MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama practice shifted from full pads to shells Tuesday morning, a change head coach Joey Jones said was meant to save energy late in a long season without lowering the intensity of the work.
“We just felt like we’re at least 13 or 14 weeks into practice, and this just gives them a little (break),” Jones said. “We didn’t practice any different, we just took the pads off. A lot of teams go to that late in the year to just give them a little mental break.”
Backups Get Work
A focus of the session was getting repetitions for reserve players in every phase of the game. Jones said players behind the starters must be ready on short notice.
“I thought we had pretty good focus,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure that our back-up guys, guys that are on our second string, are ready to go too. I think that sometimes you lose focus as a back-up but you’re one injury away from playing.”
Injury Update
Linebacker Jake Johnson sat out Tuesday’s practice with his right arm in a sling. The injury is not considered serious, and he was expected back at practice Wednesday.
Randon Carnathan will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL, Jones said on his radio show.
Jaguars Among Sun Belt Defensive Leaders
Johnson leads the Sun Belt with 92 tackles, an average of 10.2 per game. He had 15 tackles, 12 of them solo, against FIU.
- Linebacker Enrique Williams is fourth in the conference with 82 tackles, averaging nine per game.
- Alex Page is second in the league with five sacks and eighth in tackles for loss.
- Pat Moore is tied for fourth in the conference with four sacks in eight games and ranks seventh in tackles for loss.
South Alabama, 2-7 overall and 1-4 in the Sun Belt, plays at North Texas on Saturday.
