South Alabama’s First Scrimmage Highlighted by Clement’s Three TD Passes
Jaguar starting quarterback Cody Clements and running back Xavier Johnson look to the sideline for signs during the Jaguars first scrimmage of the fall. | Photo credit: Mike Kittrell AL.com
The Jaguars held their first scrimmage on Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium with the recently named starting quarterback Cody Clements tossing three touchdowns as he went 9-of-19 for 127 yards on the day.
The former UAB starter threw one of those touchdowns to fellow former Blazer Gerald Everett which went for 40 yards. The second touchdown that came during regular game-situation drives went to Claude Garrett which also covered 40 yards.
In all the Jaguar offense gained 469 yards on 83 plays, which averages out to more than 5.5 yards per play without a single turnover.
Freshman quarterback Dallas Davis, 6-of-7 for 74 yards, threw two touchdown passes and ran for another as he is battling for the backup position. Another former Blazer, Evan Orth, threw a touchdown on a screen pass to Xavier Johnson that went for 33 yards. Orth finished 5-of-11 with 61 yards and the lone touchdown. Hunter Vaughn went 4-of-7 for 53 yards.
Also catching touchdowns for the Jaguars were Josh Magee and Kevin Kutchera.
Johnson rushed six times for 45 yards and a touchdown, Davis ran five times for 43 yards and the one touchdown while Terrance Timmons carried the ball three times for 21 yards.
The defense had eight tackles for loss including two sacks. Leading the day was Nigel Green with six tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.
Aleem Sunanon went 3-for-3 with field goals from 35, 41 and 50 yards.
“We need some work in some situations, but I saw some good things; I want to watch the film to see,” head coach Joey Jones said after the scrimmage. “The effort was good. We have some people who were leading out there and some who were, and once we get enough to lead we will have a good football team. We have to learn from this scrimmage and be able to get better every day so we can come back and have a better week of practice.”
“We’ve got to look at it for what it is when we evaluate it [the film],” Jones said on how the scrimmage will help USA focus on areas of improvement. “The only time we can put our guys in a situation like this is to have a scrimmage or to play in a game, because you just don’t get the same intensity level in practice. It was good for our guys to see that and will be good to evaluate. We told the guys that not everyone is going to be perfect, but we have to fix those mistakes and weaknesses.”
“It was not as good as it should’ve been,” said Cody Clements on his performance on Saturday. “I had a few too many mental mistakes — simple things where I wasn’t totally locked in — but turned it around later in the day. But I can’t have that kind fo start.”
“We know we have to pick it up,” said junior linebacker Kalen Jackson on the defense’s play on Saturday. “This is a starting point, not the end, so we have three more weeks until the first game. We need to do small things better, continue to compete and not get down on each other. We need to hold each other accountable and do our job.”
Xavier Johnson’s 33 yard touchdown reception on the screen pass was named the play of the day on Saturday.
The Jags will return to the practice field on Tuesday morning after having Sunday and Monday off to start the fall semester. The Jaguars begin their 2015 schedule on Saturday, September 5 when they host Gardner-Webb.
Jags First Practice Is In the Books
Head coach Joey Jones noticed a difference in his team in their first workout of their 2015 preseason camp.
“One thing I did notice was that our team is quicker and faster, they moved around really well,” Jones said. “I think the offseason went real well this summer and they are in good shape, that was one really good thing. The defense moved around real well, much better than expected with so many young and inexperienced guys out there. But they are starting to pick up on some things, you can tell they worked hard this summer as well. It’s one practice, we have a long way to go.”
The Jags held a 30-minute session of 7-on-7 passing drills with the rest of the workout devoted to individual and special teams drills. Cody Clements worked with the first team during the 7-on-7 drill and completed 6-of-9 attempts. Evan Orth was 7-of-14 with two touchdowns, one to Gerald Everett from 10 yards out and DJ Vinson for a 20 yard score.
Dallas Davis only saw one series and cmopleted his first three attempts with the final one going for a 30 yard touchdown.
Some of the noted changes were Danny Woodson will wear #2 as Terrance Timmons will wear the #5 jersey this season. Berron Tyson has moved to defensive back.
“You could tell that was a meaningful thing for [Terrance],” Jones said of Terrance Timmons being awarded the #5 jersey. “Terrance has been here pretty much the whole time our program has been here, he knew that Anthony Mostella was a leader and the kind of man we want here in this program; by that I mean a gentlemen off the field, and a warrior and a competitor on it. Terrance was very deserving of that award”
While the team looked good in Jones’ eye, he also says that they have a long way to go before the season starts. “There will be a lot of teaching, we wants guys to understand the fundamentals of the game,” Jones said of what he hopes the team to accomplish before they put on their pads. “Obviously we’re trying to put in as much as we can daily, and by the end of the week we’d like to have 80-90 percent of our offense, defense and special teams put in. Secondly, we want to give the guys a lot of reps because we’ll start dwindling that down to mostly the ones and twos next week.”
Offensive player of the day was Josh Magee. Offensive coordinator Bryant Vincent said Magee’s effort and tempo were at an “all-time high” and that from special teams to every drill he did throughout the evening he was “extremely impressive.”
Defensive player of the day went to Devon Earl. Defensive coordinator Travis Pearson praised him for being in “rare form” especially since he is returning from shoulder surgery. Pearson said that he made every check and many plays in the Jaguars first practice. Pearson also noted that Earl was helping to move players into the right place.
Play of the day went to Jeremy Reaves. During the first-team’s second set of plays Reaves dove to break up a pass that appeared to have been completed to Vinson for a gain of more than 15 yards.
USA will return to practice on Wednesday evening before shifting to their morning schedule for practices.
Terrance Timmons To Wear #5 In Honor Of Anthony Mostella
Senior running back Terrance Timmons was selected to wear the #5 jersey in honor of Anthony Mostella. | photo credit usajaguars.com
On Tuesday it was announced that senior running back Terrance Timmons was selected to wear the commemorative #5 jersey in honor of former Jaguar Anthony Mostella.
Wearing the #5 jersey is one of the highest honors a South Alabama football student-athlete can earn. It is awarded in honor of Mostella who died in a motorcycle accident in 2010 at the age of 22.
“We’re all going to die, some of us at 20, some of us at 80,” Jones told AL.com. “But to me, (Mostella) lived a full life because he affected so many people. So I decided to try and keep that number alive, to give that number to somebody every year who was deserving, and had the same types of qualities that he had.”
Timmons graduated from Davidson High School in Mobile and has been a contributor on both the offense and special teams during his time at South Alabama.
As a freshman he attended Jacksonville State prior to joining the Jaguars as a walk on. He was named the coaches’ offensive scout team award honoree after the Jaguars win over Tennessee-Martin in 2011. As a redshirt freshman he played in all but the season finale and finished third on the team with 212 yards rushing on 66 carries with seven receptions for 46 yards.
In 2013 he saw action in every game. He rushed for 83 yards on 16 carries with another 15 yards on two kick returns, 12 of those yards when he recovered a blocked punt in the end zone against the Green Wave.
As a junior last season he appeared in all 13 games and started the final three games of the regular season. He had 403 yards on 75 carries for an average of 5.4 yards per carry, which was third on the team in rushing yardage, and tied for the team lead with four touchdowns on the ground. He led the Jaguar running backs with 11 catches for 113 yards with another 59 yards on three kickoff returns. He led USA with 11 carries for 74 yards against Texas State including scoring the game-winning touchdown from eight yards out in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter to help the Jaguars become bowl eligible.
Anthony Mostella played for head coach Joey Jones at Birmingham-Southern and eventually followed him to South Alabama after convincing Jones to accept him as a transfer.
You can read Tommy Hick’s piece about Mostella from 2010 here.
Previous recipients of the #5 Jersey are:
- 2014 Jereme Jones
- 2013 Bryant Lavender
- 2012 Brandon Ross
- 2011 Paul Bennett
- 2010 Justin Dunn
Positions to Watch As Jaguars First Practice Has Arrived
When South Alabama returns to the practice field for the first time this afternoon in preparation for the 2015 season there are a few key positions that the coaching staff will be paying close attention to in the coming weeks.
Watch the Jaguars get their pads on the eve of their first practice.
Quarterback: This is always the first position that is talked about because it is the most important position on offense. No other player touches the ball more than the quarterback. Last season the Jaguars had flashes of greatness from Brandon Bridge but he was hampered for a large majority of the season with an injury.
Hunter Vaughn played one great game in place of Bridge, but then struggled against other opponents when he saw the field. Matt Floyd filled in as well and struggled. Freshman Dallas Davis came in in the spring and, according to coaches were “all tied” when spring practices were said and done.
But UAB transfer Cody Clements is healthy and ready to join the trio to battle for the starting job. Clements missed the spring while recovering from minor shoulder and knee surgeries, but he may have a leg up on the others as he has been through a full season with offensive coordinator Bryant Vincent’s system while at UAB. A season where Clements threw for 2,227 yards and 14 touchdown passes. Vincent praised his quarterback stable for their leadership and work ethic.
Left tackle and Guard: Gone is All-SBC left tackle Ucambre Williams and left guard Drew Dearman. Both former student-athletes were consistent and reliable at their positions. In the spring junior Daniel Aust played with the first string at left tackle but this fall he will be challenged by juco transfer Curtis Williams, a 6’5″ 290-pounder from Miami.
Sophomore Harrison Louden, a local guy from McGill-Toolen, spent the spring with the first stringers as well but he too will be challenged this fall by junior Steven Foster, who is returning from an injury. Add De’Arius Young, a 6’7″, 310-pound juco transfer and this will be a very interesting position to watch heading into the season.
While we are talking about the offensive line, we want to note the middle and right side of the line is all but set with Joseph Scelfo at center and Chris May at right tackle. UAB transfer Cameron Blankenship will snap in at right guard for some solid starters.
Will linebacker: Turning to the defense who has it’s own positions to fill during preseason camp. Demarius Rancifer was slated to start at Will in the spring, but with Jimmie Gipson III tearing his Achilles during summer workouts that has shaken things up. Rancifer will move to the Jack linebacker to replace him which opens up the Will spot for a battle between UAB transfer Kalen Jackson, quarterback turned linebacker Grant Powell and senior Raymone Wiggins.
Cornerback: Cornerback has some of the best incoming talent we’ve seen at USA in the fall. EJ May and Margo Reed have both seen significant playing time last season opposite of Montell Garner. Juco transfers Quinton Dent and Quinton Lane are looking to come in and make some noise immediately at that position. Also incoming freshman Jalen Thompson, who was recruited by SEC schools, also looks to make an immediate impact for the team.
Antonio Carter has moved from nickleback (not the band) to safety and will play along side Roman Buchanan.
Could the coaches and media be sleeping on this team? They were picked to finish sixth in the conference during SBC media day because of the players they lost from last seasons squad. The next few weeks will go a long way in showing what kind of team we’ll see on the field this fall.
South Alabama Single-Game Football Tickets Available On Saturday
South Alabama Football single-game tickets go on sale on Saturday for the Jaguars six-game home schedule.
Tickets will become available for purchase online through the South Alabama Sports website www.usajaguars.com on Saturday then will be available to be purchased over the phone on Monday morning.
The Jaguars games against Gardner-Webb on September 5 (season opener) and Appalachian State on December 5 (regular season finale) will cost $20 for sideline tickets and $10 for end zone tickets.
The Jaguars big match-up against North Carolina State on September 26 will cost $30 for sidelines and $20 for endzone seats.
Arkansas State on Tuesday, October and Louisiana-Lafayette on Thursday, November 12 will cost $25 for sidelines and $20 for endzone seats.
Finally USA’s Homecoming game against Idaho will cost $10 for sidelines and $5 for endzone seating.
The USA Ticket office has a special two-game package which will be $30 sideline ticket for both NC State and Idaho.
The Jaguars will being their season on September 5 against Gardner-Webb with kickoff scheduled for 5pm for a nationally broadcast game on ESPN3.
South Alabama’s Preseason Camp Begins Tuesday
Shavarez Smith holds up the SISU War Hammer at midfield prior to their homecoming game against Georgia State.
The 2015 season is right around the corner.
Tuesday night will officially mark the opening of the 2015 campaign when the Jaguars are scheduled to hit the field for the first time after making history their first-ever postseason bowl appearance.
The Jaguars will practice for two hours beginning at 6:30pm at the James A. and Frances H. Yance Football Practice Facility. The will follow that up with another practice session at the same time on Wednesday before shifting to a morning schedule.
Practices on Thursday, Friday and Saturday are all set for 7:15am and are scheduled for 2 1/2 hours.
After an off day on Sunday, the Jaguars will pick back up on Monday with their first of two-a-day’s with morning sessions beginning at 7:15 am and the second beginning at 4:30pm. Thursday will also be another two-a-day practice. Each two-a-day practice is scheduled to be 1 1/2 hours long.
The first full week of preseason camp will start at 7:15am on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
The first preseason scrimmage is scheduled for Saturday, August 15 at 9am and the second scheduled for the following Saturday, August 22 with both occuring at off-campus facilities that are yet to be announced.
USA’s annual Fan Day will be held on Sunday, August 23 at the Mitchell Center from 4-6pm.
Four Jaguars Earn All-SBC Preseason Honors
The Sun Belt Conference office released the 2015 preseason All-Sun Belt Conference teams on Monday in conjunction with Media Day. The South Alabama Jaguars had three first-team selections and four Jaguars overall were honored.
Chris May, Josesph Scelfo and Aleem Sunanon were all selected as first-team All-SBC student-athletes. Safety Roman Buchanan was voted second-team preseason All-SBC.
May, a 6’5″ 290-pound senior from Tuscumbia, Alabama, has earned his second all-conference honor. He was chosen first-team All-SBC in 2013 then was an honorable mention selection last year. Last season he graded out at 80 percent or higher on six occasions with a total of 33 knockdown blocks. He received a season-high grade of 85 in the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl against Bowling Green.
In addition to being selected to the All-SBC team, Scelfo was recently added to the Rimington Trophy and Rotary Lombardi Award Watch Lists. Scelfo is coming off of a season where he graded out at 80 percent or better on six occasions with 20 knockdown blocks. He earned the coaches’ offensive line award in 2014 after USA wins over Idaho and Troy, posting a season high 88 percent grade against the later as he helped the offense rush for 296 yards. The 6’1″, 295-pound junior center earned the highest grade on the team against SEC schools.
Sunanon, who is also on two watch lists himself, was 15-of-18 on field goal attempts last season while leading the team in scoring with 69 points. In 2013 he converted 18-of-23 attempts for a team-best 91 points and earn honorable mention All-SBC. Sunanon converted his last eight attempts of the season, including a school game-record-tying four at South Carolina. He ended the season tied for the league lead and 12th nationally with a 83.3 percent success rate. He was also third in the conference with a 1.15 field goals per game average.
Buchanan ended last season third on the defense with 74 total tackles and tied for second with seven passes defended. The 6’2″ 210-pound native of Enterprise, Alabama had a career-high nine stops on three seperate occasions last season including each of the last two games against Navy and Bowling Green at the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl. That also included recording three tackles for loss, two of which came against the Midshipmen. His first nine-tackle game came against Georgia State where he also forced a fumble and broke up a pass.
USA was chosen to finish sixth in the conference in the conference preseaosn poll released on Friday. The Jaguars begin their 2015 campaign on Saturday, September 5 against Gardner-Webb. The game will kick off at 5pm CDT and will be broadcast nationally on ESPN3.
2015 Sun Belt Conference Media Day
The 2015 Sun Belt Conference Media Day was held on Monday at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Head coach Joey Jones along with student-athletes Chris May and Roman Buchanan all spoke to the media.
Below are highlights from their time with the media.
Joey Jones
Opening statement:
“We had a good year last year, going to our first bowl game was a big deal for us. But our guys want to achieve more. They want to win a bowl game and a conference championship — those are our two goals. We have some great leadership on this football team, probably the best we’ve had. These guys are meeting once a week, talking to all the players and doing things behind the scenes that make a team great. Everybody knows we had 31 seniors last year who graduated, including 17 starters, and is concerned about that, and I am too. But if you could look in that locker room, be around the guys and be on the practice field with them, maybe we will surprise some people this fall.”
Jones spoke about the potential impact UAB transfers will have on the team this year:
“We’ve got several. I think Cameron Blankenship will start for us at right guard, he’s a tough, athletic football player. Cody Clements has a chance to be the starting quarterback, I feel real good about him, and D.J. Vinson is doing really well at the slot receiver. Gerald Everett is doing extremely well, he’s a lot like Wes Saxton in that he’s an athletic tight end. I could go on and on, but those are some of the guys who have shown that they can really play the game. The great thing is they have been able to take our system, which [assistant] coach [Bryant] Vincent brought from here to UAB last year, so there was no learning curve with terminology. From day one [of spring practice] they were able to play at a high level. With us losing so many seniors and starters, they have been able to fill some voids on offense that were highly needed.”
Jones spoke about the leadership he’s seen in this year’s senior class:
“I think they have stepped up well in that regard. I’ve been extremely impressed with their ability to lead. Talking about leading and leading is two different things, and I think these guys are truly leading every day. We’ve had some great leadership in the past and they have learned from those guys, just like you learn from your parents.”
Jones spoke about what Chris May means to the offense:
“He’s completely changed in that regard. Chris’ attitude is A-plus, his effort is A-plus, he’s a great athlete. I expect great things out of him not only on the field, protecting our quarterback and run blocking, but also as a guy who can lead, which is going to bring some of these young guys along. I’ve been real impressed with Chris May.”
Jones on the experience gained playing at the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl:
“Every time I think about coming on the field for that game, I think it’s one of the most emotional moments I’ve ever been involved in. To see our players who had fought to get there all those years, and to look up into the stands and see all of our fans who had come up from Mobile, all of our alumni who had come from across the Southeast yelling as loud as they could, it was a chilling moment. It was a moment that I and all of our players had dreamed about, so it’s exciting that we were able to do that in our second year as an NCAA Division I program.”
Chris May
May on his role of being a leader entering his senior year:
“Honestly, I just want to leave a legacy of building leaders, not just being a leader of our offense or our team. It’s more about putting time in with the younger guys and trying to develop them as well because when the older guys leave we have to have someone who will provide the foundation.”
May spoke about how the transfers from UAB have fit in:
“When they first got here it, even though they fit in, it was kind of awkward. What they went through was a traumatic situation. But this summer we’ve been able hang out — cooking out, going bowling, things like that — to build chemistry with them, which has been awesome.”
May on the goals of the offense in 2015:
“Coach Vincent has been pounding into our heads that we want to be the best offense in our conference and one of the best, if not the best, in the country. We had the weapons last year to be a lot better than we were, and we have the weapons now to be a lot better than we were last year. A lot of people are pointing out that we lost a lot of people from our defense last year, but I think the finger should be pointed at us [the offense]. We need to learn how to develop better chemistry and instead of underachieving we need to overachieve.”
May on adjusting to [assistant] coach [Bryant] Vincent returning just before the bowl game last season:
“He did a very good job of using what we were already doing, but tweaking it to make it his own. He didn’t really change a lot of terminology, he didn’t change a lot of plays, he just tweaked some stuff to do what he wanted to do. We only had one game, and we couldn’t completely reinvent our offense in one week. We really haven’t changed a lot of stuff, we’re going to do things a lot faster and be a lot more aggressive, so it’s not a huge transition. It’s a different mentality but the same type of system.”
May on his experience taking the field at the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl last year:
“The process of getting to the bowl was really cool, and then running onto the field with the fireworks was a cool experience even if it caught me off guard. But once the game started the feeling was gone, it was just another game. It was a really cool experience.”
Roman Buchanan
Buchanan on how important is it for the program to take the next step:
“I feel that this year is the year for us to prove that we are a unit. Losing some players [from last season] on defense doesn’t mean anything. The way in which we do things [on the field] is why we win. What we are trying to implement in our program is that the way you watch film, the way you run, just everything you do every single day. Our ways is what makes us win.”
Buchanan on what he has seen in practice from the defensive unit and what he expects from them:
“I’m just ready for fall camp, because based off our 7-on-7s, workouts and everything we’ve been doing, the competition level is neck-and-neck. Right now, I feel we are two-deep at the corner. I feel like the battle at the corner position is going to be so steep that if you stub your toe, you may lose your starting job. It hasn’t always been that way for us. At linebacker, Demarius Rancifer had an extremely good spring and he’s still learning. On the defensive line, I really expect Tyree [Turner] and Roy [Albritton] to come in and make a splash. They’ve shown the will to learn the defense, the will to get better every single day. They came in this spring with the right attitude and I love it. As a whole though, I feel that we’ve taken what we did last year and shown that we believe we can be even better than that.”
Buchanan on how important he feels his role on the team will be this season:
“What Maleki [Harris] was last year and what Romelle [Jones] was the year before, I feel that that’s me now. Those guys helped me so much to get to where I am right now. I can’t remember exactly when it was last season, but Maleki came to me during a practice and told me that it was my turn. He told me that this was my defense now, that I had to take ownership of it and that I had to hold guys accountable. I think I’ve done that. I wasn’t a very vocal guy when I got here, but I’ve gotten better.”
Buchanan on how his versatility in high school has helped him at this level:
“I feel like from that experience that I understand the game so much better and deeper than your average defensive player. There are very few things that an offense can throw at me that confuses me or causes me to play slower. I think the triple-option offense, which you rarely see in college, is the only thing that I’ve had to get used to. Because of those experiences, I feel like I know what the offense is trying to do and I know what I would do if I was an offensive player, so there is very little that you can do to get me off my game. What I love about playing safety is that I have total control over the defense. I can make calls at all three levels. Because I know what the offense is trying to do, [assistant] coach [Travis] Pearson has a lot of confidence in me and gives me freedom back there. It’s kind of like being a quarterback back there.”
A School-Record Receive SBC Academic Honors
In addition to earning the Vic Bubas Cup in May for being the Sun Belt Conference’s top member in competition, which included four programs that won league championships (Soccer, Men’s Cross Country, Baseball and Women’s Tennis) the Jaguars capped off the previous academic and sports year with success in the classroom.
The Sun Belt Conference office announced on Wednesday that the University of South Alabama had a school record-breaking total of 162 student-athletes receive Conference academic recognition for the 2014-2015 academic year.
Those 162 were part of the 2014-2015 SBC Commissioner’s List and Academic Honor Roll, which put USA sixth in the conference. This is an increase of seven from the previous academic record of 155.
USA tied for second in the conference with 88 student-athletes on the Commissioner’s List which goes to those with a GPA of 3.5 or higher during the previous two semesters. Another 74 Jags were recognized in the Academic Honor Roll which honors students with a 3.0-3.49 GPA over the previous two semesters.
Football, Women’s Cross Country/Track and Field and Men’s Cross Country/Track and Field each featured more than 20 student-athletes on the list with 28, 25, 21 respectively. Baseball had 15, soccer had 13 and softball had 12 individuals on the list as well with other programs contributing the remainder of the individuals.
Sunanon Named To Second Preseason Watch List
South Alabama’s Aleem Sunanon attempts a 22-yard field goal from the right hashmark against Troy.
The Award watch lists announcements keep coming and Jaguars student-athletes continue to placed on them. On Wednesday it was Aleem Sunanon who picked up his second preseason watch list honor.
It was announced that junior placekicker Sunanon was among a group of student-athletes in consideration for the Wuerffel Trophy, which is also known as “College Football’s Premier Award for Community Service”. It is presented annually by the All Sports Association and is named after 1996 Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel from the University of Florida. The award is given to the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision player that best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement.
Voting for the award is performed by a national selection committee that includes college football television and print media, industry notables, former head coaches and prior Wuerffel Trophy recipients.
On November 3 semifinalists will be announced then three weeks later the finalists will be announced and the winner will be announced on December 8 at the National Football Foundation’s press conference in New York City. The presentation of the 2015 Wuerffel Trophy will be held at the 47th Annual All Sports Association Awards Banquet on February 12, 2016 in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.
Sunanon holds a school record with 33 field goals in his career so far with an 80.5 percent conversion rate. He has accounted for 160 points over the previous two seasons, included 69 points last season after making 15-of-18 attempts. He was selected as honorable mention All-Sun Belt Conference in 2013 after posting 91 points while going 18-of-23 on field goals as a redshirt-freshman. He finished the season with a program-record 12 consecutive field goal and tied a Jaguar single-game record with four field goals at South Carolina last season.