this season by asking about season ticket sale. Dr. Erdmann indicated that, to date, that ticket sales is ahead of what it was last season. He then compared the season ticket sales trend at emerging schools, talking about South Florida in particular, is to drop off from year one to year two but have their largest drop off from year two to year three.

However South Alabama has defied that by increasing season ticket sales in each of the previous years. Actually South Alabama’s season ticket sales is currently second in the Sun Belt conference only trailing Troy. But Erdmann quickly mentioned that North Texas will probably get a bump in sales due to their new football stadium opening this season. Erdmann also said that some schools in Conference-USA and the MAC would be envious of the Jaguars season ticket sales.

Lee transitions over to talking about stadiums, which garners some chuckles from both Coach Jones and Dr. Erdmann. As for news about stadiums, neither one had anything to say beyond that it’s fun to talk about and obviously it would be nice to have an on-campus stadium. The key word was that Erdmann said that “no formal action” is happening towards a stadium.

After the first break, Lee came back to talk about the depth chart and Demetre Baker. He observed that many people don’t concern themselves too much with the depth chart at other positions other than quarterback. Coach Jones agreed and qualified it with the caveat that the quarterback position does not rotate much if any in most program. He said they [South Alabama] rotated quarterbacks in previous seasons because there wasn’t much difference between the first, second and third string quarterbacks. But at running back and other positions, in order to play Division I football, you have to rotate players because you are going to have some injuries here and there.

One listeners question was about how recruiting changed after last season than it was after the first season. Coach Jones answered it by saying that it has changed alot. Places know where South Alabama is and where Mobile is. When they walk into a school, they know where South Alabama is.

The next email question asked about what would be the focus of the 2012 signing class. Coach Jones said that the biggest need would be offensive linemen, because you cannot get enough offensive linemen. After that, their focus would be on defense looking for a little bit at each position. They are okay at quarterback, probably don’t need much at running back either. Also he mentioned that they probably need to sign one or two tight ends.

A third email asked about how much current players factor into helping recruit former teammates to the program. Coach Jones said you think that would naturally occur. If a player comes in for a visit, they look to pair them with someone they will be comfortable with. If someone played with them in high school, then that may be the best choice for them when the visit.

Lee then introduced the injury report sponsored by The Orthopedic Group. coach Jones said that they are looking pretty good right now. At one point they had 22 guys sidelined at one time with injuries. There are three guys who out right now. One is freshman receiver Anthony Ingram who had surgery on his shoulder and will miss the season. Running back Devin Robinson, another freshman, hurt his hand and will be out for three or four weeks. Then Brandon Ross who will most likely miss the season, but has an outside chance to be ready halfway through the season or later. On the bright side, Coach Jones said that Ingram can be redshirted this season and will have four more years of eligibility.

Lee then asked about Enrique Williams, who is listed as a starter for the West Alabama game but has not practiced much this season so far. Coach Jones said that Williams practiced on Tuesday and is back with the team. Most of the 22 returned on Monday or Tuesday with only about six players still out right now.

Coach Jones, Dr. Erdmann and Lee next talked about NCAA issues. Some representatives met with the NCAA recently about different issue. Three of the main issues they talked about was academic reform, cost containment and examining rules. They raised the APR from 925 to 930 and they may raise core course grades and also SAT/ACT scores needed to get into school. As for rules, they want to set new presidents by upping enforcement and upping consequences.

Coach Jones, like many others, would like to see more streamlined rules and be able to keep a level playing field, which is keyed off of enforcement.

Lee asked about social networking and Coach Jones said he has cautioned his players to be very careful how they portray themselves and the program. They want to have a first class program so they have to portray themselves in a first class way. Dr. Erdmann said that the institutions are supposed to monitor social media like Facebook, twitter and others. So they have to spot check so they can intervene if unethical interaction of athletes may be occurring.

Speaking towards the problems that have surfaced down in Miami. Coach Jones said that he tells his staff to recruit the player and the family and not to get involved with any third parties. Dr. Erdmann also said that rules help to ease pressure on recruits.

Speaking directly about the Miami problems, Dr. Erdmann said that it was said to hear and that it was not the right way to do things. He also added that if the allegations are true, that parts of the program could be on the chopping block. Erdmann also said that the kids are 18-22 years old and are old enough to know better and are told to avoid over and over.

Lee asked about the 10 game schedule and why the Jags could not get more games than that. Dr. Erdmann said it was their intent to have more games but early in the year, around February or March, they were informed that UC Davis wanted to opt-out of their contract with USA. USA and Edward-Waters mutually agreed to drop their contract. But the UC Davis game was scheduled later in the season and was able to find a replacement game with Mississippi Valley State.

After adding the 10th game back, they made sure they were fulfilling their requirements for their two-year transition to FBS. Then after looking at what teams were out there available for a game, they decided that the possible games out there weren’t the best fits for the school and decided to stay with 10 games. Additionally they have some off weeks that may be very advantageous during this season.

Coach Jones made sure to stress that Division I-A and Division I-AA are still Division I school. They still have 63 scholarships, which isn’t the I-A number of 85, but they are still very good programs.

Taylor Noon and Lawson McGlon line up for a field goal attempt while Demetre Baker lines up to block.

South Alabama wrapped up preseason camp with a scrimmage lasting about one and a half hours focusing on game-like situations. They will then have the weekend off before returning to the practice field on Monday as well as beginning fall classes.

The scrimmage featured the first and second team offense and defense versus scout teams including special teams. The coaches had them refrane from tackling although they were in full pads.

They began the scrimmage with special teams work on kickoff coverage. That was followed by the first team defense facing the offense with them beginning at the offense’s one-yard line. Later possessions begain at the 20 and 30 yard lines.

The first team offense began at their own 30-yard line and drove down the field to set up a Jordan Means 37 yard field goal.

The punt team came on for some work before the first team offense and defense retured to the field for another series. They worked on second and long, third and long situations for the defense. Then the offense worked on first down, second and long and third and short situations. The final play of the first half of the scrimmage saw Lawson McGlon make a 40-yard field goal.

After the mid-scrimmage break, the first and second team defenses faced short field situations. The second team offense started with a short field and also starting on their own one-yard line.

The second half of the scrimmage saw more special teams work on kickoff and punt returns. Lawson McGlon also notched another 40-yard field goal as well as a 22-yard field goal to end the scrimmage.

The coaches will review the film from the situational scrimmage over the weekend to develop a depth chart as they go into preparation for their September 1 game against West Alabama.

“We exposed our team to a couple of things; sideline organization of the game, which I thought was pretty good for the most part though there are a couple of things we need to talk about as a staff to fix, and situational things on the field,” said head coach Joey Jones. “We didn’t tackle today, which I thought was good. We had a pretty good tempo, sometimes they tend to back off too much when you do that. We got all the special teams covered, we had three reps with each; we’ll watch the film and see what corrections we need to make there.”

Coach Jones then spoke about what the coaches will be doing over the weekend. “Number one, we’re going to evaluate the film and our players, what we need to do offensively and defensively and any corrections we need to make. Then we’ll talk about sideline organization, the things I noticed that we need to go over and get fixed for next week. And we’ll plan next week, how we’re going to attack it with a game a week from Thursday; how we are going to handle those three days before we get into game week. We know we’re going to have a situational scrimmage Thursday as well, bring them in Friday to watch the film and then it will be game week at that point.”

Coach Jones then went over their plan, beginning next week. “We’re going to go ahead and start working on the first ball game — we’ve done a little bit here and there before now, but it will give us an extra three days to work on West Alabama and put our game plan in, then go back and make corrections. There may be a scheme we don’t like or a blitz we don’t like that we will throw out. We’ll whittle it down and get ready for game week.”

Coach Greg Gregory, the Jaguar offensive coordinator, has been pretty pleased with the progression of the offense. “I think our first offense is good. I think the question mark that the so-called experts had about our football team — our offensive line — might be the strength of our offense,” he said. “I think those guys know how to play, they’re not the biggest but they don’t have to be; they block, they run, they’re athletic and they are competitors.”

“I think we’re really good at quarterback with our starter, though we’re thin at receiver right now because we have guys hurt; the guys that are here are having to take every rep, it’s wearing them out and their legs are getting tired,” Continued Coach Gregory. “We’re strong at running back, tight end and fullback. I’m really pleased other than I think we need our backups to make a huge jump. You don’t always need them right away in the first game, but somewhere in the season somebody’s going to have to play. Overall, we are about where I thought we’d be right now, we just have to polish things up between now and Sept. 1. Our kids are chomping at the bit, they’re ready to play.”

Defensive coordinator Bill Clark also spoke well of his unit. “The first thing as far as our guys go is we feel good. We’ve started developing some depth. We’re starting to see those twos, though some of it is due to injury. We’ve been able to see some freshmen and other guys that you wouldn’t see as much, we’ve gotten to throw them into the fire so we feel better about that. Obviously now our focus will start changing next week where we really start concentrating on West Alabama where we’ve been a little more general to start with. Overall we’re pleased with where we are, and we hope we’ll get everybody back well Monday.”

Probably the most encouraging words were spoke by Coach Gregory about the offensive line. If the starting five are solid with three or four really good second string backups ready at any time, then the team will be ready the tests they will face during the season.

The players will have the weekend off to rest and recover before beginning their preparations for the first game against West Alabama and classes starting on Monday.