MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama football will open fall camp under the lights, with the Jaguars scheduled to take the practice field at 6:30 p.m. Thursday for the first session of preseason workouts.
The evening start is a change of pace for head coach Joey Jones, who has generally favored early morning practices. The Jaguars will practice at 6:30 p.m. on each of the first three days of camp, Thursday through Saturday, before taking a day off.
Camp Schedule
After the opening three evening sessions, South Alabama will return to morning practices with five consecutive days of workouts beginning at 7:15 a.m., including individual drills and full squad work.
Other key dates on the preseason calendar:
- Thursday, Aug. 9: Two-a-day practices.
- Saturday, Aug. 11: First scrimmage, 8 a.m.
- Sunday, Aug. 12: Day off.
- Thursday, Aug. 16: Two-a-day practices.
- Friday, Aug. 17: Off-campus team activity.
- Saturday, Aug. 18: Second scrimmage, 8 a.m.
- Monday, Aug. 20: Day off; first day of fall semester classes.
- Thursday, Aug. 23: Final preseason scrimmage.
- Saturday, Aug. 25: Day off.
The final scrimmage falls one week before South Alabama opens the season against UT-San Antonio.
Jones: Players Are Ready
Jones said the team is eager to get started after a summer in which NCAA rules kept coaches off the practice field with players.
“We’re very excited. We’ve had a chance to get away from each other a little bit this summer because we can’t practice,” Jones said. “But you can see the look in everyone’s eyes, they are ready to go. I know the players and coaches are looking forward to this year, so it is a pretty exciting time.”
Offseason Work and Leadership
South Alabama is preparing for a full Division I schedule and its first Sun Belt Conference slate. Most of the more than 100 players in the program have been training since January.
“We challenged our kids back in January when they returned to school. We needed to have a great offseason through the spring and a great spring training, and the summer was very critical for our chances to be successful in the fall,” Jones said. “I think they have done what they needed to do. They were challenged early, and I think they followed through.”
Jones said the team has 13 captains, each of whom leads a group of players, and the staff has met with those groups weekly.
“I have really seen our leadership grow in the last six months, it has been incredible,” Jones said. “We’ve finally got more older individuals too, guys who have been around the program four years. So our leadership has started to stand out, which I think will have a positive effect on this team.”
