MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama football opened spring practice Monday, among the first programs in the country to begin, with the Jaguars taking the field at 7 a.m. for the first of 15 allowed practices over a five-week span.
The final session will be the annual spring game, set for 2 p.m. Saturday, March 26, at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. It is the only spring practice that will be held off campus.
Why Practice Early
Head coach Joey Jones has again scheduled practices early in the morning, saying players concentrate better at that time of day. He also explained his reasons for starting spring drills early in the calendar.
“From an academic standpoint, when we finish on March 26th our student-athletes will be getting into the meat of their schedule as the end of the semester nears,” Jones said. “This gives them about six weeks where they can concentrate on academics, which I feel is a help to them. Secondly, if we were to have any significant injuries, it gives us a month or a month-and-a-half to help those individuals rehab so they can come back.”
Bigger and Stronger
Jones said the results of offseason strength work are visible.
“When you walk in the weight room right now you see guys who are bigger and stronger,” Jones said. “Some of the guys have been here three years, and you can just see that the bench presses, squats and power cleans are going up. I want to see how that translates onto the field, that’s usually exciting.”
He said physical play remains the program’s priority as it prepares for a schedule that includes North Carolina State and Kent State.
“We want to be extremely physical,” Jones said. “I think we need to have physical teams to compete with these teams we will play next year like North Carolina State and Kent State, and on down the line.”
Jones also expects more competition for playing time this spring, with returning players improving, younger players developing and transfers taking the field for the first time.
“It’s also going to be interesting to watch the competition — there should be much more this spring because guys who have been in some slots the last couple of seasons are getting better, but we have some young players who are coming along as well as the transfers who will be on the field for the first time next week,” he said.
Spring Schedule
The Jaguars practiced again Tuesday and were off Wednesday. The remaining schedule:
- Week 1: practice Thursday at 7:45 a.m.; stretching session Saturday at 9 a.m.
- Week 2: practice Monday at 7 a.m. and Tuesday and Thursday at 7:45 a.m.; first scrimmage Saturday at 9 a.m.
- Week 3: after several days off, three straight days of practice, ending with the second scrimmage on Friday, followed by spring break
- After spring break: practices at 7:45 a.m. on Tuesday, March 22, and Thursday, March 24
- Saturday, March 26: spring game, 2 p.m., Ladd-Peebles Stadium
