MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama football team is about to take the next step in preparations for the 2010 season when it puts full pads on for the first time Tuesday morning, but according to head coach Joey Jones that won’t change anything the Jaguars have been doing the last couple of days.
“The bottom line is, practice will be virtually the same except with pants on,” he stated following the Jags’ two-hour workout Monday. “I’m excited, but we’ve already been doing what we will do tomorrow.”
Tuesday’s practice, which will begin at 7:10 a.m., will be the fifth in a row for the Jaguars.
There were two separate segments of Monday’s practice — USA’s second straight in helmets and shoulder pads — that involved third-down plays, as well as three different periods of time that included the offense against the defense with all 11 players on the field.
The first of those came less than an hour into the workout after the offensive line and backs had practiced running plays against the interior of the defense while, on the other half of the field, quarterbacks threw passes to wide receivers in coverage against cornerbacks. Charlie Higgenbotham and Anthony Taylor each recorded sacks, and the defense also forced and recovered a fumble. During the second half of the drill, C.J. Bennett connected with Corey Besteda for a nine-yard gain, while Ray Cotton ran for five yards on a draw and Kendall Houston gained seven with a rush up the middle.
The next 11-on-11 portion of practice was dedicated to running plays in the red zone starting from the 20-yard line, with the goal for the offense to get a first down. The defense started off with a stop when Anton Graphenreed tackled Courtney Smith one-yard short of the first-down marker after a four-yard completion from Brennan Sim. The offense answered with a pair of big gains on runs from Houston and a screen pass from Bennett to Johnny Lockett, but the defense recovered to end the drill with two more stops.
In the final team period of the day, the defense picked up where it left off, allowing only two first downs on 10 snaps while recording three straight sacks during that segment of practice. Jake Johnson was in on two of those, with Ben Giles and Ucambre Williams responsible as well. The offense was able to make first downs on the first play of the period when Sim hit Smith on a slant pattern, and the last after Cotton ran a quarterback draw.
The first time USA worked on third-down plays came during a 7-on-7 segment of drills, with the offense converting nearly half of the time. Bennett was responsible for four first downs with completions to four different players, while Sim moved the chains three times. Bryant Lavender and Taylor Noon were the only receivers to catch two passes for first downs.
Special teams play focused on kickoff returns at the beginning of practice and kickoff coverage at the end of the day.
“It was a very good practice, though I thought we had a little lull in the middle to latter part for the first time,” Jones stated. “That’s normal, and what I was proud of is that they fought back at the end of practice.
“We’re in the middle of nine straight days of practice, and that ‘s tough,” he continued. “They just have to get a little better every day, and so far we have improved.”
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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