MOBILE, Ala. — Coming off Saturday’s win over Nicholls State, South Alabama is preparing for another milestone: the first road game in the football program’s history. The Jaguars will face Edward Waters at 3 p.m. Saturday at Rip Hewes Stadium in Dothan as part of the Wiregrass Football Classic.
Quarterback Situation Unsettled
Quarterback Myles Gibbon, who left the Nicholls State game in the first quarter with a knee injury, is listed as day-to-day and questionable for Saturday. Coaches said the starter will be determined during the week and put the likelihood of Gibbon starting at less than 50 percent. Senior quarterback Brennan Sim played in the win over Nicholls State.
Scouting Edward Waters
Edward Waters earned its first win of the season Saturday, defeating a club team from New Orleans 26-21 to improve to 1-3. The Tigers have allowed an average of nearly 56 points per game. Edward Waters runs a spread offense and throws the ball frequently, which will test the depth of the Jaguars’ secondary.
Jones Warns Against Letdown
Head coach Joey Jones said the players are excited to play away from home for the first time, calling it another step forward for the young program. The staff is planning the trip to keep the routine as close as possible to a home game.
Speaking at Monday’s media day, Jones said he had told his players they must keep improving after the Nicholls State win.
“The bottom line is that I told our players we have got to get better. I know it’s a coaching cliché, but we’ll be better down the road if we really improve,” Jones said. “We had some glaring weaknesses in the game [Saturday], and we know that. The way you get better is by fixing them, by looking at yourself through clear glasses and not rose-colored glasses.”
“When you look at teams that get better during the year, they have weaknesses that they go back and fix them and become really hard to beat,” he continued. “Everybody is going to have some weaknesses, so we have to be man enough to admit them and do all we can as a staff and as players to fix them. I’m worried about us — that’s what you always worry about in a game like this after a big game, having a letdown.”
“We have some very tough teams to play on our schedule down the road, and the only way we’re going to be able to play well against them is by getting better between now and then,” Jones said. “If every player gets five percent better, we’re going to be a much better football team.”
Joseph E. Gottfried Drive
The university announced Tuesday that its Board of Trustees passed a resolution authorizing President Gordon Moulton to name a campus street in honor of retired athletic director Joe Gottfried. The road that runs past the intramural fields to the football field house on the west side of campus will be named Joseph E. Gottfried Drive.
Gottfried was instrumental in the university’s efforts to add football and in its eventual adoption of the sport. During his tenure, South Alabama won the Sun Belt Conference’s Vic Bubas Cup, which recognizes overall athletic excellence in the league, 10 times in a 13-year span while winning 104 conference titles. The university has sent 54 teams to NCAA championship events, had 123 individuals qualify for NCAA postseason competition and produced two national champions.
Gottfried retired in August 2009 after 28 years of service to the university.
