MOBILE, Ala. – Coming off a season in which it garnered the six victories required to be eligible for postseason play, the University of South Alabama football program will look to continue making progress towards its goals of winning a Sun Belt Conference championship and competing in a bowl game.

The Jaguars — who recorded a four-win improvement from 2012 last fall — have the benefit of returning 45 letterwinners, a total that includes 15 starters.  USA is slated to bring back eight starters from an offense that averaged nearly 30 points and more than 425 yards per contest, with six expected to return on a defensive unit that stood second in the league in points and total yards allowed per game.

But the Jags do lose 28 seniors from that squad, 15 of which were with the program since it first played in competition in September 2009.  Finding individuals to replace many in that group will be the focus of the Jaguar coaching staff over the next four weeks when spring drills begin on Monday.

"The biggest thing that I am looking for are true leaders," Jag head coach Joey Jones said.  "We are going to have a very mature team with a bunch of seniors who have been in the program a long time — I think we'll have 30 seniors in the fall — so I am looking for leadership out of that group.  In my opinion, the difference between having a good year and a great year is going to depend on the leadership that develops on this football team."

Spring practice will begin on Monday at 7 a.m., and over the following month USA will be on the field for workouts every Monday and Wednesday morning at that time.  The Jaguars will conclude the opening week with sessions at 7 a.m. Friday and Saturday at 9 a.m., and will also practice on back-to-back Fridays, March 28 and April 4.

The initial scrimmage of the spring will take place at 3 pm on Saturday, March 22, with the annual spring game set for the following Saturday, March 29, at 11 a.m.  The final scrimmage is slated for Saturday, April 5 and will close out the spring season.

With the exception of the spring contest — which will be held at Ladd-Peebles Stadium — all spring practices and scrimmages will be conducted at the fields on campus.

One difference for the Jags this year is that spring drills are starting after the school's week off for spring break; students return to class on Monday.

"We're going to evaluate it, the last few years we've had spring break in the middle," Jones said of the change in the spring schedule.  "There are positives and negatives to that — the positive is you get a break and can come back refreshed, the negative is you lose some of the momentum you had going.  I don't know if I will like it as much or not, I'll be able to answer that better in April."

Among the eight starters returning offensively for the Jags are four linemen — highlighted by all-league selections Chris May and Ucambre Williams — as well as tight end Wes Saxton, wideout Shavarez Smith and running back Jay Jones, each an all-conference performer.  The unit also brings back veteran receivers Jeremé Jones and Danny Woodson II, and Kendall Houston and Cris Dinham in the backfield.

USA should be bolstered offensively not only by the return of Melvin Meggs, a three-year starter on the offensive line, but by the addition of two receivers who transferred into the program last fall from Alabama and were able to work with the scout squads — Marvin Shinn and Josh Magee.

But, the Jaguars will be searching for a new quarterback with the departure of Ross Metheny, a second-team all-Sun Belt honoree a season ago after completing 62 percent of his pass attempts and leading the league in total offense with an average of nearly 270 yards per game.  Candidates include Brandon Bridge, a senior, who saw action in nine contests last fall, Trey Fetner, Grant Powell and Brett Sheehan.

"We've been in this offense now for two years," Jones explained.  "I know we tweaked some things last year, but this will be the guys' third year in the system.  When you look at the quarterback position all these guys have been here except Brett Sheehan, who came in this past season; I believe they will all know what we are doing.

"To me, when you look at quarterback, it's a position where you have to lead — there is no choice.  We need a selfless, humble, confident person to be a leader there; we will plug those guys in, keep the ball rolling and get better this spring."

On defense USA returns four of its top five tacklers from a year ago, with three of those individuals — Terrell Brigham, Qudarius Ford and Montell Garner — in the secondary.  Maleki Harris' 8½ stops behind the line of scrimmage are the most of any individual coming back on the unit, and he also led the squad with seven passes broken up in 2013, with fellow linebacker Desmond Lavelle returning as well.  On the line, Jesse Kelley started every contest and recorded a career-best 34 stops last fall, as did Jerome McClain in his first season with the program; Theo Rich saw action in the last nine games as well after returning from an injury suffered in preseason camp.

But four senior starters depart from the Jags' front seven and will have to be replaced.  Enrique Williams led the team with 105 total tackles, while Romelle Jones and Alex Page tied for top honors on the squad with 7½ sacks apiece and Pat Moore collected 13½ stops for loss.

"Defensively we're trying to find guy that can play because we did lose a lot of guys up front," observed Jones.  "We have talented guys who are capable coming back, but can they be the guys that we can count on in the fall?  That's what we are going to ask this spring."

Other changes on defense include the promotion of Travis Pearson to coordinator and the addition of Mike Adams as inside linebackers coach.  USA also has two newcomers on the staff on the other side of the ball with the hiring of Tim Bowens (wide receivers) and Robby Brown (running backs) last month.

"Any time you have a new coach it creates a new dynamic on the team, and they have to learn what we're doing from a terminology standpoint," commented Jones.  "Even though they are all great football coaches and they know how to teach fundamentals, they need to get familiar with what are we calling this and what are we calling that.  The terminology takes a little time, so the extra time we've had going into spring practice has really helped.

"I think our guys are really prepared to be on the field and have some good practices."

Aleem Sunanon will be back on special teams after connecting on 18-of-23 field-goal attempts to earn all-conference honors, with Brandon McKee opening spring practice as the front-runner to take over punting duties with the departure of five-year starter Scott Garber.

The Jaguars lost a lot — both in terms of statistical production and leadership — with the departure of 28 seniors from last year's six-win squad.  But with 45 letterwinners back, there will be many options to fill those voids as USA returns to the field for 15 practices and scrimmages over the next month.

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).

—USA—