Date: 8/23
Position: Cornerbacks
Position Coach: Kelvin Sigler

Returning Letterwinners (Key stats): Jalen Thompson (12 GP, 22-9—31 TT, 2 TFL, 4 INT, 6 PB); Bobby Flott (8 GP, 3-0—3 TT); Darian Mills (13 GP)

Letterwinners lost (Key stats): Quinton Dent (12 GP, 17-10—27 TT, 1 TFL, 5 PB, 1 FR); Wayne Johnson (13 GP, 2-4—6 TT)

Newcomers (Yr., Previous school): Jay Woods (Fr.-RS, Pinson Valley HS); Tobias Woods (So., Iowa Western CC); Marice Fluellen (Jr., Jones County [Miss.] JC); Gus Nave (Fr., Kemper County HS); Devin Rockette (Fr., Oxford HS)

Miscellaneous Notes
-Thompson — who led the Jags in interceptions as a sophomore — was ruled academically ineligible during the summer and will be unable to compete during the 2017 season.  His four interceptions were sixth-most in the Sun Belt and 34th in the NCAA.
-As a group, the unit helped the Jags rank second in the SBC and ninth nationally in pass defense holding their opponents to just 174.62 ypg.
-Since the end of last fall, three players — Jeremy Reaves, DJ Daniels and Tyree Vines have moved from corner to safety.
-Reaves earned first-team all-league honors last season after ranking third on the team in total tackles (85), interceptions (3) and forced fumbles (2), and had a team-high seven pass breakups.  
-Mills saw action in all 13 of South's games a year ago on special teams, but wasn't credited with a tackle.
-Woods — rated as a three-star recruit out of high school by both Rivals.com and Scout.com — was expected to contribute last season, but suffered an injury during preseason camp forcing him to miss all of the 2016 season.
-Flott played in eight games as a true freshman but enters the fall after suffering an injury that forced him to miss the second-half of the spring.
-Considered a three-star prospect by multiple national recruiting organizations, Rockette collected first-team all-state and all-region recognition as a senior.
-Nave had 42 tackles, eight interceptions, six passes defensed, and also blocked three kicks during his final prep season, while also earning all-state honors.

Kelvin Sigler
-On the opportunity for a lot of new guys to step in and make an immediate impact: "We have a lot of guys in our group who don't have a lot of experience, but I think that those guys have done pretty well in camp.  They've just come out and competed every day.  We've had some bumps and bruises along the way, but those guys have fought back through injuries and continued to play well.  We're not playing great, but we are playing solid.  I definitely think that they will be ready by the first game."
-On the strength of the group: "I would say a strength of our group is just their ability to work together and play as one.  They know that they are all good at different things out on the field, but they are always encouraging each other and coming out working hard and competing every day."
-On the biggest difference between this year's cornerback unit and last season's: "Our guys seem to have a better understanding of what's going on out on the field.  We still need to get better in certain situations, but that comes along with practice and getting more reps at the position.  I'm excited to coach these.  We're asking a lot out of them, but I expect a lot of great things from them.  They work hard out there and get better every day."
-On Bobby Flott's progress since getting back from the injury: "Bobby's done well out there; he's really coming on and finally getting back into it.  He was out during the spring after the injury, but he's coming along and moving well.  As he continues to get more and more reps, he's going to get better."

Bobby Flott
-On what he learned last season from playing behind a player like Reaves: "I learned a lot from Jeremy last season.  He taught me how to just go out there, do my job, focus on my technique and do my best to help the team out."
-On his injury rehab and being back out on the field: "The rehab was a hard process.  The day after I had surgery, I started my rehab the very next morning.  It was tough and hurt a lot, but I knew I had to do it in order to get back to 100 percent.  I want to thank God first and also my athletic trainers for getting me back to the point I'm at right now."
-On being the most experienced player in the group: "I was able to play in a couple of games last season, so I feel that I can help the young guys like Gus [Nave] and Devin [Rockette] and give them a lot of pointers in order to help them do well out there."

Gus Nave
-On what impact he hopes to have as a freshman: "I'm just hoping that when my number is called that I'll be ready and can do what I've been taught and doing so far during camp.  I just try to make every rep count out there and hopefully I can show the coaches that they can believe in me when they put me out there."
-On what he feels is the strength of the young position group: "I feel that we have a couple of strengths with our group.  We have several guys out there who can really cover and we also have a lot of length at the position.  We want to be a very physical group so we don't mind getting in there and tackling."

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