MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama opens the South Alabama 2012 season Saturday against Texas-San Antonio at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, beginning the most demanding schedule in the young program’s history.
The Jaguars went 23-4 over their first three seasons, including undefeated campaigns in each of the first two. Last fall they played Football Bowl Subdivision opponents for the first time, facing two FBS teams. This season South Alabama competes as a transitional FBS member and plays its first full Division I schedule, including a full eight-game Sun Belt Conference slate. Football Championship Subdivision member Nicholls State is the only non-FBS opponent on the schedule.
Because the season ends with a trip to Hawaii, the Jaguars are able to play 13 games in 14 weeks.
Jones: Depth Is the Biggest Challenge
Head coach Joey Jones said the program’s recent shift in recruiting is the key issue as it moves up.
“I think the biggest challenge for us, especially early, will be the depth on our team,” Jones said. “We’ve been recruiting to Division I really just this year. Now that doesn’t mean we don’t have any Division I football players, we do.”
Jones said opponents that have been recruiting at the Division I level for years with 85 scholarships are likely to have an advantage in numbers, particularly on the offensive and defensive lines.
He also pointed to the pace of the schedule. “The most difficult thing is playing 13 games in 14 weeks for us and playing pretty much all Division I opponents,” Jones said. In previous seasons the Jaguars played seven, 10 and 10 games with open weeks to prepare. This year, he said, the team will get three or four days of practice before each game and then move on to the next one.
A New Offense
Robert Matthews takes over as offensive coordinator, replacing Greg Gregory. Matthews, who learned the spread offense at Oklahoma State and Southern Miss, is installing a no-huddle, up-tempo attack designed to keep defenses from substituting and to use the Jaguars’ depth at the skill positions.
The offensive line has three new starters. Senior Trey Clark and sophomore Melvin Meggs return, and Drew Dearman, Chris May and Shaun Artz step into the starting group. Ucambre Williams is among the reserves, and Kentucky transfer James Elliott could be available if he receives a hardship waiver from the NCAA. The unit is the largest offensive line South Alabama has fielded.
C.J. Bennett returns as the starting quarterback. Virginia transfer Ross Metheny is the backup, and redshirt freshman Trey Fetner is third on the depth chart.
Running backs Demetre Baker, Kendall Houston and Ellis Hill return, along with Brandon Ross, who is back from a knee injury, and redshirt freshman Terrance Timmons. Returning wide receivers include Jereme Jones, Bryant Lavender, T.J. Glover, Corey Besteda and Tyrome Bivins, and true freshman Cameron Broadnax worked with the group in preseason camp. With two tight ends lost to graduation, Greg Hollinger moved from wide receiver to tight end, where he joins junior college transfer Wes Saxton.
Defense Led by Linebackers
Senior linebacker Jake Johnson leads a linebacker corps that also includes Clifton Crews, Enrique Williams, Maleki Harris, Bryson James, Ben Giles and Cordivido Grice.
Up front, ends Anthony Taylor, Romelle Jones, Alex Page and Will Thompson return, joined by junior college transfer Pat Moore. Randon Carnathan and Andy Dalgleish, who led the interior linemen last season, return at nose tackle and tackle, with Montavious Williams, Rodney Thomas and Shane Doty adding depth. Doty moved over from the offensive line.
In the secondary, Alabama transfer B.J. Scott returns at safety. Newcomers Darrius Morrow and Tyrell Pearson are expected to start, and Alonzo Long will line up at free safety. Gabe Loper, who led the returning defensive backs in interceptions last season, is also in the rotation.
Special Teams
Michel Chapuseaux takes over placekicking duties, and Scott Garber returns as the punter.
The Schedule
After UTSA, South Alabama plays Nicholls State before road games at N.C. State and Mississippi State. The Jaguars then host Troy in the program’s first Sun Belt Conference game. Following their lone open week, they travel to defending Sun Belt champion Arkansas State. The rest of the schedule includes Florida Atlantic at home, Louisiana-Monroe on the road, FIU at home, North Texas on the road, Middle Tennessee at home and road games at Louisiana-Lafayette and Hawaii. South Alabama completes its two-year transition to FBS at the end of this season.
“We want to be competitive. We want to win every game that we play,” Jones said. “That’s our goal. Now, is that going to be tough to do? Sure. I understand that it will be.”
Jones said the team will prepare each week to win while recognizing the difficulty of the schedule. “Bottom line, every week that we play we’ve got to prove something,” he said. “We’re representing a lot of people, not just our football program but the university.”
