MOBILE, Ala. — The Sun Belt Conference on Monday named 11-year-old Colby Sawyer, the newest signee of the South Alabama football team, its Honorary Football Player of the Week. Colby Sawyer joined head coach Joey Jones at the Jaguars’ weekly news conference, where Jones and two players looked back on Saturday’s bowl-clinching win over Texas State and ahead to this week’s game at South Carolina.
A Signee Through Team IMPACT
Sawyer signed a National Letter of Intent with South Alabama a week ago through Team IMPACT, an organization that matches children facing chronic or life-threatening illnesses with college teams. Sawyer was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in June 2012 and underwent more than a year of chemotherapy as a patient at USA Children’s and Women’s Hospital.
Team IMPACT has placed 560 children with 280 schools in 37 states.
After signing, Sawyer received his own locker, jersey and team gear. He made his first appearance with the Jaguars on Saturday against Texas State, riding the team bus to the stadium, taking part in pregame warmups, listening to Jones address the team and leading the Jaguars onto the field. He was on the sideline for the rest of the game.
“Colby has impressed all of us throughout the Sun Belt with his spirit for the Jags and his inspiration to the team,” Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson said. “Colby is unquestionably deserving of this award and all of the recognition that he has received.”
Senior Derek Westbrook, a member of South Alabama’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, helped make the partnership possible. Westbrook represented South Alabama at the Sun Belt’s SAAC conference in New Orleans this past summer. He is also a member of the Jaguars’ cross country team, which won the Sun Belt title this season and was recognized at halftime of a recent game.
Jones: ‘A Game I Will Remember’
South Alabama rallied from a 10-point deficit and held on in the final seconds to beat Texas State, earning its sixth win and bowl eligibility.
“What a great win that was for our football program, that’s a game I will remember for the rest of my life,” Jones said. He said the Jaguars won “with our backs up against the wall when we had to win it.”
Quarterback Hunter Vaughn started for South Alabama despite having had few practice repetitions this season until the last week or two. Jones said the staff chose Vaughn because of his ability to both run and throw.
“It’s amazing to me what he was able to do in a situation like that, it was such a big game, with hardly any reps during the season,” Jones said. “He did a tremendous job, it was fun to watch and see his composure out there.”
Preparing for South Carolina
South Alabama travels to Columbia, S.C., to face South Carolina of the Southeastern Conference on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CST. It is the Jaguars’ second game against an SEC opponent this season.
“They are a very talented football team, it will be a great challenge for us to go to Columbia, but one that our kids look forward to,” Jones said. He noted that the Gamecocks have lost a number of close games and said he evaluates teams by their players rather than their records.
Jones singled out South Carolina running back Mike Davis, calling him the best back the Jaguars will have faced this season, and pointed to the Gamecocks’ receivers and large, athletic offensive line.
To prepare for crowd noise, Jones said the Jaguars will continue to practice with loud music, as they always have, and that their signal-based play calling limits what players need to hear. He added that he had not thought about South Carolina until Saturday night because of how much the team put into the Texas State game.
Jones said the defense under coordinator Travis Pearson will not change its approach. “Against these guys, you better fill your gap, if you leave the gap open that running back is gone,” he said.
Maleki Harris Returns
Linebacker Maleki Harris returned against Texas State after missing time with an injury. He said the Jaguars stayed calm at halftime after committing three turnovers early in the game.
“There was no panic or fear; everybody was cool and calm,” Harris said. “It was time for us to throw some punches and stop taking them.”
Harris said the team celebrated becoming bowl eligible but is not satisfied. “We’re not happy with just six wins,” he said.
Looking ahead to South Carolina, Harris noted the Gamecocks’ big offensive line, which uses wide splits, along with a good running back and a solid quarterback. “We’re never going to back down or shy away from a challenge,” he said.
Timmons on a Milestone Win
Running back Terrance Timmons said the offense steadied itself after two early fumbles against Texas State.
“If we can get through that and still come out with a win, there’s no telling what we can do when we don’t stop ourselves,” Timmons said.
Timmons said the players take pride in potentially being the first South Alabama team to play in a bowl game but have turned their attention to South Carolina. He said the team welcomes the underdog role and has full confidence in Vaughn if quarterback Brandon Bridge is not available.
“We can win any game we play,” Timmons said.
Update: Game Information and Notes
South Alabama (6-4) and South Carolina (5-5) kick off at 11 a.m. CST Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C. The game will be televised on Fox Sports South and carried on Lite Mix 99.9 FM in Mobile and on the iHeartRadio platform. South Carolina is favored by 25.5 points.
The Jaguars lost their home opener to Mississippi State 35-3, their other game against a Southeastern Conference opponent this season.
South Alabama turned the ball over four times against Texas State, including three fumbles on consecutive possessions in its own territory, but allowed only 10 points off those three turnovers. The Jaguars committed two turnovers in their first five wins combined and 11 in their four losses. They have rushed for more than 150 yards in each of their six wins.
Hunter Vaughn has prepared this week as the starter because it is not known whether Brandon Bridge will be fully recovered from his injury. The starting quarterback decision may not be announced until shortly before kickoff.
South Carolina, coached by Steve Spurrier, is one win from bowl eligibility for a 10th consecutive season. The Gamecocks close the regular season next week against rival Clemson.
