MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama football program, under the direction of second-year head coach Kane Wommack, went through a nearly two-hour scrimmage Friday morning at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
South Alabama is scheduled to practice Monday and Wednesday morning from 9-10:45 a.m. All practices will be closed to the general public.
Below are highlights from post practice interviews with the media.
Head Coach Kane Wommack
- Opening Statement: "We're getting better as a football team, a lot of competition and physicality, which is what we're looking for. Offensively we knocked off some really good runs at the beginning and I thought we kept applying the pressure. Major [Applewhite] called a really good scrimmage, just in terms of mixing it up, but we've got some really good runs with some run-pass options tagged to them and you get a guy like Carter Bradley, who can whip it around a little bit and Desmond [Trotter] did some really good things. Our running backs are running hard right now, that's exciting to see. Then, you've got some guys on the receiving core right now that can really make some plays. I mean, Allen Dailey [Jr.] continues to shine and we'll get Jaylen Wayne back off of some injury, so [we] haven't gotten to see him as much. From a defensive perspective, some guys got put in some tight situations and they kind of rose up when they won the "red zone lockout", which is a really competitive back-and-forth drill. Our linebackers are probably some of the most improved right now on our team. Quentin Wilfawn taking his game to another level and James Miller has really injected some energy into that group, but also into the "swarm D" and that's something we needed. We needed a bit more of that vocal energy on that side of the ball and I think guys like him and Jalen Jordan have provided some of that for us."
- On today's scrimmage: "This is practice 11 for us, we got our feet and legs underneath us in terms of we're more in shape than we were even a week ago. In the spring game—you want to make sure you have a good clean showing. This one we put a little more on them schematically, we tried to get somewhere in the 50 reps plus the 3s got about eight reps as well, I think we ended up with about a 109-play scrimmage, so that was good to see. You try to get all of these situational things worked, because this is the film you're going to use for the majority of the summertime, in terms of teaching."
- On goals going into the last week of practice: "We want to continue to hone in on some of the situational things, make sure we're getting some red zone, inside the 10-yard line, just because that's really a different world. It's a different set of offensive and defensive schemes, windows get tighter defensively. All of the sudden you slant to the right and the guy barrels through for two yards, usually a two-yard gain is a good thing, but down inside the five [yard line], that's a totally different deal. So, some of those situational things and then continuing to execute at a high level with some violent physicality and I think that we've seen that. Our offensive line is really getting tough, they're getting physical, I think that was something coming out of a year ago between them and the running backs, we knew we had to get significantly better and I think we're making those strides right now."
Wide Reciever Allen Dailey Jr.
- On his touchdown during the scrimmage: "It felt really good, the defense got tangled up and Carter [Bradley] found me in the back of the endzone and made it pretty easy for me, offensive line did their job, just lead to a touchdown for me."
- On what he has accomplished throughout the spring: "Just getting out there and going hard with my teammates. Seeing how we're going to flow, getting ready for the game next week and for the season, it felt good being out here on a good Saturday."
- On what goals he hopes to achieve: "I'm looking to continue being physical, just doing what I need to do to help my team win. Doing what I need to do step by step and day by day."
Cornerback Marquise Robinson
- On his performance during the scrimmage: "My team fueled our big plays, so I figured if I went out there and made some big plays, the defense would get hyped up."
- On where he feels like the defense is: "I feel like we're getting better week by week. If we keep making explosive plays, we'll be the best defense in the Sun Belt."
- On the opportunity to play at South: "Coach [Dwike] Wilson, he's all about it, so I was like—I'm a cornerback, I want to lock everything in front of me up. I was like, get a coach like him and go crazy, try to be his first-round pick."
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