MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama will close spring football practice Saturday with the annual Red & Blue Spring Game, and head coach Joey Jones said the Jaguars made progress this spring in the areas that concerned him most entering camp: the offensive line and the secondary.
The South Alabama spring game will feature a shortened format, and the event is free and open to the public.
Final Practice Moves Indoors
Approaching thunderstorms forced the Jaguars indoors Thursday for their final practice before the scrimmage. The session in Jaguar Gym lasted about 45 minutes. Players opened with special teams drills in helmets and shorts before splitting into teams to run through scripts for Saturday’s game.
Jones on Spring Progress
Speaking after the practice, Jones identified the two position groups he was watching most closely this spring.
“I think the concerns we had going into the spring were the offensive line and the secondary,” Jones said. “I feel really good about our first offensive line. Now we have to continue to develop depth there. The secondary is another area where I feel like we have gotten better, and we’ve got a couple more guys coming in this summer who might be able to help us there too.”
Jones said the staff’s emphasis throughout spring drills was on three areas.
“The three things we concentrated on this spring, and will continue to work on, were leadership, discipline and toughness,” he said. “Teams that make mistakes end up losing games. We became a more disciplined team this spring, and I think we have developed some leadership on this football team.”
He added that the improvement was visible “in the locker room, in the weight room and on the field,” and that “overall, as a team, there was so much more focus.”
Quarterback Depth Chart
Appearing Friday morning on the Morning Sportsdrive radio program with Lee Shirvanian and Mark Heim, Jones said C.J. Bennett has so far secured the starting quarterback job, with Trey Fetner moving up to the No. 2 spot.
Jones said the first-team offense is further along in its development than he expected, though he noted a clear gap between the first- and second-team units.
Game Format
Saturday’s scrimmage will use 10-minute quarters with a standard game clock in the first half. In the second half, the clock will run continuously and the quarters will expand to 12 minutes each.
“It’s going to be a short game, the clock will be running,” Jones said. “It will probably be about half a game with the amount of plays we run.”
Jones also said fans will see only about a quarter of the offense, with the rest held back for the fall season.
Gameday Information
- The parking lot opens at 10 a.m., and gates open at 1 p.m. Parking and admission are free.
- Beginning at 11 a.m., the University of South Alabama College of Medicine will hold its annual Gumbo & Chili Showdown in the east parking lot. Admission to that event is $10.
- Seating will be available in the west stands and both end zones. Limited concessions will be sold in the west concourse only.
- The USA Ticket Office will be set up in the west concourse for fans who want to buy 2012 season tickets and select seats.
- The USA Bookstore will sell JagWear, and Springdale Travel will have information on “Runnin’ With the Jags” travel packages.
- After the game, fans will have 30 minutes on the field to collect autographs from players and coaches.
The 2012 season will be South Alabama’s first as a full member of the Sun Belt Conference in football.
