MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama began its Kent State preparation Tuesday with a full-pads practice that lasted more than two hours, as the Jaguars started working toward their Sept. 6 season opener against the Golden Flashes.
Head coach Joey Jones said the defense continues to improve and understand its assignments, and that the offense executed better than it had in Monday’s practice. He said the team is coming together.
“It was our first day to work on our first opponent, so most of the practice was geared toward that,” Jones said. “But you always have to work on fundamentals, you’ve can’t ever forget that aspect of the game.”
Jereme Jones Named Offensive Player of the Day
Wide receiver Jereme Jones earned offensive player of the day. Offensive coordinator Robert Matthews pointed to his attendance and preparation.
“Jeremé has had every rep this camp,” Matthews said. “He has not missed a practice. He comes in, prepares and really takes care of his body. He is really working hard and is in great shape, and that allows him to be productive on the field.”
Entire Defense Shares Honor
Defensive coordinator Travis Pearson gave defensive player of the day to the whole unit, saying leaders are emerging. He said the defense started slowly before a few players took charge.
“These kids are starting to grow up, and there are some leaders starting to develop,” Pearson said. “We had two or three guys take over and call the defense out, and practice immediately sped up. That’s really exciting for me to see, because I don’t play on Saturdays.”
“I want them to embrace this defense and know that this is their defense, and I’m just along for the ride,” he said. “I know they are excited to play and I’m excited to watch them play, but we still have to put that hay in the barn.”
Practice Highlights
The workout included one team period of about 10 minutes. During that stretch, Davin Hawkins made a diving deflection of a pass intended for Jereme Jones, which was named the play of the day. Margo Reed had the day’s only takeaway, intercepting a pass along the right sideline in the team period.
Special teams worked on kickoff coverage early in practice, and punt coverage closed the session.
After 7-on-7 drills, the offense and defense moved to separate fields and worked against the scout team for about 20 minutes to begin installing plans for Kent State.
