MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama completed the final practices of its first fall camp with a two-a-day session Thursday, and head coach Joey Jones said Saturday’s scrimmage will be a key evaluation as the staff sorts out its depth chart for the program’s inaugural season.
Morning Session
The Jaguars took the field at 7 a.m. in shells. Practice opened with special teams work on field goals, followed by position drills. The team then split into groups, with receivers and defensive backs working one-on-one while the offensive and defensive lines went against each other. A 7-on-7 period followed, leading into full-squad passing plays.
The offense and defense then moved to opposite ends of the field to work against scout teams before the first and second units closed the session with two-minute drills.
Freshman quarterback Myles Gibbon led the first two-minute drive and connected with freshman receiver Corey Besteda for a 45-yard gain down the left sideline, but time expired with the offense inside the 10-yard line. On the second drive, junior Brennan Sim and freshman Nick Owens shared snaps at quarterback, and the possession ended in a field goal.
Afternoon Walk-Through
The afternoon session was lighter, with players out of pads and focused on plays for the scrimmage. The team worked mostly in position groups, with some 7-on-7 passing and 11-on-11 running drills, and receivers spent time on blocking.
Scrimmage as Evaluation
Jones said the scrimmage will help the coaches decide who will start and who will play on the second team.
“Number one is that it’s a great evaluation process for the kids,” Jones said. “They’re under the gun so to speak, and they’re out there in a live situation. They know the pressure is on them, so we’ll see how they react in a game-type situation. It’s more of an evaluation time. We’ve been teaching fundamentals all week long, and we’re going to treat it like a game and see how they perform when the lights are on.”
Jones cautioned that one scrimmage will not necessarily decide starting jobs, noting that a player could perform well and still be well behind another at his position. At several positions, however, players are close enough that a strong showing will move them up the depth chart.
Jones said the staff plans to run about 120 plays and will try to get every player into the scrimmage, with the first and second units receiving more snaps than the third and fourth.
Jones identified two areas of concern. “We have depth at a lot of positions. I’m worried about the secondary, and I’m worried about the tight end situation,” he said. “In those two areas we don’t have as much depth, but the other positions I feel good about. We’ve got players that can fill in.”
Running Backs Under Review
Running backs coach Tommy Perry said he wants more than one back to emerge.
“You’ve got to have at least two, and if you’ve got three that really helps. That third guy has got to be able to do a little of everything,” Perry said. “The guy that’s going to be playing the most is the guy that can do everything the best.”
Perry said he will focus on two things Saturday: yards after contact and pass protection.
“We’ve got something we call Jag yards, and those offensive linemen do a great job of opening holes,” he said. “I’m looking for the guys that get the extra yards. After contact how many yards are we picking up, and how sharp and crisp are we in pass protection. Those are the two big things I’m looking for.”
The Jaguars will rest Friday before returning for the scrimmage at 9 a.m. Saturday. Family Fan Day will follow, closing out fall camp.
