Three Days Till Kickoff Of 2013 Season
Head coach Joey Jones speaks with sideline reporter Pat Greenwood heading into halftime against Middle Tennessee on Saturday, November 17, 2012.
The University of South Alabama football team is just three days away from kicking off the 2013 season, the fifth of the programs history and the first as a full FBS member.
The Jaguars met with the media for their weekly press conference and both the coaches and players shared their excitement for the rapidly approaching season. After about 26 practices with only themselves as their opponent, they are ready for a new challenge. Starting quarterback Ross Metheny told AL.com, “We’re excited to finally go up against somebody other than ourselves. We’ve been hitting each other for a long time. It’s crazy to think about how many hours and how much work we put in all year round all for 12 days in the fall. If you look at it that way, you have to really love the game.”
Qudarius Ford added, “We’re excited about this Thursday. We’re excited about the challenge. We know Southern Utah is going to come in here and be ready to play. We know they play physical. We’re ready for the challenge. From last year to this year I’ve seen a big difference in the team chemistry and we’ll be ready to play ball on Thursday.”
The Jags had a tough season last year as they went 2-11. However the team kept their composure and was competitive in almost every game. Though they were not eligible, they went ahead and played a full Sun Belt Conference schedule in anticipation of this season. Coach Jones knew it would be a tough season last year, but knew it would help prepare his team for the toughest schedule yet for the program this season.
“Going through last season has prepared us for this season, there’s no doubt about that,” head coach Joey Jones said to AL.com. “I think experiences in life, there are certain ones you just have to go through to be great at anything and we went through a season last year where we decided to play Division I football while being a FCS team. It really helped us in the long run.”
“Our kids are excited. They’re excited about the possibilities that we can go to a bowl game and the possibility that we can win a conference championship, and we haven’t had that in the last four years. Dangling that carrot out there certainly makes a difference in the motivation of our players.”
“I know one thing, we’re a lot better football team than we were last year,” said Jones when asked for a season prediction by AL.com. “I can say that. How that translates into wins, I don’t know. But I know we’re better and our leadership is not necessarily better but we have more of it. We have 28 seniors. I see a difference in our ball team this year, I really do. I see a calmness and a confidence that we haven’t had.”
“Stepping into Division I last year, I think we were a little starry-eyed, and maybe as coaches we were. We just didn’t know what to expect to go play Arkansas State and to go play Mississippi State and N.C. State and those people. You just didn’t really know. This year, our kids have been through it, our coaches have been through it. We’re looking for big things. We have lofty goals and we’re always going to have those no matter where we are in our program.”
They will be looking to start the season off on a better note that last season. They originally scheduled to start the season on Thursday night against Texas-San Antonio, but bad weather forced the postponement until Saturday in which the Jags lost a close one on a field goal. That was the first and only season opener the Jags have lost in four seasons at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Coach Jones and his team will look to run that record to 4-1 in season openers at home on Thursday.
The Jaguars and the Southern Utah Thunderbirds kickoff at 6:30pm on Thursday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The weather will cooperate this season as Thursday looks to be mostly sunny with a high of 93 and a low of 67. You couldn’t ask for better weather to start the football season in August.
Go Jags!
Joey Jones TV Show Returns This Week
The Joey Jones TV Show will begin recording on Wednesday at 11am at Mugshots on Airport Blvd beginning tomorrow. The show will be recorded and aired weekly.
Since the season begins on a Thursday, this week’s episode will air on Wednesday evening at 6:30pm on UTV44. It will then begin airing on Saturday morning at 10:30AM on UTV44.
Tune in or set your DVR’s for the TV show and watch the previews of each week’s game and a review of the previous game with head coach Joey Jones and Pat Greenwood.
If you have time at lunch, join them for the live recording at Mugshots too!
Know Your Opponent: Southern Utah Thunderbirds
Southern Utah has gone 6-5, 6-5 and 5-6 over the last three seasons under head coach Ed Lamb. They left the Great West Conference for the Big Sky Conference for last season.
SUU has to replace a record-breaking quarterback who threw for almost 9,500 yards and 61 touchdowns during his three seasons with the Thunderbirds. His replacement, Aaron Cantu, comes from East Los Angeles College. While Cantu takes over the offense he will have an experienced defense as the offense reorganizes and develops.
The SUU returns all of their starters in the secondary plus three linebackers that are projected to be among the best in the Big Sky Conference including their leading tackler from last year, Zak Browning, who collected 115 tackles last season. They return from a defense that allowed an average of 30.3 points per game, but their defense was tied for third in the FCS ranks nationally with 16 fumble recoveries. They returned two of them for touchdowns.
SUU returns 6 on the defense and 7 on the offense and two special teams players.
The Thunderbird offense averaged 85.8 yards per game rushing and 285.4 yards per game passing for an average of 371.2 yards per game of total offense. They averaged 61.1 yards per game of penalties with 28.5 points per game.
Defensively they average 30.3 points per game and 424 yards per game of total defense. That breaks down to 162.5 yards per game rushing and 261.5 yards per game passing.
Offensively they had slow starts as they got outscored 70-37 in the first quarter then were fairly even the remainder of the game as they slightly outscored their opponents 276-263.
They will probably continue the same offensive attack and will be a good tuneup for the South Alabama defense. The Jags secondary was their weakest unit last season and was one of the positions with the most off-season focus. This game could show how improved the secondary is this season.
However, the first game of the season is really an unknown as you just never know what your opponent will come out with scheme wise. The Thunderbirds added a JuCo quarterback with some freshmen running backs and a senior offensive line and experience receivers. While on defense they are known for playing with great technique and not getting caught out of position.
The Jags is a 19.5 point favorite in this game.
Now we just have to wait until Thursday for the 6:30pm kickoff at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
Go Jags.
7 Days Till Kickoff
We are now one week out from the Jags first game of the 2013 season. They will kick off the 2013 campaign against Southern Utah at Ladd-Peebles Stadium at 6:30pm on Thursday, August 29.
You have a chance to meet the team and get memorabilia autographed by coaches and players on Sunday, August 25 at the Mitchell Center from 4-6pm.
Thunderjags wants to hear from you. Comment and tell us what your plans are for the first game of the season? Will you be out there tailgating? Will you be going directly to the stadium after work?
Jags Scheduled To Travel To South Carolina In 2014
The 2014 SEC schedules were released today and there was a surprise for South Alabama fans. Originally the Jags were scheduled to play against the University of Georgia in Athens, but it seems a shuffling of schedules occured between the announcement of the game and the actual schedule being released.
Georgia’s schedule now has Troy going to Athens on September 13, 2014 and the Jags going to Columbia, South Carolina on November 22, 2014 to face the Gamecocks. Originally Troy was scheduled to play South Carolina. Some sort of scheduling problem must have occurred at the SEC office causing the shuffling of schedules but the Jags will still come out with an SEC opponent and presumably a hefty payday for travel.
In 2014, the Jags also play non-conference games at Kent State for their third and final game of their two-for-one contract, at home against Mississippi State for the second game of their two-for-one contract and also host Navy for the final game of their home-and-home series.
Fans who were planning on going to the Georgia game now have a longer commute if they want to see the Jags against another SEC foe, but the upside will be that South Carolina will not have Jadeveon Clowny on their roster then. Just as a reminder, look at the hit he put on Michigan in their bowl game in January: http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2013/1/1/3825442/jadeveon-clowney-dot-gif
Romelle Jones And Enrique Williams Among 14 From Sun Belt Named To Senior Bowl Watch List
Romelle Jones and Alex Page give chase to the FAU quarterback during the Jaguars win in 2012.
Two South Alabama Jaguars were among 14 Sun Belt players to be named to the Senior Bowl’s watch list that was released on Tuesday.
Romelle Jones, a 6’2″ 280-pound defensive lineman from New Orleans, and Enrique Williams, a 6′ 235-pound linebacker from Mobile’s Blount High School, were announced to be on the Senior Bowl’s watch list.
Jones was credited with 18 tackles last season with 11 of them being solo and two of them were behind the line of scrimmage. For his career he has 70 total tackles, 41 solo, 19 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, two pass deflections, a forced fumble and three fumble recoveries. Last season Jones was hampered by a nagging injury.
Williams was the Jaguars number two tackler last season with 105 total tackles, 50 solo tackles, six tackles for loss, a pass deflection, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. During his career he has 239 total tackles, 114 solo tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, eight pass deflections, three forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and an interception.
South Alabama has had three players selected for the Senior Bowl. Courtney Smith was the first to be selected and played in the 2011 game. Last season Jake Johnson was a late add but tore his achilles on the first day of practice and was unable to participate in the game. B.J. Scott was another late add at defensive back and participated in the game.
The 12 players from the rest of the Sun Belt are: Arkansas State had defensive tackle Ryan Carrethers and running back David Oku; Georgia State had wide receiver Albert Wilson; Louisiana-Lafayette had wide receiver Darryl Surgent; Louisiana-Monroe had the most named to the watch list with quarterback Kolton Browning, wide receiver Je’Ron Hamm and wide receiver Tavarese Maye; Texas State had defensive tackle D.J. Yendrey; Troy had quarterback Corey Robinson; Western Kentucky had running back Antonio Andrews and inside linebacker Andrew Jackson.
The Senior Bowl is scheduled for January 25, 2014 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium and will be televised by the NFL Network.
Football Fan Day Set For Sunday At The Mitchell Center
The University of South Alabama football team will hold their annual Fan Day this Sunday, August 25 from 4pm – 6pm at the Mitchell Center on the South Alabama campus.
Coaches and players will be on the mail floor of the arena for an autograph session. They will be joined by the Jaguar cheerleaders and SouthPaw. Bring your memorabilia and your camera.
This event is free to attend and parking will also be free on campus. South Alabama ticket agents will be available for you to select your seats for the 2013 football season as they will have information for all of their ticket options.
The USA Bookstore will be set up selling official JagWear merchandise and tailgating supplies.
Also, the 2013 Volleyball coaches and players will be on-site with schedules and posters for the upcoming season.
Go Jags!
Coach Joey Jones Names Metheny Starter
Head Coach Joey Jones looking on as the Jaguars warm up for their game at North Carolina State in 2012.
Head coach Joey Jones announced on WNSP this morning that Ross Metheny will be the starting quarterback for the Jaguars when they open the season against Southern Utah in just over a week at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
After the coaches reviewed the film after the Saturday scrimmage, they began setting the depth chart to go into game-week preparation. Ross Metheny got the nod for the starting positionm however Brandon Bridge, who will also see playing time.
Quarterback has been the talk of the offseason and spring with Brandon Bridge being eligible after sitting out a year for transferring from Alcorn State to the Jags and a good spring practice earlier in the year. Coach Jones believes he has two quarterbacks he can win with and he will find a way to get those kind of players on the field. Also look for Trey Fetner to continue his wildcat ways when called upon. Just don’t expect the same rotation as last season between C.J. Bennett and Metheny.
The running back position will see Jay Jones, Cris Dinham (both transfers) and Kendall Houston share playing time with Julien Valentin and Terrance Timmons also getting some playing time. Valentin really impressed coach Jones in the scrimmage on Saturday with his performance. Kaleb Blanchard and Xavier Johnson may be redshirted this season.
The deepest position on the Jaguar offense, wide receiver, will see a lot of rotation. Senior Bryant Lavender, JuCo transfer Shaverez Smith and immediately eligible transfer Danny Woodson Jr. will all see lots of field time on the outside with Jereme Jones and T.J. Glover as inside slot receivers. Corey Besteda, Cameron Broadnax, Nathan Sassaman, Corey Waldon and Jake Howton will all see playing time, just how much time they will see in the rotation will be determined later.
Preseason All-Sun Belt pick Wes Saxton will be the starting tight end but Rush Hendricks and Davin Hawkins will all see the field as well. Ryan Onkka may be used as either tight end or as a full back in short yardage. Onkka, Jared Palmer and Kyle Sappington will all see some time but again, how much will be determined later.
Defensively the deepest position for the Jaguars is on the defensive line. Alex Page and Pat Moore will be the defensive ends with Theo Rich rotating in. Senior Romelle Jones and Montavious Williams will be the key inside defenders. Jesse Kelley, Ceasare Johnson, Jerome McClain and Randon Carnathan will all rotate in and may also see time at defensive end as well. Ridge James is listed as a hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker and will see some time in rotation.
At linebacker Enrique Williams, Clifton Crews and Bryson James will be joined by Maleki Harris as the big four. Harris will be a hybrid Linebacker/Safety player. Desmond LaVelle will also see time and each of the player can play inside or out on the defense.
The secondary was the most suspect position on the defense last season and as such has received the most offseason focus. JuCo transfer Montel Garner will most likely be an opening day starter at corner. Qudarius Ford, C.J. May, Anthony Harris, Tyrell Pearson and Darrius Morrow are all in the mix. And if they are not starters, they will see time in rotation. At safety Terrell Brigham, Charles Watson, Steffon Fuller and Steven Fuller are all in play. Charles Harris has been moved to linebacker and may join Maleki Harris and David Hawkins as hybrid safety/linebackers.
T.J. Glover and Shavarez Smith were mentioned as kickoff returners but expect Jereme Jones to be involved as well. Glover will be used on punt returns but Jones or Smith could be used as well.
Special teams has not been settled yet. Aleem Sunanon has been mentioned as the field goal kicker but he has competition from Logan Gunn. Incoming freshman Brandon McKee will probably handle kickoffs with Gunn possibly in the mix as well. Senior Scott Garber continues to hold the punter position but McKee is also giving him some competition for the position.
No surprises on the offensive line as senior Matt Calcagnini will get the starting center job with juniors Drew Dearman and Shaun Artz as guards and fellow junior Ucambre Williams and sophomore Chris May at the tackles.
Sun Belt Adds New Bowl As Tie-In
The Cramton Bowl will be the host site for ESPN Regional Television’s new Camellia Bowl. Photo Credit: Chris Pruitt | wikimedia.org
The Sun Belt Conference has a new bowl tie-in starting in 2014. ESPN Regional Television announced that they will create a new bowl game that will be named the Camellia Bowl and will be played at the newly renovated Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama.
The new bowl game will pair the Sun Belt against the Mid-American Conference with former Troy Athletics Director Johnny Williams serving as the game’s Executive Director.
This bowl becomes the third in the state of Alabama along with the GoDaddy.com Bowl in Mobile and the BBVA Compass Bowl in Birmingham. Originally the Legends Bowl Group had expressed interest in developing a bowl game at Alabama State but they concentrated their efforts on an effort in Charleston, South Carolina after ESPN moved to create the Camellia Bowl.
With the addition of the Camellia Bowl, ESPN Regional Television now owns nine bowl games after they added the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise, Idaho to their lineup last week. They also own the BBVA Compass Bowl in Birmingham, Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl in St. Petersburg, Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Las Vegas Bowl, New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque, Texas Bowl in Houston and the Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu.
This new bowl game is driven by the new college football postseason and smaller conferences that have more money due to the College Football Playoff contract. Those small conferences are seeking more bowl tie-ins.
Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson said the geographical consideration and ESPN’s involvement made the Montgomery bowl game a sensible choice for the conference as a third bowl tie-in. “The fact that ESPN is involved in the game from a business standpoint makes the bowl an immediate good business deal,” he said. “It eliminates the investment that the Sun Belt has had to make in other bowls.”
Benson continued, “Some of these deals in the past were advertising a $750,000 guarantee (to schools) and be required to buy $750,000 in tickets. What we expect out of Montgomery is a business model that will actually guarantee the Sun Belt and the MAC some revenue that isn’t tied to ticket sales. There will be more revenue on the front end.”
The deal with the Camellia Bowl is that the Sun Belt will guarantee to purchase 2,500 tickets. This is a new trend in college football bowl contracts where conferences buy fewer tickets and have more leverage with bowls in contractual terms.
The Sun Belt already has primary bowl tie-ins with the GoDaddy.com Bowl and New Orleans Bowl but commissioner Benson has not given up on a fourth bowl tie-in in Little Rock, Arkansas. “We haven’t given up on Little Rock yet,” he said. “The Sun Belt is still very interested in Little Rock, but we obviously need to have an opponent. I think Little Rock, for some of the same reasons that Montgomery worked, makes just as much sense as a game in Memphis or Shreveport or Birmingham or anyplace else in the footprint.”
Two other bowl sites continue to be interested in the Sun Belt conference. Orlando and Charleston, South Carolina. However, Charleston has a NCAA ban due to the Confederate flag remains on display on the State House grounds.
But the issue that some may be asking themselves is ‘Will there be enough eligible teams for the bowl games.’ That is a good question. Last season we were talking about how South Alabama could have been eligible for a bowl game even though they were not a FBS member and thus eligible for a bowl choice. In the end, the new rule passed by the NCAA did not need to be used as, in the end, they had enough bowl-eligible teams to fill all the bowl slots.
Montgomery has spent about $10 million to renovate the Cramton Bowl. The stadium was built in 1922 and has a listed capacity of 25,000. It hosts the Raycom College Football All-Star Classic held each January. It previously was the site for the Blue-Gray Football Classic, an all-star game that was normally held on Christmas day, from 1939 through 2001.
Jags Finish Fall Camp With Scrimmage On Saturday
South Alabama Head Coach Joey Jones talking to his team after their scrimmage at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Saturday, August 17, 2013.
The South Alabama Jaguar football team held their second scrimmage of preseason camp on Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium under dreary skies. Unlike last time, the offense was the standout until in this scrimmage with some big plays and 470 yards of total offense.
Ross Metheny went 12-of-15 for 125 yards and opened the scoring with a 19 yard scamper down the right sideline to cap off a seven play, 75 yard drive. The touchdown came two plays after a 31 yard pass completion to Cris Dinham.
Brandon Bridge passed for 101 yards on six completions, one of them to Danny Woodson Jr. for a 45 yard touchdown. Trey Fetner went 7-of-8 passing for 40 yards. All Jaguar quarterback combined to go 26-of-40 for 289 yards.
Fetner was the only quarterback to move the team during two-minute drills late in practice in the rain.
Woodson led all Jaguar receivers with 68 yards on three catches. Dinham added 63 yards on four catches. Bryant Lavender added three catches while Shavarez Smith, Caleb Alves and two other catched two passes each.
The Jaguar offense rushed for 181 yards on the day with Julien Valentin’s team leading 47 yards on 10 carries. He scored on a six-yard run during red-zone drills for the final points of the scrimmage. Terrance Timmons rushed seven times for 37 yards, Kendall Houston rushed for 27 yards on five carries and Kaleb Blanchard added 26 yards.
Head coach Joey Jones said, “He (Julien Valentin) came in there and showed me that he can be an every-down back. And Danny made a couple of big plays, not that that was surprising.”
Special teams added five field goals during the scrimmage. Aleem Sunanon connected on kicks from 32, 34 and 31 yards out. Logan Gunn connected from 29 and 37 yards out.
Defensively, Terrell Brigham and Devon Earl picked off two passes. Earl’s pick game on a pass deflection by Bryson James. Pat Moore led the team with six tackles, four were unassisted. Desmond LaVelle had five tackles and Bryson James, Anthony Harris and DeMarion Harper each recorded four. Harper collected 2.5 tackles for loss.
Jones also said that eight players, some projected starters on the defense, were limited or saw no action in the scrimmage. He indicated that those that were held out or saw limited action were four-year starters and didn’t need to see them in action on Saturday. They wanted to see the younger players in action for evaluation purposes.
The Jags will return to practice on Tuesday since Monday is the first day of classes on campus for the fall semester. However the coaches will be reviewing film and meeting to make decisions on the starting lineup, depth chart and travel team rosters.
The Jags are less than two weeks away from opening their season against Southern Utah on Thursday, August 29 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.