MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama football wraps up spring practice Friday with a 3 p.m. session ahead of the annual Red-Blue Spring Game at noon Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
Wednesday Practice
The Jaguars practiced in shells on campus Wednesday. Instead of a team period, they ran two 7-on-7 skeleton passing periods that totaled nearly 30 minutes and about 75 plays. Both special teams periods focused on punt formations and punt coverage.
Offensive coordinator Bryant Vincent named receiver Claude Garrett the offensive player of the day, praising his work ethic and speed. Garrett also made the play of the day on the final snap of practice, beating his defender with a spin move and breaking free for a 50-yard touchdown catch from Hunter Vaughn.
Defensive coordinator Travis Pearson named Nigel Green the defensive player of the day. Pearson said Green played more aggressively and with more confidence, and that Green showed he can add depth at cornerback.
Jones Sees Growth on Defense
Head coach Joey Jones said the defense made the most improvement this spring.
“I’ve seen the most improvement on defense,” Jones said. “We weren’t very good defensively early in the spring, but I think we’ve gotten better. We’ve started to shore up some holes on the front, some guys have stepped up over there, Demarius Rancifer is one example, and we knew Jimmie Gipson III was going to be a good player but he brought his game to another level this spring.”
On offense, Jones said the goal was to play at a faster tempo. “Offensively we wanted to improve our tempo, and I think we’re much better there,” he said. “There’s no doubt we can get even better in that area, but I thought our improvement from day one to now has started to become second nature to them.”
Jones said special teams showed the biggest improvement from last year. “We probably haven’t worked our game as much this spring, but our kickers have been performing very, very well,” he said.
Spring Game Details
Braedon Bowman and Terrance Timmons were named offensive captains for the spring game, and Blade Dees and Gipson were named defensive captains. The captains selected the teams Thursday afternoon.
Jones said the game plan will be limited. “We’re going to limit what we do, basically we’re going to run one defense with one coverage and about seven offensive plays,” he said. “We’re not going to show a lot, but we are going to let them get out there, compete and have fun.”
Kickoff is set for noon Saturday. Parking lots open at 8 a.m. for tailgating, and stadium gates open at about 11 a.m.
