MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama football program will begin preparations for the 2018 season — its initial one under the direction of new head coach Steve Campbell — on Thursday with the first of 15 spring workouts.
The Jaguars opening practice of the spring will get underway at the James A. and Frances H. Yance Football Practice Facility at 3:30 p.m. (CST).
After returning to the field at 9:45 a.m. Saturday, South will work out on Tuesday and Thursday in preparation for the first spring scrimmage set for Saturday, March 17, at 9:45 a.m. The Jags will also practice the following week on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday leading into the school's annual Spring Break.
They will have 11 days off, then begin the second half of the spring campaign on Tuesday, April 3, practicing again on Thursday before the second scrimmage takes place on Saturday. The final week of spring practice features workouts on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, leading into the annual iHeartRadio Red-Blue Spring Game, which this year will be contested on Saturday, April 14 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The contest will begin at noon, with the USA College of Medicine Gumbo Chili Showdown held in the stadium's East parking lot prior to kickoff starting at 10:30 a.m.
All afternoon practices will get underway at 3:30 p.m., and all Jaguar spring football events are free and open to the general public.
"Our big goals for the spring are getting to know the roster and our student-athletes, to find out what are we good at and where our competitive advantage is," said Campbell. "It looks like we have some big, strong physical wide receivers, are they playmakers and what ways can we get them the football? What do our quarterbacks do best, are they runners, throwers or multiple-threat guys? And we need to find a way for our offensive line to be successful, is that dropback passing or running play action? The big thing offensively is to find out what direction we need to gear it toward to make sure we can score enough points to win football games and give us a chance to win a championship.
"Defensively we will implement the scheme, find out who are guys are and what personnel packages give us a chance to get after the quarterback. I think we need an improved pass rush — we weren't at the top of the league in sacks — and to be able to get off the field on third down. Can we play man coverage or do we need to be zone?
"We want unselfish players, we want to get better every day and do the little things right. What plays we'll be running will depend on our personnel, the big things we want to implement are the culture of caring about each other and playing extremely hard."
The Jags currently have 55 letterwinners back from the 2017 squad, including 29 on offense and 22 from the defensive side of the ball. Returning letterwinners expected to sit out spring drills or be limited in practice include Jalin Buie, Bobby Flott, Tyler Grimsley, Sam Harris, Khalil McDonald, Gus Nave and Tyree Vines.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
Join the South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics. Contributions to South Circle directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/sports/2013/3/13/Gridiron%20Club.aspx?id=22
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