Date: 8/14
Time: 10 a.m. (CDT)
Place: Hancock Whitney Stadium

Scoring Plays (drive information)
-Jared Wilson 1-yard run (10 plays, 70 yards)
-Jalen Tolbert 33-yard pass from Jake Bentley (2 plays, 59 yards)
-Jaden Voisin 45-yard interception 
-AJ Philips 3-yard run (4 plays, 25 yards)
-John Tank Miller 3-yard run (3 plays, 25 yards)
-Kareem Walker 10-yard run (1 play, 10 yards)

Play of the Day: Sophomore safety Jaden Voisin stepped in front of the receiver and picked off Eli Gainey's pass attempt returning the ball 45 yards for a defensive score. Another interception by Kwameh Lewis earlier in the scrimmage was also under consideration as the senior brook up a pass and managed to come up with the deflection before hitting the ground.

Key Statistics
-Passing: Jake Bentley 13-of-19, 147 yds, 1 TD; Desmond Trotter 9-of-12, 87 yds; Eli Gainey 6-of-13, 73 yards, 2 INTs; Tanner McGee 4-of-9, 26 yds
-Rushing: Kareem Walker 5-59, 1 TD; Terrion Avery 8-28; AJ Phillips 8-11, 1 TD; Jared Wilson 5-5, 1 TD
-Receiving: Christian Wortham  4-67; Allen Dailey Jr. 4-29; Jalen Tolbert 3-50, 1 TD; Brandon Crum 3-43; Jalen Wayne 3-27; Kareem Walker 3-14
-Defense: Jamie Sherriff 3-4—7 TT, 1 sack; Keith Gallmon 5-1—6 TT, 1 PB, ½ TFL; Shawn Jennings 4-2—6 TT; Shawn Steele II 1-5—6 TT, 1 TFL; A.J. DeShazor 4-1—5 TT, 1 sack; Ke'Shun Brown 2-3—5; Christian Bell 1-3—4 TT, 1 TFL; Brock Higdon 1-3—4 TT, 1 sack; Chris Henderson 3-0—3 TT, 1 sack, 1 ½ TFL, 1 PB; Jaden Voisin 0-2—2 TT, 1 INT (touchdown); CJ Rais 2-0—2 TT, 2 sacks
-Special teams: Noah Karwacki  3-3 FGs, 50 long; Frankie Onate 2-3 FGs, 32 long; Diego Guajardo 1-2 FGs, 48 long; Jack Brooks 5-34.6 avg punting, 40 long; Jack Martin 3-30.7 avg punting, 34 long

Miscellaneous Notes
-This was the first of two scheduled scrimmages for the fall.
-The 106-play scrimmage lasted nearly two hours with the offense accumulating 326 yards of its 469 of its total yards through the air.
-The offensive unit recorded five scores on the day with four of those coming on the ground from Walker, Miller, Phillips and Wilson. Tolbert recorded the lone score through the air with a 33-yard reception down the seam on the second play of the first drive following the punting segment.
-Voisin's 45-yard interception return highlighted a day in which the defensive unit was credited for 11 sacks, 16 tackles for loss three pass break ups and a pair of interceptions.
-South Alabama began the day with the first seven drives starting at their own 30, which was followed by nine more drives from the unit's 41-yard line.
-Following a brief field-goal segment, the Jaguars worked on red zone opportunities from just outside the 20-yard line and first-and-goal situations.
-After the offense had scored touchdowns had scored three-straight possessions in the red zone, the defense answered with a goal line stop with the final three plays coming from two yards or less.
-South's quarterbacks combined for 32 pass completions to 15 different receivers with eight recording multiple catches led by four apiece from graduate transfer Allen Dailey Jr., and freshman wide out Christian Wortham.
-Wortham's 41-yard reception was also the longest play from scrimmage while Walker's 26-yard carry was the longest run.
-Walker recorded 75 yards of total offense as he rushed for 59 yards and a score on five attempts, and caught three passes for 16 yards out of the back field.
-Senior outside linebacker Chris Henderson finished with three tackles, 1 ½ behind the line of scrimmage including a sack, and nearly recorded an interception as he broke up a pass.
-10 different players recorded a sack with Rais being the lone individual to be credited with multiple, ending the day with two.
-South Alabama concluded the scrimmage with two series of the two-minute drill. 

Head coach Kane Wommack
-On the scrimmage: "It was a really beautiful day, outside of getting a really good suntan I was most excited about the guys being able to line up in the heat and run the volume of plays that we ran and really execute to a pretty sound level.  Certainly we had a few mistakes, but we had a lot of volume in our game plan on both sides of the ball and I thought we executed that in terms of understanding what to do.  Obviously we'll go back and watch the film, in the first scrimmage there is always tackling we'll have to clean up but most of those things are on the approach to the ball carrier and not with the physical tackle itself.  I thought we were able to establish some runs, which was really good, generate some pass rush — which was exciting to see — and then execute drives, particularly down in the red zone.  There were a lot of good things, and probably the most exciting thing of all is that the scrimmage isn't nearly done; there are so many things that will better this program from the film and the attention to details that we can get out of learning from the situations that came up in the scrimmage."
-On Jake Bentley: "I was pleased with Jake, I thought he made some really good decisions   Jake understood the tempo that we were trying to go with, I think he and [offensive coordinator] Major [Applewhite] are getting more and more in sync."
-On the defense's energy in the scrimmage: "A perfect example, we gave up a touchdown on a blown situation early with the ones.  I brought them right back out within the next three minutes, they challenged each other on the sideline — you could tell they were over there communicating and getting it figured out — and then they went right back on the field and made a really nice fourth-down stop in the red zone.  That ability to stare adversity in the face and then respond, we talk about it all the time not being a reactionary team but a responsive team.  We talk about Murphy's Law, anything that can go wrong will go wrong, it's going to show up in a football game all the time and are you ready to respond through that adversity and I thought our guys did that."
-On having competition for playing time: "What's really exciting is you look at our ones and you see a bunch of guys who know what to do, they run hard and they play hard, they are physical and you trust them.  Then the twos come out and you say, 'I can trust these guys to go out there and execute for our football team.'  Are we there yet to go into a game with ones and twos and just say we can go do whatever we want?  No, but we have a bunch of guys who know what to do and care a great deal about what we are trying to accomplish in this program.  I see guys who I trust, and that to me is what is exciting about the competition level — you have so many guys that you feel you have created some depth for your program.  The ones are trying to do everything they can to separate themselves to be truly the one who gets to stay on the field as much as possible, but those twos are nipping at their heels and doing everything they can to jump the ones.  That competition level, which we didn't have as much of in the spring has really moved the dial forward because of the urgency our players have to have to hold on to their responsibilities."
-On where the team is with three weeks to go before the first game: "I'm really pleased, for where we are in year one we are probably a little further ahead than where I thought we would be to this point.  Does that mean we are going to win one or two more games?  I don't know that situation yet.  Until we get out on the field and throw a punch and give our best effort, and then we get punched and get their best effort and see how we can respond through adversity, I won't know what this team is capable of in that regard.  But I like what I see to this point, from a schematic standpoint and a fundamental standpoint and certainly a team culture standpoint we are further ahead."

Senior QB Jake Bentley
-On the performance of the offense: "I thought we did some really good things.  Overall in the big picture I thought we battled the heat pretty well, the guys were staying positive, and our backs ran it really well today.  That was encouraging to see, knowing that they can pick up yards and we can be successful on the ground.  I thought we hit some plays down the field too.  There are definitely some things we need to continue to work on."
-On the Jaguars' offensive line in the run game: "That's something they have been working on through the summer and fall camp, getting more physical at the point of attack.  It really showed today."
-On the first scoring drive after a break: "I thought it was good that the guys came back ready to go.  Kareem ripped a nice run and after that we had the opportunity to make a big play.  We got the coverage we wanted one-on-one with Jalen and hit it, it was executed well."

Senior OLB Chris Henderson
-On what he saw in the scrimmage: "It felt good to get back out here for the first time.  We are getting the right guys involved in our defense."
-On where the Jaguar defense is preparing for opening week: "We are still a long way away, but I'm really pleased with where we were today.  We were way ahead of where I thought we would be."
-On personal improvements he would like to make: "With my physicality in the run game.  I have definitely come a long way from last season — and I'm pleased with that — but I still have a lot of work to do before Sept. 4."

Junior WR Jalen Tolbert
-On how the team did in the scrimmage: "It was good on both sides of the ball, we came out here and had a physical scrimmage.  Both sides of the ball showed flashes of what we are capable of doing, now we have to go back and watch the film and come out and correct the things that we messed up."
-On his touchdown reception: "We called a little pump play, he [Jake Bentley] was able to hit me across the middle.  We've been connecting on a lot of deep balls lately, it felt good to come out here and actually do it in a live game scenario."
-On where the offense is getting ready for the first game: "We are continuing to get better and grow as a team.  We are looking forward to being ready to go and stepping on the field when we play Southern Miss on Sept. 4."

Sophomore S Jaden Voisin
-On his interception: "I was reading the quarterback, I saw him eyeing the receiver before the play started.  I saw the ball and made a break on it."
-On what he saw from the defense in the scrimmage: "Our effort is really good, we are all running to the ball and we all believe in each other.  We need to work on tackling and tightening everything up."
-On Coach Wommack: "He makes you excited to make plays, it seems he is just as excited as you are when you make a play.  I love it."

Up next: South Alabama will take Sunday off before returning to the practice field Monday.

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