Date: 8/20
Position: Cornerbacks
Position Coach: Josh Jones

Returning Letterwinners (Key stats): Gus Nave (9 games played, 16-2—18 TT, 1 INT, 1 PBU); Travis Reed (9 GP, 10-5—15 TT, 1 INT, 1 PBU); Devin Rockette (7 GP, 6-1—7 TT, 1 PBU in 2017); Jalen Thompson (12 GP, 23-11—34 TT, 3 INT, 8 PBU); Jay Woods (5 GP, 1-0—1 TT, 1 INT, 1 PBU)

Letterwinners lost (Key stats): Marice Fluellen (7 GP, 2-1—3 TT); Darian Mills (11 GP, 17-5—22 TT, ½ TFL, 2 INT, 10 PBU, 1 FR)

Returning Redshirts/Squad Members (Yr., Hometown, Previous school): Kwameh Lewis (Jr., Montgomery [Ala.] Park Crossing HS); Tyrone Legette (R-Fr., New Orleans [La.] John Curtis Christian HS)

Newcomers (Yr., Hometown, Previous school): Dallas Gamble (Fr., Booneville [Miss.] HS); Ryan Melton (Fr., West Point [Miss.] HS)

Miscellaneous Notes
-Mills — who was named honorable mention all-Sun Belt Conference following his final season at the collegiate level — broke up 10 passes in 2018 after setting a school season record with 13 the previous fall; his 23 passes defensed over the last two years rank first on South's career record list.
-Thompson enters his senior campaign tied for the school's all-time record with eight interceptions while also ranking third with 19 passes broken up.
-He was the lone member of the Jaguar secondary to earn recognition over the summer after being named preseason third-team all-conference by Phil Steele Publications.
-Reed appeared in each of his first nine contests with the program before suffering a season-ending injury, recording multiple stops against Oklahoma State, Memphis and Louisiana Tech while picking off a pass at eventual league champion Appalachian State.
-In his first two years with the program, Nave has recorded 25 stops and a pair of interceptions while breaking up two other passes in just 12 games.
-Rockette lettered as a true freshman for the Jags in 2017 — making seven stops and defending a pass in the final seven outings of the season — before posting 21 tackles and four passes broken up for a nationally-ranked Northwest Mississippi CC program last fall.
-Woods saw his first action with the program a year ago, recording an interception, another pass broken up and a tackle in his collegiate debut against Louisiana Tech.
-After being recruited as a wide receiver, Legette moved to cornerback last fall and was credited with one stop in his collegiate debut — the lone appearance in a season he would redshirt — against ULM on Homecoming weekend.
-Both Gamble and Melton played in the Bernard Blackwell North/South All-Star Game in Mississippi following the conclusion of the 2018 season.
-The former was a first-team all-state selection as a senior after posting 76 tackles while helping Booneville High to an 11-1 finish while the latter was part of a West Point HS team that claimed the state 5A championship each of the last three years with a 43-2 overall mark during that span.

Josh Jones
-On the strength of the group: "I think the No. 1 thing is they play hard, you can tell the difference between now and a year ago.  They are playing a lot harder, they are staying more focused, they are competing a lot more; that's the best part about them."
-On the importance of having upperclassmen at the position: "It's really important, you have a lot of guys — Jalen, Travis, Gus and Devin — who have played significant downs here in games.  It's good to have a lot of guys with game experience under their belt and a little bit of maturity.  I feel pretty good about them going into game one."
-On what he has had the group focus on in the preseason: "Understanding formations and receiver splits, different parts of the game rather than technique or our scheme.  It's important to understand what an offense is trying to do, what a receiver is trying to do when they line up in a certain spot, and other situations like second-and-long and third-and-short.  We want to prepare them for those game situations so when we get there it is not foreign to them."

Gus Nave
-On being healthy to start the season: "It's very important.  I only played in nine games last season, this is as fresh as I have been since when I got first here two years ago.  It just feels good to be healthy for all of fall camp."
-On what he's learned his first two years with the program: "Now I know things before they are happening and know about wide receivers' alignments.  I've been able to get in the film room which has helped me know what to do when I get out there.  And you can't take any plays off; as a corner, you never know when the ball is going to come your way so you have to be prepared."
-On the strength of South's cornerbacks: "We aren't scared to come up in support in the run game, we have a lot of physical guys who want to tackle.  We've gotten a lot better setting the edge playing the run.  And we have a lot more depth than previous years when I've been here."

Travis Reed
-On the difference between preseason camp last year and this fall: "The game has slowed down for me, I understand more.  I was in a rush a lot last year, everything has slowed down for me now that I am a senior and I have had a chance to really understand the playbook."
-On what he does best on the field: "I believe that I am able to motivate the other guys, I can get everyone in line and focused; they go off of my and Jalen's attitude.  And I bring physicality; I try to go out there every day and attack receivers, get in their face and make sure I make tackles."
-On his expectations for his senior season: "I want to 'ball out.'  I didn't have the season I wanted to last year coming off surgery.  My [given] name is Travis, but I want to earn the name 'T-Reed' by coming out here and making plays."

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