NEW ORLEANS – University of South Alabama football head coach Kane Wommack met with members of the media Thursday to discuss multiple topics including the spring season and the upcoming 2022 NFL Draft, among others.  

The Jags have one more spring practice scheduled on Friday before their Annual Red & Blue Spring Game set for Saturday at 10 a.m. at Hancock Whitney Stadium. 

Below are highlights from the Zoom interview session, which was hosted by the Sun Belt Conference. 

South Alabama Head Coach Kane Wommack
- Opening Statement: "We're in the final week of spring football. We have our spring game this upcoming Saturday. It's really exciting as you go into year two. Obviously, we've been able to improve our roster in terms of some of the young men we've been able to bring in both from high school and the transfer portal. Having them and having systems that are established going into our second year—from an organizational standpoint—has allowed us to focus more on those small details that ultimately come down to winning championships. For us, we have focused more on the physicality of our football team and becoming a more consistent team. Often times teams beat themselves in games—if you look at some of the games that we came up short—we did not execute [consistently] and that hurt us. I think we've become a more consistent football team over the spring, we have certainly become a more physical football team and it shows up in the line of scrimmage, but also in our perimeter blocking and the physicality that we play with on the back end defensively as well." 

- On Southern Miss joining the conference: "I obviously have a special connection with Southern Miss; I graduated from there, my dad was a defensive coordinator in their hay day. Some of their great defenses they had in the mid to late 90's, he was the defensive coordinator there. I fell in love with the game of football during my time in Hattiesburg as a kid. So, that's really fun to know the history and tradition of that program, and [the fact] we'll be competing against them every single year I think is tremendous. It's a great regional rivalry for our fanbase, not just in football, but in all sports. It's really exciting for our fanbase and our student-athletes."
 
- On Major Applewhite's impact on the offense: "One of the great things about Major [Applewhite] is his experience as a quarterback, position coach and play caller. He's seen the highest of the highs and he's had some adversities, and he's been able to go through all those things and those experiences have led him to being a great leader of our offense here. So, that's really exciting, what he's brought to the table. I think we do some really impressive things, schematically, particularly in the passing game. We've got a really developed system that finds creative ways to get great football players the ball. That was reflected even in year one with what we were able to do with Jalen Tolbert in terms of 82 catches and 1,474 yards receiving. 

"What's great about our system is you're looking at some of these players that we need feature moving forward and we can find creative ways to get them in the one-on-one matchups with the ball. Maybe they're playing a different position or we're finding creative ways to move guys around. We were not nearly efficient enough in running the football this past year and I think that's something we're all aware of and have really worked towards [improving]. Certainly, when you get a player like La'Damian Webb, from a running back position, that improves that room and some of the explosiveness that we can have in the run game, but I feel like our offensive line has made a pretty tremendous jump from year one to year two. Major is a gifted play caller and he's got good answers when defenses present challenges for us, so I'm excited to see how he develops in year two."

- On Jalen Tolbert and the NFL Draft: "It's special for me, personally, because I helped recruit Jalen [Tolbert] to this program. You know, here's a guy that was on my scout teams when I was the defensive coordinator here before and has worked his way up to becoming the elite player in the Sun Belt Conference in terms of being the offensive player of the year. You watch his growth over those year and then you watch these organizations from the NFL come in and have meeting with him between general managers, scouting personnel and position coaches who are evaluating Jalen. For him, to show his knowledge, professionalism and the way he carries himself, and to see their reactions to a young man that is not coming from Alabama or Auburn necessarily, but is doing it at South Alabama is a tremendous step forward for our program. We want to be focused on Mobile and Baldwin County, in terms of recruiting. When you can say to a young man in the 2023 recruiting class, here's Jalen Tolbert, that had Power Five offers coming out of high school and opportunities to go elsewhere, but he chose to stay home and now he's being rewarded for that in following all the things and the dreams he had years ago when he made that decision." 

- On standout student-athletes during spring practice: "There are a few glaring things from an exciting standpoint, one being Carter Bradley; his arm talent and some of the things he's been able to do in terms of making some pretty special throws. I like his demeanor, he's got a bit of a 'gunslinger' mentality, he can throw it into tight windows. I think he has not thrown an interception since practice three, which is pretty impressive as well. Part of it is our defensive guys every now and then will get their hands on the ball, but it's coming in so dang fast that we can't pick it off. Desmond Trotter at the quarterback position has really taken a great step forward. He was a started here in 2020, came in and started games for us this past year for us when Jake Bentley went down. I see a different quarterback from what I saw in film in 2020 and this past season, which is really exciting for us. 

"La'Damian Webb is a special talent, from a running back position, so to bring him into the mix and the physicality that the rest of our running backs are playing with and Damean Bivins, who has come on after injury, is exciting. Our offensive line in general, we've just become a more physical team. 

"On the defensive side of the ball, Darell Luter Jr. continues to stand out. I think the Sun Belt is well aware of what he can do and his capabilities. I feel the most improvement has come from our linebacking core. We were fortunate enough to bring James Miller—who I recruited at Indiana University for the 'Mike' linebacker spot—he is doing really well alongside Quentin Wilfawn, who is now healthy. Those guys have really elevated their game along with the rest of that linebacking core. Our defensive line continues to operate at an elite level, which is exciting."

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