Myles Gibbon, running the first series with the first-team offense, scores the first touchdown of the scrimmage.

The second scrimmage of the preseason was a bit more even than the first one last week. Less touchdowns but also less turnovers. Which pleased Coach Jones when it was all said and done.

Several players were out due to injury on the defense. None severe, just nagging injuries which the coaching staff decided to sideline for the scrimmage. Randon Carnathan, Justin Dunn, Tim Harvey, Jake Johnson, Romelle Jones and Alex Page all sat out the scrimmage.

The Jags ran about 93 plays, close to their goal of 100. Overall the offense gained 251 yards with the first team defense only allowing 48 in their seven series on the field. The only two turnovers of the day were recovered by Jarred Williams and Montavious Williams, but both were committed by Ellis Hill, but one was a bad exchange from Brennan Sim. Anthony Taylor made back-to-back sacks for the first-team defense while Kendell Bagnerise added one right after Taylor to back the offense up 18 yards in one possession.

With so many playmakers out on defense, Jonathan Cameron and Bryson James led the defense each with four tackles. Zach Rone lead the second team defense with five tackles.

Myles Gibbon led the first team offense 80 yards in seven plays on their first possession to score the first touchdown. Brandon Ross made the big gain on the series with a 39 yard run, including knocking a defensive back flat on his tail, to set up the touchdown. After two runs by Santuan McGee, Gibbon ran to the left and made the corner of the end zone for the score.

C.J. Bennett led the first team offense the second time they were on the field. He would lead the offense down the field but could not get into the end zone and they settled for a 37 yard Michel Chapuseaux field goal.

The second first-team touchdown would be from a combination of Gibbon and Bennett under center. With the offense facing fourth down from the defense’s 43 yard line, Myles would hit Bryant Lavender for a 14 yard gain on the left sideline. Then Bennett would enter the game who would fine Ralph Turner open on the right side of the field for a 29 yard touchdown. The series covered 60 yards in six plays.

The second-team offense would have it’s best drive of the day on their first possession of the game with Bennett at quarterback. He would start the series off with a 14 yard completion to Lamontis Gardner. Then after a handoff for a short gain, he complete a pass to Gardner for eight more yards and a second first down of the series. But the series would come to an end after a fumbled handoff on third down was recovered by the offense and forced them to punt.

Bennett went 5 of 8 passing for 65 yards and a touchdown, Brennan Sim completed three for 27 yards and Gibbon completed one for 14 yards. Corey Besteda, Gardner and Lavender each caught two passes while Ralph Turner led the receivers with a touchdown and 29 yards on one reception.

Coach Jones had the following to say after the scrimmage: “We changed things up, but I thought we looked a little sharper. There were a few penalties out there, which we have to get corrected in the next couple of weeks, but I thought it was a good day. It was more like a game, we called all the special teams out there so they had to be alert on the sidelines. My overall feeling is that the offense and defense got better, and special teams were pretty consistent.”

He continued, “We will evaluate this film and go into next week with an idea of who our ones and twos will be. Of course, it’s not over because these kids compete for jobs every day, but we have to find a starting point when we begin next week.”

Chapuseaux began the scrimmage with a kickoff to the 10 yard line with Donte Rome and Jeremy Roberts back to return. Starting at the 20 yard line, C.J. Bennett came out with the second-team offense. His first pass was completed to Lamontis Gardner for 14 yards and a first down. A handoff went for about four yards then Bennett found Gardner again for seven more yards and another first down.

Bennett then completed a pass to Corey Besteda for about 6 yards. A rush by Ellis Hill wen for a short gain which was followed by another rush by Johnny Lockett that went for about seven yards and a first down. Bennett would find Besteda again for another eight yards. A rush by Johnny Lockett would lose about two or three yards then a fumble on the handoff from Bennett would bring up fourth down. Scott Garber would punt with T.J. Glover letting it go into the end zone for a touchback.

Then came out the first team offense with Myles Gibbon going to work from the 20 yard line. The first play from scrimmage, Gibbon threw to Ralph Turner who was running a slant route, but the defender was flagged for pass interference. After a 15 yard penalty, Gibbon handed off to Brandon Ross for a short gain of about two or three yards.

Gibbon then went back to Ross and he found a hole for about eight more yards and a first down. Gibbon handed off again to the right side for a short gain if any. Once more Gibbon handed off to Ross who went for 39 yards while knocking over a defense back in the secondary and another first down.

Santuan McGee came in for Ross and was tackled for a four yard loss by Jaleel Atkins. Another rush by McGee got back what he lost and about two more yards. Myles then took the snap and took off around the left side of the line, scampering for nine yards and a touchdown. Michel Chapuseaux added the extra point.

Jordan Means had the kickoff duty this time and booted it just inside the ten yard line. Donte Rome and Jeremy Roberts were deep for the return. Raymond Cotton came out to run the offense and was wearing a blue number 17 jersey, unlike the rest of the other quarterbacks who were wearing white, no-contact jersey’s. His first play was a handoff to Ryan Scott who gained three yards. On second and seven, Cotton dropped back and was sacked, giving back the three yards from the previous play.

On third and ten, a bad snap caused a fumbled which Cotton picked up quickly and moved to the right. Under pressure he threw across the middle incomplete, intended for Gage Hayes. Scott Garber booted a 40 yard punt or so which T.J. Glover fielded and was quickly tagged down.

Brennan Sim came in to lead the offense from their own 40 yard line. A hand off to Ellis Hill went for about two yards. Then Brennan found Bryant Lavender for a 17 yard completion. But the next play, a handoff to Ellis Hill again, was botched and a fumble. Then Brennan was sacked for a six yard loss. Then another sack forced them to punt.

Starting at their 45 yard line, C.J. Bennett lead the drive. The first play was a handoff to Santuan McGee for about eight yards. Then McGee ran again for about 17 more yards. On first down, Bennett attempted a pass which went incomplete when he threw behind the receiver.

On second down, Kendall Houston rushed for about five yards to make it third down and about five yards. Bennett attempted another pass which was nearly picked off by linebacker Zach Rone near the right hashmark. Michel Chapuseaux made a 45 yard field goal to end the possession.

Chapuseaux kicked off and T.J. Glover returned for about 19 yards. Cotton lead the offense from around the 30 yard line. The first down play was a run by Johnny Lockett for about four yards. Another bad snap that Cotton picks up and runs for a short gain, but as he was crossing the field he took a huge hit from linebacker David Hawkins. After the coaches went to the huddle to check Raymond out, he continued to play. He would hand off to Lockett again for a short gain. Then Cotton would run around the right side for another short gain. A handoff to what looked like Donte Rome went for a short loss bringing out Jordan Means who booted around a 40 yard punt.

Coach Jones decided it was time for a break so all the players congregated on the sidelines with their group for about five minutes.

When the break was over, Brennan Sim lead the offense from the 40 yard line. The first down play was an incomplete pass. On second down Sim handed off to Ellis Hill, who looked like he was going to lose yardage, but turned it into a one yard gain. Sim then threw an incomplete pass intended for Taylor Noon. Then Sim over threw Bryant Lavendar going to the right. Lockett then rushed for a short loss. Sim threw yet another incomplete pass just to get the ball away and avoid a sack. Sim then completed a pass to Donte Rome for about six yards.

Matt Saucier came in and booted a big punt which was fielded and downed inside the five yard line.

Starting the next possession on the 40 yard line, Myles Gibbon lead the offense again. The first play was flagged for offsides on the defense. Then on first down and five, he handed off to Kendall Houston for seven yards and a first down. He then went back to Houston for a five yard gain. Gibbon then threw to the end zone intended for Courtney Smith, but he overthrew him just a little. Gibbon, under pressure, threw to Ralph Turner but was incomplete.

Then C.J. Bennett came in and threw a pass complete to Bryant Lavendar for about 14 yards. The very next pass went to Ralph Turner on the right side for a 29 yard touchdown. Chapuseaux added the extra point.

Jordan Means kicked off and Ralph Turner got a nice return of about 35 yards before he was tagged down. Matt Saucier came in to lead the offense and his first play was a run around the left side that would have gone for about 25 yards but was called back on a penalty. After a handoff for maybe a short gain, Saucier completed a pass to Gage Hayes for about six yards. On a fake handoff, Saucier tried to run left but was dropped for a loss of about four or five yards. Then Saucier was sacked for about a two yard loss ending the series.

Gabe Graham then came out to lead a series. His first play was a hand off to Michael Nevels for maybe one yard. Then a handoff to Lockett for no gain. Then Graham kept it and ran for about six yards on third down. Jordan Means attempted a 45 yard field goal which went dead left, no good.

Then end the scrimmage, Coach Jones had the players work on red zone plays. Sim went first with the offense and threw incomplete for Bryant Lavendar. Ryan Scott took the handoff on second down for a short loss. Then Sim threw to Corey Besteda under pressure but it was just short and incomplete.

Gibbon ran the next series and on the first play nearly ran into the end zone himself but was stopped short. Lockett was stopped just short of the goal line on the next play. The Kendall Houston took the next hand off into the end zone for a touchdown.

Bennett lead the next series. On the first play his fade pass attempt to Besteda was incomplete with Jonathan Cameron in tight coverage. Ellis Hill took the hand off on the next play for a short loss. Then Ellis Hill also took the next handoff up the middle but was stripped and fumbled the ball, which was picked up by the defense.

Gibbon came back in and ran a couple more plays. he handed off to Houston who went for a short gain. Another hand off to Houston went for a short gain if any. Then a false start call on the offense ended his series.

Bennett came back in once more and on his first play, he handed off to Houston who went into the end zone for a touchdown which ended the scrimmage.

In all about 93 plays were run, which was right around how many Coach Jones wanted to run. No major injuries, the only report was one player iced his right ankle and one player got slightly overheated.

The team will take Sunday off before returning to the practice field early Monday morning, which is also the first day of classes for South Alabama.

Saturday was the Jaguars first scrimmage of Spring practice and their focus was the passing game. Brennan Sim and Myles Gibbon each threw two touchdowns as the Jaguars offense racked up 286 yards through the air.

Sims was 11-of-21 with 172 yards with his two touchdowns while Gibbon went 6-of-9 for 92 yards and two touchdowns. Gabe Graham completed all four of his passing attempts for 22 yards as well. The Jags had 11 different receivers catching passes on the day with Kelly Vail catching four passes for 111 yards. Courtney Smith caught three for 38 yards as well.

While the defense allowed more than eight yards per passing play, they only allowed 66 yards on 58 carries. Linebacker Justin Dunn and Defensive Lineman Darrius McMullin both lead the defense with seven tackles. Enrique Williams had five tackles including 1.5 for loss. Several others had four tackles. Defensive Back Jonathan Cameron had three tackles to go along with his three pass break-ups. Ken Barefield and Zach Brownell both forced fumbles.

Additionally, the defense was credited with 18 tackles behind the line of scrimmage with 10 of them being quarterback sacks.

The first and second team defenses both held the offenses to three-and-outs on the possessions of the days. It was Gabe Graham, the third team quarterback, who would get the offense in gear when he completed a 10 yard pass to Courtney Smith to get the initial first down of the scrimmage.

The first team offense’s next series saw Sim find Kelly Vail inside the five yard line in stride but Brownell caught him from behind and forced a fumble that would roll out of the back of the end zone.

Two possessions later the offense would finally put the first points on the board. Ross would get a first down on his first carry, which would be followed up by Gibbon hitting Corey Besteda on the left sideline for a 49 yard touchdown.

The defense would answer with two consecutive three-and-outs with three sacks in those six plays. Then they ended the third possession when Eddie Cabrera hauled in an interception which he ran back 17 yards.

The first half of the scrimmage would see the offense getting five first downs but unable to score.

The second half of the scrimmage saw the defense open up with four three-and-outs before Brandon Ross would get two first downs for the offense. But no one was able to score.

It wasn’t until offensive possessions started at the defense’s 40 yard line was the final points of the day put on the board.

Sims found Kelly Vail for a 36 yard completion to move the offense inside the five yard line. Then three plays later Sim would find Ryne Baxter in the left corner of the end zone for a touchdown.

Gibbon would helm the next drive which began with an 18 yard pass to Richard Ross but it would only lead to a 30 yard field goal by Jordan Means.

The final four drives of the day were first-and-goal from the nine yard line. The first ended with a 23 yard field goal by Michel Chapuseaux. The next saw Sim find Smith on a fourth down slant pattern for the eight yard score. The final possession had a nine yard touchdown pass to Robby Stoner from Myles Gibbon.

After the scrimmage, Coach Jones commented on how the Jags played. “Offensively, I think we are throwing the ball a little bit better. That has been an area that we have been looking to improve on. Our defense has just gotten tougher against the run, which is what you want to see. Last fall, it was a little bit porous at times against the offense, but they have done a great job of improving. Sure there are things that still need to be corrected, but I have been pleased with their efforts to stop the running game.”

“We’ve made some improvements in the last week-and-a-half, but we have got to have a great week this week,” Coach Jones continued. “The next four practices we have need to be great because when we get to Monday the week of the spring game we are basically going to be done at that point as far as trying to get better. I think the kids will respond to that challenge.”

The Jags will practice in pads on Monday with limited contact beginning at 7am then on Tuesday the team will resume tackling when they hit the field at 7:30am. The second of the three scrimmages this spring will be on Saturday, March 6. Practices this week and Saturday’s scrimmage will all be held at the Jaguar Practice Facility near the Jaguar Football Field house.

Cameron played the last two seasons at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and will have two season of eligibility left to play for the Jaguars. MGCCC finished in the top 10 in the final NJCAA rankings for 2009.

Cameron is listed at 6’1″ 190-lb and is a native of Puckett, Mississippi. His stats for last season included 39 tackles, two for a loss and one being a sack.

Before his stint with MGCCC he played in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic.

He chose South Alabama over an offer from East Carolina.

On Thursday, South Alabama announced the second JC transfer to sign with the Jaguars. Justin Sorrell signed a National Letter-of-Intent to join the Jags program with two years of eligibility to play.

Sorrell played the last two seasons with Blinn Junior College in Texas. They won the National Junior College Athletic Association National Championship this year.

Sorrell is listed as a 5’10″ 190-lb defensive back who finished the 2009 season with 77 tackles (second most on the team) and two interceptions in helping the Buccaneers to their 11-1 record and the National Championship. A second experience defensive back in as many days to help the Jags secondary as they will be seeing a marked increase in strength of schedule.

Sorrell chose South Alabama over recruiting efforts by UTEP, McNeese State and Lamar. Lamar is on the Jags schedule for 2010.

The Jags played the 2009 season with some converted players in the secondary. Matt Saucier moved from Quarterback and Ken Barefield moved from receiver to help give more depth at the position after some injuries early thinned out the ranks.

Coach Joey Jones has this to say about Cameron. “We feel great about Jonathan, he’s tall, rangy and has great speed. He is a really good athlete who can play either cornerback or safety. On his visit, you could tell that Jonathan is an individual with great character. We knew that we wanted him here at USA.”

“Justin is a very athletic safety who is a great tackler. He also has the ability to play man coverage as well. Justin is a great combination player, he is exactly what we are looking for in a safety,” Coach Jones said about Sorrell.

Go Jags!