Coach Tommy Perry Leaving USA for North Texas
Coach Tommy Perry coaching the running backs during halftime of the Red & Blue Spring Football Game on March 24, 2012.
South Alabama’s running backs coach and special teams coordinator Tommy Perry is leaving the staff to accept a position on the North Texas Mean Green coaching staff. The official announcement is expected on Monday.
With the news of Perry leaving the program, head coach Joey Jones will need to hire two assistant coaches to fill vacancies on the staff. Late last week Jones hired Kevin Sherrer to fill the vacancy left when Bill Clark left for the head coaching position at Jacksonville State University. Defensive backs coach Duwan Walker joined Clark’s staff as defensive coordinator. Walker and Clark arrived together from Prattville High School where he served as Clark’s defensive coordinator there.
This move by Perry will put him back in Texas where he played at Tyler Texas Junior College and Texas A&M. He was the strength and conditioning coach at Texas, a graduate assistant at Texas A&M-Commerce, an assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Amsterdam Admirals of the NFL Europe league. Before coming to South Alabama, he was a graduate assistant/intern at Alabama.
Tommy and his wife have lots of ties and family in Texas.
North Texas will leave the Sun Belt Conference at the end of the academic year to joing Conference USA so it is unlikely that the two teams will meet each other on the sidelines in the near future.
Thanks for everything you have done for us Coach Perry and good luck in your future endevours!
USA To Name Sherrer As New Defensive Coordinator
The University of South Alabama should announce the hiring of Kevin Sherrer to fill the defensive coordinator position this Friday. Sherrer will be filling the position of former defensive coordinator, and longtime friend, Bill Clark who accepted the head coach position at Jacksonville State University last month. Sherrer was a friend and confidant of Clark whom he often consulted with concerning defensive philosophy and gameplanning.
Sherrer comes from the University of Alabama where he has served in the position of Director of Player Development for the Crimson Tide. His duties consisted of focusing on the off-the-field activities of the schools student athletes. He helped the players to balance the demands of academics, athletics, community outreach and their personal lives as well as assisting with the strength and conditioning program and peer intervention group.
Prior to his stint at the University of Alabama, he served five seasons on the Hoover High School staff from 2005-2009. He served as a defensive assistant for two seasons, then spent three seasons as defensive coordinator. During his stint at Hoover, they won two state championships in 2005 and 2009.
Sherrer played tight end at Alabama from 1993-95 earning a letter in 1995. After graduating in 1996, he spent two seasons at Tuscaloosa County High School as an assistant coach which included a state title in 1997.
In 1998, he returned to Alabama as a graduate assistant on defense for three years. They won the Music City Bowl in 1998 and won the SEC Championship in 1999 which resulted in a trip to the Orange Bowl. He earned his masters degree in higher education from Alabama in 2000.
From Alabama, Sherrer spent four years at Spain Park High School (2001-2004) as an assistant coach on defense.
He and his wife have two childred, twin boys Kaleb and Kyle.
Additionally it is expected that a new defensive backs coach will be named early next week to fill the position vacated by Duwan Walker when he left to fill the defensive coordinator position at Jacksonville State under Clark.
Walker Officially Joines Clark at JSU
The speculation about Duwan Walker joining Bill Clark at Jacksonville State was confirmed on Thursday as Clark announced his coaching staff. Duwan Walker will be the defensive coordinator and safeties coach while Chuck Dunn, a former Jaguar assistant coach, will coach the inside linebackers.
Walker and Clark have worked together since 1999 when Clark became head coach at Prattville High School. Walker started as defensive backs coach for two years before being promoted to defensive coordinator in 2001.
Along with Walker, there are two graduate assistants on the defensive side that are heading to Jacksonville State.
That opens up another coaching spot that needs to be filled on the Jaguar staff.
As for the defensive coordinator position, reports are still out there that Ron Roberts was offered the position and there was one report that he has accepted. However there has not been any official word by South Alabama or Ron Roberts.
JSU Announces Hire Of Bill Clark
Former South Alabama defensive Coordinator Bill Clark was named head coach at Jacksonville State on Tuesday, December 18 | jsugamecocksports.com
Jacksonville State University had a good list of potential head coaches to choose from to replace Jack Crow who was let go recently. They received several applications for the job, some with name recognition that made the school officials take notice immediately.
They could have picked someone from a BCS school or someone with prior collegiate head coaching experience but in the end they chose former South Alabama defensive coordinator Bill Clark. Clark will formally be announced at a press conference on Wednesday.
Clark is a 44 year old Anniston native and 1990 graduate from Jacksonville State. He may not have head coaching experience on the collegiate level, but he led Prattville High School to two state 6A championships. His last two teams won 30 consecutive games and the 2007 team was ranked #2 in the nation by the USA Today national high school poll. His winning percentage was over 90% for his tenure at Prattville.
After his final season at Prattville, he was named the Alabama High School Athletic Association Coach of the Year and the Schutt Southeast Regional Coach of the Year.
He was among the first coaches hired by South Alabama head coach Joey Jones when he was putting together his staff. He also named Clark the assistant head coach as well as defensive coordinator.
He was key in developing the South Alabama program into what it is today. In only the Jaguars fourth season of play and their first in the Sun Belt, the defense finished #2 in defense in the conference.
“I’m very happy for Bill and his family,” Jaguar head coach Joey Jones said to AL.com on Tuesday. “I appreciate what he’s done to help build this program at South Alabama. You’re always happy for someone in this profession to move up and get a job they want, so I’m very happy for him and his family. He meant a lot to me. We’re great friends and will continue to be. I think we’ll always have that in the back of our minds, of starting this program at South Alabama and how gratifying it has been to build this thing and that’s something he was a part of. I appreciate everything he’s done.”
“It means a lot,” Clark said to AL.com. “When you set some goals in life and to achieve one of those goals you set at an early age, it’s gratifying. It’s real gratifying.”
“It’s big (to have the opportunity come at JSU). I think to go back to where there are people you know and in the surrounding areas, you feel like you’re going to be representing more than yourself. You’re going to be representing people you went to school with and people you played ball with and family. That’s what it’s all about.”
“There’s so many thing that you want to bring to the table, but when you’re talking about student-athletes, you want to bring them in there and get them a degree and put a great product on the field,” he continued. “The thing we want to bring is excitement. When you start talking about what gets you coming to football games, it’s excitement.”
“Watching guys running and passing and representing their school and their town and their families, all the reasons that we got into this game and that make it so great. That’s what we want to put out there. The big thing about football is it’s the face of a school. So obviously we want to put a great image out there and a great message and hopefully you’ll see that when you see us play.”
Clark also said that his time at South Alabama has been rewarding and important to him.
“To get to come here and be the start of building a program and to see it done the right way, that’s a plus,” Clark said. “We were so supported here. Joey and I were friends before we started this and that will remain the same. To get to be with a friend to do this was special.”
“I can’t say enough of about it. That’s what I want to see where I’m going. You want to see that support. Obviously, a coaches’ job is to bring people together and bring the community together, so that’s the thing I’m looking forward to at Jacksonville.”
“We’ll head up (Tuesday). They have some things planned (Wednesday). We’ve got to get into all the talks of staffing established. It’s all going to be a whirlwind now. You know how coaches are, in the first five minutes you’ve turned the switch and you’re worried about players and recruiting and what have they been doing in the weightroom and getting my staff on board. It’s kind of like a win, that joy is real short-lived and then you’ve got to go to work. It’s real satisfying and it’s real exciting, but it’s time to go to work.”
The next thing for South Alabama and Jaguar head coach Joey Jones is to find someone to fill the defensive coordinator position on the staff and other staff position who may follow him to Jacksonville State.
It is unknown how this will affect South Alabama’s junior college commits, who are able to sign with schools beginning today. But Coach Jones has time to fill the position before National Signing Day for high school recruits in early February.
CJ Bennett Announces Intention To Transfer
C.J. Bennett reads the defense while head coach Joey Jones looks on from the sidelines in Starkville Mississippi.
Quarterback C.J. Bennet announced via Facebook and Instagram that he intends to transfer to Murray State in Kentucky. He will be eligible to play immediately for the Racers.
In his post he said “When I committed to South I had no idea it would be this tough to say good bye.”
Bennett took over the starting duties for the final three games of the 2010 season and the entire 2011 season. He started the 2012 season but rotated with Junior transfer Ross Metheny before Metheny was named the starter in the Jaguars sixth game of the season after their off week.
Good luck CJ! Once a Jaguar, always a Jaguar.
BREAKING NEWS: Mike Varga Out As Jaguar Soccer Coach
South Alabama Athletic Director Joel Erdmann announced that the University will not renew the contract for head soccer coach Mike Varga and that a national search for his replacement will begin immediately.
Varga has been the head coach at South Alabama for the last 14 seasons and compiled a 121-131-26 record over that time period. He also led them to a share of the 2000 Sun Belt Conference regular-season title. He also led them to the championship match in the 2005 conference tournament.
Coach Varga has a record of 186-155-32 in his 18 seasons as a head coach. He was previously the head coach at Lincoln Memorial in Tennessee.
The Jags were 8-10-3 this season and hosted the Sun Belt Conference soccer championship tournament at The Cage on campus. The Jags, a #7 seed in the eight team tournament, were eliminated in the first round by Middle Tennessee State.
“Mike has been a loyal and trustworthy member of the University and Jaguar Athletics,” Erdmann said. “We deeply appreciate his service and wish him the best in all future endeavors.”
“We will conduct a national search beginning immediately,” he continued. “The search is wide open and and we will pursue the best-qualified candidate for our program.”
Thunderjags Welcomes New Sponsor
You may have noticed some new ads on Thunderjags lately. Well, we would like to welcome CollegeFanGear.com as a new sponsor of Thunderjags.
CollegeFanGear.com is an officially licensed retailer of NCAA gear. Which means that a portion of sales go back to the school. They focus on the schools outside of the “big six” conferences as well as other divisions of play.
CollegeFanGear.com has over 1,300 products to choose from. So if you are looking to order some South Alabama merchandise then click on the ads on the page, pick out some cool stuff and help us out while you’re at it.
Go Jags!
Baker Suspended For Arkansas State
Coach Tommy Perry coaching the running backs during halftime of the Red & Blue Spring Football Game on March 24, 2012.
South Alabama will be without running back Demetre Baker for their game at Arkansas State today.
The University athletics department released a press release saying that Baker, the leading rusher and second place in All-Purpose yards, had been suspended for the Jags game versus Arkansas State for a violation of team rules.
Baker, a 6’1″ 230-pound sophomore running back has 67 rushing attempts for 294 yards and a touchdown on the season. He has also caught six passes for 55 yards. Baker’s 349 All-Purpose yards is second to T.J. Glover who has 375 All-Purpose yards.
South Alabama head coach was unavailable for comment on the situation yesterday according to the Press-Register.
Sun Belt Conference Wraps Up Fall Meetings
The Sun Belt Conference fall meetings concluded today in New Orleans where they discussed the 2013 Sun Belt Conference baseball tournament, fan safety and scheduling for basketball and changes to the ejection policy.
The baseball tournament in 2013 will revert back to the double elimination format that the Sun Belt used from 2000-2010 when it is held in Lafayette, Louisiana from May 22 – May 26. The tournament will still have eight teams and will be split into two brackets with the bracket champions meeting for the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
More changes for baseball is coming in 2014 as the they will split into two divisions and continuing to play a 30 game schedule. More details will be announced at a later date though. The 2014 tournament was previously awarded to the University of South Alabama, however it remains to be seen if it will still be held in Mobile.
More changes will take place for the 2013-2014 academic year. Changes to the automatic suspension rule for student-athletes and coaches is that each ejection will be handled on a case-by-case basis with Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson being able to impose additional penalties. Also, student-athletes and coaches who are ejected are not automatically suspended for the next game unless the ejection is for fighting, which is covered in the NCAA manual.
In basketball, the student seating will not be allowed directly behind opposing team benches. Conference officials and others were concerned about the proximity of the benches to the crowd, particularly that students and student-athletes could be in danger if a student-athlete charged the stands due to verbal abuse by fans.
Additionally they decided that, beginning with the 2013-2014 season, conference games in both men’s and women’s basketball would not begin before christmas holidays. This opens the possibility of having to play three conference games in a one week period.
“There is more excitement today about the Sun Belt Conference than there has ever been,” said Sun Belt Conference President and Troy University Chancellor Jack Hawkins, Jr. “Our teams are winning and becoming household names. As we continue to win and identify our value as a brand we will show the world who we are and the strength that we have.”
“We are striving to become the best of the non-automatic qualifying BCS conferences,” continued Hawkins. “New leadership present throughout the league, along with our new member institutions and the attitude that every dimension of the Sun Belt Conference is open to examination is going to make us stronger.”
Ross Metheny Named Starter At Quarterback
Quarterback Ross Metheny reads the NC State defense pre-snap in Raleigh, NC.
Head coach Joey Jones announced today that Ross Metheny will be the starting quarterback for the Jaguars. This was first reported on AL.com and reiterated while filming the Joey Jones Show that airs each Saturday on UTV44 in Mobile, Alabama.
In an interview with the Press-Register, Coach Jones said that Metheny would be the starter for the Jaguars “right now.” Jones indicated that the position would be evaluated on a week-to-week basis, which leaves the door open in the future for C.J. Bennett to work his way back into the spot. However doing so will take much more effort and focus since Metheny will begin getting most of the first-team snaps when the Jaguars resume practice next week.
Bennett started 16 consecutive games for the Jags. The first two of 2012, all 10 games in 2011 and the last four of the 2010 season.
Coach Jones has reiterated a number of times that Metheny and Bennett were very close to each other. Both could stand to improve but they both also played well. Jones decided to go with one quarterback so they would get a majority of the reps in practice and see if that helps the offense to improve over their performance so far this season.
Hopefully this will take the pressure off of the quarterbacks and they are able to play to their best potential. But most of all, that it will give the Jags opportunities to win.
Metheny has gone 34-of-59 for 354 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions so far this season completing 57.6 percent of his passes. He has also ran 25 times for 7 yards. Bennett has gone 52-of-95 for 543 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions on the season. Which comes out to a 54.7 percent completion average. Bennett has also rushed 28 times for 134 yards, one of those rushes went for 50 yards last Saturday against Troy to set up the Jags only touchdown of the game.
Coach Jones hopes this gives the offense the spark they need to improve as a team on offense.