MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama spring practice continued Thursday morning with the seventh of 15 sessions, and head coach Joey Jones said the session was the Jaguars’ best of the week as the team prepares for its second spring scrimmage Saturday.
The workout lasted more than two hours.
“It was real good today, the effort was great,” Jones said. “The guys were lively this morning. I thought Tuesday was a good practice, but today’s was even better. There is no doubt we are putting more in and they are retaining it. These guys are coming to practice every day, that’s what I’m pleased with.”
Practice Details
Running backs and receivers worked through formations and motions before joining for red-zone 7-on-7 skeleton passing drills against the defense in a two-minute situation. The team also ran three-quarter-speed running plays as part of a continued emphasis on fundamentals and on improving the running game.
The special teams unit worked on kickoffs and kickoff returns. Jones has stressed slowing down this spring to concentrate on fundamentals, but he noted that the defense worked at a faster pace after learning its new system and terminology.
Jones pointed to fumbles as a concern, saying the offense put the ball on the ground several times Thursday after ball security had not been an issue earlier in the spring.
Players Making a Push
Spring practice also gives players a chance to move up the depth chart. Maleki Harris and Jay Jones have drawn attention this spring, and redshirt freshman offensive linemen Daniel Aust, Steven Foster, Clay Machen and Joseph Scelfo are pushing for playing time.
Team Period and Two-Minute Drills
Practice closed with nearly 35 minutes of team drills, including red-zone work and two two-minute drills. With the second team, quarterback Brandon Bridge completed three long gains to set up a six-yard touchdown pass to Jake Howton. Later, the first-team defense did not allow any points.
“The two-minute drill was good,” Jones said. “The defense did a good job of stopping the offense our first time doing it. You have to familiarize yourself with situations, that’s what we’re trying to do this spring. If it’s third-and-eight and we have 20 seconds left on the plus-40 yard line and need three points, what are we going to do? We’re trying to teach them throughout these practices, it’s not as much about whether we are successful or not, so that they can learn from these situations on film.”
Saturday Scrimmage
The Jaguars return to the field Saturday at 9:45 a.m. for their second scrimmage of the spring, which is expected to last about two hours.
“It will be a little different in that we will have a lot more special teams situations infused into the practice, but as far as the number of plays it will be very similar,” Jones said. “We’ll move the football around the field, we’ll be in the red zone and goal line more than we were the first time, which are the two changes we’ll make.”
