Date: 4/13
Time: 3:30-5:15 p.m. (CDT)
Place: Jaguar Training Center
Practice attire: Uppers (helmets and shoulder pads)

Featured Offensive Player of the Day: Desmond Trotter, So., QB, Irondale, Ala.
-Offensive coordinator Major Applewhite on Trotter: "Desmond played the most of anyone in the room who is returning from last year, I have really seen him — especially in the last week — take off.  We've been adding more stuff in our installation that fits his skillset, I've seen really seen him progress the last four to five days.  I love his competitiveness, he has a good spirit and is a good teammate.  There 's a lot of work for all of us in the quarterback room to do, I can't wait to get around to June and July so we can take that next step."

Featured Defensive Player of the Day: Gi'Narious Johnson, Jr., DL, Gulfport, Miss.
-Defensive coordinator Corey Batoon on Johnson: "Gi'Narious is a run stopper inside, and is a powerful, quick-twitch guy who has really gotten better at his pass rush.  He's still a really young player, but he has taken the next step.  For him to have the amount of power and girth that he has with his short-area quickness really helps us shore up the inside.  He is growing with [assistant] coach [Landius] Wilkerson and continuing to buy into the things we are asking him to do in terms of understanding the defense and the scheme."

Play of the Day: Near the end of the team period concentrating on plays in the red zone, Darrell Luter Jr. — who was in one-on-one coverage on the sideline — turned around at the last minute to pick off a pass at the goal line.

Team period highlights: There were four different team periods on the afternoon — the first three lasting 10 minutes each, with the last eight minutes — focusing on the run game, second- and third-down calls, work in the red zone and an end-of-game two-minute drill.

Miscellaneous Notes
-After warm ups, the Jaguars went through three periods of circuit, group and teaching before beginning team drills.
-In between team periods there were segments of practice highlighting kickoff coverage fundamentals, field goal work and punt scheme as well as 7-on-7 skeleton passing drills.
-Zivaiishe Smith had both a solo and assisted stop behind the line during the first team period of the day, while Charles Coleman III broke up a pass and recorded a sack on back-to-back snaps in the period that followed.
-Yam Banks was credited with pass breaks up both during skeleton passing drills and the red zone team period.
-In the red zone, both Keith Gallmon and Devin Rockette also recorded passes defensed before John Tank Miller scored on a run up the middle from seven yards out near the end of the period.
-Jake Bentley completed 5-of-6 passes to lead the Jaguar offense 64 yards in six plays during the first two-minute drill of the afternoon, capping the drive with a 32-yard touchdown pass to Caullin Lacy.
-A 29-yard completion from Trotter to Nae'Saan Dickerson kept the offense alive in the second two-minute drill, but a third sack by South's defense ended the threat at its 21-yard line.
-Only Jalen Tolbert — who had six catches on the day — finished with more receptions than Dickerson, who had five including catching three balls in as many snaps during the team's 7-on-7 period.
-Jaguar fans interested in attending the program's annual spring game on Saturday can register for seats at no cost by visiting usajaguars.com/springgame2021.
-All practices are closed to the general public.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Kane Wommack
-On the tempo the team has played at throughout the spring: "I think we do a great job of mixing tempos, now that we're starting to work more situational downs — two-minute in particular — we are beginning to see a better feel on both sides of the ball understanding tempo.  Tempo is a great tool for our offense, I think the way in which we mix tempo is probably the best way to do it, and if we can show defensively that we are not affected by tempo it's an opportunity for us to tremendously limit the opponent's game plan.  You can go fast all the time or you can go slow all the time, teams can adjust to either one, but if you can mix tempos that is the most challenging to defend.  I think we are adjusting to it, it is certainly a big part of the game that we have to be ready for on both sides of the ball."
-On areas where he has seen significant improvement in the spring: "From a group standpoint it's been the urgency of our defensive line, their ability to rush the passer and their physicality up front.  You think of Chris Henderson and CJ Rias and what they've been able to do at the 'Wolf' position, and some of the interior lineman have done a great job; obviously you have Gi'Narious Johnson, but Jamie Sheriff and Charles Coleman have done a tremendous job and are guys who can move inside or outside, they are very dynamic.  A.J. DeShazor has done a tremendous job of learning our 'Stinger' position, he was an outside/nickel backer a year ago but has moved inside to the box.  Caullin Lacy has done a tremendous job of learning what we're doing offensively, and Jay'juan Townsend — who should be getting ready for the prom right now — is doing a great job in our passing game.  And I've seen tremendous improvement along our offensive line, I'm not sure there is any one guy I can point out but those guys are doing a great job of learning what we're doing and getting better every day."

Up next: The Jags' final practice prior to the annual spring game is set for 3:30 p.m. Thursday.
 
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics.  Contributions to South Circle directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give

—USA—