Date: 4/17
Time: 1:10-1:45 p.m. (CDT)
Place: Hancock Whitney Stadium

Scoring Plays (drive information)
-Keaton Halfacre 1-yard run (6 plays, 69 yards)

Play of the Day: With the Jaguar offense facing third-and-seven, Jalen Wayne stretched on the sideline while keeping one foot inbounds for a 12-yard catch to keep the drive alive.

Key Statistics
-Passing: Tylan Morton 1-of-2, 50 yds; Jake Bentley 5-of-11, 27 yds; Eli Gainey 2-of-4, 23 yds; Tanner McGee 2-of-4, 22 yds; Desmond Trotter 2-of-5, 7 yds
-Rushing: Keaton Halfacre 5-22, 1 TD; Bryan Hill 5-21; Jared Wilson 1-17; Terrion Avery 4-10
-Receiving: Christian Wortham 2-70; Jalen Wayne 2-18; Terrion Avery 2-7
-Defense: Nick Mobley 2-2—4 TT, 1 TFL, 1 sack; Zivaiishe Smith 2-2—4 TT, 1 TFL, 1 sack; Quentin Wilfawn 2-2—4 TT, 1 INT; Jaden Voisin 1-3—4 TT; Yam Banks 1-2—3 TT, 1 TFL, 1 sack; Wy'Kevious Thomas 0-3—3 TT
-Special teams: n/a

Miscellaneous Notes
-Over 3,000 tickets were distributed to Jaguar fans in advance of the contest.
-After 35 minutes of action the two teams were taken off the field due to a lightning strike in the area, with the game called off for good shortly thereafter.
-The Jaguar offense averaged more than five-and-a-half-yards per play after totaling 205 yards on 37 snaps.
-Four of the five tackles behind the line recorded by South's defense — which forced a three-and-out on three of the first four possessions of the day — were sacks.
-Wilfawn ended the other drive during that stretch after intercepting a pass with the offense facing third-and-three-just shy of midfield.
-Halfacre's score was set up by a 50-yard pass from Morton to Wortham, the longest play of the afternoon.
-The cancellation of the contest came before any special teams periods could be completed.
-Following the game, it was announced that A.J. DeShazor would be the first player to wear the No. 5 jersey in honor of former Jag running back Anthony Mostella during the 2021 season.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Kane Wommack
-On the spring season: "I'm really, really pleased with all the things we've accomplished over the spring, we would've loved to have gotten more reps but we wanted to make sure we had a good, clean scrimmage.  We wanted our players to be able to show out in front of our fans and have a great time and enjoy themselves, but I feel great about where we are at this point.  Watching the things that we have done from practice one to practice 15, we're better on both sides of the ball, we're doing some great things schematically, our special teams are getting better and better.  We're tackling on defense and communicating well on the back end — which is so critical to what we are doing defensively — and there is an urgency among our offense starting with the quarterback position; we're creating explosive plays offensively, which is great to see, and we're doing a great job straining up front with our line in protection and in the run game.  I feel like we've created a lot of momentum for our team heading into the summertime, those workouts in the offseason that they get with [assistant head coach] Matt Shadeed and his staff are critical to our future.  I'm very excited about our team, I love the energy and the culture that they have created, I feel like we've put ourselves in a great position to go accomplish some great things and build something special here."
-On Jake Bentley: "Jake has seen so much football, he's got great arm talent and is a great decision maker, he can create explosive plays in the passing game but he also manages the game and takes care of our offense.  I've seen him execute a very high level, we do some very dynamic things offensively both in the run and passing game formationally, there are some things we can take advantage of and a guy like Jake can handle the weight of all those things.  The guy who is going to be our quarterback as we move forward is the guy who can create explosive plays for us but also can manage us through the downs to finish drives and score, and take care of the football.  Jake has done a tremendous job of that to this point."
-On the priority for the team this summer: "We were really aggressive with our install, we put almost all of our offense and defense and most of our special teams in.  All those things now being in, those player-led practices in the summertime, the workouts with Matt Shadeed and his staff, throwing and catching the ball and covering people one-on-one will be key.  All those reps they get in the summer leading into fall camp, you have to do a great job of bridging the gap from all that we accomplished in the spring to getting ourselves where we need to be in fall camp.  Sept. 4 is a marker for our program, but it's the first of 12 games so you need to keep building off of that, that momentum has to continue through the summertime.  I think we are very fortunate to have the leadership on both sides of the ball and on special teams to be able to create that momentum, there is a maturity about our team right now that they are able to go do things at a high level with or without coaches on the field."
-On bringing back the tradition of the No. 5 jersey: "The Anthony Mostella No. 5 jersey was something that was very special to our program when I was here before as defensive coordinator, he was the first team captain and had the first-ever tackle on special teams even though he was a running back.  We're such a young program and we don't have a lot of traditions, the ones that we do have we have to hold on to tight and we need to grow those traditions.  When I think about A.J. DeShazor, who I was able to recruit when I was here four years ago, to see him grow to this point where he is now on the back end of his career and the things that he has done is something truly special.  We're going to have a different player wear the No. 5 jersey each week moving forward, but I can't think of a better person that I would rather walk out there with on Sept. 4 in that No. 5 jersey.  I'm truly proud of the young man that he has become and the things that he represents for our football team, he is doing a tremendous job both on and off the field.  In the past one person has worn the No. 5 jersey for an entire season, we are fortunate to have enough character and work ethic and leadership on our team that I think more than one guy deserves it.  We are going to add on to a tradition that has already been established, I think it keeps the No. 5 jersey more relevant from week to week.  Teams evolve and they grow, and one guy from the beginning of the season to where he may be eight games in may be very deserving of that jersey so I want to give our players an opportunity to carry our team out on the field with that jersey."

Senior QB Jake Bentley
-On how the offense progressed in the spring: "It was awesome the way that you saw guys come along through the spring.  As an offense we continued to grow each and every day, it really was a fun spring for all of us.  It's exciting to know what we have in as we get ready for the fall."
-On the spring game: "I thought we did some good things, on the interception to 'Q' he did a good job but I have to learn from that.  Other than that I thought it was good, we do have to clean up some things with communication in protection; we'll get those worked out and be ready to roll."
-On adjusting to a new system around the pandemic: "I think that's what made last year the hardest, not having a spring practice or the summer and with fall camp being different.  This year has been a little easier because we had the full spring, there are some limitations on the way we do things but as everything seems to be lifting a little bit it seems to be easier to practice.  We have to find a way to get better no matter the circumstances."

Junior LB A.J. DeShazor
-On the No. 5 jersey: "Coach [Wommack] touched on Anthony and what he means and what he brought, this is a big deal wearing the No. 5 just from a leadership standpoint and how you carry yourself on and off the field representing what being a Jaguar is all about.  It's a huge honor.  Coach Wommack and I have known each other since my freshman year, he's always been a player's coach; he is a great guy with defensive schemes and knows football in and out, but we have that good bond that a player should have with his coach.  I think it's neat that it allows guys to not only be locked in to what they are doing each week but pushing that much more, wearing this number people have eyes and will know you worked that much harder; that's a big thing."
-On the new coaching staff: "When we met in the team room on day one after the [new] coaches got here you could tell it was a different atmosphere, they brought a different level of intensity to the program knowing that we are not just building but we're here to win football games and go to a bowl game this year."

Junior LB Quentin Wilfawn
-On his interception in the game: "We were running a Cover 3, we weren't doing a lot.  The 'Stinger' blitzed on the play and I was just reading his [the quarterback's] eyes; I saw him look that way and went that way and he threw it right to me."
-On how the team has progressed since the start of the spring season: "I think we've come a long way, you could probably tell from the limited snaps we were able to get today the difference is night and day.  The schemes that have been put in and the attitudes that the staff and players are bringing, everybody is buying in.  It's a good feeling to know where we are headed and the opportunity that is ahead of us."
-On the importance of the team bonding quickly: "It's extremely important, coaches have told us all through the spring that the team we are going to be in the fall depends on what we do in the spring; I think there is a lot of truth to that.  This is where you get to know each other and come together as a team, one of the more important things when it comes to winning games is being able to play together."

Up next: The Jaguars will play host to Southern Mississippi at Hancock Whitney Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 4, in their opening game of the 2021 season.

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).

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