MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama head coach Joey Jones praised his players’ attitude and the development of the offensive line after Wednesday’s practice as the Jaguars prepare to host Middle Tennessee on Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
“Winners in My Book”
“It was a good day,” Jones said. “I just want to commend our young men. They just have a great attitude and they’re really working hard through this situation where people are looking at our record and tend to think that things are not going well. But they’re working hard through it.”
“They really have a great attitude, a winning attitude,” he said. “I talked with them today and I said, ‘Guys, y’all are winners in my book’ and I firmly believe that. They’ve had a great attitude about what they’re doing and they’re working hard and getting better.”
Offensive Execution
Jones said the offense executed better Wednesday, including several new elements added to the game plan.
“We put some new wrinkles in and they were executing those new wrinkles pretty well,” he said. “And our offensive line, to me, has really come a long way. They’re becoming cohesive. We’ve had to move some guys from tackle to guard and guard to tackle and making those moves it doesn’t seem like we’ve missed a beat. That means we’re starting to mature as a line to be able to do that.”
Containing Middle Tennessee
On defense, Jones said the Jaguars moved well and focused on the Blue Raiders’ skill players.
“Defensively, I thought we were flying around and doing a good job of understanding that (Middle Tennessee has) some great skill players,” Jones said. “They have a couple of great receivers and a great running back. If we don’t contain those guys and get in the right position we won’t stop those guys. I thought today we worked on that and did a very good job.”
South Alabama and Middle Tennessee kick off at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in the Jaguars’ final home game of the season. The team’s seniors will be honored in a pregame Senior Day ceremony.
