MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama will release its inaugural football schedule Tuesday, coach Joey Jones said Wednesday, with seven confirmed games, all at home, and the possibility of an eighth and ninth.
Jones appeared on the Joey Jones Show at Wings Sports Grill on Airport Boulevard with host Lee Shirvanian and running backs and special teams coordinator Tommy Perry. Next week’s show will be the second-to-last of the current run.
Schedule Announcement Set
Jones said the Jaguars will face smaller schools in 2009, as he has said previously, but declined to name opponents before Tuesday’s announcement. He said the opponents will be schools that South Alabama could recruit from in the future.
Jones said the program is moving toward Division I as quickly as possible and will be playing Division I opponents within three years. When the 2009 schedule is released, the university will also discuss future Division I opponents already under contract. Jones said the possible eighth game could be a road game, giving the team experience traveling.
First Week of Practice
Jones said he was pleased with how players and coaches handled the first week of spring practice, though the staff cannot fully evaluate players until they are in pads. He said the team improved from the first day to the second, and significantly from the second to the third, as players absorbed the drills and readjusted to moving like football players.
Early Standouts
Jones singled out receivers Courtney Smith and Ralph Turner for their route running, and running backs Richard Ross, Anthony Mostella and Santuan McGee.
Perry said he was pleasantly surprised by the running back group, which includes both speed backs and physical, grind-it-out runners. He said it is easier to look good in shorts, and that the real evaluation will come when pads go on and running lanes tighten.
Pads Next Week
The Jaguars will practice in pads for the first time next week. Monday will be a weight training day, with practices Tuesday through Friday from 2:30 to 4:45 p.m., including contact and one-on-one drills. A scrimmage is planned for April 10, though Jones said the staff is weighing how to conduct it with only two quarterbacks on the roster to avoid injuries at the position.
Roster Numbers
About 97 to 98 players are taking part in spring practice. Jones said about 45 more players will arrive in the fall, including about 28 on scholarship. Teams may have 105 players in preseason camp and can expand to 130 once fall practice begins, allowing 25 more players to be added at that point.
Perry Leads Special Teams
Perry comes from a coaching family. His grandfather is John David Crow, and his father is a high school coach. Perry graduated from Texas A&M and then worked at Texas under coach Mack Brown, whom he credited with teaching him how to coach players individually.
Jones said the staff could have divided special teams duties among several coaches but chose Perry to lead the unit. Jones joked that Perry was irritated after the first practice when things did not go as planned and that his mood has improved as the players have. Jones said he and the staff like Perry and value that he is a perfectionist.
Perry, who played as a backup fullback in college, said special teams gave him his opportunity to play. The coaches said conference champions are nearly always among the leaders in special teams categories, and that good coaches recognize special teams can decide games.
Managing Special Teams Personnel
Jones said some players will not be allowed on any special teams units, while others will be limited to certain units, partly to prevent fatigue. He cited the example of a receiver who runs a 55-yard route and then must immediately cover a punt as a gunner.
Jones said elite punt returners, such as Alabama’s Javier Arenas, are rare, while teams that block a punt win about 95 percent of the time. As a result, he said, South Alabama may emphasize pressuring and blocking punts more than returning them, since pressure on a punter can produce a much larger gain than the typical eight- or nine-yard return.
Senior Bowl Concern
Jones said he was saddened by news reported Tuesday that the Senior Bowl could move to Tampa. He said he hopes the game, played in Mobile for 59 years, stays, for the sake of its tradition, the city and the South Alabama football program.
South Alabama will play its home games at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
