MOBILE, Ala. ? When the University of South Alabama football team took the field in pads for the first time Tuesday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, there was a bigger battle than just the physical competition between the offensive and defensive lines.
Over the last year Jaguar assistant coaches John and Brian Turner have been working together helping build the USA program that will play its first contest in September. All that changed with the start of spring practice, when the two brothers found themselves in direct competition ? John, the older of the two by eight years, leads the Jags’ interior offensive linemen, while Brian (who also coordinates USA’s recruiting efforts) is in charge of the defensive line.
“We’ve joked about it a little bit off the field,” said John, who came to USA after working the previous five seasons at Chattanooga. “It’s competitive because that’s how we’ve been our whole lives. He knows I want to whip him and I know he wants to whip me, but it is a fun rivalry.”
“It’s been very interesting going against him,” Brian, who joined the Jaguar staff after spending five years at Troy, added. “Yesterday was fun competing because we’ve been doing that all our lives. We’re keeping a tally to see who wins at the end of the spring.”
So who won round one? That depends on which sibling one asks.
“Obviously, with the amount of experienced guys I have, we should get the better of them,” John stated. “However, the defensive line did a really god job at yesterday’s practice and I called Brian on the way home to tell him that.”
“I’ll give him the first day, I think he won that one,” responded Brian. “But that’s the only one he’s going to win, I promise.”
Jag head coach Joey Jones said that other members of the staff can see the intensity in the relationship picking up now that contact drills have begun. “Sure it’s more intense now that we are on the field and their groups are competing against each other. There’s no doubt that when they have one-on-one pass rush and blocking drills that there’s another notch in the intensity level.”
The players in the middle of the rivalry on the field have been able to enjoy being part of this unique scenario.
“It’s been fun because they will go at it every now and then,” freshman defensive lineman Andy Dalgleish observed. “There’s a sense of pride that we have fighting for our coach.”
Added Trey Clark, a sophomore offensive lineman, “It’s neat to see, because every day we work on the boards and one-on-one pass drills they are going at it just like the offensive and defensive linemen are. It’s a unique experience, I’ve never been a part of anything like this.”
With the Jaguars slated to participate in a scrimmage Friday ? they will have one more workout in full pads Thursday prior to running more than 100 plays to close out the week ? the intensity in the sibling rivalry is heating up.
“No matter how it comes out, we’re always going to be brothers,” Brian said. “When we step on the field there’s going to be a competition, that’s always going to be the case. But we do that in recruiting also to see who can sign the best players, so it’s always fun to compete against him.”
“It’s hasn’t affected us yet, but as we get closer to the first scrimmage I guarantee there will be a little more trash talking in the halls back at the office,” John stated. “But we’ll be focused on getting our guys ready to play. It’s competitive between my brother and I and the offense and defense, but it’s more important that our guys play well.”
“It’s going to be fun, but I do want to whip his tail.”
“I think we’re at the point where both of them could put the pads on and go one-on-one on the boards and see who the tougher one is,” Jones laughed. “John’s older and wiser but Brian has youth on his side, so I don’t know who would come out on top.
“We’ve already seen some instances of ?brotherly love’ that I think will probably continue.”
Both brothers had mixed reviews for their units after the team’s first day in full pads. And according to John, his younger brother’s group was responsible for some of the offensive line’s struggles later in the day.
“Initially, I was very pleased with how my guys did,” John stated. “I liked how they came off the ball and the physical nature of their play. But, once the defense started moving around and lining up in different places it made my guy’s heads spin a little but ? they became tentative.
“But we’re ready to come back out and knock some people around a little bit.”
“It was good and bad for us,” Brian said. “It’s never as good or bad as it appears, but even though we did some nice things we have a long way to go to get better. That’s what we’re going to be working on.”
For the players, though, just putting on the pads and facing contact has them excited. Both acknowledged the long layoff for most of the individuals in the program as the main reason for that, and each noted that the results of the first two days of contact drills have led to a lot of sore bodies.
“It’s been great. Being off for a whole year was tough,” said Clark. “We did a lot of walking through plays the first week of spring practice to ease into contact. For us to finally get out here and hit is a different game. I was sore waking up this morning, and I know I’m going to feel that way again tomorrow.
“We made a slight improvement today,” he continued analyzing his unit’s early performance, “but we have to keep working to be better.”
“We were real excited to come out here and actually hit somebody else with pads on,” stated Dalgleish. “It’s gone OK so far, we’ve done some good things and some bad things. Mostly, we just need to get over the soreness.”
No matter which Turner comes out on top at the end of USA’s first-ever spring practice, the Jaguars are sure to be better thanks to both of their efforts.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
?USA?
