Jags Defeat Troy on the road 71-67
South Alabama, led by Georgi Boyanov who earned his third double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds along with four other Jaguars who scored in double-digits, defeated Troy on the road 71-67. Also spoiling the Trojan Athletic Director’s promise of a steak dinner to the team if they defeated the Jaguars.
The win ended a three-game losing streak for the Jaguars and improved their record to 8-17 overall and 6-8 in Sun Belt Conference play. Meanwhile the Trojans fell to 9-14 overall and 4-10 in the conference.
Boyanov recorded 12 points and six rebounds after halftime. He also had a steal with 13 seconds left to help close the door on the Trojans. Sophomore Taishaun Johnson shared game-high honors with 17 points. Dionte Ferguson added 14 points and seven rebounds and sophomore Ken Williams added 13 points an a career-high six assists.
The Trojans took a three point lead around midway through the second half on an 8-0 run, but the Jaguars answered right back with a 10-1 run of their own. Johnson started it with a layup to start the run, then hit back-to-back 3-pointers with 8:01 left in the game to put the Jaguars up 56-50.
But the Trojan would not go away, they scored the next four points to cut the Jaguar lead down to two points, but again the Jaguars would answer by scoring eight of the next 10 points while holding Troy to one field goal over the next six minute stretch.
The closest the Trojans would get in the last five-and-a-half minutes would be four points.
The Jags clamped down in the second half defensively, after the Trojans converted 60% of their 3-point shots in the first half, the Jags held them to 33.3% in the second half.
“There’s no question we needed this win to get back on track and get refocused,” head coach Matthew Graves said. “Anytime you can win a game on the road in league play, it’s a great thing. I thought our guys continued to battle throughout the game. It was a very well-played game, both teams made some runs and neither team really jumped out to a big lead. We were very fortunate that we made a lot of the right plays at the end of the game and came out with the victory.”
“You have to give credit to our players and to Coach (Darnell) Archey,” Graves continued. “He did an outstanding job with the scouting report and the defensive scheme, calling out their actions. Our players did an excellent job of following through with that. We had three days to prepare for them; when we have three days to prepare for somebody and our guys stay locked in and focused, that’s a recipe for success. Our scouting and preparation were top-notch this week.”
All five of Troy’s starters scored in double-digits with Kelton Ford sharing the game-high mark with 17 points and Wesley Person adding 14.
South Alabama will host Texas-Arlington at home on Saturday with a 4:05pm tipoff.
Freshman Devin Brown earns Conference Pitcher of the Week honors
Freshman pitcher Devin Brown earned her first collegiate win in a one-hit shutout in her first appearance and earned her first save, both during the 2015 Sand Dollar Classic. | Photo: usajaguars.com
South Alabama softball freshman pitcher Devin Brown was named the Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week on Monday. This was the season’s first voting period.
During the Sand Dollar Classic in Gulf Shores, Brown went 2-1 with 29 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings. She recorded a one-hit shutout in her first collegiate start on Friday against Liberty as the Jags won 8-0 by the run-rule.
She has a 0.43 ERA to lead the team after allowed just three runs, and only one of them earned, on eight hits and five walks. She held opposing batters to a .143 batting average. She earned her first career save against McNeese State as she struck out both batters she faced to finish off a 5-1 Jaguar victory after coming in in the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded.
Additionally, she struck out 11 against Houston on Sunday while only allowing one earned run as the Jaguars snatched the 3-2 win in the bottom of the seventh after coming-from-behind.
Minahan’s Walk-off, two-run double closes out 2015 Sand Dollar Classic
The South Alabama Softball team went 2-1 over the weekend at the Sand Dollar Classic in Gulf Shores to improve their overall record to 3-2 in their opening weekend of of the season.
On Friday, the Jaguars started freshman right-hander Devin Brown in the circle for her first collegiate start. She pitched a one-hit shutout against Liberty for her first collegiate win.
Junior outfielder Stephanie Pilkington and sophomore Chloe Rathburn each went 2-for-3 with three RBI to help lead the Jaguar offensive attack. Freshman second baseman Kaleigh Todd and senior outfielder Alyssa Linn accounted for a pair of runs each. Senior Amanda Herron, Junior Emily Messer and freshman Haleigh Lowe each scored runs as the Jaguars had 10 hits in the 8-0 win.
On Saturday the Jags split a pair of games starting with a 0-1 loss to Eastern Kentucky. USA left nine runners on agaisnt the Colonels, but Devin Brown’s wild pitch in the fifth inning scored the decisive run.
In the nightcap, the Jags rebounded from their loss earlier in the day to defeat McNeese State 5-1. The Jags outhit the Cowgirls 7-5.
USA used four pitchers to hold the Cowgirls to only one run with senior Farish Beard starting then relievers Kaleigh Floore, Kalen McGill and Devin Brown each filling in. Brown, who started her first game on Friday, picked up her first career save.
Kaitlyn Griffith led the Jags by going 2-for-3 with three RBI and a run scored. Sophomore Amanda Minahan also went 2-for-3 and scored a pair of runs.
On Sunday, the Jags were down 0-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning to Houston when the Jags dug in and began their comeback.
USA hit three singles to load the bases. Kaleigh Todd would cut the deficit in half with an RBI groundout.
But it was sophomore Amanda Minahan that gave the Jaguars the heroics they needed. With two out and two on base, she delivered a clutch two-run walk-off double to left field giving the Jaguars the 3-2 win in the final contest of the 2015 Sand Dollar Classic.
Devin Brown struck out 11 and allowed only one earned run on six hits while walking three to improve her record to 2-1.
Senior Kaitlyn Griffith sparked the comeback with a leadoff single through the left side. Senior Alex Breeden followed with a single to right field. Then Amanda Herron singled through the left side to load the bags with Jags.
None of the players had recorded a hit in the game until that point, including Minahan.
The Jags will host the 2015 Mardi Gras Invitational where they will face Oklahoma State on Friday, February 13 at Jaguar Field. They will then face Lipscomb and Butler on Saturday and close out the weekend with University of Evansville.
Alabama Rallies in Seventh Inning to Defeat Jags 2-1
#23 South Alabama held a 1-0 lead entering the seventh inning but a Jaguar fielding error allowed two runs to score and spoiling South Alabama’s season opener at home with a 2-1 loss to #3 ranked Alabama.
Kaleigh Todd drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the third inning then stole second base. Sophomore Chloe Rathburn then put the Jaguars ahead with a two-out RBI single up the middle to score Todd.
Senior Farish Beard allowed only one hit through 6 1/3 innings before the Tide’s Demi Turner reached base on a bunt and eventually stealing second base. Then All-American Haylie McCleney drew a walk to set up Chandler Dare’s two-run hit. The loss was only Beard’s 10th of her career.
Alabama starter Leslie Jury went 5 1/3 innings allowing one earned run on four hits with five strikeouts and three walks. Alexis Osorio, a freshman, came in as relief to earn the win after striking out four of the seven Jaguars she faced.
Beard only allowed three hits while striking out six with a pair of walks and one earned run.
“That was a great game, and it was great for the fans,” said head coach Becky Clark. “You want to see your kids battle, and that’s what they did, they’re competitors, but, at the same time, we’ve got to execute. That’s a game that we easily could’ve won if we had executed. I think they know that.
“This game doesn’t make or break our season,” Clark added. “We’re just getting started. Early on, as a head coach, it makes you feel good about things to see your kids battle like that against a good program. We left the bases loaded, and we left runners in scoring position, so we’ve just got to execute.”
Alabama runs their record to 11-0 over the Jaguars all-time.
Both the Jags and Alabama will return to action this weekend in Gulf Shores for the Sand Dollar Classic. USA will face Liberty on Friday at 6pm, Eastern Kentucky and McNeese State on Saturday at 3pm and 6pm respectively, and Houston on Sunday at 1pm.
Jaguars Recruiting Effort Pays Off With Strong Signing Class
The 2015 South Alabama Jaguar Football Recruiting Class is a very good one. This could easily be the most talented recruiting class that Coach Jones and his staff has landed in the programs six years of existence.
The Jaguars class was ranked 3rd in the conference after a late addition bumped them up a spot. But that rating only includes the JUCO and High School student-athletes in the class, it does not include the UAB transfers. Head coach Joey Jones said at his signing day social that he has no doubt in his mind that USA has the best signing class in the conference overall.
Two things you will notice about this signing class: 1) the secondary players are tall with three of the five who signed are over six feet tall, and 2) great size.
Roy Albritton, 6’2″ 310-pound defensive lineman from Pensacola HS. He played in both the Max Emfinger All-American Bowl and the Pensacola Subway All-Star Game.
Dami Ayoola, 5’10” 200-pound running back from Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. via Arizona Western CC. He helped his team go 11-1 and finish 5th in the NJCAA poll.
De’Themeus “Bull” Barge, 5’9″ 220-pound linebacker from Colquitt County HS in Georgia. He was rated a three-star athlete from 247Sports.com. He helped his team go 15-0 en route to the state 6A championship.
Cameron Blankenship, 6’5″ 285-pound offensive lineman from Alexander City, AL via UAB. He was a three-year letterwinner for the Blazers and started all 11 games he appeared in as a sophomore at Dodge City CC in Kansas.
James Bynes, a 6’3″ 230-pound tight end from Miami, FL., by way of Dodge City CC. He caught 30 passes for 269 yards in all 11 games as a sophomore at Dodge City C.
Austin Chipoletti, 5’11” 190-pound quarterback from Jacksonville, FL. by way of UAB. Chipoletti completed 172-of-302 attempts for 1,650 yards and eight touchdowns with 142 yards and two touchdowns on the ground in 2013 for Weber State.
Cody Clements, 6’2″ 200-pound quarterback from Whittier, CA. via UAB. In his first and only season with the Blazers, Clements finished 4th in Conference USA in pass efficiency rating (145.6) as he wetn 183-of-275 for 2,227 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Tavon Cox, 6’3 195-pound linebacker from Kissimme, FL., Haines City HS. Cox was rated a three-star prospect by Scout.com, ESPN.com and 247Sports.com. He had 71 tackles and four sacks his senior season.
Lee Dufour, 6’4″ 285-pound offensive lineman from Saraland, AL. by way of UAB. Defour was going to redshirt his freshman season but played in the last three games of the season to help the Blazers earn bowl eligibility for the first time in 10 years.
Gerald Everett, 6’4″ 215-pound tight end from Decatur, GA. by way of UAB. He cause 17 passes for 292 yards in his only season with the Blazers. He started one game but saw action in all 12 games.
Sean Grayer, 6’2″ 240-pound defensive end/outside linebacker from Glay HS in Green Cove Springs, FL. He recorded 81 stops and fourced five fumbles in his senior season as he was selected to the first-team All-District and second-team All-State teams.
Kalen Jackson, 6’1″ 200-pound linebacker from Magee, MS. by way of UAB. Jackson started the first two games for the Blazers but suffered a season-ending injury. Against Troy he had five tackles and a fumble recovery.
Quinton Lane, 6’1″ 185-pound cornerback from Ackerman, MS. by way of Itawamba CC. He recorded 25 total tackles, 20 solo, with a team-high eight passes broken up as a sophomore.
Nigel Lawrence, 5’11” 175-pound defensive back from Smiths Stateion HS in Alabama. He was rated a three-star athlete by 247Sports.com and among the top 35 players in the state. He had 91 stops his senior year of school.
JarMarkus Sims, 6’1″ 210-pound safety from Dothan HS in Alabama. He was rated a three-star athlete by 247Sports and was rated as the second-best safety in the state of Alabama by ESPN.com. He was also selected First-Team All-State.
Troy Thingstad, 6’5″ 275-pound offensive lineman from St. Paul’s Episcopal School in Mobile. He was rated a three-star athlete by Scout.com, ESPN.com and 247Sports.com. He was also named to the first-team All-State team as a senior after helping his team with the 5A state championship.
Jalen Thompson, a 6′ 170-pound cornerback from St. Paul’s Eposcopal School in Mobile. He was rated a three-star althlete by Rivals.com, Scout.com, ESPN.com and 247Sports.com. He was also rated the second-best cornerback in the state of Alabama by Scout and ESPN.
Tyree Turner, 6′ 265-pound defensive lineman from StockBridge GA. HS. He was selected to the All-Region team twice, including last season after helping his team to the semifinals of the 5A state playoffs and to an 11-3 record overall.
D.J. Vinson, 5’10” 180-pound running back from Pinson, AL. by way of UAB. He finished second on the team with 670 yards and nine touchdowns on 166 attempts last season. He also added 65 yards on 15 catches and a touchdown as well.
Rashaan Watson, 5’10” 180-pound cornerback from Pinellas Park HS in Largo, FL. He was a first-team All-District, All-County and All-Conference selection in 2014 after helping his team go 8-3 and qualifying for the 7A state playoffs.
Jeffrey Whatley, 6’1″ 265-pound defensive end from Dale County HS in Midland City AL. He was selected to the first-team All-State team his final two seasons and helped his team to the 3A state championship game as a senior with 105 total stops along the way.
Curtis Williams, 6’4″ 285-pound offensive lineman from Miami, FL. by way of ASA CC in New York. He was a second-team All-Northeast Football Conference selection in 2013 as he helped his team to a 7th place finish in the final NJCAA rankings.
Tyrone Williams, 6’2″ 200-pound wide receiver from Kiln, MS via Mississippi Gulf Coast CC. He was a first-team All-MACJC selection as a sophomore after leading his team with 46 catches for 812 yards and 12 touchdowns.
De’Arius Young, 6’7″ 310-pound offensive lineman from Cincinnati, OH by way of San Bernadino Valley, CA. CC. He was named to the first-team All-Region and All-Mountain Conference as a sophomore as his team averaged 413 yards and 36.2 points per game.
Alex “Speedy” Byers, 6’2″ 175-pound wide receiver from Antelope Valley College in California. He had 23 catches for 398 yards and six touchdowns in 10 games. He also returned 14 kicks for 496 yards and three touchdowns. He has three years to play two at USA.
Welcome to #JagNation!
Jaguar Softball opens season against Crimson Tide Thursday
#23 ranked South Alabama hosts #3 ranked Alabama on Thursday evening in their season opener and it will be in front of a sold-out crowd at Jaguar Field.
The Jaguars 2014 season ended with a 1-0 loss to the Crimson Tide that they hope to avenge to start the 2015 season.
Leading the Jaguars is a trio of Preseason All-Sun Belt team members.
Senior Farish Beard was one of two pitchers named to the All-SBC team after being a first-team All-SBC honoree in 2014 and finishing the year as a National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-South Region selection for the second season in a row. She also finished sixth in the NCAA in ERA with a 1.23 and helped the Jags finish atop the NCAA statistical category with a 1.29 ERA. She was also named to the Top 50 Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List.
Stephanie Pilkington and Blair Johnson combined to take two of the three Preseason All-SBC spots in the outfield. Pilkington was an All-Conference first-teamer last season with the second highest batting average on the team with .292 while leading the team in hits, triples and sacrifice hits.
Johnson was a second-teamer last season and was second on the team in hits, sacrifice hits and sacrifice flies. This is her third Preseason All-SBC team honor.
Additionally the Jaguars were voted to finish second in the conference behind Louisiana-Lafayette. The Cajuns had 79 total points and 7 first place votes while the Jaguars finished with 74 total points and two first place votes. No other school received first place votes.
2015 National Signing Day is here
Today is National Signing Day. This is the first day that football recruits can finally officially sign their National Letter-Of-Intent to join football programs around the nation.
Recruiting a never-ending job. Most of the recruits were probably evaluated as many as two years ago or more. Through all that time coaches have kept tabs on them, offered them, talked to them, visited them and re-evaluated them time and time again to ensure they have targeted players to fill the needs of the team.
Similarly, recruits are looking at schools who have offered them to see if they feel like its a good fit for them. They have coaches, family and friends in their ear almost every day telling them where they should go or where they shouldn’t go. Which leads to some interesting National Signing Day’s.
Each year fans and coaches eagerly wait for signatures to come in from the recruits because, until that signature is in, who knows where recruits will actually sign.
There are writers and analysts who make their living just by analyzing recruiting. Whole websites have started based on recruiting. It’s become big business and cause for speculation. Diehard fans read recruiting analysis daily. Some send tweets to recruits endlessly congratulating them for choosing their school or villifying them for shunning their school for another school or a rival institution.
It can get quite sickening to see supposed grown-ups tweeting such things to teenagers to be honest.
While this list is not a guarantee as to who will sign with South Alabama, these are prospects who have verbally committed to the Jaguars. It’s always likely that some of them will suddenly choose to sign with someone else and be replaced with names not on this list who have done the same thing to another school.
Current players who have already signed LOI’s with the Jaguars:
- Dami Ayoola RB Arizona Western College
- James Bynes TE Dodge City CC
- Quinton Lane CB Itawamba CC
- Tyrone Williams WR Mississippi Gulf Coast CC.
This list of commits have given their verbals to South Alabama and seem to be fairly solid at some point.
- Jalen Thompson CB St. Paul’s Episcopal (Mobile, AL)
- Roy Albritton DT Pensacola FL.
- Ryan Alexander TE Holy Trinity (Hicksville, NY)
- Bull Barge OLB Colquitt Count GA.
- Zach Davis OT Lauderdale County AL.
- DeSean Grayer OLB Clay (Green Cove Springs, FL.)
- Nigel Lawrence S Smiths Station AL.
- Uvakeious McGhee WDE Jefferson Davis (Montgomery, AL.)
- Gavin Patterson K Bradley-Bourbannais (Bradley, IL.)
- Jervohnte Riles WR Jones County JC (Ellsville, MS.)
- JaMarkus Sims OLB Dothan AL.
- Nelson Santiago OT Oakleaf (Orange Park, FL.)
- Troy Thingstad OT St. Paul’s Episcopal (Mobile, AL.)
- Tyree Turner DT Stockbridge GA.
- Rashaan Watson CB Pinellas Park (Largo, FL.)
- Jerrery Whatley WDE Dale County Christian (Ozark, AL.)
- Curtis Williams OT ASA College (Brooklyn, NY)
Check back this evening for a recap of who signed with South Alabama and a review of the 2015 signing class.
Jags use big second half to defeat ULL 89-85
The South Alabama Men’s Basketball team overcame a 10-point halftime deficit by scoring 56 points in the second half to sweep the season series against Louisiana-Lafayette with an 89-85 win Thursday night.
The victory improves the Jaguars record to 7-14 overall and 5-5 in Sun Belt Conference play. ULL drops to 11-10 overall and 5-5 in conference play as well.
Taishaun Johnson had a career night with 23 points, 15 of which came in the second half, as he went 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Ken Williams added 19 points, Barrington Stevens III scored 17 points with a game-high six assists, and Dionte Ferguson scored all of his 16 points in the second half.
USA used a 15-4 run in the second half to take a 58-54 lead with 10:36 left in the game. But ULL would not go away so easy as they went on a 6-2 run to tie the game 60-60.
The Jags would responnd with a 13-4 run to take a 73-64 lead with just under five minutes remaining.
In a stretch of 1:38 seconds, the Jaguars went 6-of-15 from the charity stripe which kept the Cajuns in the game. This allowed the opposition to get with three points in the final 31.4 seconds of the game. However the Jags shugged off the sudden cold streak at the line to make their final five attempts and hold on for the win.
“Overall, we had a solid first half except for our transition defense and rebounding the ball,” head coach Matthew Graves said. “In the locker room we talked about how if we do those two things, we would really like the results in the second half. I thought we did an outstanding job in the second half of fighting through fatigue and a little bit of adversity. Ken [Williams] and Taishaun played with four fouls for a vast majority of that. Adbul got hit in the mouth and his tooth was hurting. Guys came in and played really well. It was a hard-fought victory.
“(UL Lafayette) is a really deep, physical team. I think you can tell by watching the game that their bodies are more physically mature than ours. It’s a great lesson for us moving forward on how much we have to invest and get in the weight room. Overall, I’m really proud of our effort and how we fought all the way to the end.”
“I think they made timely shots,” Graves said of Williams, Stevens and Johnson. “It wasn’t just one guy. It was by committee. They’re understanding how to play off of each other even better. When Taishaun drives, our spacing is getting better. He did a better job tonight of not over dribbling. He has a tendency to do that, obviously. Tonight he didn’t over dribble as much as he normally did, and we got the ball moving side to side more in the second half. We talk about getting the ball to three sides of the floor, and we really did that. It made them guard a little bit longer, and I think they wore down because of it.”
Lafayette’s Shawn Long scored 20 of his game-high 26 points in the second half and came away with 12 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season. Kasey Shepherd added 20 points with five 3-pointers and five assists off the bench.
“We couldn’t stop them in the second half,” ULL head coach Bob Marlin said. “We came out and couldn’t defend at the level we should. We are last in the league in defense and our defending was horrible. We didn’t defend, giving them 63 percent. We didn’t get a whistle, missed a couple free throws, didn’t get a break and still had the ball to be tied.”
The Jaguars travel to Monroe, Louisiana to face the Warhawks on Saturday with a 4pm tipoff.
South Alabama announces home-and-home series with SDSU
South Alabama has filled two open spots in their 2015 and 2016 schedules by adding a home-and-home series with San Diego State University. The open spots were created after the sudden announcement that UAB would cease sponsoring football.
The Jags will travel to San Diego State on September 19 this year and SDSU will visit Mobile on October 1, 2016 for the return.
USA Director of Atheltics Dr. Joel Erdmann said that during the fall of 2013 they were beginning to work on a home-and-home series with SDSU but the opportunity to schedule UAB came up and in the interest of local interest, short bus ride and reasonable cost for a road game, it was “more logical choice to play UAB.”
However, when UAB shut down football the Jags were left with two open dates on their schedule. It was very fortunate that San Diego State had yet to find a FBS opponent that fit perfectly into their schedule for 2015 and ’16.
While the 2015 Sun Belt Conference schedule for 2015 will be announced in March, it will feature road games at Troy, Georgia Southern, Georgia State and Texas State with home games against Idaho, Appalachian State, Louisiana-Lafayette and Arkansas State.
The Jaguars 2015 non-conference schedule include a home date against FCS Gardner-Webb on September 5, a road game at Nebraska on September 12 and at San Diego State on September 19, then back home to host North Carolina State on September 26.
Head coach Joey Jones told AL.com “We look forward to playing those guys [San Diego State]. It’s a football program with a lot of tradition and we look forward to the series.”
He also mentioned that its a great addition to assure a tough schedule for the Jaguars.
USA’s 2016 non-conference schedule includes a trip to Mississippi State on September 3, home games against Nicholls State on September 24 and San Diego State on October 1, and a road trip to LSU on October 15. Sun Belt Conference opponents for 2016 have not been announced yet.
As previously mention, the school also formally announced the home-and-home series against Memphis for 2018-’19.
Jaguars hire former UAB tight ends coach Richard Owens
The University of South Alabama has filled another offensive coaching spot. Former UAB tight ends coach Richard Owens has joined the staff, presumably filling the same position.
Owens spent three seasons in Birmingham with the Blazers. He was tight ends coach in 2012 then switched to wide receivers in addition to offensive coordinator. Then under first-year head coach Bill Clark he went back to tight ends as Bryant Vincent assumed offensive coordinator duties.
Prior to UAB, Owens spent two years as a graduate assistant at the University of Arkansas where he also worked with the tight ends.
Owens played collegiately at Louisville before a five-year NFL career where he played for the St. Louis Rams, Minnesota Vikings and N.Y. Jets. He appeared in 53 NFL games between 2004-09 and started seven games.
As a redshirt freshman at Louisville he played in all 12 games with three starts adn was selected to the Conference USA All-Freshman team at tight end.
He is a native of Middleburg, FL.