MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama’s offense piled up 393 yards and six touchdowns, and its defense answered with 15 sacks and 24 tackles for loss, in the Jaguars’ first fall scrimmage Saturday as the new football program continued preparations for its inaugural season.
About 1,000 people turned out to watch the scrimmage, which came at roughly the halfway point of preseason camp.
Offensive Leaders
Myles Gibbon led the first-team offense, completing 8 of 11 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown. Brennan Sim was 5 of 7 for 78 yards, and the Jaguars totaled 217 passing yards.
Courtney Smith caught three passes for 68 yards and two touchdowns and added a third scoring reception late in the day. Corey Besteda also had three catches, and Corey Waldon caught two passes for 61 yards.
Santuan McGee led the ground game with 74 yards on eight carries. Anthony Mostella ran 11 times for 55 yards, Ellis Hill had 34 yards on 10 carries and Eli Smith added 19 yards. Each of the four scored a rushing touchdown.
Defensive Leaders
Justin Dunn led the defense with 10 tackles. Clifton Crews had seven tackles, four for loss, and a team-high three sacks. Alex Phifer also had seven tackles, and Charlie Higgenbotham, Bryson James and Enrique Williams had six apiece. Josh Chestang, Andy Dalgleish and Anton Graphenreed each recorded two sacks.
Marquise Diamond produced the scrimmage’s only turnover with a second-half interception near the goal line. The defense held runners to under three yards per carry.
How the Scrimmage Unfolded
The defense controlled the early going, allowing one first down over the offense’s first four possessions. The offense then strung together four sizable runs: a 12-yard carry by Eli Smith, an 11-yard scramble by Gibbon, a 7-yard run by Smith and a 30-yard touchdown run by McGee along the left sideline.
Sim directed the offense for two series while Gibbon rested. On his return, Gibbon used a play-action fake to draw in the safeties and threw a 55-yard touchdown pass to Courtney Smith.
The defense answered on the next two series. After the offense gained 12 or more yards on three plays to reach the 15, a sack of Gibbon preceded a missed field goal by Jordan Means. On the following series, the offense reached the 24 before Hill was dropped for a 4-yard loss, and another field goal attempt missed.
Gibbon opened the second half with a drive from midfield. After McGee ran for 6 yards and Ralph Turner was stopped for a 2-yard loss on a reception, Gibbon ran for 10 yards and a first down. Three straight runs produced another first down at the 24, but a 6-yard sack left the offense facing second-and-16 from the 30. Gibbon then found Waldon for a 29-yard gain to inside the 1. Eli Smith was stopped for a 5-yard loss before scoring on the next play.
Two series later, Nick Owens completed both of his pass attempts and ran twice for 14 yards, and Eli Smith finished the drive with a 6-yard touchdown run up the middle.
Sim led a late drive, connecting with Waldon for 32 yards to set up a 13-yard touchdown run by Hill. On the final drive, Eli Smith ran for 9 and 4 yards before Owens threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Courtney Smith.
Third-down stops by the defense contributed to four missed field goal attempts. The defense stopped Mostella short of a first down on a reception in the red zone, forced two three-and-outs and halted another drive by stopping Eli Smith short on fourth-and-3 from the 13.
Jones Assesses the Scrimmage
“I thought it was a good day, it was a typical first scrimmage. The guys were a little nervous out there with the crowd,” head coach Joey Jones said. “But that’s the reason you do this, to get them exposed to game situations. We have two more weekends to do this.”
“The effort was there, though we did get a little tired towards the end,” Jones said. “The biggest thing the guys need to take from today is to learn from their experiences out there.”
Jones said the offense ran the ball better and connected on several long throws. “I was proud of the way that the quarterbacks controlled things on the field, and our running backs are really coming along,” he said. “I think we can stick any of our running backs on the field and they will make plays.”
He also pointed to negative plays on first down. “We had too many plays on first down where we lost eight or 10 yards,” Jones said. “In a scrimmage situation, they realize what a problem it is to overcome second-and-18.”
On defense, Jones said, “I think our team speed is very good. We need to find a couple more guys who can play in the secondary and come through for us. … We’ve got to do a better job of preventing big plays.”
Gibbon on the Offense and the Crowd
“It went well today. We did a little better than I think we should have, because it’s harder for the offense going against a defense that has seen our plays for a couple of weeks now,” Gibbon said. “We had some ups and downs, but overall I thought we did pretty well.”
Gibbon credited the offensive line. “Our front five blocked well every time we made a big play today,” he said. “Any time a quarterback can drop back and not feel pressured by the rush, he’s going to be able to throw the ball up and complete some long passes.”
Of the turnout, Gibbon said, “It was interesting, this was bigger than anything I’ve seen back home. It’s nice to have that support and have a lot of people come out.” He added that players were tired and sore after two weeks of camp.
Halfway Through Camp
“What I told the kids is that we’ve been on the field for two weeks. We have two more weeks, and then we have a game week, so we’re really just halfway through camp,” Jones said. “We’re not a finished product yet. If we get a little better every day, we’ll be fine in a couple of weeks.”
With classes beginning Monday, Aug. 17, the Jaguars will move practice to 3:30 p.m.
