MOBILE, Ala. — The first South Alabama two-a-day of preseason football camp opened Tuesday with a physical morning session in which the defense recorded two sacks, forced and recovered a fumble and blocked a field goal. Head coach Joey Jones followed with a lighter, teaching-focused practice in shells on Wednesday.
The Jaguars are preparing for their Fan Day scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 13.
Tuesday Morning: Special Teams and Team Drills
Tuesday’s first practice opened with about 10 minutes of punt team work. The offense then moved to individual and group drills, including screens and route work for tight ends, receivers and running backs.
The offense and defense next worked against each other on the inside and outside running game and play-action passing, followed by skeleton passing drills. During the skeleton work, the offensive line practiced pass protection against the defensive line. After a 10-minute break from the heat and a stretching period, the offense worked against the scout team, mostly on reverses.
Live Work From the 20
The first team period featured 12 plays run from the offense’s 20-yard line.
- Demetre Baker was stopped for no gain on the first play.
- Myles Gibbon recovered a fumble on a low snap for a loss.
- Kendall Houston ran for 15 yards, and Devin Robinson followed with a 6-yard gain.
- Baker added a 10-yard run.
- Anthony Taylor pressured C.J. Bennett into an incompletion and then made a tackle for loss on the next play.
- Baker broke a 20-yard run, but the defense allowed only three yards over the final three plays of the period.
Red Zone and Goal-Line Situations
In red zone work, the offense scored when Bennett hit Lamontis Gardner on a 17-yard play-action touchdown pass. On the next play, the defense forced a fumble, and Logan Bennett recovered at the 11-yard line.
Will Thompson blocked a short field goal attempt. Jordan Means later made a 32-yard field goal, and Lawson McGlon made one from 22 yards.
With the ball placed at the 10-yard line, the defense held firm. Robinson gained four yards on two carries before Damond Smith sacked Bennett off the edge. Ben Giles dropped J.J. Keels for a 3-yard loss, and Cori Barnett sacked freshman quarterback Trey Fetner. A 34-yard field goal attempt then sailed wide left to end the period.
The session closed with punt return work while the quarterbacks went through ball-security drills. The afternoon practice was held in shells and focused on the punt teams.
Tuesday by the Numbers
- Baker led the running backs with 34 yards on four carries.
- Robinson had 21 yards on six carries, Houston 15 yards on one carry, Keels five yards on three carries and Santuan McGee five yards on two carries.
- The defense held the offense to three yards or fewer on 18 plays and allowed gains of five yards or more on eight plays.
Jones: Looking for Two More Linemen
“Today was a good, physical practice,” Jones said Tuesday. “I thought the defense had a good day today – they played with a lot of intensity. Offensively, we’re playing hard. It just takes a while for an offense to gel. Our goal right now is to find some depth.”
Jones said the Jaguars have six offensive linemen ready to play and are looking for two more. “If we can find two more that can really play, that’s what we’re looking for,” he said. “Those guys have a great opportunity to step up in that spot and get some playing time.”
Jones outlined the rest of the week: less contact Wednesday, more hitting Thursday and a lighter practice Friday before Saturday’s scrimmage.
Wednesday: Third Downs and the Two-Minute Drill
The Jaguars practiced in shells Wednesday and again opened with punt team work.
The 11-on-11 period split time between third-and-long situations and two-minute drills. Bennett opened with a 15-yard completion to Jereme Jones before the defense forced four straight incompletions. Fetner scrambled for a first down, Bennett found Corey Waldon for another, and Fetner connected with freshman Keels for a third. The defense recorded two sacks in the period.
The defense stopped both the first- and second-team offenses in the two-minute drill. Bennett completed a 4-yard pass to Waldon on second down, but two incompletions ended the drive. A later first-team drive reached field goal range, but the kick missed wide left.
The second team took a sack on its first snap. Gibbon then scrambled for nine yards and threw an 11-yard pass to Corey Besteda for a first down. A completion to Taylor Noon and a 1-yard run produced another first down before Will Thompson ended the drive with a sack.
The team then split into skeleton passing and line work, followed by play-action passing drills while the offensive linemen worked against the scout team on inside drills. Practice ended with punt return work.
Jones Pleased With First Units, Wants Depth
“We backed off them physically and tried to teach a lot on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. I thought that was really good,” Jones said.
Wednesday was the first time the team ran the two-minute drill this fall. “We’ll learn from the film and get better from there,” Jones said. “I told the guys today that we have to know situations in the game. That’s why we put them in all these positions, so when they get in the game it is second nature to them.”
“I feel real good about our first-team units on both sides of the ball,” he said. “I worry a little bit about our depth on the offensive side of the ball — on the line, we have to get kids to step up there, we can’t play with six or seven guys. We’ve got to have more than that. I thought today we made some strides, especially in pass protection.”
Jones praised the upperclassmen, who now have experience they lacked in the program’s first two seasons. “The upperclassmen have done a tremendous job, they understand what we are doing,” he said.
He also said he asked his staff to hold off on installing anything new. “One thing I talked to the coaches about today — especially on offense — is to not put any more in,” Jones said. “We’ve thrown a lot at them to this point, let’s allow things to filter for a few days and see if they can get better at what they are doing.”
Up Next
South Alabama returns to the Jaguar Practice Facility at 6:15 a.m. Thursday in full pads for its final full-contact practice before Saturday’s scrimmage. The 2011 season is the third for the program under Jones, its first head coach.
