Date: 4/3
Time: 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. (CDT)
Place: Hancock Whitney Stadium

Scoring Plays (drive information)
-Christian Wortham 69-yard pass from Eli Gainey (1 play, 69 yards)
-Jalen Tolbert 56-yard pass from Jake Bentley (1 play, 56 yards)
-Devin Voisin 9-yard pass from Bentley (5 plays, 56 yards)
-Jalen Wayne 15-yard pass from Desmond Trotter (6 plays, 44 yards)
-Tolbert 19-yard pass from Bentley (4 plays, 44 yards)

Play of the Day: After the Jaguar offense had advanced to the defense's 35-yard line, Kelvin Johnson was able to make his way into the backfield and trip up the runner on fourth-and-1 to end the threat.

Key Statistics
-Passing: Jake Bentley 17-of-28, 214 yds, 3 TDs; Eli Gainey 4-of-8, 93 yds, 1 TD; Desmond Trotter 7-of-15, 87 yds, 1 TDs
-Rushing: John Tank Miller 3-33; Jared Wilson 6-16
-Receiving: Jalen Tolbert 8-121, 2 TDs; John Tank Miller 3-52; Jalen Wayne 3-26, 1 TD; Keyshawn Woodyard 3-24; Caullin Lacy 3-14; Christian Wortham 2-82, 1 TD; Lincoln Sefcik 2-28; Terrion Avery 2-21
-Defense: Jaden Voisin 4-1—5 TT, 1 INT; Quentin Wilfawn 2-3—5 TT, 1 TFL; DJ Exhilhomme 4-0—4 TT; Brady Wiggins 4-0—4 TT; CJ Rias 1-3—4 TT; Keon Voison 1-3—4 TT, 1 PBU; Keith Gallmon 2-1—3 TT; A.J. DeShazor 1-2—3 TT, 1 PBU
-Special teams: Diego Guajardo 3-4 FGs, 51 long; Noah Karwacki 2-4 FGs, 35 long; Jack Brooks 5-44.6 avg punting

Miscellaneous Notes
-This was South's first scrimmage under the direction of new head coach Kane Wommack.
-The Jaguar offense totaled 536 yards while running 93 plays in 90 minutes, including posting 465 of those through the air.
-USA's defense recorded a pair of takeaways after Jaden Voisin and Kwameh Lewis intercepted passes, with the unit also credited with six sacks among its 10 stops behind the line of scrimmage.
-Six individuals from the group — Dewayne Betts Jr., DeShazor, Darrell Luter Jr., Devin Rockette, Keon Voisin and Tré Young — added a pass defensed.
-Rockette's lone tackle of the morning was for a loss as well.
-The offense had 16 individuals catch at least one pass, with half of that group posting multiple receptions.
-Six running backs carried the ball more than once, with Miller leading the unit in both rushing and receiving yards on the day.
-Three of the six sacks recorded by the Jag defense ended possessions, with Henderson, Nick Mobley and Zivaiishe Smith credited with making those plays.
-Both of Jamie Sheriff's tackles were behind the line, with one of those a sack.
-All five of Brooks' punts were 42 yards or longer.


THEY SAID IT
Head coach Kane Wommack
-On the team's opening scrimmage of the spring: "First and foremost, I was excited about the organization of what we did; we came out here with a certain amount of reps that we were trying to get, a certain amount of third downs and plays in the red zone and we got those things accomplished.  We need to make sure we are getting the things we need to be able to watch the film and improve our team overall.  I was excited about the energy, I thought the guys did a nice job of bringing some juice in a situation where coaches aren't running around as much because it's more of a game-like scenario.  We told the guys yesterday that this is the closest thing we can do to simulate a game-like scenario for them, I wanted them to feel the weight and the pressure of that not so that they would become tight but so they understand how to respond in adverse situations.  And I thought we saw some guys do that; we gave up some plays defensively and responded, and when the offense was knocked off the field we responded with some explosive plays downfield."
-On if the defense is ahead of the offense: "I haven't charted how many explosive plays we had on either side of the ball, we had a few takeaways down in the red zone which was good to see.  The hard thing is I am trying to extend plays as long as I can, I'm not counting whether or not it was a sack and that changes the game.  When a quarterback gets hit that changes his demeanor and tempo, those were the things that we were not able to see.  Offensively we were able to create some explosive plays, which was good, we will need to go back and watch the film to see how much we established the run game and how well we defended the run, and how we responded on situational downs."
-On how he feels the team is doing midway through the spring season: "We've put so much on the players from a schematic standpoint over the first seven practices.  We didn't install anything for this scrimmage; in fact, we pulled a great deal back just to see how we would execute.  I'm excited to watch that part of the film.  What's nice is we can take this film and move forward with most of the install done on both sides of the ball, now we get to continue to clean up our fundamentals and get great at situational downs.  The first eight are huge in terms of what we are getting done in practice and with implementation, but the second half of spring ball is even more critical because you're trying to become truly special in the things that you do fundamentally and schematically."

Senior QB Jake Bentley
-On the scrimmage: "I think it went pretty well.  I've been a part of a lot of first scrimmages and like any first scrimmage you're going to have things to clean up tempo-wise and getting set up faster.  Overall I though the offense competed and got after it, it is definitely a day to grow on."
-On the offense playing better later in the scrimmage: "I think we did, but if you look at the first drive we got a first down on third-and-10 and on third-and-two so we were driving the ball.  But you could look at plays and think we could've had a touchdown here or an explosive play there.  Overall I think we moved the ball well, it was a day where we did a lot of great things but there are still a lot of things we can improve on too."
-On his connection with Jalen Tolbert: "I think it's a reward for how much work we've been putting in together, whether it's up here or he calls me to throw in the backyard.  He just wants to catch the ball, that's the type of guy he is.  Even though I feel like we've connected, I missed him on the one touchdown pass; he ran a great route, but I need to hit the throw."

Senior OLB Chris Henderson
-On how the Jaguar defense did in the scrimmage: "It went pretty well defensively, we just need to work on our communication.  With the new staff coming in and our first time going live with them, we needed to communicate better.  But the defense brought it today."
-On how he and the rest of the players are fitting into the new defense: "It fits us very well, it's allowing us to use our talent in the correct way.  We are being a lot more aggressive with our play calls and they are getting us active in the pass rush.  They have added a lot more [since Coach Wommack was at South as defensive coordinator], he is way more intense with his play calling; he is not holding anything back, he keeps sending us and I love it."

Senior CB Devin Rockette
-On the scrimmage: "I think it went how we expected it to go.  We knew that we would be really great at some things and that there would be stuff that we need to get better at.  But today will let us see where we are as a defense."
-On where the defense is at the midpoint of the spring season: "I know we are more than halfway there, but we will work every day to perfect our craft.  We can't do anything other than get better."

Sophomore QB Desmond Trotter
-On South's offensive performance in the scrimmage: "It went well, we executed well and our guys were in the right place at the right time.  We were able to score touchdowns and put up points today."
-On the offense improving as the scrimmage went on: "You come out for your first scrimmage and everyone is kind of tight and nervous trying to prove what you can do to new coaches.  Once everybody settled in, you could see that we were able to execute."
-On changes to the Jag offense this spring: "It was a big install with the new playbook, it's a lot more than what we were used to.  I think we're about 60-75 percent of the way there, we have some new stuff coming in next week.  We are moving our playmakers around and not just having them in one position, and putting them in the right position for the route they are supposed to run."

Up next: The Jaguars' next practice is set to take place at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

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—