Jags Continue Preparation For Arkansas State
Receiver Jereme Jones looks in the pass from CJ Bennett in the first half of the 33-31 loss to Texas-San Antonio.
The Jaguar football team continues to prepare for their game against Arkansas State on Saturday. A number of issues are being addressed including mistakes and penalties that have hampered the team most of the season.
The offense went against the scout team defense with the defense doing the same thing against the scout team offense. Both squads continue to try to prepare for what they will see in Jonesboro.
“It was pretty good,” head coach Joey Jones said. “I thought we were a little bit tired this morning. We fought through it and I thought had a good practice, but we’ve got to sharpen up the things that are going to happen in the game and sharpen up the gameplan. We’ve got another day to work on it and hopefully we can get that done.”
The Jags will return to the practice field on Thursday morning for their final practice before the game.
Several Red Wolf players will take the field in Jonesboro to face off with their home-town team. Three players from Mobile are on the team with 14 in all from the state of Alabama.
Additionally Kendall Houston participated in spring practice with Arkansas State before transferring to South Alabama.
To speak of the difficulty of South Alabama’s schedule this season, two of South Alabama’s previous opponents are still unbeaten, Texas-San Antonio and Mississippi State are both 5-0. NC State is 4-2 and coming off an upset of Florida State, who many thought would contend for a spot in the national championship game.
Sun Belt Conference Wraps Up Fall Meetings
The Sun Belt Conference fall meetings concluded today in New Orleans where they discussed the 2013 Sun Belt Conference baseball tournament, fan safety and scheduling for basketball and changes to the ejection policy.
The baseball tournament in 2013 will revert back to the double elimination format that the Sun Belt used from 2000-2010 when it is held in Lafayette, Louisiana from May 22 – May 26. The tournament will still have eight teams and will be split into two brackets with the bracket champions meeting for the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
More changes for baseball is coming in 2014 as the they will split into two divisions and continuing to play a 30 game schedule. More details will be announced at a later date though. The 2014 tournament was previously awarded to the University of South Alabama, however it remains to be seen if it will still be held in Mobile.
More changes will take place for the 2013-2014 academic year. Changes to the automatic suspension rule for student-athletes and coaches is that each ejection will be handled on a case-by-case basis with Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson being able to impose additional penalties. Also, student-athletes and coaches who are ejected are not automatically suspended for the next game unless the ejection is for fighting, which is covered in the NCAA manual.
In basketball, the student seating will not be allowed directly behind opposing team benches. Conference officials and others were concerned about the proximity of the benches to the crowd, particularly that students and student-athletes could be in danger if a student-athlete charged the stands due to verbal abuse by fans.
Additionally they decided that, beginning with the 2013-2014 season, conference games in both men’s and women’s basketball would not begin before christmas holidays. This opens the possibility of having to play three conference games in a one week period.
“There is more excitement today about the Sun Belt Conference than there has ever been,” said Sun Belt Conference President and Troy University Chancellor Jack Hawkins, Jr. “Our teams are winning and becoming household names. As we continue to win and identify our value as a brand we will show the world who we are and the strength that we have.”
“We are striving to become the best of the non-automatic qualifying BCS conferences,” continued Hawkins. “New leadership present throughout the league, along with our new member institutions and the attitude that every dimension of the Sun Belt Conference is open to examination is going to make us stronger.”
Jags Look To End Three Game Skid Against Defending SBC Champ
Senior linebacker Jake Johnson zeroes in on a NC State runner for one of his 14 tackles in Raleigh, NC.
South Alabama’s off week came at a much needed time. As the Jags look to break their three-game skid they had a chance to heal up some nagging injuries and rest up for their eight game run to end the season.
Next up on the Jags (1-4, 0-1 SBC) schedule is a trip to defending Sun Belt champion Arkansas State (3-3, 1-1 SBC) who is coming off a Thursday night victory over Sun Belt preseason favorite FIU.
“It couldn’t have come at a better time. We were beat up,” South Alabama head coach Joey Jones said. “Being nine-and-a-half weeks into it, counting fall camp, it came at a great time for our players and coaches after an emotional three games of playing N.C. State, Mississippi State and Troy.”
“Arkansas State is a very good football team,” Jones continued. “I watched them play last Thursday at FIU, they went down there on the road and beat a very good team. Their losses have come to the likes of Oregon and Nebraska, so they are a very good football team. They’re very good on offense, and have a lot of juniors and seniors starting in their offensive and defensive lineups. They are a veteran team, and we expect them to be a great football team when we walk into the stadium.”
Arkansas State was trailing FIU 10-7 with about four-and-a-half minutes to go in the first half and would go on and score 27 of the next 30 points to take control of the game. Running back David Oku ran for three touchdowns while quarterback Ryan Aplin accounted for another. The ASU Red Wolves gained 421 yards of total offense and averaged seven yards per snap.
Aplin was the preseason offensive player of the year for the Sun Belt Conference. On the season he has completed 119-of-194 passing attempts for 1,388 yards and eight touchdowns. He has also rushed for 243 yards and two touchdowns while ranking third in the confernece in both passing and total offense.
Oku is fourth in the conference with almost 77 yards per game rushing.
Wide receiver J.D. McKissic leads the Red Wolves with 39 receptions for 452 yards while fellow receiver Josh Jarboe has caught 28 passes for 287 yards. Both have two touchdowns on the season.
The Arkansas State offense is very balanced as they lead the league with an average of 232.2 yards rushing per game. They also average 238.7 yards per game passing and stand third in the conference in total offense. They score an average of 30.5 points per game.
Defensively Nathan Herrold leads the way with 52 tackles, including four for a loss. Tim Starson leads the team with 6.5 tackles for loss. Their defense allows an average of 158.2 yards per game passing but are last against the run by giving up an average of 218.7 yards per game.
The Jaguar offense is coming off a season best 193 yards rushing in their Sun Belt Conference debut against Troy. Demetre Baker rushed for 62 yards on 16 carries. While the Jags have five receivers who have caught at least 10 passes each. Bryant Lavender leads the way with 13 catches for 122 yards while Jereme Jones leads the team with 160 yards on 12 receptions. Corey Besteda has 10 catches for 144 yards and Greg Hollinger also has 10 catches for 135 yards.
Junior transfer Ross Metheny, who was named the starter last week by Coach Jones and his staff, has completed 34-of-59 passes this season for 354 yards and one touchdown.
“We just felt like it was a move we needed to make for the offense,” Jones said. “We’re trying to find that identity in where we are, so I think that will help us with him getting more reps in practice. We think it’s going to help us [to name a starter]. We tried to let it pan out over the last five games, but I think it will help us just from the standpoint that they [offense] know that he [Metheny] is going to be the guy right now.”
“We have not put a complete game together,” Jones continued. “We have a young offense. We started the season with two freshmen and five sophomores on the offensive unit. We have to get better, but it isn’t easy to get better when you’re playing the teams we are playing. We’re a better team than we were last year, but we’re playing much better competition right now and it just isn’t showing.”
“We have to be able to stick the ball into the end zone. Defense and special teams are playing good enough to win, so if we can get that part going on offense then we’re going to get this thing rolling. But we have to get out there and get it done.”
Senior linebacker Jake Johnson is leading the Sun Belt by averaging over 10 tackles per game. Enrique Williams, along with Johnson, leads the defense unit from their linebaker positions.
The Jaguar defense is second in the Sun Belt by only allowing an average of 350.2 yares per game and is fourth in the conference by allowing an average of 25.6 points per game.
“I would hate to have known that we would have to have gotten ready in one week for what they’re doing,” Jones observed. “[Head coach] Gus [Malzahn] does a great job of changing things up and scouting himself. You can tell that he scouts himself well with their personnel groupings. They give you fits all over the field, both horizontally and vertically. They really make you play the whole field on defense, that’s probably the most difficult thing.”
The Jags and Red Wolves kick off in Jonesboro at 6pm and the game can be heard on 105.5 WNSP.
Coach Joey Jones Show Recap 2012-10-09
Head coach Joey Jones and host Lee Shirvanian are joined by Bo Bishop of Baumhower’s, Lloyd Meyers from South Alabama Marketing and linebackers coach Brendt Bedsole.
Coach Jones began the show by saying they have had two of the best practices of the year. It was good that they had Thursday, Friday, Saturday and really Sunday off. He said it was like a really good spring practice because it was very spirited and even had a couple fights they had to break up.
Lee asked if that was normal to have a very physical day. Coach Jones answered by saying they have to have a good physical day each week and theirs is usually Tuesday. They then back off in shells on Thursday so they are not beat up for the game.
Bo Bishop of Baumhower’s Restaurant announced that next tuesday they will have a breast cancer awareness day at Baumhowers. They will be giving a portion of their proceeds to breast cancer awareness. Their featured item was pot roast, they also said that kids eat free all day on Wednesday, trivia on Thursday then games all weekend.
Lee goes back to Coach Jones to ask about Ross Metheny and the advantage he will give the team going into the game as the starting quarterback without any rotation. Coach Jones said that the advantage is that Metheny will get more reps in practice which should make him better in the games. Jones said that Metheny has had a good week so far and really cares about it by watching lots of film and trying to understand everything he needs to do.
Then Lee asked about his leadership ability. Coach Jones said that Metheny shows good leadership and players are responding in the huddle. He corrects players without jumping on them and the players seem to be listening to him.
Lee commented how there are rotations at so many positions but that quarterback is not a position is rotated because of the importance at that position. He then asked how C.J. Bennett is taking it since he was the starter all last season and back into the season previous to that. Coach Jones indicated that C.J. is taking it well and working hard. Jones also said that players are working hard every week competing for their position and C.J. knows he can get back into it like any other position and he needs to be ready to go in at any point.
The Orthopedic Group Injury Report: Coach Jones said taht all of the defensive linemen were out there today. However Randon Carnathan had a gold non-contact jersey on but is in the 90% healthy range. Montavious Williams ankle still hurts from the high ankle sprain he suffered at Mississippi State a little but he will play on Saturday. Actually every one will play. Also mentioned that B.J. Scott is good to go.
Lee asked about South Alabama procedure about concussions. Coach Jones said that concussions are very detailed process. They put the players through a battery of tests. No only do they test them while relaxed, they also test them after exhertion. If they get a headache after exercise they will not allow them to play. They are very careful about that injury because the health of the players is more important than football.
Arkansas State is in the top two or three in the conference. Their quarterback was player of the year in the conference. They have lots of Juniors and Seniorts.
New coach Brendt Bedsole has experience in radio and with the team. He has transitioned from the role of Director of Operations to an on-field coach now. He hopes his players say that he is a teacher.
Lee asked if he saw the report of Auburn coach Gene Chizik apologizing to the fans for them leaving the game early. Lee then asked if he had ever seen that before. Jones said that sometimes when you are in a situation like that and get frustrated, you say things you shouldn’t have said. But Jones said that he has learned that sometimes you hold your tongue and you may reconsider what you were or did say. As a coach you don’t want to let anyone down.
Gus Malzahn, the former offensive coordinator at Auburn, is now the head coach at Arkansas State. Coach Jones said that the biggest thing they do is that they do a great job of self-scouting. They do something for a couple weeks then the next week they change a certain scheme so just when you think you have them down, they change stuff.
Also coach Jones said that they do a great job of spreading the ball. By that he means that they are good at using the whole field. Bedsole then said that they use every yard of the field, width and length, with their offense. Its the same offense in many ways as the offense they used to win the NC again Oregon, beating Alabama after coming from being down 27-0 at halftime. They do run lots of base plays, but with lots of “window dressing” on them.
Coach Jones said that, when you run an offense like that, you have to have a quarterback that can do it. You can’t have a quarterback who can’t run or one that makes the wrong decision on running or passing. Their quarterback Ryan Aplin does a great job, he is big, great arm and can run. He could be an NFL quarterback.
Lee then asked coach Bedsole what the keys were for this week. The key is to be very disciplined. He said 1: Lining up 2: being disciplined, which he said was reading your keys whatever they are and 3: believe what you see.
Lee said that when he asked an Ole Miss assistant that was previously an assistant under Hugh Freeze at Arkansas State, what South Alabama is walking into in Jonesboro he was caught off-guard with the answer. The assistant did not mention players he mentioned the travel to get there is the worst.
Coach Jones said that travel is something that they keep in mind each week for the players. They don’t want any lost time. But Jones continued by saying that you can’t help it when you have to fly into memphis then a have a 90 minute bus drive to Jonesboro. Jones indicated that it will basically be 6 hours of travel for them. They will leave Mobile, fly to Memphis, bus to Jonesboro, go to the stadium for a walk-through it will be around 6 hours.
Talking about their defense, Lee asked if it presented anything different from what they have already seen this season. Coach Jones said that they don’t present anything totally different. Their defensive coordinator comes from Georgia State and likes to blitz and bring pressure off the edge. Their defensive linemen are very athletic and good about getting off blocks.
Lee asked about T.J. Glover and big plays. T.J. played running back his first year, and he is back to running back. Hopefully he can make some big plays from running back.
Coach Jones thinks that, offensively, the changes they have made will make them more competitive. They are close, they just have to get over that hump. He mentioned that at the beginning of this season they were starting two freshmen and five sophomores on offense, so they are very young.
Lee asked about the offensive line and how that they have moved Tremain smith to left guard. Lee asked if that was showing more cohesiveness. Coach Jones said it was and that they are a better offensive line this year than last year. He said that it may not look like it on the outside looking in, but they are better and they are continuing to get better.
Lloyd Meyers, the assistant marking director came on to make some announcements. He said that this is about 35,000 seats in Jonesboro and Jag fans going to the game should wear white.
He also announced that homecoming will be next week against FAU. Fun Fest carnival will be Thursday night and it will be free and open to the public. Friday is a big day with moulton tower mural dedication, wall of honor unveiling, homecoming parade and pep rally. Game time is not known yet due to possible tv interest like any game but coach Jones thinks it’s 2:30. It should be announced this week though.
A caller asked if Coach Jones has a different game plan for 3:00 left in the game. he answered by saying that they have two different game plans, four-minute offense where, if they are ahead, they slow it down and use the clock. If they are behind, they have what they call a two-minute offense where they speed it up and try to get out of bounds and stuff.
Lee asked if college football should they have the two-minute warning like in NFL? Coach Jones said he doesn’t know it wouldn’t matter that much really. There are positives and negatives for and against it.
Another caller asked Coach JOnes concerning the spread offense and mentioned Coach Saban talking about it recently. Coach Jones said that a team has to have a good quarterback who can distribute the ball and be able to run the ball. We [South Alabama] are not to that maturity point to be able to pressure the defenses as other teams who have been running the offense longer. When they can do that you still have to be able to run the ball but when you can pressure the other team it can wear the defense down.
Coach Jones spoke very highly of Jake Johnson, the answer to the trivia question for the day. He leads the Sun Belt in tackles per game. They said he weighs 240lbs and runs a 4.53 – 40 and are very fortunate to have him on the team. Been putting him on the edge and rushing the quarterback with him in the last few games.
They then talked about coordinators and coaches on the sidelines versus in the press booth. The offensive coordinator Robert Matthews is in the booth calling plays. But so is coach Bedsole. Defensive coordinators tend to be on the sidelines because they are reactors. They have to quickly react to what the offense is doing on the field. While the offense is actors, they dictate what goes on on the field for the most part. The defensive coaches and coordinators tend to be on the sidelines so they coach the players and relay observations quickly to the players.
Another caller asked for an update on transfer James Elliot. Coach Jones said that he was cleared by the NCAA to play about a week ago and is doing well and getting more reps now. The caller also asked if Coach Jones was involved any in the play calling. Coach Jones said that he does have input in play calling. However he tries to let coach Matthews call the game but coach Jones does controls if they are going to go for it on fourth down of if there are any deep throws they may want to do.
Lee asked if Jaret Palmer is in the rotation at tight end since he noticed him playing quite a bit against Troy. Coach Jones said he is doing a great job and has worked himself into getting some playing time. Palmer previously played as a receiver.
Lee asked if Coach Jones was hands on with the defense as he is with the offense. Jones answered by saying no, he is more of an offensive guy. Jones continued by saying that most head coaches tend to lean to one side or the other.
Lee asked if Arkansas State has any break-out players that are dangerous that the Jags will have to keep tabs on. Coach Jones indicated that Josh Jarboe is quick and has the ability to score anytime he has the ball. Their quarterback Aplin is the same way and he has the ball on every play on offense.
Coach Jones said that he called for a radio interview in Arkansas leading up to the game this week and they asked him about their schedule being in the Sun Belt for the first time and playing Hawaii. Coach Jones said that he answered that every week is something new with this team. This will be the Jags first sun belt road game so they will be learning.
Jags Rubit And Conner Earn Preseason Honors From Yahoo! Sports
South Alabama’s Augustine Rubit and Dre Conner earned pre-season honors from Yahoo! Sports.
Rubit was named to the First Team All-Sun Belt team. He is a junior from Houston, Texas and coming off his sophomore season where he averaged 15.2 ppg and 9.2 rebounds per game. His rebounding average led the conference for the second consecutive year. Also his 12 double-doubles last season also led the conference.
Conner was named Newcomer of the Year. He is a junior college transfer from Labette community college in Lauderhill, Florida.
Additionally, Yahoo! Sports selected the Jaguars to finish second in the East Division behind defending conference champion Middle Tennessee State.
Monday Press Conference Previewing Arkansas State
The Jaguar cheerleaders leading the team onto the field while Coach Jones greets his team on the sidelines prior to the Jags game against Nicholls State.
The University of South Alabama and head coach Joey Jones held their weekly Monday press conference. This week coach Jones discusses Saturday’s road game at Arkansas State. Below are some highlights from the press conference.
Opening statement: “Arkansas State is a very good football team. I watched them play last Thursday at FIU. They went down there on the road and beat a very good FIU team. Their losses have come to the likes of Oregon and Nebraska, so they are a very good football team. They’re very good on offense, and have a lot of juniors and seniors starting in their offensive and defensive lineups. They are a veteran team, and we expect them to be a great football team when we walk into the stadium.”
Jones then spoke about the open week and how the team benefited from it. “It couldn’t have come at a better time. We were beat up. Being nine-and-a-half weeks into it, counting fall camp, it came at a great time for our players and coaches after an emotional three games of playing N.C. State, Mississippi State and Troy.”
He then spoke about how the practice will change for the offense since the Jags have named a starting quarterback and that they will no longer rotate quarterbacks. “When we play one quarterback, he’s going to get more reps in practice. Before, we were splitting the reps 50-50 because they were going to play in the game 50-50. We’re going to give our starter [Ross Metheny] probably 70 percent of the reps, and C.J. [Bennett] will get about 30. It should make him sharper in the games, so we’ll see. We just felt like it was a move we needed to make for the offense. We’re trying to find that identity in where we are, so I think that will help us with him getting more reps in practice. We think it’s going to help us. We tried to let it pan out over the last five games, but I think it will help us just from the standpoint that they [offense] know that he [Metheny] is going to be the guy right now.”
Jones then spoke about improvement needed from the offense. “We have not put a complete game together. We have to be balanced. We’ve had too many three-and-outs, and that’s not really any one person’s fault. We have a young offense. We started the season with two freshmen and five sophomores on the offensive unit. We have to get better, but it isn’t easy to get better when you’re playing the teams we are playing. We’re a better team than we were last year, but we’re playing much better competition right now and it just isn’t showing. We have to be able to stick the ball into the end zone. Defense and special teams are playing good enough to win, so if we can get that part going on offense then we’re going to get this thing rolling. But we have to get out there and get it done.”
Coach Jones then spoke about what ASU does well. “They are pretty good on both sides of the football. They’re averaging about 500 yards a game offensively, and are playing really good defense. They’re just playing with a lot of confidence. Any time you win a championship the year before, you can just tell they’re playing with a lot of confidence.”
He then spoke about how the off week helped the team to prepare for the Arkansas State offense. “I would hate to have known that we would have to have gotten ready in one week for what they’re doing. [Head coach] Gus [Malzahn] does a great job of changing things up and scouting himself. You can tell that he scouts himself well with their personnel groupings. They give you fits all over the field, both horizontally and vertically. They really make you play the whole field on defense. That’s probably the most difficult thing.”
Arkansas State head coach Gus Malzahn is well known in the Southeast. He spent three seasons as the offensive coordinator at Auburn University, most notably during the 2010 national championship season. Also during the 2010 season he tutored eventual Heisman winner Cam Newton.
Jags Rest Up For Eight Game Stretch To End Season
As the players took a couple days off to rest and recharge for the final eight games of the season the coaches hit the road to do some recruiting. After the first five games with a tough three game stretch, it was much needed.
They return to the practice field to prepare for their trip to Jonesboro, Arkansas, which will be the fourth in what many consider the toughest portion of the Jaguars schedule. Arkansas is coming off of a 34-20 win Thursday night over FIU to even their record at 3-3 (1-1 Sun Belt).
The Jags will be focusing on correcting things that have plagued them in the first five games of the season. They are trying to get the offense on track and moving the ball, ending big plays on defense, eliminating penalties and turnovers. If they can correct them, they will correct the most important item on their list: ending the losing streak.
The offense is near the bottom in most offensive categories. They rank last in rushing offense. They rank ninth in passing offense, total offense and scoring offense. They are last in passing efficiency and 3rd down conversions. They rank ninth in kickoff coverage, penalties and turnover margin. And they are eighth in time of possession and first downs.
The defense is doing much better though. They are second in total defense, fourth in rushing defense, fifth in scoring defense and passing defense. Senior linebacker Jake Johnson is ranked at the top of the league in tackles per game with fellow linebacker Enrique Williams ranks 11th in the same category.
During the off week, head coach Joey Jones announced they were shelving the two-quarterback system but will evaluate the position, like all positions, on a week-to-week basis. He named Ross Metheny as the starting quarterback for Arkansas State. The coaches hope that this will bring more consistency to the offense.
The Jags do have a tough schedule left to go. After Arkansas State and FAU at home they will travel to Louisiana-Monroe who defeated Arkansas in overtime and narrowly lost to Auburn in Overtime. They then return home to face FIU before hitting the road for North Texas. They then return home for the last time this season for Middle Tennessee State, who defeated Georgia Tech by three touchdowns recently. They close out the season with road trips to Louisiana-Lafayette and Hawaii.
Hopefully they are well rested. The next eight games will continue to test them week-in and week-out.
Sun Belt Conference Scores From The Weekend
Western Kentucky, Troy, FAU and the Jags were all off this weekend.
Arkansas State 34 – FIU 20
FIU, who was picked to win the SBC title this pre-season, fell to 1-5 (1-1 SBC). While Arkansas State improved to 3-3 (1-1 SBC) on the season. ASU’s Ryan Aplin became the SBC’s all-time leader in career offense with 10,365 yards as he went 15-of-23 for 223 yards. Running back David Oku rushed for three touchdowns while freshman receiver J.D. McKissic caught five passes for 124 yards, his first 100-yard receiving game, and a touchdown.
The Jags will travel to Jonesboro, Arkansas to face ASU this weekend.
UL-Monroe 31 – MTSU 17
ULM improved to 3-2 (1-0 SBC) on the season with their win while MTSU fell to 3-2 (1-1 SBC).
ULM quarterback Kolton Browning went 26-of-38 for 285 yards and a touchdown in the win. ULM receiver Brent Leonard caught eight passes for 73 yards and Je’Ron Hamm added three catches for 62 yards and a touchdown. Running back Jyruss Edwards added 87 yards rushing on 17 attempts with two touchdowns.
UL-Lafayette 41 – Tulane 13
The Ragin’ Cajuns (4-1, 2-0 SBC) rushed for 294 yards as they defeated the Tulane Green Wave for homecoming. ULL rushed for 164 of those yards in the first half en route to a 24-10 halftime lead. Alonzo Harris rushed 23 times for 123 yards and a touchdown. Terrance Broadway got his first start at quarterback for ULL and went 9-of-22 for 150 yards and two touchdowns while also adding a rushing touchdown as well.
North Texas 21 – Houston 44
UNT (2-4 overall, 1-1 SBC) fell behind a mere 1:15 into the game as Houston scored on five of its first six possessions. They turned the ball over on downs deep in UNT territory on the only possession of the first half without a score. Each scoring drive averaged over 77 yards and only took just over two minutes to score.
UNT’s Derek Thompson went 20-of-38 for 252 yards with two interceptions. Running back Brandin Byrd rushed 19 times for 96 yards while Jeremy Brown added 80 yards on 7 carries. Ivan Delgado caught four passes for 85 yards in the loss.
USA Ending QB Rotation Is The Right Decision
Quarterbacks Trey Fetner and transfer Ross Metheny participating in position drills.
Press-Register and AL.com writer Tommy Hicks wrote an an article yesterday evening concerning South Alabama’s quarterback situation.
He was spot on.
He said that the coaching staff made the right decision to side-line the two-quarterback system and name a single quarterback as the starter for the Jags in Arkansas State. Each quarterback is comfortable with their own style and pace for things, but rotating those styles every three possessions has to cause some problems in the offense as a whole. Not to mention the difficulty that other players on offense have in trying to play consistently when quarterbacks are continually rotated.
As for if the right quarterback has been selected to be the starter, that will have to proven on the field. Right now, Ross Metheny knows he is the starter and will be getting the majority of the snaps in practice. It’s his job to keep. While C.J. Bennett will have to go above and beyond what he has done to earn his starting spot back while taking a reduced number of snaps in practice.
Bennett has shown flashes of brilliant play during his career at South Alabama, but he has also had quite a bit of criticism over decision making. Particularly last season when he threw 17 interceptions to only 7 touchdowns.
Sometimes it takes some adversity to make you rise to the occasion. Sometimes it takes some faith in a new face. Either way, the Jags want to win and they are trying to find that formula.
You can read the article here.
Men’s BBall To Play In Coaches Vs Cancer; Coach Pietri Pleased With Beginning Of Women’s Practices
Some dates have been set for the South Alabama men’s basketball team. The Jags will be participating in the 2012 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic as announced by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and American Cancer Society announced this week.
The four regional hosts will be BYU, Florida State, Notre Dame and Saint Joesph’s beginning on November 9. The championship rounds will be held on November 16-17 in Brooklyn, N.Y.
The Jags will open the season at regional host Florida State on November 9. They will then host William Carey before traveling to Atlanta for three sub-regional games where they will face Tennessee State on November 19th at 3pm CST. They will then face Monmouth on November 20th at 3pm CST and finally the Jags will take on Georgia State to close out the three-day tournament on November 21st at 2pm CST.
Tennessee State returns four starters from last season where they won 20 games and finished second in the Ohio Valley Conference. Monmouth had a 12-20 record last season but went 10-8 in the Northeast Conference. Georgia State went 22-12 last season but lost four starters and seven letterwinners.
Lady Jaguars
Coach Rick Pietri is pleased with the progress the Lady Jaguar basketball team has done so far as they have begun practices for the 2012-2013 season.
“I think our first two practices have been good,” Pietri said. “It appears that from top to bottom this group is in good shape from a conditioning standpoint. I believe for the first time since I have been here, we were able to go five-on-five in our closing segments the other day. We’ve shown some promise in terms of things that we could be capable of doing on the offensive end of the floor. We haven’t even talked about defense yet as a team, but we’ll do that towards the end of the week. I do like what I’ve seen from both the veterans and newcomers and after two days of practice, I’m encouraged, but of course there’s a long way to go.”