First Media Day as a Division 1 team, South
Alabama face the camera and media outlets to express their program progress and
expectation for the upcoming season.
Jaguar student- athletes Jake Johnson, B.J. Scott, Trey Clark and Jeremé Jones, along with offensive coordinator Robert Matthews, defensive coordinator Bill Clark and head coach Joey Jones fielded questions from the media.
Coach Joey Jones opened the session
by saying “We’re very excited about this season. Our kids have worked their
tails off to get here. There’s a different look in their eyes right now; they
understand the challenges we have ahead of us. And they’re competitors – they
compete and want to compete with the best. It’s been very exciting to watch
them during the offseason to get ready for this season.”
Coach
Jones also spoke on this year team. “There’s no doubt that we’re better; we
have better players. It’s going to be a year where we kind of feel our way
through as far as knowing how good these (Sun Belt Conference) teams are. It’s
a good conference, we know that. They’ve beaten some very tough teams in this
country, so we understand that it’s going to be a very tough league. But we
want to make a good representation for South Alabama. We want to go out and be
very competitive. I want the other teams to respect us when they walk off the
field. You certainly want to get to the point where you win a lot of games, but
you can’t focus on that. We have to focus on the process of it.”
Coach
Jones also touched on the team strengths. “Our linebackers are very good
football players, not that we don’t have good players at other positions. But
if you look at our starters at linebacker, I think you start with Jake Johnson.
He’s a great football player who I think will play in the NFL next year. He’s
smart, can run and is a good tackler – he can do it all. Enrique Williams is
looking really good, and Clifton Crews is a very good athlete. I think those
guys can compete with just about anybody.”
Both Defensive and
Offensive Coordinators gave sounding and encouraging comments on the program.
Both seem to be in high spirits as they take this team into a new era.
Defensive Back B.J.
Scott
spoke on the progress of the defense to this point and expectations for
the season:
“Midway
through camp, we have some players with some dings who are a little banged up
and we’re trying to get them back as fast as we can, but I think our defense is
looking good this year. We’ve prepared ourselves throughout camp.”
Offensive Lineman
Trey Clark
spoke on the state of the offensive line:
“Our
strengths are our ability to play fast and utilize our athleticism. As far as
our weaknesses, we have to get better at our pass protection and learning to
play together. We have some guys that are stepping into starting roles, so
getting used to playing next to one another is going to be important for us.”
Wide
Receiver Jeremé Jones spoke on the progression of the offense in camp:
“It’s progression really well. We have a dynamic offense. We go through our bumps and bruises, but overall I think we’re doing what doing we have to do to be where we want to be at the end of the season.”
South
Alabama enters division 1 play for the first time in program history on Thursday,
August 30 against UTSA. The game will be played at Ladd Pebbles Stadium in
Mobile, Alabama and broadcasted on ESPN3.com
