MOBILE, Ala. ? The first-team units for the University of South Alabama football team had to go through the entire five weeks of spring practice battling each other day in, day out. They finally received a reprieve on the last day of drills, and the result was that both dominated their counterparts.
Richard Ross scored twice and Matt Saucier accounted for two touchdowns as the first-team offense scored points on all five of its possessions, while the first-team defense surrendered just six total yards and no first downs in a scrimmage Friday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in front of more than 8,000 fans that concluded the Jaguars’ first-ever spring practice.
“When you look back a year ago, we came here in February and started putting this program together,” head coach Joey Jones said. “Over the last few weeks, I’ve seen how all of our players, managers, trainers and staff have been involved. To come to a game like this, where I was expecting 1,500 people to be out there, to see 8,000 fans is a great testament to the city of Mobile and how they are going to support this program.
“I think that this town is ready for football, and they are excited about Sept. 5 coming soon.”
“During practice we normally have a total of 100 people in the stands,” added Ross. “When we showed up tonight we saw the parking lot was full, it got us more excited.”
“It was great,” defensive lineman Eric Dalgleish said of his second quarter sack. “I probably didn’t show it when I got up because I was tired, but looking up and facing the crowd and seeing the whole side packed was just a great feeling.
“I was expecting around 3,500 people, but when I came out of the locker room I saw the city of Mobile was behind us. We were pretty much in shock, and it made us nervous early on, but it also got us excited.”
The format for the scrimmage, which lasted two quarters, had the first-team offense facing the second-team defense and vice versa on alternating possessions.
USA accounted for 278 yards of total offense on 43 plays, an average of six-and-a-half yards per snap, although the first-team unit recorded 272 of those. Saucier was the team’s leading rusher, picking up 76 yards on 10 carries including a touchdown, and he also completed 7-of-13 attempts for another 78 yards and a score.
“I thought that Matt played great tonight,” Jones commented. “He’s really gotten better since the beginning of spring practice.”
“The line did their job, running backs ran hard, receivers caught balls when we threw them. The offense did real well today,” Saucier observed. “I came in as more of a running quarterback, and although today didn’t show it I’ve progressed more throwing the ball than with anything else.”
Santuan McGee collected 41 yards on three rushes, while Ross carried three times for 29 yards while reaching the end zone twice. Ralph Turner posted 52 all-purpose yards, running for 35 in addition to catching two passes ? he was the only Jag with more than one reception ? for 17 more.
“We ran the ball really well today. The offensive line did their job ? they’re big and they’re nasty, and they moved the defensive line down in the trenches,” stated Ross. “I just tried to go out there and do what the coaches have been teaching us over these last 15 practices. I wanted to put it all together, and today it worked.”
Justin Dunn and Dalgleish each had four stops to lead the first-team defense, which forced five three-and-outs ? the last one saw the unit score when Richard Courtney picked up a fumble forced by Dalgleish and ran it back 21 yards for a touchdown. Both Dunn and Dalgleish accounted for two tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
“The first-team defense did well today,” Dalgleish said. “We maintained our gaps, and when everyone does their job like we did tonight then we can just fly to the ball. We didn’t make any mistakes, and we were able to force a couple of fumbles.”
“The first-team defense dominated the entire scrimmage,” stated Jones. “They were playing very physical, and they played hard, so I thought I saw some improvement there.”
The first-team offense wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, driving 70 yards in four plays and a minute and 47 seconds before Ross bounced off two tackles before finishing a 25-yard touchdown run up the middle. Turner sparked the quick possession with a 36-yard gain on a reverse on the opening play of the scrimmage.
Ross scored again on a one-yard run with just over four minutes remaining in the opening quarter, capping an eight-play, 59-yard drive. The possession almost ended with a three-and-out, but Saucier found Lim Windham for a 14-yard gain on third down. He later set up the score with a 12-yard run prior to Ross finding the end zone, with McGee’s 27-yard gain two plays earlier putting the offense in the red zone.
On the unit’s second drive, one play after Saucier rushed for 33 yards down the left sideline he connected with Kevin Helms for an eight-yard scoring pass. The Jaguar quarterback also had a rush for 14 yards on the march and Anthony Mostella had a gain of 10 as the two-minute, 13-second possession covered 60 yards in five snaps.
The longest possession of the contest had the first-team offense on the field for more than eight minutes. Lawson McGlon wrapped up a 10-play march with a 42-yard field goal with just under 10 minutes left in the second quarter. Saucier kept the possession alive twice on third down, once scrambling to move the chains before later completing an eight-yard pass to Paul Bennett for a first down.
Saucier scored the final points of the event with a one-yard quarterback sneak with 4:08 to go. He ran four times on the drive that covered 47 yards in eight plays, also completing a 27-yard pass to Mostella.
After picking up a first down via a pass interference call on its first play, the closest the second-team offense came to moving the chains came two plays later when it faced third-and-one from its own 44-yard line. Dunn forced a punt when he hit Marquis Chapel in the backfield for a two-yard loss.
“I’m real proud of how we improved,” said Jones. “The flip side is that we have a lot more work to do. I don’t think you can ever be satisfied as a coach and as a team. You’ve got to keep working, and I think we certainly understand that.”
After the opening kickoff, the scrimmage started with a ceremonial first play that saw Saucier complete a screen pass to Jim Yance, a supporter of the program and member of the school’s Board of Trustees who helped pass the measure to make football the 17th NCAA sport supported by the Athletics Department. He ran down the right sideline for a 25-yard touchdown.
At the conclusion of the event, Turner put on display for the first time ever the Jaguars’ white uniforms, which included blue and red stripes down the sides of the jersey that wrapped around and met below the numbers on the back. The pants were all white, as was the helmet that has the Jaguar head logo on both sides.
“I wanted to go with a traditional look,” Jones told the crowd before the fans were allowed to come on the field and get autographs from the coaches and players. “We came up with a uniform that we are very excited about.”
Following the scrimmage, Jones announced the winners of the program’s spring awards as voted on by the coaches.
Trey Clark (offensive line), Andy Dalgleish (defensive line), Dunn (linebacker), Tim Harvey (defensive backs), Helms (tight end), McGee (running back) and Courtney Smith (wide receiver) were presented the Outstanding Performance Award at their position, with Michel Chapuseaux, Eric Dalgleish, Jordan Means, Mostella and Turner sharing the honor on special teams.
Bennett (tight end), Josh Chestang (linebacker), Chris Cooke (linebacker), Lamontis Gardner (wide receiver), Anton Graphenreed (defensive back), Cory Pittman (offensive line), Ross (running back), Saucier (quarterback), Anthony Taylor (defensive line) and Windham (wide receiver) were named the most improved players at their position. The Jaguar Leadership Award was given to Bennett on offense and Harvey on defense, while Dunn, Brian Krauskopf, Jerron Mitchell and Erling Riis earned the Jaguar Strength Award. Bennett and Clark also were given Outstanding Academic Awards.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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