South Alabama Jaguars 2018 Football Preview
Opening Statement: It became fairly obvious last fall that Joey Jones no longer had the answers in Mobile, and he finally walked away to let another staff take a shot at getting the engine moving in the right direction for South Alabama football. The Jaguars then went out and hired a guy who knows something about winning in Steve Campbell, the former coach at Central Arkansas, Delta State, and Mississippi Gulf Coast. Campbell is a winner, through and through, and while it may take some time, the rest if the Sun Belt should start to be worried about what he will bring there moving forward.
Breakdown Offense: Cole Garvin played in 8 games last fall, and passed for 1490 yards and 7 TDs, but he also tossed 7 INTs and completed just 52.6% of his passes on the season. Thatleft the door wide open for freshman QB Cephus Johnson to step into the competition, and he may very well have won it. That battle carries into fall camp. Evan Orth looks to be the 3rd QB either way. Dallas Davis left the program right before spring camp began.
The Jaguars had one of the worst rushing attacks in the nation last fall, averaging just 97.3 yards per game (125th nationally). Tre Minter, who ran for just 341 yards and averaged just 3.19 yards per carry, is expected to be the starter, but Deonta Moore could give him a solid push for reps. There is very little in the way of experience or depth after that.
USA gets all 3 starters back at WR in Jamarius Way, Sam Harris, and Malik Stanley. Way caught 47 passes to lead the team last fall. He totaled 762 yards and 3 scores while averaging 16.21 yards per grab. Harris caught 41 passes for 570 yards and 2 scores, while Stanley caught 27 passes last fall.
Jordan McCray and Kawaan Baker add some depth there.
Both Tackles return in Noah Fisher and Ryan Alexander, but the entire interior must be replaced. Roy Albritton and Rowan Godwin are penciled in at the OG spots, while Brian Ankerson projects to start at Center. The new staff will spend the fall trying to sort out depth here.
Breakdown Defense: New DC Greg Stewart gets 6 starters back on defense, including 2 on the line in DE Sean Grayer and DT Tyree Turner. They combined for just 6.5 TFLs last fall, so more will be needed from this front unit for improvement to show. Jeffrey Whatley will be the new starter at NT. Riley Cole will see some work up front as well at DE. Darius Whitfield, a South Carolina signee originally, is a JC transfer that can add some depth as well.
Riley Cole will work out at both LB and DE in the fall, and he could be used in both places, depending on the package and situation. He totaled 55 tackles last fall. He could be joined at LB by starters in Bull Barge and Roy Yancey. Barge totaled 77 tackles last fall, while Yancey is new and raw.
Three starters return in the secondary in CB Darian Mills, ROV Malcolm Buggs, and SS Nigel Lawrence. Mills finished the year with 13 PBUs, but he did not convert any of those into INTs or turnovers. Lawrence finished with 87 tackles last fall. Travis Reed (CB) and DJ Daniels (FS) are expected to fill vacant spots in fall camp.
Breakdown Special Teams: Gavin Patterson is a rock at PK, as he hit 16/19 FGs last fall. He will be joined in the kicking game by Corliss Waltman, who has a cannon leg at Punter and averaged 45.24 yards per punt in 2017.
Kawaan Baker may inherit the KR duties, while Sam Harris returns to the PR job after averaging 6.8 yards per punt last fall.
Final Analysis: The hiring of Campbell last fall was one of the better FBS hires of all. He turned Central Arkansas into a big winner in the FCS Southland Conference, won at Delta State, and won a JC National Title at Mississippi Gulf Coast. South Alabama really is not very far away from being competitive again in the Sun Belt, and while you may not see a major move this fall, you will see the needle pointing up very soon in Mobile. This should be a fun team to watch fairly soon.
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