MOBILE, Ala. — Kane Wommack begins his tenure as South Alabama’s head football coach Saturday night when the Jaguars open the 2021 season against Southern Miss at Hancock Whitney Stadium, with eight newcomers expected in the starting lineup.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 4. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and broadcast on Sports Talk 99.5 FM and 96.1 FM The Rocket, as well as the iHeartRadio app. Southern Miss is a 1.5-point favorite.
Both head coaches are making their debuts. Wommack is coaching his first game as a head coach at any level, and Southern Miss coach Will Hall is coaching his first game as an FBS head coach.
A New Staff in Mobile
Wommack replaced Steve Campbell, who won nine games in three seasons. Wommack previously worked on the South Alabama staff and returns after serving as defensive coordinator at Indiana, where he was a finalist for the Broyles Award last season. At 34, he is the youngest head coach in FBS.
Wommack hired Corey Batoon as defensive coordinator. Batoon is experienced in the 4-2-5 SwarmD defense, a scheme developed by Wommack’s father, Dave Wommack, and refined by Kane Wommack throughout his career. The system produced 18 takeaways at Indiana last season.
Major Applewhite was hired as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Applewhite spent the last two seasons as an analyst on Alabama’s staff. Before that, he was head coach at Houston, where he was promoted after serving as offensive coordinator under Tom Herman. Wommack also added offensive assistants Rob Ezell and Gordon Steele, who were analysts at Alabama. Steele is the son of former Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele.
Newcomers Expected to Start
After Wommack took over in December, South Alabama added 19 newcomers who are expected to contribute right away, including 13 Division I scholarship transfers and three junior college transfers, along with several walk-ons. The Jaguars also signed a class of high school players. Eight newcomers are projected to start against Southern Miss, six of them on offense. Of the 19 newcomers, 14 have at least two years of eligibility remaining.
The most prominent is quarterback Jake Bentley, a sixth-year senior who won the starting job in spring practice over Desmond Trotter. Bentley was expected to redshirt at South Carolina in 2016, but he instead entered the lineup and, in his second start, led the Gamecocks to an upset of nationally ranked Tennessee. He started the rest of that season. In 2018, he set South Carolina’s single-game passing record with 510 yards in a loss at Clemson, which went on to win the national championship.
In four seasons at South Carolina and one at Utah, Bentley has completed 62.4% of his passes with 61 touchdowns and 38 interceptions.
Running back Kareem Walker, a transfer from Mississippi State, won the starting job in preseason camp. Three newcomers are slated to start on the offensive line, and a true freshman is listed as the backup at both left and right guard.
On defense, linebacker Jamal Brooks, a transfer from Missouri, is the only newcomer projected to start. He won the job at the Mike linebacker position and will call the defensive signals. Six other newcomers are on the defensive depth chart. Colorado transfer Travis Drosos is listed as the starting long snapper.
Injuries
Linebacker Nick Mobley, a three-year starter who made 94 tackles last season, was medically disqualified before fall camp after team doctors found a condition in his neck and spine area.
The only significant injury during preseason camp was to defensive end Jamie Sheriff, who tore the LCL in his left knee. He will have surgery and is expected to be out until spring. Sheriff had been practicing with the first-team defense at the Bandit position. Charles Coleman III, a sophomore from Huntsville, is projected to start in his place.
Scouting Southern Miss
South Alabama beat Southern Miss in Hattiesburg in the 2020 season opener, and Golden Eagles coach Jay Hopson resigned days later. Southern Miss then hired Hall, who had been Tulane’s offensive coordinator.
Hall became a head coach for the first time when he was promoted from offensive coordinator at West Alabama after Bobby Wallace retired. He led West Alabama for three seasons and then West Georgia for three, compiling a 56-20 record in six Division II seasons without losing more than four games in any year. He later was offensive coordinator at Louisiana-Lafayette and Memphis for one season each before spending the last two seasons as Tulane’s offensive coordinator.
Southern Miss returns 10 offensive starters. The Golden Eagles committed 16 turnovers last season. Running backs Frank Gore Jr. and Darius Maberry lead Hall’s power running attack. Gore was the team’s leading rusher last season with 708 yards and two touchdowns on 121 carries. Quarterback Trey Lowe III, a West Virginia transfer who started three games last season, adds a running threat. Jason Brownlee was the Golden Eagles’ leading receiver a year ago.
Sixth-year senior center Arvin Fletcher, who has started 47 games for Southern Miss, anchors the offensive line. He will line up across from South Alabama nose tackle Gi’Narious Johnson. Cornerback Devin Rockette enters his third season as a starter in the Jaguars’ secondary.
Looking Back at 2020
South Alabama’s offensive line was a priority in the offseason. The Jaguars allowed 40 sacks last season, which ranked 126th nationally, and their running backs averaged 2.9 yards per carry. Carlos Davis, the team’s leading rusher last season, was suspended indefinitely before spring practice and entered the transfer portal.
The Jaguars converted 39.1% of their third-down attempts (71st nationally), averaged 358.5 yards per game (95th) and 247.2 passing yards per game (46th), and scored 19.9 points per game (112th). Returning receivers include Jalen Tolbert, Jalen Wayne, Caullin Lacy and Cade Sutherland.
Defensively, South Alabama allowed 27.3 points per game (53rd) and forced 14 turnovers (49th), but gave up 436.4 yards per game (92nd), 261.9 passing yards per game (104th) and 8.7 yards per pass attempt (114th). Run defense was the unit’s strength last season.
The Jaguars’ players have spent spring practice and preseason camp learning the SwarmD system, and Saturday will be their first chance to run it in a game.
