Date: 4/14
Time: 9-10:20 a.m. (CDT)
Place: Ladd-Peebles Stadium
Final Score: Red 31, Blue 0

Scoring Plays (drive information)
-1Q — 8:57 — Red 7-0 — Jamarius Way 44-yard pass from Cephus Johnson (Gavin Patterson kick) (7 plays, 65 yds)
-2Q — 11:22 — Red 14-0 — Kawaan Baker 68-yard pass from Cole Garvin (Patterson kick) (2 plays, 80 yds)
-2Q — 0:25 — Red 21-0 — Tra Minter 8-yard run (6 plays, 61 yds)
-4Q — 11:03 — Red 24-0 — Patterson 25-yard field goal (10 plays, 46 yards)
-4Q — 4:08 — Red 31-0 — Baker 30-yard pass from Johnson (Chase Hopkins kick) (6 plays, 77 yds)

Play of the Day: Kawaan Baker took a short pass from Cole Garvin, cutting up field on the sideline to pull away from multiple defenders for the longest gain of the day.

Key Statistics
-Passing: Cephus Johnson 9-of-12, 126 yds, 2 TDs; Cole Garvin 3-of-8, 98 yds, TD; Evan Orth 8-of-13, 72 yds
-Rushing: Tra Minter 13-99, TD; Deonta Moore 9-36
-Receiving: Kawaan Baker 3-105, 2 TDs; Jordan McCray 3-30; Jamarius Way 2-41, TD; Jahmmir Taylor 2-24; Maaseiah Francis 2-20
-Defense: Reggie Williamson 1-5—6 TT, ½ TFL; A.J. DeShazor 5-0—5 TT; Nick Mobley 3-2—5 TT, 1 TFL; Devin Rockette 4-0—4 TT; Kalen Dunklin 3-1—4 TT; Jeremiah Littles 1-3—4 TT, ½ TFL; Jordan Mims 1-3—4 TT; Roy Yancey 0-4—4 TT; Riley Worring 0-4—4 TT; DJ Daniels 2-1—3 TT; Riley Cole 1-2—3 TT, 2½ TFL; Spencer Perry 1-2—3 TT 
-Special teams: Gavin Patterson 1-2 FG, long 25; Corliss Waitman 7-41.0 avg punting

Miscellaneous Notes
-The game format included four 12-minute quarters with a running clock, with standard clock rules during two-minute drills at the end of each half.
-The Jaguars' first-team offense and defense represented the Red team.
-The Red squad accounted for 359 of the offense's 434 total yards on the day.
-Four USA quarterbacks combined to complete 20-of-35 passes for 296 yards, with three of the four touchdowns in the game coming through the air.
-Tra Minter recorded 99 of the Jag's 138 yards on the ground, including scoring the game's lone rushing touchdown just before halftime.
-Six individuals concluded the contest with multiple catches, with wide receivers Kawaan Baker and Jordan McCray pacing the group with three apiece.
-The Red defense gave up 45 yards on the Blue's opening possession that resulted in a missed field goal, then surrendered just 30 yards the rest of the morning.
-The unit forced four straight three-and-outs following the Blue team's first march — finishing the game with six such drives against — and accounted for the only takeaway of the day when Malcom Buggs recovered a fumble forced by Brandon Felder on the third snap of the second half.
-USA's first-team defense was credited with five tackles for loss, with Riley Cole accounting for 2½ as all three of his stops — two solo, one assist — were recorded behind the line of scrimmage.

Head coach Steve Campbell
On the Red-Blue Spring Game: "It was a good spring game, I was very pleased with both sides.  The first-team offense came out and executed —they had some big plays and showed that we have some explosive capability — and the first-team defense pitched a shutout, there were a lot of positives to build off of on both sides going into the summer program.  I thought it was a clean game for the most part, we didn't throw any interceptions and put two balls on the ground — which is two too many — and the referees called it pretty liberally so we didn't have any obvious flags.  What I wanted to come out with was a clean football game with turnovers, penalties, execution, and I think we did that.  We made a lot of progress in 15 practices, we still have a ways to go but we've got time to get there."
On the quarterbacks' play today: "We need to watch the film, but I thought it was a clean game; we didn't throw any picks and handled the triple-option game well, we didn't put the football on the ground because our pitches were clean.  I thought the decision making was good.  There were some explosive plays, Cephus hit the deep ball early that got us going and he hit another on that last drive, he threw the ball well down the field.  I thought Cole did some good things, and Evan had some cards stacked against him with the second offense going against the one defense but he handled things well to not put his group in a bad situation.  I was pleased with the quarterback play, but I need to watch the film to see where we are at."
On the team's quarterback situation: "Cephus will be a freshman this year, he'll have four years; I thought he did really well today.  There are always things that show up on film that don't show up game day, but here's what I do know — he led some touchdown drives and we wound up scoring some points.  Cole did some good things, and Evan has a skill set that we can definitely use.  I like where we are at that position.  I liked the way that the guys who were out here today executed; I am excited about that position, I think we have plenty of talent there with guys who can help us."
On South's offensive line: "I think those guys have adjusted well.  I am really proud of the offensive line because we finished the spring with nine healthy bodies, those guys fought their behinds off all spring.  Today I had three guards play four positions, they weren't getting a whole lot of rest but they got a lot of reps; they've been doing that all spring.  I'm really pleased with the way that the offensive line is progressing, we have a long way to go but I like the way those guys are working and pulling together facing adversity.  Those nine guys didn't tap out when the could've at any point in time.  Normally you are hopefully three deep on the offensive line, we weren't even two deep."

Junior LB Bull Barge
On the spring season: "It's been a great spring.  With the new coaches coming in we had little time to learn stuff, but everyone bought in and we just finished a great spring.  We had great energy today and everybody had fun, it is just a great atmosphere around here right now."
On the first-team defense in the Red-Blue Game: "On defense we like to boast a little bit around the offense, they're our boys so we have fun with them.  When we walked out the first-team defense told them they would not score on us just to get them amped up and have fun.  And they didn't score so we did what we said we would, it was a pretty nice day."

Redshirt freshman LB Riley Cole
On the spring season: "I think we had an amazing spring.  Considering we have a new coaching staff, I think we adapted really well."
On what the team is capable of in the fall: "The sky is the limit, we can do whatever we put our minds to.  It's really up to us."

Freshman QB Cephus Johnson
On getting the chance to play in the spring after redshirting: "It's a big step, but me and my teammates worked real hard to get here.  It was fun, we went out there and competed."
On his performance in the spring game: "I feel like I did pretty well.  There is still some stuff I need to clean up, but I'm going to look at the film and get better.  It felt good to be back out here and to have fun with my teammates, coming out here and competing."
On getting more comfortable in the new coaches' scheme as the spring progressed: "The first couple of days were a little bit rough, but once we watched film and walked through the stuff that cleaned it up a lot."

Junior S Nigel Lawrence
On the defensive effort in the spring game: "We performed well, we had high energy and just came out and played football."
On learning the new defensive scheme in the spring: "It was challenging, but I like a good challenge.  Everybody just came out to compete.  It's a fresh start for everybody, there are no excuses for anybody."

Junior WR Jamarius Way
On his touchdown catch: "That was just Cephus having trust in me to go up and make a play.  I told him before the play started I was going to go make it, he threw it up there and I made the play."
On making progress during the spring season: "I feel that as a team we did very well, we made a tremendous jump from last year.  I think we are on the right track to have a big season."

Up next: South Alabama football will open the 2018 season with a home game against Louisiana Tech on Saturday, Sept. 1.

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).

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