MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama head coach Joey Jones turned 50 on Monday, but his attention was on Saturday’s home game against Florida International. Jones spent the day studying film, running practice and planning for the Panthers, though reminders of the occasion came at practice, at his weekly press conference and at the 1st & 10 Club.
A Light Monday Practice
“We just had an hour and 10 minute practice, reviewing the special teams and installing the special teams gameplan for this week,” Jones said Monday afternoon. “Then we had about a 40-minute segment with the offense and defense, what we wanted to install. It was really a light practice, more of a mental practice today.”
Special Teams Under the Microscope
Jones said the Jaguars’ special teams fell short of their usual standard in last week’s loss to Louisiana-Monroe.
“That shows you you’ve got to bring your A game every week,” Jones said. “I don’t know that we were satisfied with where we were, we just had a bad game on special teams. It shows you, I think that was a major factor in that game with field position and the blocked punt, they really whipped us on kickoff team and they stopped us deep in our territory except for once.”
Jones said field position has a direct effect on the defense. “That makes a big difference on defense when they are starting their drives on the 30 or 35 as opposed to the 18 or 20,” he said.
Linebackers Lead the League
Senior linebacker Jake Johnson leads the Sun Belt Conference in tackles per game at 9.6. Through eight games, Johnson has 77 total tackles, including 40 solo stops, along with 10.5 tackles for loss, three quarterback hurries, one sack and a fumble recovery.
Enrique Williams ranks third in the conference at 9.4 tackles per game. He has 75 tackles in eight games, with 31 solo stops, five tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.
FIU at Ladd-Peebles
South Alabama and FIU kick off at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. FIU is scheduled to leave the Sun Belt after this season to join Conference USA, as is North Texas.
