Date: 3/22
Time: 3:10-5:10 p.m. (CDT)
Place: James A. and Frances H. Yance Football Practice Facility
Practice attire: Full pads

Offensive Player of the Day: Jahmmir Taylor, Jr., WR, Fairburn, Ga.
-Offensive coordinator Bryant Vincent on Taylor: "We knew Jahmmir had a lot of talent when we redshirted him last year, he can really run.  Today the light started to come on and he made a lot of big plays for us.  He is as talented as anyone we've got out here, he just needs to be consistent and today he showed a lot of consistency."

Defensive Player of the Day: Jeffery Whatley, R-Fr., DL, Midland City, Ala.
-Defensive coordinator Kane Wommack on Whatley: "Jeffery has always been on the cusp of developing his body and his mind into being a good football player, he is finally starting to see the fruit of those labors come together.  He is starting to understand what we are doing defensively, and fundamentally he has probably made the most improvement of any guy on our defense so far this year.  I am really proud of what he is doing."

Play of the Day: Taylor's catch on a pass from Evan Orth with the offense facing third-and-four, as the junior receiver held on to the ball after a big hit from the defensive back to move the chains.  Taylor also had a diving reception for a 30-yard touchdown during 7-on-7 skeleton passing drills while Parker Mason tipped a ball into the air and recorded the catch while falling to the ground.

Team period highlights: In the first of two 10-minute periods the offense worked on play-action pass and run calls, with the second focusing on the unit facing third downs needing anywhere from three to six yards to convert.

Miscellaneous Notes
-Rocel McWilliams sacked Orth and John Robinson stopped the sophomore quarterback on a run to help the defense win the team competition drill — which saw the offense needing to convert on third-and-seven — in the middle of practice.
-The unit also claimed the individual drill period at the end of the workout when the trio of Tyree Turner, Sean Brown and Sean Grayer prevented Jalin Buie and three offensive linemen from gaining 10 yards in three plays in a limited area on the field near the sideline.
-In the second team period USA's offense moved the chains on four straight plays to open that segment of practice, but the defense managed to get stops on six of the final eight snaps including sacks from Turner and Blake Worthy.
-Jalen Thompson and Neiko Robinson intercepted passes during the first team period, while Marice Fluellen also forced a fumble after a completed pass; the latter was credited with a pass break up during 7-on-7 drills as well.
-Orth completed his first four throws of the skeleton passing session, going on to finish the period 7-of-9.
-Taylor and Maaseiah Francis each caught three balls during drills the second half of practice.

Head coach Joey Jones
-On the team's workout on Wednesday compared to Monday: "Today was a lot better from a standpoint of effort for sure, they came out with a lot of enthusiasm and attacked the day; I was pleased with that part.  I thought the defense really flew around today and made some plays.  The offense is not executing as well, but you expect that early in the spring."
-On individuals who have caught his attention since returning from Spring Break: "Xavier Johnson has come out ready to go, he is going to be a senior and sometimes seniors think they know a little bit more than the other guys but he is playing hard every day and showing great leadership skills.  Defensively Malcolm Buggs has shown up at our nickel position, he hasn't been on the field a whole lot and hasn't got a ton of reps other than special teams but I think he is a guy we can count on right now."
-On expectations for the upcoming scrimmage: "It's going to be our first scrimmage and our first time to really evaluate these guys in a game-type atmosphere.  We need to get them 'under the lights' so to speak and see how they handle being out there by themselves — when you're in practice you have a coach behind you yelling at you where to move, now we are going to get them on the field when the coaches aren't out there and they have to do things on their own.  We'll see how they react to that."

Up next: Due to expected poor weather over the weekend, the Jaguars will hold their first scrimmage of the spring Friday at 3 p.m. at the James A. and Frances H. Yance Football Practice Facility; it will be closed to the general public
 
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