South Alabama Wraps Practice Before Saturday Scrimmage With Deepest Offensive Line in Program History
South Alabama held its final practice before Saturday's second preseason scrimmage, an open session at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The Jaguars return several offensive line letterwinners and have their deepest line in program history.
MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama held its final workout Thursday before the second scrimmage of preseason camp, which will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium and is open to the public. The team is taking part in off-field team-building activities Friday.
Practice Rundown
Practice opened with individual and position drills, followed by kickoff coverage. The Jaguars returned to position work before the offense came together as a unit ahead of a break.
After the break, the team ran 7-on-7 drills and then worked offense against defense for more than half an hour. Practice ended with special teams work on punts and punt returns.
Deepest Line in Program History
South Alabama enters the season with the largest and deepest offensive line in its short history. Shaun Artz, Drew Dearman, Chris May and Ucambre Williams are returning letterwinners, and Matt Calcagnini also saw action in 2012.
The Jaguars will be without Melvin Meggs, who will miss the 2013 season with an injury, and must replace center Trey Clark, who started every game of his four seasons at South Alabama before graduating.
When Williams was injured last season, May stepped into the lineup and was named to the Sun Belt Conference All-Freshman Team by beat writers.
Redshirts Ready to Compete
Daniel Aust, Steven Foster, Clay Machen and Joseph Scelfo, who each redshirted last season, will compete for playing time. Each was rated as a multi-star prospect by national recruiting services.
Aust is the lightest of the group at 280 pounds. May, Calcagnini, Scelfo, Shane Doty and Williams each weigh 290, Dearman and Machen are 310, and Darius McKeller is the heaviest at 325.
Tempo a Priority
The staff has sought leaner, quicker linemen to block more athletic defensive linemen and linebackers. Offensive coordinator Robert Matthews’ spread offense requires linemen to move quickly, and head coach Joey Jones and his staff want to play at a faster tempo than last season.
South Alabama, entering its second season as a full member of the Sun Belt Conference and the Football Bowl Subdivision, opens the season in less than two weeks.
