MOBILE, Ala. – The last piece of the puzzle has been dropped into place for the University of South Alabama football team heading into its final event of spring practice, the annual Red & White Game, now that the team’s rosters have been completed.
C.J. Bennett and Jake Johnson will lead the White team’s offense and defense, respectively, while the Red squad will be guided by Myles Gibbon and paced on the other side of the ball by Johnson’s fellow starting inside linebacker Enrique Williams. Mark Heim of the Mobile Press-Register and co-host of the “Morning Sportscenter” on WNSP 105.5 FM will serve as the head coach of the White, with WPMI TV’s Pat Greenwood — who serves as pregame host and sideline reports for Jag football radio broadcasts —the head coach of the Red.
The Red & White Game will be held at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, with kickoff slated for 2 p.m. The stadium parking lot will open for tailgating at 11 a.m., and the stadium gates will open at 1 p.m. Parking and admission to the Red & White Game is free.
“We made it through another hard spring and got better as a team and individually,” explained Anton Graphenreed, a captain of the White squad along with Kevin Helms. “The game is just to show everybody what we’ve been doing these last few weeks.”
“The game is important to us, we’re really excited about it,” Jerron Mitchell, a Red team captain, stated. “With the conclusion of spring practice, it’s a great way for the younger guys to show how they have come along and adapted to our program.”
In addition to fellow captain Jon Griffin, the Red offensive line will include Levi Slaydon, Tremain Smith and a quartet of true and redshirt freshmen — Drew Dearman, Shane Doty, Chris May and Josh Terry. Gibbon’s backfield will feature Santuan McGee and Georgia transfer Demetre Baker, while the redshirt freshman’s receiving corps is highlighted by Jeremé Jones and rising junior Lamontis Gardner. Paul Bennett is the most experienced of the unit’s five tight ends.
C.J. Bennett will be throwing to a group that includes two of the Jaguars’ top-five pass catchers a year ago in Bryant Lavender and Corey Waldon, as well as tight ends Helms and Richard Ross. Ellis Hill is the White team’s most experienced running back, with the squad led up front by starters Trey Clark, Brian Krauskopf and Melvin Meggs. Freshmen Audoniss Madison and Ucambre Williams will likely round out the line.
The White defense will feature five of the eight individuals who recorded four or more tackles for loss in the fall: linebackers Logan Bennett, Johnson and Anthony Taylor, and linemen Randon Carnathan and Montavious Williams. Josh Chestang and Tyrone Williams are also part of the group’s linebacker unit, with Jonathan Cameron leading the secondary.
Enrique Williams will be joined at linebacker for the Red team by Cori Barnett, Clifton Crews, Ben Giles, Bryson James and Alex Page. In addition to Mitchell, the defensive backfield will include Ken Barefield as well as newcomers Ameriol Finley, Marquel Gardner and Damond Smith. Romelle Jones, who had a team-best six stops for loss in ’10, should pace the line.
Specialists for the Red squad include Scott Garber and Lawson McGlon, while the kicking and punting duties for the White will be handled by Michel Chapuseaux and Jordan Means.
The contest will include four 10-minute quarters with a standard game clock.
“We want to let the kids get out there and have some fun,” said USA head coach Joey Jones. “This is for them; they’ve worked their tails off for 14 practices.
“Football wouldn’t be any fun if you didn’t have the games to play in front of people, our players are very excited about that. I think the weather is going to be really nice Saturday afternoon, there will be some folks tailgating out there; for us, it will be like a regular game day where we get up on Saturday morning, eat a meal and go play a game. I think it’s going to work out real well.”
Last spring, Means kicked a 53-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to provide the margin of victory for the White in a 10-7 decision.
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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