Date: 3/21
Time: 9-11:30 a.m.
Place: Campus practice fields
Practice attire: Full pads

Offensive Player of the Day: Joseph Scelfo, So., OL, Bogart, Ga.
-Offensive coordinator Bryant Vincent on Scelfo: "Joseph has been a leader four days in a row, he's extremely intelligent and he's tough — he has all the intangibles and everything we're looking for in our starting center.  He just had a great day and a great week."

Defensive Player of the Day: Blake Dees, Sr., ILB, Spanish Fort, Ala.
-Defensive coordinator Travis Pearson on Dees: "It's about one word — enthusiasm.  Blake is excited to be out on this field.  I don't know how many plays we ran today, but his last one looked like his first one.  I just like what he's doing."

Play of the Day: On the next-to-last snap on a first-team offensive possession, Dees found his way into the backfield for a sack of Hunter Vaughn.

Team period highlights: The opening team period focused on the offense facing blitz packages — it's the second day in a row the unit has worked on the situation — while the day came to a close with all three offensive units running plays to move the ball starting from its own 40-yard line.

Miscellaneous Notes
-This marked the first time the Jaguars practiced in full pads this spring.
-It was also the first occasion the team worked out on back-to-back days.
-There were approximately 60 snaps in the two team periods, with the offense running another 30-plus plays during the 15-minute 7-on-7 skeleton passing drills segment in between.
-The lone special teams period of the morning — which came at the start of the practice — saw the Jags working on punt returns.

Head coach Joey Jones
-On what he liked most after the team's first practice in full pads: "I thought our effort was pretty good, there were a lot of guys flying around; on defense, they were getting to the ball and wanting to hit someone, which I liked.  Execution-wise we're not quite there yet, there are a lot of things we can work on, but it was a good start."
-On the tempo of the first week of practice: "It's a very fast tempo, I've been real pleased with that.  The defense is getting used to it — obviously it's good for our offense, but it's also good for our defense because we face a lot of teams in this conference that run that style of offense.  We tell the players that we are going to make it as tough on them in practice as we can so the games will be easy."
-On who stood out during the first week of spring practice: "Blake Dees has done an excellent job, I feel like he's been a real leader as well as a very good athlete on defense.  He's lost weight and is moving to the football extremely well.  Offensively, Dami Ayoola has looked great at running back.  His intensity level is there, every rep out here he's giving 100 percent."

Defensive coordinator Travis Pearson
-On what he was most pleased with after the first practice in full pads: "For the most part, I thought they competed; they didn't wilt under the heat.  We have to get a little bit more physical — the physical aspect is not there — and build off of that, not just with our physicality but in understanding what we do and not letting the past determine our mindset."
-On what he's learned about his unit the opening week of spring drills: "We're a young unit but eager to learn.  The one thing that I have been pleased with is every day I see progress."

Offensive coordinator Bryant Vincent
-On what he was most pleased with after the first practice in full pads: "I thought from the beginning to the end of practice, from the first quarter to the fourth quarter, they really kept their energy level and their toughness throughout the morning; they continued to make plays and push the tempo.  Overall we still have a lot of things we have to clean up, but for the fourth day of a new offense I thought they really took a step forward."
-On what he's learned about his unit the opening week of spring drills: "The thing that has stuck out to me is our offensive line.  With their leadership and toughness, the group as a whole has stood out to me to be a big plus for us through four practices."

Up next: Practice 3-5 p.m. Monday at the campus practice fields

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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