Date: 3/20
Time: 10-11:45 a.m. (CDT)
Place: James A. and Frances H. Yance Football Practice Facility
Practice attire: Helmets and shorts, no pads
Featured Offensive Player of the Day: Jalen Tolbert, Jr., WR, Mobile, Ala.
-Offensive coordinator Major Applewhite on Tolbert: "I've been pleased with Jalen from the moment I met him over the phone when I took this job, he's very engaging and bright-eyed, he wants to learn as much as humanly possible. He just loves the game. The thing I love about Jalen is that he is trying to spread the culture and the type of preparation and dedication that you need to prepare yourself to play. He is starting to spread that in the wide receiver room, that's a good thing that we need to continue to do the rest of the spring."
Featured Defensive Player of the Day: Keith Gallmon, Jr., S, Mobile, Ala.
-Defensive coordinator Corey Batoon on Gallmon: "Keith is a leader and a really good communicator, and he has a really good football IQ, which helps. We've been doing a lot of things with schematics on the board and walking through, and he has been able to absorb that. Now that we're out here with moving parts and a ball involved, there's checks and motions, you can really see his ability to grow within the system from a communication standpoint. We've all seen what his production looks like and his ability to play between the lines from a year ago, but I'm most excited about his continued development as a communicator."
Play of the Day: In his first practice with the program, CJ Rias dropped into coverage and made a one-handed interception during 7-on-7 skeleton passing drills.
Team period highlights: The first team period of the afternoon, which lasted 10 minutes, saw the Jaguars working on run-pass option calls and perimeter plays while a second 15-minute period to close out the workout featured the unit focusing on base downs.
Miscellaneous Notes
-The first half of practice featured individual drills and group work mixed in between teaching periods.
-There were also two special teams periods that focused on punt fundamentals and schemes, as well as a three-minute period for the field goal/PAT unit.
-During the first team period, Desmond Trotter connected with Caullin Lacy on back-to-back plays while Jake Bentley found Cade Sutherland for consecutive completions as well.
-Carlos Johnson broke up a pass for South's defense in that segment of the workout.
-In the 7-on-7 period that followed Devin Rockette deflected a pass one snap before Rias' takeaway.
-Quentin Wilfawn and Gi'Narious Johnson were credited with sacks during the final segment of the morning, with Dallas Gamble adding a pass break up to open the period.
-A trio of Jaguar quarterbacks — Trotter, Bentley and Tanner McGee — combined to complete 29-of-44 pass attempts the second half of the workout.
-Lacy and Sutherland shared the team lead with four receptions each in the practice.
-They led a contingent of 10 players who recorded multiple catches, with Lincoln Sefcik, Jamel Thomas and Christian Wortham contributing three apiece.
-All practices are closed to the general public.
THEY SAID IT
Head coach Kane Wommack
-On the team's first practice under his direction: "The number one thing that we want to do is to focus on the organization of how we do things and the standard that we are going to hold guys to. We've been able to establish relationships and make connections to a certain level — things that we'll continue to build and grow — but now we're starting to see that play out on the field. To actually have a practice where there is adversity and conflict and opportunity for success, to be able to wrap those things into practice one and get better from that, that's the real exciting part."
-On the energy at the team's first spring practice: "There are so many things in your mind as a head coach making sure that we are getting things right, but there is not a lot of opportunity for reflection. I thought the coaches, players and support staff did a phenomenal job of bringing an urgency to this practice. If you operate with a growth mindset, which means if — regardless of success or adversity — we find a way to get better we will get to where we want to go this spring."
-On the process of installing the team's offense and defense: "When you think about spring goals, first and foremost you want to make sure you identify the personnel you are trying to get the ball to or trying to create one-on-one matchups for defensively. Major has said it best, I will look in the fridge and see what ingredients we have and then I'll let you know what we're going to cook up. That's a big piece of what we are doing right now. Certainly there is a base level of scheme with what we are doing offensively, defensively and on special teams, but the nice thing is that I think we have a system in each unit of the game right now and have a base to know what we can do and find creative ways schematically to identify and feature that personnel."
-On his approach to his first practice as head coach: "If you have an inner confidence of where you are trying to get to and know that you don't have to arrive on day one — we don't have to perform and go play Southern Miss today — and that an outcome is down the line, patience is the key."
-On the possibility for individuals to win a starting job in the spring: "I think it's possible to for someone to come out of spring in the No. 1 position, how far that gap is between No. 1 and No. 2 hopefully is not that far because that means that we've created some depth on our team.."
-On what he wants to see moving forward in the spring: "Obviously there are things we want to identify toward the end of the spring, but we have to be very process-oriented right now; if it starts with me as head coach, hopefully everyone else will embody that same mentality. What they need to feel from me is an urgency to get better from day one to day two. I am the detail coordinator, so I have to make sure that everyone feels that urgency."
Up next: South will practice again without pads on Sunday, with the workout beginning at 4:30 p.m.
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