MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama football coach Joey Jones said the Jaguars have installed roughly 85 to 90 percent of their game plan after two days of fall camp, and the team added shoulder pads Thursday as the program’s first preseason continued.
The Jaguars are preparing for their inaugural season. Full pads are scheduled for Saturday morning.
Wednesday: Building on Day One
The second day of camp on Wednesday began at 7 a.m. and lasted more than two hours, with players again in helmets and shorts. The session largely followed the structure of the opening practice.
Practice opened with about 15 minutes of special teams work, with the emphasis shifting to punt returns. Roughly 20 minutes of position drills followed before the offensive and defensive units split into combined groups.
The full defense worked on trapping ball carriers near the sideline while quarterbacks threw to running backs. The offensive line then joined to run through formations and plays.
Near the midpoint of practice, the offense and defense went against each other for about 15 minutes. That period opened with 7-on-7 skeleton passing drills pitting quarterbacks, running backs and receivers against linebackers and defensive backs, while the offensive and defensive lines met in one-on-one pass protection drills. About five minutes of 11-on-11 work followed.
For roughly the final 45 minutes, each side of the ball worked on its own half of the field. The offense continued through formations, motions and plays, while the defense worked on formations and personnel substitutions based on down and distance.
Install Nearly Complete
Jones said the staff has installed almost the entire game plan with the team still two days from practicing in full pads. He has said on the Coach Joey Jones Show that he prefers to introduce the full system early, then narrow the focus and build back up.
Jones said the offense typically develops more slowly than the defense early in camp.
“Offensively, you’re always going to be behind the defense early on,” Jones said. “That’s just because defense is easier to play mentally. What I’ve told the coaches that we have to do is make sure that we get as many players as we can involved now. To evaluate them, we need to get them reps – once we get to game week we will be getting the ones who are going to play ready. We have time now to make sure that we evaluate kids, so we want to make sure we do that and get them all on the field if we can.”
Jones said the team showed improvement from the first day.
“I thought we got better. The intensity level was higher and the concentration level was better today,” Jones said. “I’m sure that was because of what everyone learned from yesterday’s practice. If we can continue to do that we will keep getting better. I saw some kids who made improvements too, so I’m pleased right now.”
Thursday: Shoulder Pads Go On
The Jaguars practiced again at 7 a.m. Thursday, wearing shoulder pads for the first time this fall, and several drills changed from the first two days.
Special teams again opened practice for about 15 minutes, with the focus on punt and kickoff coverage.
After 11-on-11 periods of about 15 minutes on each of the first two days, the team spent about 30 minutes in 11-on-11 work on running plays Thursday. Between those periods, the offense ran plays against the defensive front seven and safeties. Each side also spent about 15 minutes working on its game plan against a scout team.
Early in practice, quarterbacks threw to wide receivers in one-on-one coverage against cornerbacks for about 10 minutes, and the team added about 10 minutes of 7-on-7 skeleton passing.
Intensity Rises
Jones said Thursday’s practice may have been more intense than he wanted without full pads, with plenty of talk between the two sides.
“That’s good. I would rather pull the reins back than try to get them going,” Jones said.
Jones said wearing shoulder pads is intended to help prevent injuries rather than increase contact.
“It’s tough falling on the ground when you’re not wearing them. I wish we could use them most of the time,” he said.
Running back Santuan McGee said the offense must match the defense’s physical play.
“We’ve got to be more physical if we’re going to be able to pound the ball like coach Gregory wants us to. He’s told us that if we can run first it will open up the passing game for us,” McGee said, referring to offensive coordinator Greg Gregory. “There was a lot more flying around out there today. The defense definitely got after us, so we just need to make sure we match their intensity come tomorrow and Saturday.”
Film Focus on the Interior
Jones said the staff will evaluate every position on film from the expanded 11-on-11 work, with particular attention to the offensive and defensive linemen and linebackers.
“Sometimes they get lost in the shuffle at practice,” Jones said. “When you watch a ball fly through the air and a guy catches a touchdown pass that’s great, but I didn’t see the guard make that key block to keep his man from getting to the quarterback.”
Quarterbacks and Secondary
Jones said quarterbacks Myles Gibbon and Nick Owens threw the ball well, and that redshirt junior transfer Brennan Sim also threw better on the third day.
Jones said a primary concern for the staff is finding players in the secondary who can step up and make plays.
