Date: 3/27
Time: 3:10-5:10 p.m. (CDT)
Place: James A. and Frances H. Yance Football Practice Facility
Practice attire: Full pads

Offensive Player of the Day: Xavier Johnson, Jr., RB, Tampa, Fla.
-Offensive coordinator Bryant Vincent on Johnson: "Xavier brings a relentless attitude and work ethic daily.  It truly means something to him for him and his team to have a great day.  He is doing what we expect of him based on the last couple of years and taken it to a different level."

Defensive Player of the Day: Khalil McDonald, R-Fr., LB, Madison, Ala.
-Defensive coordinator Kane Wommack on McDonald: "Khalil did a good job today, but he's done a good job since the beginning of the spring.  For some guys it takes them a year or two for things to click, and he has a different level of focus right now; he is seeing the field and understanding the game better.  Khalil is a great athlete who can play a lot on special teams for us and is going to contribute a lot on defense this year."

Play of the Day: Andrew Reinkemeyer caught a pass from Evan Orth between a pair of defenders and hung on after a hit for one of three touchdowns recorded by the offense during 7-on-7 skeleton passing drills.

Team period highlights: There were a pair of team periods — both 10 minutes in length — that saw the first- and second-team offense run plays from its own 25- and 30-yard line.

Miscellaneous Notes
-The defense won both competition drills on the afternoon, ending the team segment with a goal line interception from Jeremy Reaves while claiming the individual period at the end of the day when Tyree Turner and Sean Grayer recorded sacks.
-Jeremiah Littles was credited with a pair of sacks during the final team period, while Finessé Middleton had both a sack and a pass broken up during the first team period midway through the session.
-The skeleton passing drills segment of the workout saw the offense running 20 red zone plays.
-Orth followed the pass to Reinkemeyer by connecting with Sam Harris in the back of the end zone for scores on consecutive snaps, going 6-for-10 for 43 yards in the period.
-Cole Garvin added a score when he found Zac Crosby for an 18-yard touchdown as well.
-The special teams period early in the practice saw the Jaguars working on kickoff coverage.
-There were three periods throughout the afternoon that featured nearly an hour of individual drills and instruction.

Head coach Joey Jones
-On how the team looks at the midpoint of the spring season: "I think we've progressed; we're still not a finished product by any means, but we're a tougher team that is playing more physical as things are starting to come together.  I'm pleased with where we are, they have played with a great attitude and are coming out here working every day.  We're on schedule."
-On how important the teams' toughness is in the spring: "The only way we are going to win the Sun Belt Conference is we have to be tough up front on both sides of the ball.  Our offensive and defensive lines know that, that is what we are trying to develop while we have pads on.  All summer they are in shorts and t-shirts running around; you can run routes and do all the passing game stuff you want, but you can't put those pads on and get good at the running game or stopping the run.  While we have time to do it we are going to spend time on the running game, we've emphasized that pretty heavily this spring."
-On the opportunity individuals have in the spring: "The film doesn't lie, if you are on film doing good things we're going to notice it.  We tell our guys all the time they have a chance to prove to us that they can be players, we're not going to go based on how much we like them, how big or fast they are.  It's about how well they do at practice, that's what gets them on the field.  We have everyone from freshmen to seniors with the chance to play and earn that spot."

Junior RB Xavier Johnson
-On how the offense has done the first half of the spring season: "Spring practice is going good so far, we're all focused on the little things like blocking and bringing a mindset of consistency every day."
-On the importance of the spring: "Everybody gets the opportunity to show what they have, and it gives some of the players who don't get on the field normally a chance to show what they can do."
-On how he approaches being a team leader: "I take it very seriously, I want the guys to have the same mindset and attitude as me.  I want them to follow me, when I play hard I want them to play hard too."

Junior S Jeremy Reaves
-On how the team has looked thus far in the spring: "We're looking good, we're taking baby steps every day to work on fundamentals and increase our awareness of the game.  So far it has gone great."
-On whether execution or energy is more important during the spring season: "You need both, but it's more about fundamentals right now.  You want to teach guys the actual game and what goes on during it, that way in the fall it translates to guys playing much faster and being in the right spots at the right time."
-On his role as a leader on the team: "I'm trying to give energy for these guys to feed off of, give them someone to look up to so they come out here saying 'Let's have a great day at practice.'"

Up next: The Jags will practice in campus Wednesday beginning at 3:10 p.m.
 
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