MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama’s defense drew praise from head coach Joey Jones after the Jaguars’ fourth practice of the spring, a session of more than two hours Tuesday at the team’s on-campus practice fields. It was the team’s second practice in full pads.
“I’m real happy,” Jones said. “We’ve got some things to work on like any spring, but we’re trying to work a lot of guys. I think we will be able to evaluate ourselves a little more in a couple of weeks, but right now we are on track.”
Defense Grasping New Scheme
Jones said the defense is beginning to absorb its new scheme and terminology.
“I thought, defensively, it was a much better day,” Jones said. “The guys are starting to get it scheme-wise and were flying around to the football. I think that’s due to understanding better what they have to do. They took a big step today. There’s not much change, we’re still going to play hard-nosed football. Kevin Sherrer has done a heck of a job getting these guys to understand how we need to play.”
Practice Breakdown
The first half of practice focused on fundamentals, including a turnover circuit, screens, run plays and individual drills. In the second half, the Jaguars moved to short-yardage work and 7-on-7 skeleton passing drills covering first-, second- and third-down situations.
The team closed with a full-team segment working on perimeter plays, second-and-10 situations and other first- and second-down calls.
Reps Over Depth Chart
Jones said the staff is focused on getting players as many repetitions as possible rather than establishing a depth chart.
“We really haven’t looked at it (depth chart),” Jones said. “We obviously have to have people lined up to have an organized practice.”
“The bottom line is, we want to get them all reps right now,” he said. “We’ll evaluate that more after this week. Really throughout spring we’re going to try to stay away from who’s first-string and second-string. We’re trying to get everybody reps and make them better.”
Scrimmage Before Spring Break
The Jaguars will take Wednesday off and return Thursday at 6 a.m. for a session that will be half practice and half scrimmage. It will be the team’s final practice before spring break, and the coaching staff will use it to see how players respond to game-like situations.
South Alabama competes in the Sun Belt Conference and plays its home games at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
