MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama is taking advantage of a three-week gap between games to get an early start on preparing for Army Prep and its triple-option offense ahead of the Jaguars’ Sept. 26 game.
The long South Alabama layoff before Army Prep is a product of the limited schedule in the program’s inaugural football season. Head coach Joey Jones and his staff have used the time to address areas that need improvement from the opener against Hargrave Academy and to get ready for an offense the Jaguars rarely see.
Offensive Focus
South Alabama’s offensive work this week has centered on the red zone, an area Jones said the team struggled with against Hargrave Academy. The offense has also worked on first-down production, third-down situations and, every day this week, picking up the blitz.
Defending the Option
The defense has spent the week working against the base plays of the triple option. Jones said the extra time is valuable against a scheme few players see growing up today.
“Kids nowadays don’t grow up playing in that offense,” Jones said. “When I grew up pretty much everyone ran the option, so it was nothing to go out there, line up and know where you were supposed to go – but, you just don’t see it any more. You have to be very disciplined to play against the option. That’s why the Armys and the Navys are very successful in Division I football. They play teams with better athletes, but the offense is a great equalizer.”
Practice and Health
Jones said practice has gone better than he expected, with the exception of Tuesday’s session, when the offense went through a lull.
“I think that we have practiced much better than I would have anticipated,” Jones said.
The break has also allowed players to recover from injuries suffered in the opener. All but one have cleared up. John Mark Patrick, who left the Hargrave Academy game late with what appeared to be a knee injury, has not returned to practice this week. Jones said the team is about 99 percent healthy, which he called unusual for late September, while noting the Jaguars have played only one game.
South Alabama will take a three-day weekend before beginning game-week preparations for the Army Prep Black Knights on Monday.
