Preseason Camp 2011 is here
Monday morning the new Jaguar players reported to camp then on Tuesday morning returning veterans reported to camp. Wednesday morning the players hit the practice field to begin their preparations for the 2011 season.
On their first day the Jaguars faced a heat advisory with the heat index reaching triple digits in the morning time. But that did not discourage the team from taking part in opening drills. But it did force them to take a 10-minute break midway through the morning drills.
Coach Jones made sure that the team knew after practice that the heat related issues cannot slow them down in their preparation for the fast approaching season. “It was very hot, but I told the team that we have to find a way to work through it. We have to come out with the attitude that we are going to get work done. And we have to be smart as coaches and back off of it at times and be smart about how we structure our practice. But it was a good day, and we had good effort,” Coach Jones said.
Practice opened with the players in shorts, shirts and helmets. They kicked practice off with special teams with punt team work and with the offensive and defensive lines going through drills in the end zones. For almost an hour, they worked in individual drills and group work. Quarterbacks first threw with tight ends then will wide receivers and finished up with running backs. It also saw the running backs working behind the offensive line.
The next session lasted about 20 minutes and consisted of 7-on-7 skeleton drills. Then the players assembled for a 30 minute team period. The offensive line worked on picking up the blitz. Then a second special teams period that saw both kick and punt coverage drills.
Coach Jones was pleased with the opening day of practice and that the coaches will gain much more knowledge about what the players are capable of when they don their pads soon, which is Monday after the program’s first off day of camp on Sunday. “We’ll find out more about their explosion once we get the pads on,” he said. “But as far as quickness their feet look better and we just look better physically. I told them a couple of weeks ago that all the weight room stuff and offseason conditioning has to transfer to the field. Just because you look better doesn’t mean you are a better football player. If you’re stronger you have to play stronger; if you’re faster you have to play faster.”
He also noticed that the offseason conditioning has shown results. “We look better out there,” Coach Jones remarked. “We look bigger and faster. Coach Schwind did a heck of a job with the offseason program. There is no doubt that we are bigger. I think some of the linemen are starting to look better, as well as the linebackers. That is good, but so is the mental side. You can just see they are comfortable by what they’re doing; the freshmen and new guys’ eyes were like saucers, but the older guys know what is going on. That maturity and experience is something that we have on this team now, and these older guys can start coaching these younger guys.”
C.J. Bennett goes into the preseason camp as the number one quarterback for the Jaguars after taking the reigns in the final three games of the season and guiding the season home with another undefeated record. But both Bennett and Myles Gibbon both felt that their workouts over the summer have hepled them with today’s conditions.
“Everyone was excited to get out here,” said Bennett. “We had one of our best summers as a team. I thought the tempo was pretty good for the first day of practice, especially with this heat. We looked pretty good. You always have the first-day kinks, but we’ll just keep working.”
Gibbon commented, “We came out, and it felt like we had been out here for a few days already. We were smooth, people knew where to go and the guys who have been here showed the freshmen coming in exactly what to do right away so we didn’t have to waste time telling them. I can tell right away how much smoother it is with guys I threw with in the summer. Guys like Bryant [Lavender], Greg [Hollinger] and freshman like Anthony [Ingram] — we’re comfortable with them already, so it feels good being out here knowing we did that work before.”
The Jags will continue their early morning practice routine by hitting the practice field at 6:15am on Thursday morning. The heat advisory was extended into tomorrow with the forecasted temperature when practice begins being near 80 degrees and nearing 90 by 9am.
Season Tickets have been mailed
The 2011 season tickets have been mailed. I received mine today and this is what they look like.
2011 Season Tickets
Go Jags!
Courtney Smith signs with New York Jets
Multiple places are reporting that the New York Jets has signed former wide receiver Courtney Smith. Details of the contract are not known at this time.
The first reports of Courtney’s signing came on his Facebook page but now multiple websites also report the was signed by the Jets. The website NYJetsDraft.com wrote,
“Smith is a super rangy player with absolutely massive upside at the next level. He has good hands and the athletic ability to stretch the field. Smith is a bit of a project, but he could pay off in a big way down the road.”
Many friends and family have posted congratulations on his Facebook wall throughout the day.
The New York Jets was one game away from the Super Bowl last season, losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-19 in Pittsburgh. Also former University of Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy was drafted by the Jets in the NFL Draft. McElroy worked with Smith at the Senior Bowl and made light that he enjoyed throwing to a big target.
Smith also participated in the University of Alabama Pro Day but only participated in agility drills and none of the receiver drills. However he did have a Pro Day at the University of South Alabama which showcased his receiver skills for pro scouts.
I’m quite sure that there will be several South Alabama fans who will be watching the Jets season closely with an eye on Courtney.
Courtney Smith to visit Jets
According to multiple sites including Yahoo! Sports, former Jaguar wide-out Courtney Smith will be making an official visit to the New York Jets on Tuesday.
The Players Association and the Owners have accepted an agreement that will have the NFL season starting on time. Teams can now begin signing their own free-agents and begin negotiating with other free-agents, however they cannot sign unrestricted free-agents until noon ET on Tuesday. Any contract would not take effect until Tuesday, August 2nd however.
SBC Media Days 2011
The University of South Alabama had section in the Sun Belt Conference Media Guide for the 2011 season. It mentioned that South Alabama will be playing a full SBC schedule in 2012 and would be eligible for postseason play in 2013.
In the 180 page media guide it had an extensive write-up about the history of the conference starting with it’s inception in 1976 and the six schools who started the conference in four sports as well as it’s success early with a team in the final four, how the conference introduced the shot clock to basketball and the time line of other schools joining the conference. It also covered the conference championships teams from the previous season. It then transitioned over when it hit 2001 to football, which was the first year the conference sponsored football.
Currently the conference has 12 member institutions after New Orleans voted to drop to a lower division and pending the move of Denver to another conference it will fall to 11. However, only nine schools are participating in football currently, with South Alabama becoming the 10th when they become a full member in 2013.
FIU was picked to finish 1st in the conference with Troy chosen second in the annual Sun Belt coaches’ poll. Troy has won or shared the SBC title for the last six seasons and for several seasons now, Troy has been the #1 or #2 choice in the league, this season continues that run. Meanwhile, bleacherreport.com has the their predictions in for 2011 and they are: 1 Troy, 2 Florida International, 3 Arkansas State, 4 UL Monroe, 5 Middle Tennessee, 6 North Texas, 7 Western Kentucky, 8 UL Lafayette and 9 Florida Atlantic.
Last year SBC commissioner Wright Waters spoke during media days about how he has watched schools like Boise State, TCU, Hawaii and Utah play their way into BCS Bowl games. The SBC being one of 11 BCS conferences, but if is one of the five conferences that don’t have automatic bids to BCS bowl games. However they can play their way in. The SBC Conference champion will earn an automatic berth in a BCS bowl game if that team is ranked in the top 12 of the final BCS standings or if that team is ranked in the top 16 of the final BCS standings and its ranking is higher than that of a champion of a conference that has an annual automatic berth in one of the BCS bowls.
Waters challenged Sun Belt teams to set their sights on being a BCS bowl team. “If Hawaii and Boise and Utah and TCU can accomplish that, in my mind I don’t know of any reason why our schools can’t do it also,” he said.
This year, commissioner Waters said that the league was thriving in reputation over the last few years. “We are not in survival mode like we were seven, eight years ago,” he said. He also mentioned that the conference is in enhancement mode and that people know about it. “Sun Belt football is here and not going away,” he said.
Jaguar Away Game Tickets On Sale
Away game tickets went on sale yesterday for three of the four Jaguar away games.
Currently they are only available to Jaguar Athletic Fund members renewed for 2011 season only as a “pre-sale” through July 15th. On July 18th they will then be available to non-donor season ticket holders and the general public.
Ticket prices are:
North Carolina State (Sep. 17) = $39
Kent State (Sep. 24) = $10
UTSA (Oct. 8) = $17
Ticket pricing/allotment for the October 22, 2011 road game vs. Georgia State has not been finalized. Please check www.usajaguars.com for updated information as it becomes available.
Seating assignments/preference of location of tickets for road games are based upon the priority point system of the Jaguar Athletic Fund.
Also available for Jaguar away games this fall are “Runnin’ with the Jags” travel packages through Springdale Travel! For more information on how you can join the Jags on the road through Springdale Travel, please contact Debra Smith at (251) 414-4663 or go online at www.SpringdaleTravel.com/JAGS.
To purchase your 2011 Away Game Tickets, please call the USA Ticket Office at (251) 461-1USA (1872).
Yellow Pages Covers
On Thursday, the latest copies of “The Real Yellow Pages” was delivered to my house. But a very pleasant surprise was waiting for me when I got home and saw what was on the covers.
Stadium rumors abound
Post game photo from Beaumont Texas after South Alabama defeated Lamar in 2010.
After speaking to an inside source, I have some unverified information about a stadium for South Alabama. This has been a highly speculated subject amongst Jaguars fans. While Ladd-Peebles Stadium has been a good home for the Jaguars for their first two season. It was a huge factor for South Alabama to add football and to adopt such an accelerated schedule.
My source told me that this has been in the works since before the Jags took the field for the first game and Coach Jones has been part of it every step.
I was told that the University has lawyers working on re-acquiring land that the school sold in the Hillsdale area. They are supposedly working on acquiring the land between the football field house west to Cody road from Old Shell road north to some undetermined area.
They envision tailgating in a lush, green area west of the Football Fieldhouse with spillover for tailgating at the Intramural Fields. This includes a walkway from the field house to the stadium through the tailgating area for the fans and students.
There would be plenty of parking around the stadium for fans and visitors alike. It would be plenty of room to host the Senior Bowl and the GoDaddy.com Bowl as well. The Senior Bowl would have the stadium and the practice fields nearby for both squads to practice on.
This would also be very close to the student dorms and Greek housing for a huge student turnout.
However, there are still trains of thought that the stadium could be/will be built between the Mitchell Center and Eddie Stanky Field along Old Shell Road.
I think both locations have good points and bad points about them. The detractors to the Cody Road location is that across Cody Road from the proposed location is a very run down and crime ridden area. Also the Hillsdale neighborhood is also well known for crime. So other than distance from campus, would it really be that much better of a location than around Ladd-Peebles?
However, there is plenty of open space where a “buffer zone” could be established between this potential site and these neighborhoods. It would be much closer to campus for students to attend games and you would have much more campus oriented events on game day.
The detractors to a stadium beside the Mitchell Center would/will immediately point to the lack of parking near the stadium. This would be true in a sense. But there is much more parking than one would think. There has been talk of building a multi-level parking structure near the traffic circle on the North or North west side of the landmark.
Another argument against this location is that there isn’t enough room. Well, the soccer field and the track can both easily be relocated. The same can be done with the softball field, but it would all cost more money. The Softball complex is only a couple years old and is basically brand new. But moving them would leave lots of room for a large stadium with plenty of space immediately around the stadium as well. Demolishing the old Gamma Residence Halls would give tailgaters plenty of room enjoy themselves before and after the game.
More on the plus side would be that the stadium is more visible students and the community alike. Plus, the Bell Tower and the Jaguar statue would be almost certainly part of gameday traditions immediately.
I don’t know which stadium “insider” has more authority or “knows the details” as they say. I just know wherever the stadium is built, it’s going to work and the fans will fill the stands. South Alabama has put an excellent product on the field 17 times and have won each of those 17 outings. This past season was a tremendous step up in talent on the other side of the ball. This coming season will see another step up in talent with two FBS schools (formerly Division I-A) on the schedule.
I also know I can say this with great pride: It’s great to be a Jaguar.
Jaguars Add December 1, 2012 trip to Hawaii to schedule
South Alabama Athletic Director Joel Erdmann announced on Wednesday that the Jaguars will round out the 2012 football season with a trip to Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii on December 1. While the team will not be bowl eligible until the 2013 season, this is a great winter trip that they can treat as a bowl-like game.
The 2012 season will be the Jaguars first season playing a Sun Belt schedule with additional games against Mississippi State, North Carolina State and now Hawaii as well.
Dr. Erdmann said, “We are tremendously excited about this game, as it will be the last in our journey to full NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and Sun Belt Conference membership. We are fortunate that the trip will be financed by the University of Hawaii, as it is a single game at their stadium and not a home-and-home series. We encourage our fans to clear their calendars and join us for this memorable trip.”
The 2012 season will feature eight games against Sun Belt Conference opponents. Additionally with NCAA bylaws that allow programs that play outside of the continental United States, the Jaguars will be able to add a 13th game to the schedule since they can exclude the game against the Rainbow Warriors from the maximum number allowed.
Other opponents already lined up to round out the schedule are road games against Mississippi State, North Carolina State and a vist by Texas-San Antonio.
Head coach Joey Jones commented by saying, “That will be our first year playing a Sun Belt Conference schedule, we’ll also face Mississippi State and North Carolina State and now we have Hawaii at the end of the year. We’re not bowl eligible that year, so for us it’s like a bowl that’s been built into the schedule. Our players, as well as everyone else in the program, are very excited to play that game at their place at the end of the season. Most of them haven’t been there, so I think it will be exciting for us to play a quality program like Hawai’i and have a fun trip as well.”
Go Jags!
Blood Drive For North Alabama Tornado Victims
Hot Wheelz and LifeSouth Blood Center are holding a Blood Drive to help the victims of the tornadoes which struck on Wednesday. They are completely down due to the storm and ALL donations will go directly to the victims there.
AJ McCarron, University of Alabama Quarterback, will be there as well. Please come out and show your support! SATURDAY, 4/30/11 10am – 4pm at HOT WHEELZ @ 3110 Airport Blvd Free cookies & tea from McAlister’s Deli for all donors.