MOBILE, Ala. — True freshman Myles Gibbon has won the starting quarterback job at South Alabama and will lead the Jaguars into the first game in program history Saturday against Hargrave Military Academy at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, offensive coordinator Greg Gregory said Tuesday.
Gregory and head coach Joey Jones discussed the opener on the Joey Jones Show with host Lee Shirvanian, broadcast from Wings Sports Grill on Airport Boulevard.
Gibbon Wins Quarterback Competition
Gregory said the three quarterbacks in camp — Gibbon, Brennan Sim and Nick Owen — received an equal number of repetitions, and that Gibbon separated himself while showing maturity beyond a typical freshman. Gibbon is 20 years old. Gregory said Sim and Owen remain close to Gibbon in the competition.
Gibbon, a Canadian, is listed at 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds. Gregory said the freshman is expected to run the 40-yard dash in 4.5 to 4.6 seconds and has the arm strength to throw deep, though the staff will need to see him in a game to judge his accuracy. Asked whether Gibbon’s background in Canada raised questions about the level of competition he had faced, Gregory said it initially might have, but that it was no longer a concern after watching Gibbon work against the Jaguars’ defense over several weeks. Gregory said Gibbon could compete right away at most programs.
Jones said the Jaguars will not rotate quarterbacks. He said he prefers to play one quarterback but believes either Sim or Owen could step in and win a game if needed.
Gregory said the first thing he looks for in a quarterback is one who will not lose the game, and the second is one who can make big plays to help win it. Jones described Gibbon as a soft-spoken leader whose confidence carries over to his teammates.
Jones said a South Alabama assistant first saw Gibbon at a football camp and began recruiting him. He said many schools avoid recruiting Canadian players because their high school coursework differs from that in the United States, requiring additional classes to meet NCAA eligibility standards.
Asked whether the Jaguars would use a direct-snap formation similar to the Wildcat, both coaches said no, noting that Gibbon is capable of running the ball as effectively as a running back.
Running Game and Offensive Approach
Gregory said Brandon Ross is the Jaguars’ No. 1 running back and should get most of the carries, though the team will rotate backs. He said two or three other running backs could step in if needed, and some will be used in specific situations based on blocking or pass-catching ability.
Gregory described South Alabama as a one-back offense, not a spread team, featuring power running and passing with some option plays. He said an offensive game plan starts with what a team does best — plays the Jaguars will use in every game, adjusted by formation to the opposing defense — and then adds new wrinkles designed to produce big plays.
Scouting Hargrave
Hargrave opened its season over the weekend with a 63-3 win over Radford, a club team in its second year. Jones said Hargrave has lost only two games over the previous two seasons and fields a roster loaded with players headed to Division I programs. He said he knows of nine of the 13 Hargrave defensive players who have committed to Division I schools.
Jones said Hargrave’s offensive line is better than last year’s and possibly the best in several years, which is a concern for his staff. He said the Hargrave defensive front and secondary also have good players and that his team must prevent big plays on both sides of the ball. Jones said he read that Hargrave selects from about 3,000 players a year who attend roughly five camps.
Jones said the South Alabama defensive line may be undersized compared with Hargrave’s offensive line, but its players are quick and agile and have the footwork to use their speed. He said he does not want his players focused on what Hargrave will do but on their own play, and he believes the team’s conditioning and preparation will help.
Because Hargrave’s roster turns over heavily each year, Jones said it is difficult to get a read on Hargrave, while Hargrave faces the same problem preparing for a South Alabama team that has never played a game. Jones said effective halftime adjustments will be critical. With both teams young and inexperienced, he said, the side that makes fewer mistakes will likely win. He said he has asked his players to consider how they will handle the crowd and respond to mistakes such as a missed block.
Gregory has recruited Hargrave for about 20 years and has a good relationship with its head coach. Gregory said that when he told the Hargrave coach he was taking the South Alabama job, the coach responded that he wanted to bring his team to play the Jaguars.
Crowd Expectations
Jones said many people in the area have told him they plan to attend the opener, including some who said they will stay home rather than travel to watch Alabama play Virginia Tech the same day. Jones said he estimates a crowd of about 35,000 if the weather is good.
Health, Heat and Game-Day Details
Jones said the Jaguars are mostly healthy, with two or three players’ status pending. His biggest concern is the flu, as a couple of players have had flu-like symptoms.
To prevent cramping, Jones said players will take in plenty of fluids before the game and on the sideline, add salt to their diets and maintain enough body fat, explaining that players with low body fat begin burning muscle once they exhaust their carbohydrates. The forecast called for temperatures of 85 to 88 degrees. Jones said he would prefer 95 to 98 degrees, believing the heat would favor his team.
The Jaguars will wear standard cleats. Jones said the turf at Ladd-Peebles Stadium is cut slightly shorter than the practice field, making it a little faster, and he wants the team to work out at the stadium once more before the game.
Jones said South Alabama will dress about 96 players, about 50 of them on scholarship, and that the roster is currently split roughly evenly between scholarship players and walk-ons.
Asked how the staff keeps players out of trouble, Jones said coaches cannot monitor them at all times. He noted that the NCAA no longer allows athletic dorms like the ones he and Gregory lived in as college players, so players live in general student housing or apartments. He said part of recruiting is finding disciplined players and disciplining those who need it.
