MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama went through a full-pads workout at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday and used its goal line package for the first time this spring, in the Jaguars’ last practice before a scrimmage Thursday morning at the Jaguar Practice Facility.
Practice Structure
The session opened with individual work by position. The linebackers joined the defensive line against the offensive line and running backs, working on angle tackling and covering backs out of the backfield. At the same time, the receivers and defensive backs worked against each other on pass routes and in skeleton passing drills.
In the team portion, the offense worked on first-down plays and third-and-long situations before moving into a 15-minute red zone and goal line period. The first- and second-team offenses each ran four plays in the red zone and four more at the goal line.
“I don’t really care who won or lost, it’s just a matter of the physical part of it,” head coach Joey Jones said. “Lining up two yards out from the goal line and seeing who is going to knock who back. That’s really what it boils down to on the goal line, it’s about attitude at that point when you get down there. We just ran some base plays offensively because we wanted to see who would step in there and get their nose bloody.”
“The kids came to work today,” Jones said. “I thought we got better as a team. My challenge to them is, is everybody on the team getting better? You can certainly watch the film and find several guys that didn’t, but as a unit I thought we improved and that it was a good, spirited practice. We have to beat people on our schedule right now, we can’t wait until August to do it.”
Spring Standouts
Brendt Bedsole named two players who have stood out to him and Jones this spring. The first was Terrance Timmons, a walk-on running back from Davidson High School in Mobile listed at 5-foot-7 and 175 pounds.
Bedsole said Davidson coach Riley spoke highly of Timmons’ work ethic and ability and told the South Alabama staff he would not be surprised if Timmons eventually became a team captain. Bedsole said Timmons could see significant playing time.
The second was Chris May, a 6-foot-4, 280-pound freshman at left tackle.
Bedsole also said quarterbacks C.J. Bennett and Trey Fetner performed well, and noted the size the Jaguars have at tight end with junior college transfer Wes Saxton and Greg Hollinger, who moved from wide receiver to tight end this season.
Thursday Scrimmage
Thursday’s scrimmage is scheduled to begin around 6:45 a.m. and run until about 8:30 a.m., with 120 to 140 plays. It will be less controlled than a preseason scrimmage in the fall but will include situational work. The players will then have a week off for spring break.
“It will be very similar to the first one really, except we’re going to infuse special teams into the scrimmage, instead of going for a while and then running a certain special team, if it’s fourth down we’re going to punt or kick a field goal,” Jones said. “As they score, we will kick off after that. We want to get them thinking it’s like a game. It’s not going to be exact game situations, but as we progress we’re trying to do that more.”
