Coach Jones Adds Two To Coaching Staff
South Alabama head football coach Joey Jones has put the finishing touches on his coaching staff by hiring two assistants. On Thursday he announced the additions of Greg Gregory as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach and Tommy Perry as running backs coach and special teams coordinator.
Coach Gregory has been a head coach for two years. He has also been an offensive coordinator at four schools with 15 years experience at that position. His last two years were at South Florida guiding them to 17-9 over the last two seasons, including a win in the inaugural St. Petersburg Bowl last season.
Those who are familiar with college football know the name Matt Grothe, the quarterback for USF. He was among the top 30 in the nation in total offense over the last two seasons while Mike Ford and Ben Williams combined for a total of 18 touchdowns in 2007. Also, the Bulls produced record numbers in total offensive yard with 5,383, yards per game with 414.1 and 34.7 points per game in 2007. His previous two seasons at USF, he coached the tight ends helping to lead them to the Meineke Car Care Bowl and the Papajohns.com Bowl.
Coach Jones stated, “Greg wants to be a part of something new, and he brings a wealth of experience. He’s an excellent football coach that I’m excited to bring to USA,”. He further commented about the USA and USF programs, “South Florida has built their football program from scratch and we are modeling a lot of the things we do based on what they have done.”
Prior to USF, Coach Gregory was an OC at Ohio from 2001-2003, previous to that he was OC at Richmond where the Spiders won the Atlantic 10 championship with a 7-1 record and 10-3 record overall. He was head coach at Missouri Southern in 1998 and 1999. He took over a team that forfeited all of its victories the prior year. At Army in 1982 he worked with the receivers then in 1984 he moved to coach the tight ends and was the junior varsity coach. In 1985 and 1986 he coach the teams running backs. Then in 1987 he shifted to quarterbacks coach and finally in 1989 he became offensive coordinator. In 1991 he was promoted to associate head coach in addition to his OC duties.
In total he spent 16 seasons with Army where they won 93 games and advanced to four bowl games which are the only ones in the program’s 109 year history. They also won 10 of 16 games against Navy during his time there. Ron McAda was one of his quarterbacks during his time there which was the only Army QB to be selected in the NFL draft. Coach Gregory was honored as being a commissioned officer with the rank of captain from 1982-1985 as well.
Coach Gregory was quoted about joining the USA staff, “It’s always been a goal of mine to be part of a program that is starting from scratch. This is a great opportunity — USA is in a hotbed of football from a recruiting standpoint and the athletic director is fully behind the program.”
Coach Tommy Perry has spent the last three seasons in various roles on staff at Alabama under both Nick Saban and Mike Shula. His first two seasons saw Alabama go 7-6 one year under Shula then the next under Saban. Then in 2008 he saw the tide go 12-0 in the regular season then two consecutive loses in the SEC championship game and the Sugar Bowl to finish 12-2 and finish 6th in the nation.
Perry began his coaching career at Texas in 2004 as assistant strength and conditioning coach as well as being an academic advisor. Later that year be became a linebacker and strength coach at Texas A&M-Commerce then moved to running backs and kickoff return duties in 2005. Three of his running back earned all-Lone Star Conference honors that year. Including a player who ran for more than 1,000 yards in 10 games to be selected first-team honors. Also part of his duties at A&M-Commerce as to assist recruiting in Northeast Texas and Northern California.
Perry also has experience in the NFL’s Europe’s Amsterdam Admirals in 2006 as a special teams assistant and head strength coach. His team competed in the World Bowl and posted a 7-3 mark.
Perry graduated in 2003 from Texas A&M and played two seasons, lettering in 2003 for the Aggies at fullback, inside linebacker and defensive end while participating on various special teams units. He was one of four players on the team who served as the program’s 12th man as a senior. He came to TAMU from Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas as an inside linebacker.
Coach Perry was quoted saying, “There’s a lot of energy here in Mobile, everyone I have talked to knows about the program and is excited about it.” He continued, “The Mobile area and the Florida Panhandle have a lot of talented players, and there is a lot of momentum behind the program. I’m excited to be a part of this process.”
Coach Jones remarked about Perry, “I think Tommy gained valuable experience working under Nick Saban. We expect that he will be able to contribute a lot of things to USA football based on the knowledge that he has gained and things he has seen working at Alabama.”
The Jags will start their first-ever spring practice on Monday, March 9th.
USA Win On Buzzer Beating Shot Against FIU
South Alabama finally got to celebrate after a buzzer beating shot this season. Over the previous several weeks, USA have been on the losing end of the last second shot brigade but LaShun Watson nailed a 3-pointer as the clock expired to give the Jaguars a much needed 66-65 win Thursday night at the Mitchell Center.
USA would score first on a Ronald Douglas layup but it would be FIU who would gain the lead for the next three minutes of the game. A jumper by Brandon Davis would tie the game again at the 16:41 mark.
Over the next five minutes a team would get a small lead then the other would come back on a short run to retake a short lead. This was until the Jaguars went on an 11-0 run over a four minute span to firmly take the lead by eight at 25-17 and would not give it up again the rest of the first half. FIU would close the gap to three points with a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left in the first half to go into the locker room down 35-32.
The second half would start with USA shooting 7 for 11 from the floor while holding FIU to only 2 for 10 and taking a 10 point lead in the meantime. USA held a 10 point lead three times in the second half, once at the 11:14 mark, the second at the 9:26 mark and the third at the 5:34 mark.
However the lead would not last with FIU going on a 10-2 run with back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers by Alex Galindo while USA could only muster two free-throws during that stretch. USA was then up 62-60 when CJ Garner was fouled with 1:15 left in the game, he only made one of this two shots. Then a layup by FIU shrunk the lead to one with 1:07 left and FIU called a 30 second time out.
Watson missed a jumper with 43 seconds left that would have put USA up by three points but FIU would come away with the rebound and call another time out with 33 seconds left. Coming off the time out, FIU’s Alex Galindo hit a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left forcing USA to take a time out with 7 seconds left to set up a game tieing or game winning play.
Coach Arrow said after the game, “It was a flare play for (Dominic) Tilford, and Bryan (Sherrer) had enough about him to see they jammed him, but he found LaShun (Watson) and he nailed the shot.”
FIU’s Alex Galindo lead all in scoring with 26 points on 8-15 field goal shooting while hitting 8-11 from 3-point range and both free-throw attempts. Russell Hicks added 15 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double. Tremayne Russell also added 12 points in the losing cause.
LaShun Watson lead USA in scoring with 17 no 7-11 field goal shooting, going 2-2 from the free-throw line and hitting his only attempt at a three for the game at the buzzer. Brandon Davis added 14 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double. Ronald Douglas added another 10 points in the win. Davis’ 10th double-double of his career and leads all active USA players in that category as well as moving into 9th place all-time in rebounding in USA history.
Again, poor free-throw shooting by USA combined with 10-19 3-point shooting by FIU made for a close game.
USA improves to 14-11 for the season and evens their Sun Belt record to 7-7 while FIU falls to 10-17 and 5-9 in the SBC. USA will get a day off before hosting Florida Atlantic on Valentines day with a 7:05pm tip-off at the Mitchell Center.
So go out for an early Valentines Dinner with your special someone and then head over to the Mitchell Center to support your JAGUARS!!
Coach Joey Jones Show Recap 2009-02-11
Coach Jones is in the studio with Lee Shirvanian at Wings Sports Grill. The Joey Jones show has been extended through March thanks to Bo and Gene Bishop and others. Thus as a thanks to the Bishop’s and Wings Sports Grill I wanted to pass along their Valentines Day special which is kids eat free for those who cannot get babysitters. They have a special Mardi Gras in Mobile menu that has some really great dishes to choose from. So go visit Wings and thank them for extending the Joey Jones Show and encourage them to keep it going beyond March. Plus if you don’t order from the Mardi Gras menu, then order “The Joey Jones Special” and if they don’t know what that is remind them that its the Black and White Chicken, a dinner fit for USA Football.
Four more signees have been added to the Football program. Keairon Wilson from Davidson High School here in Mobile was being recruited by several schools and decided to go with USA late. He is a 6’ 180 pound defensive back but he can play Safety, Linebacker or something in the nickel package. He was selected first-team all-region as a senior after posting 90 tackles and five interceptions.
Darious McMullen, 6’2” 280 pound, is ranked as the 33rd top defensive lineman in the nation by Scouts.com and ranked as the 21st best player in Alabama and 5th best in the state at his position in the state. He was being recruited by Florida but something happened there, he then committed to Vanderbilt and they eventually backed out late and took another lineman. Coach Clark was in the area and found out about him, talked to him and invited him down. He liked it and wanted to think about it another week and eventually decided to come to USA.
Mardavian Martin is a 5’11” 185 pound player out of Millbrook. He was a first-team all-county and all-metro choice as a senior. Coach Jones said he could be a cover corner or receiver type. He was being recruited by Georgia Tech but his grades are a little questionable so they are going to work with him on that.
Mytez Madden is a 6’1” 195 pound true inside linebacker from Anniston. He earned honorable mention all-state and first-team all-county honors. Coach Jones said he is very physical and runs the field very well.
USA also possibly has a kicker from Davidson HS that will be a walk-on for USA. They also have another kicker that will be coming in who went to Florida then transferred to Alabama. They also have a long snapper who is a transfer from Alabama who was not able to get on the field and play.
With all of these incoming freshmen, how many of them would you want to redshirt and have around in 2013 for Division I football? Coach Jones said that this is a very difficult question to answer. They cannot answer that right now and it will be a difficult thing to do. They will know more after spring and summer workouts. They have to have the players to play in the fall but if they have pretty good depth at positions they will look to see who they can redshirt.
They will definitely have some practices open to the public but the first week will probably be closed for the first week of practice. They will have some workouts at Ladd-Peebles but since many of the students get out of class at 2pm and have class again at 6pm they cannot take a bus, dress out, work out, shower and get back for their classes so they will be having practices on campus so they can dress out, work out, go back to their dorms to shower then go to class. While it is not that bad of a situation, it is not ideal by any means. This will only be a temporary thing until the field house is complete in late May.
Coach Jones then went through the signing class that was announced on Wednesday in the Mitchell Center but could not be named at the time of the Joey Jones Show last week.
Don’t forget to visit Wings Sports Grill and thank them for extending the Joey Jone Show and order “The Joey Jones Special” which is the Black and White Chicken, you won’t regret it.
GO JAGS!
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Lady Jags Lose In Overtime On Last Second Shot
The Jaguars lost a close, heartbreaking game with a layup with 0.7 seconds left in the overtime period. Jessica Starling put up a career high in points and Ra’Shawna Sippio recorded her eighth double-double in nine games in the tough loss.
The Jags jumped out to a great start scoring seven straight points while holding WKU scoreless in the first give minutes of the first half. The Hilltoppers were cold from the floor going 0 for 9 during that stretch. USA would pull out to a 19-11 lead before WKU went on a 11-0 streak to end the first half an go into the locker room with a 22-19 lead. USA would go 0 for 7 during that streak at the end of the first half.
WKU pulled ahead by five by making a shot on their first possession of the second half, however USA would answer back with a 16-2 in the next four minutes, with 11-0 run to start it. This lead to the jags largest lead of nine points, 35-26.
Near the halfway mark of the second half, the Jaguars lead was cut down to seven at 44-37 but WKU would quickly tie the game after scoring the next seven points. WKU would gain their largest lead of the second half, 52-48, with less than five minutes to go in the second half. However USA would take the lead back less than a minute later.
USA had the lead 57-56 and coming out of a time out when USA’s Sippio scored an uncontested layup under the basket from a Shakira Nettles’ pass. A stop on the defensive end with seven seconds remaining lead to a foul by WKU sending Morriah Smith to the free-throw line. She could not convert the first of a one-and-one to seal the win.
WKU grabbed the rebound and handed the ball off to McNear where she hit a 3-pointer from the left wing to tie the game up at 59 forcing overtime.
With 32 seconds left in the overtime period, WKU had a four point lead at 66-62 when Jessica Starling sunk a 3-pointer drawing the lead to one point. USA would call a 30 second timeout with 13 seconds left. Vontrice Dennis would foul sending Arnika Brown to the foul line with 12 seconds left in overtime. Brown misses the first but makes the second to extend WKU’s lead to two points, 67-65.
Freshmen Tashly Gaines subbed in for Dennis and she was fouled with 6.7 seconds left. Gaines made both shots to tie the game with 6.7 seconds left. McNear would take the inbounds pass and drove the length of the court and made a layup with 0.7 seconds left in the overtime period sealing the victory. This last second basket was her second last second, game changing shot of the game. She sunk the 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left in the second half to send the game into overtime.
Jessica Starling scored a career hight 27 points on 9 of 19 shooting with 7-14 from outside the arch and hitting both attempts at free-throws. Ra’Shawna Sippio scored 10 and came away with 12 rebounds for her eight double-double of the season.
Amy McNear lead the hilltoppers with 20 points on 6 of 17 shooting while hitting 7 of 8 from the charity stripe and hitting her only 3-point attempt to send the game into overtime. Arnika Brown scored 19 and came away with 11 rebounds for a double-double. Kenzie Rich added 13 points as well.
For the game USA was 24-64 from the floor, 9-25 from 3-point range and 10-15 from the free-throw line. WKU was 19-65 from the floor and 3-7 from 3-point range but the telling stat was WKU going 28-34 from the free throw line. They went to the line 19 more times than the Jags. Additionally WKU outscored USA in both points off turnovers 19-7 and second change points 19-9.
USA (16-8, 7-6 SBC) will host Florida International Wednesday with tip-off scheduled for 7pm in the Mitchell Center.
Come out and support your JAGS!!!!
Western Kentucky Proves To Be Too Strong Down The Stretch For The Jaguars
WKU was too strong down the stretch for the Jaguars and won the contest in Bowling Green, 67-59. The game was broadcast on ESPN2 and Coach Arrow said, ““Fans got to see across the country what the Sun Belt is all about. Both teams made a good showing they just got some things done at the end that we didn’t.”
The Hilltoppers jumped out and dominated the first 3:57 of the game by holding them scoreless. WKU then pulled out to a 16-8 lead before they hit a cold streak for the next 4:04 allowing the Jags to tie the game.
The remainder of the first half saw the Hilltoppers pull away towards the end of the half for a 33-26 halftime lead.
Orlando Mendez-Valdez had a hot hand in the first half and that continued in the second half. The Jags pulled within two less than two minutes into the second half but Mendez-Valdez connected on one of his ten 3-point attempts to keep WKU in the lead. However by the 15:55 mark, the Jaguars took the lead, for the first time in the game, on a Ronald Douglas dunk on a pass from Domonic Tilford.
The Jaguars would pull out to their largest lead at five points at the 13:46 mark in the second half. But the Hilltoppers would not give up and would start working their way back.
After a few ties and swapping leads, the two teams would be tied for the last time on a 3-pointer by WKU with 3:47 left in the game at 59. After a timeout by USA, DeAndre Coleman would be whistled for a three second violation and USA would go scoreless for the final 3:47 of the game.
Orlando Mendez-Valdez lead all scorers with 24 on 9-20 shooting while going 6-10 from 3-point range and no free-throw attempts. AJ Slaughter and Steffphon Pettigrew both scored 13 for the Hilltoppers.
DeAndre Coleman lead USA with 13 points while three Jags scored 12: Brandon Davis, Ronald Douglas and Domonic Tilford.
The Hilltoppers record improves to 17-7 and 11-2 in the Sun Belt to stay in first place in the Eastern Division. While USA falls to 13-11 and 6-7 in the Sun Belt to be in 4th place in the Eastern Division.
The Jaguars will host Florida International at the Mitchell Center on Thursday, February 12th with tip-off slated for 7:05pm.
Come out and support your Jaguars!
Jags Win Second Straight Home Game Downing UNT
The Jaguars even their Sun Belt record at 6-6 and improves to 13-10 overall while North Texas drops to 12-10 overall and 5-6 in the conference.
The Jags lead most of the first half after UNT took the lead with the first score of the game. The Jags pulled out to a modest lead but UNT would close the gap to three at halftime, 37-34.
UNT would keep it close in the second half, getting within one point with 14:49 left in the game. The Jags would then go on a 19-3 run to gain an 11 point lead for the second time in the game, the other time was 9:38 mark in the first half.
UNT would then go on a 13-2 run of their own to take the lead for the first time since 25 seconds into the first half. But LaShun Watson would step up and drain two jumpers to score the final four points in the last 1:20 of the game.
Domonic Tilford would lead all scorers with 22 points on 6-15 shooting, also going 4-6 from 3-point range and hitting all six of this free-throws. Brandon Davis added 15 points and LaShun Watson added 14 including the final four of the game.
Ronald Douglas tied his career high with six blocks in the game in his second game back from a shoulder injury. DeAndre Coleman fouled out early in the second half without scoring any points.
North Texas had two scorers in double digits: George Odufuwa and Eric Tramiel both with 14. Tramiel also came down with 13 rebouds for a double-double.
The Jags travel to Western Kentucky for a 1pm tip-off Saturday that will be televised on ESPN2.
GO JAGS!
Determined Lady Jags Win Close Game Against North Texas
The Lady Jags hosted the North Texas Mean Green on Wednesday night after the historic announcement of the first football signing class. Those that stayed around were treated to a great game of basketball in the Mitchell Center.
USA went out to an early 6-4 lead in the first minute plus of the game but UNT went on a 19-2 run over six minutes to jump out into the lead. During that stretch USA went 1 of 8 and had seven of their 10 first half turnovers.
The Jags ratched up their defense and responded with a 15-2 run of their own to narrow the lead to just two points, 23-21, with under nine minutes left in the first half.
The lead would widen to as much as six at points during the rest of the half, but USA would not let the Mean Green get any farther away than that. Then with 4:22 left in the half, down 37-31, the Jaguars would reel off a couple scores to take a small lead at 38-37. However, UNT would drain a 3-pointer just before the half ended. to put UNT back on top.
USA would tie the game up early after halftime but the Mean Green would score six consecutive poitns over one minute to retake the lead and the momentum.
The Jags would stay strong and not allow them to get any farther ahead than six points though. This was the story of the second half, USA refusing to give in but rather keep fighting.
With the game winding down, USA was trailing 69-65 and Shakira Nettles sitting on the bench in foul trouble, Jessica Starling took over. At 3:32 she put USA back into the lead by one by draning a 3-pointer. Then two free-throws later, the Jags would lead by three, 72-69. UNT would tie the game with a long range three with 30 seconds to go. USA would score a basket to lead again but UNT would have an answer with a left-handed layup to tie it once again at 74 with six seconds left.
But a heads-up pass by Brunner to throw the ball over the top and out in front of Morriah Smith lead to her sprinting down the court for a layup and foul with 3.3 seconds left sending the crowd wild. After a time out by UNT, she easily drained the free-throw to put USA out to a 77-74 lead. A time out by USA allowed them to set their defense and UNT’s half court shot missed to preserve the win.
Shakira Nettles scored 20 to lead USA in scoring on 7-15 shooting, going 1-4 from 3-point distance and draining all 5 free-throw attempts. Jessica Starling scored 15 with 7-14 shooting and 1-2 from outside the arc. Morriah Smith rounded out the double digit scoring with 10. Ra’Shawna Sippio ended her double-double streak only scoring 8 points and coming away with 9 rebounds.
Amber Jackson of North Texas lead all players in scoring with 25 on 12-21 shooting and making one of her two free-throw attempts. She also came away with 12 rebounds to give her a double-double. Mansa El scoring 12 as the only other double-digit scorer on the team.
The Lady Jags up their record to 16-7 for the season (7-5 in the Sun Belt) while UNT falls to 7-15 overall (3-8 in the SBC). USA will next travel to Bowling Green Kentucky to face Western Kentucky Hilltoppers for a 2pm tip-off.
GO JAGS!
Jags Add A Total of 43 Players In First Ever Recruiting Class
Here are the numbers: 31 players signed National Letter of Intents, 22 of those players helped lead their teams to the state playoffs. Six players would win state championships. 19 players came from the state of Alabama, 3 of those came from Mobile itself. 3 sets of teammates signed with USA from the state of Alabama. Plus, one player signed from Montreal, Canada.
Another 12 mid-year newcomers round out the total of 43 that Coach Jones and his staff signed this year for the first recruiting class for the University of South Alabama.
Coach Jones said, “We were interested in bringing individuals with good character who are good students so that they can come to South Alabama and earn their degree.”
Also, nothing breeds success better than those with experience with success. Thus, the USA staff looked to find players from winning programs.
Since the Jaguars will begin playing football for the first time come September 5th, 2009, Coach Jones and his staff had to be very disciplined about signing players for the positions they help with. They had to be very careful not to pick up an extra player at a position that was covered while they still had need in other places.
They did an excellent job at signing good multi-position players. The highlight video compiled for the event in the Mitchell Center yesterday seemed to show several players that could play positions on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Not just your typical defensive back that can sub as a receiver, but a linebacker that can sub as a running back or receiver.
Probably the most surprising signee was Myles Gibbon from Montreal Canada. Coach Jones relayed the story of his father driving 27 hours to come to the official visit at USA then turn around and drive 27 hours back to Canada when it was over with.
The event at the Mitchell Center was very good, it was covered by all three local television stations. President Moulton spoke about the football program and showed a short video recapping the beginnings of football on campus, the board of trustees voting on football, and the hiring of Coach Jones for the head coaching position. He then turned it over to Joe Gottfried who also spoke about the process of football and hiring of Coach Jones. Then Coach Jones spoke about the overall recruiting class and their process of evaluating potential recruits. They let us all know that they probably reviewed film on over 800 players in order to whittle down to these 43 signees.
Since Les Koenning left the program earlier this year, Coach Jones introduced the quarterbacks. He then let the position coaches come to the podium and talk about the recruits by position.
Once it was finished, they presented another film with highlights of each of the signees from the previous season. The coaches then assembed in the lobby of the Mitchell Center and signed autographs for the attendees.
Below are the players who signed and comprise USA’s first ever recruiting class:
Name (Ht., Wt., Class, Pos., Hometown, Previous School)
Matt Autry (6-4, 210, Fr., DL, Norcross, Ga., Norcross HS)
Logan Bennett (6-0, 205, Fr., LB, Cairo, Ga., Cairo HS)
Corey Besteda (6-2, 175, Fr., WR, Jackson, Ala., Jackson HS)
Zach Brownell (6-1, 190, Fr., DB, Prattville, Ala., Prattville HS)
Randon Carnathan (6-2, 265, Fr., DL, Leeds, Ala., Leeds HS)
Clifton Crews (6-3, 200, Fr., LB, Atlanta, Ga., Jonesboro HS)
Marquise Diamond (5-11, 190, Fr., DB, Piedmont, Ala., Piedmont HS)
Myles Gibbon (6-2, 190, Fr., QB, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Vanier College)
Dalvin Harris (6-0, 185, Fr., LB, New Orleans, La., John Ehret HS)
Ellis Hill (5-9, 190, Fr., RB, Tuscaloosa, Ala., Hillcrest HS)
Greg Hollinger (6-4, 205, Fr., WR, Frisco City, Ala., Excel HS)
Bryson James (6-3, 200, Fr., LB, New Orleans, La., East St. John HS)
Jereme Jones (5-9, 170, Fr., WR, Mobile, Ala., McGill-Toolen HS)
Romelle Jones (6-2, 270, Fr., DL, New Orleans, La., East St. John HS)
Sean Kennedy (6-4, 300, Fr., OL, Mobile, Ala., Theodore HS)
Bryant Lavender (5-11, 180, Fr., WR, Gulfport, Miss., Gulfport HS)
Gabriel Mass (6-4, 255, Fr., DL, Jackson, Ala., Jackson HS)
Alex Page (6-2, 240, Fr., DL, Prattville, Ala., Prattville HS)
Jared Palmer (6-2, 170, Fr., WR , Tuscaloosa, Ala., Northridge HS)
Alex Phifer (5-10, 180, Fr., DB, Greenville, Ala., Greenville HS)
Devondrick Richardson (6-3, 210, Fr., LB, Clayton, Ala., Barbour County HS)
Vernon Saffold (6-3, 250, Jr., DL, Clarksdale, Miss., Coahoma [Miss.] CC)
Kyle Stewart (6-3, 225, Fr., QB, Tallahassee, Fla., Florida HS)
Josh Terry (6-3, 280, Fr., OL, Fort Payne, Ala., Fort Payne HS)
Will Thompson (6-5, 235, Fr., DL, Huntsville, Ala., Buckhorn HS)
Tony Threatt (6-3, 180, Fr., DB, Leeds, Ala., Leeds HS)
Tyler Tisdale (6-3, 265, Fr., OL, Petal, Miss., Petal HS)
Corey Waldon (5-10, 165, Fr., WR, Tuscaloosa, Ala., Central Tuscaloosa HS)
Enrique Williams (6-1, 210, Fr., LB, Mobile, Ala., Blount HS)
Montavious Williams (6-2, 270, Fr., DL, Cairo, Ga., Cairo HS)
Tyrone Williams (6-1, 200, Fr., LB, Thomasville, Ala., Thomasville HS)
Below are mid-year transfer students who enrolled in school for the spring semester:
*Heath Blount (6-6, 290, Jr., OL, Cleveland, Miss., Northeast Mississippi CC)
*Levi Slaydon (6-3, 270, Jr., OL, Picayune, Miss., Pearl River [Miss.] CC)
*Corey Pittman (6-5, 300, Jr., OL, Chickasaw, Ala., Mississippi Gulf Coast CC)
*Chris Payne (6-3, 320, Jr., OL, Vicksburg, Miss., Copiah-Lincoln [Miss.] CC)
*Steven Pease (5-11, 175, Fr., DB, Williamstown, N.J., Millford [N.Y.] Academy)
*Early James (6-2, 190, Jr., QB, Killona, La., Jones County [Miss.] JC)
*Jon Griffin (6-2, 280, Jr., OL, Ventura, Calif., Ventura [Calif.] JC)
*Chris Brunson (6-3, 300, Jr., OL, Tyler, Texas, Tyler [Texas] JC)
*Kevin Helms (6-3, 235, Jr., TE, Gulfport, Miss., Mississippi Gulf Coast CC)
*Brian Krauskopf (6-3, 285, Jr., OL, Santa Fe, Texas, Blinn [Texas] JC)
*Jordan Means (6-1, 180, Fr., PK, Hoover, Ala., Alabama)
*Limbric Windham (6-3, 175, Fr., WR, Mobile, Ala., Alma Bryant HS)
Coach Joey Jones Show Recap 2009-02-04
The entire coaching staff is at Wings Sports Grill for the Joey Jones Show. Coach Jones begins the show talking about the Signing Day Event at the Mitchell Center to present the players to everyone who is in attendance. As previously reported it will also be streamed online.
Great news as well is that the Joey Jones show will continue for a few more weeks and hopefully throughout spring practice.
At show time they have signed 27 to this point with a couple pending this afternoon but cannot name names. Coach Jones feels great about the ones they have signed and a couple have popped up late and could be great additions to the class some of them will be worked on this afternoon. Majority of recruits are from Alabama but several are from out of state. Rough numbers are about 5 GA, 2 or 3 from MS, 3 LA or so. They signed more defensive players than offensive players so probably 2/3rds are defensive players.
Did not go head-to-head against Alabama or Auburn, once they offered a scholarship USA would back off but would sometimes keep contact to make sure that everything continued to be okay. Its hard to get a kid if they think they might be able to go to Auburn or Alabama.
Coach Clark (Defensive Coordinator) speaking first on the show. They were looking for runners and hitters and stressed character, they were even looking for Defesive Lineman who can run. Emphasized speed over size, not just 40 yard dash speed but also speed in changing directions, hip speed etc. Multiple 3-4 defense so your defensive backs could be linebackers and linebackers could be defensive backs.
Kurt Crane (Linebackers) talked about the situation where if you wanted to sign about 9 linebackers you have to recruit about 65 linebackers. He praised the USA staff at doing a great job at targeting linebackers to get and actually landing them. He also cautioned the offenses that they will be playing to make sure and wear their gear and mouthpieces because these guys are going to hit and they are going to hit hard.
Brian Turner (recruiting coordinator and defensive coach) said that defensive line is going to sign 8 guys, about 4 inside and 4 outside. Some from will come from Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Louisiana I think since he was speaking pretty fast.
Duwan Walker (defensive backs coach) has ties to south Georgia area. He has been looking at speed starting with hips and then foot speed. Have been looking far and wide from New York to California for Defensive Backs.
John Turner (Offensive Line, Guards and Centers) said the they have signed about three Offensive Linemen and he is really excited about them. He also said they could turn out to be some big strong top Offensive Lineman.
Mitch Rodrigue (Offensive Line, Tackles and Tight Ends) has ties to south Mississippi and Louisiana area and Coach Jones said these areas will be a key area for USA especially with Mitch’s ties to the area so look in the future for possible big signees from these areas. He was hired in July and was a bit behind on recruiting but he has already gotten on top of recruiting for next year. They have picked up some good tight ends with good hands and can block as well.
Dameyune Craig (Wide Receivers) is known around the area and also recruits this area. He won some championships in high school and was quarterback at Auburn. He is really excited about the guys coming in. Some big guys who can run as well as smaller guys who can make you miss. There are receivers in this class he thinks can play on the next level. He thinks in two years USA will be ready to compete against the other Division I schools.
Some names will be released at press conference at 3pm but all names will be released at 4pm at the Mitchell center.
Also when asked about the Offensive Coordinator position, Coach Jones said that Tony Franklin will not be his Offensive Coordinator (unlike what was said on the WNSP morning show in speculation). He will not reveal who it is going to be but he did not rule out naming him at the Mitchell Center event this afternoon.