MOBILE, Ala. – C.J. Bennett and Trey Fetner both threw a touchdown pass, and Devin Robinson ran for another score to lead the University of South Alabama football team’s offense Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in the first scrimmage of preseason camp.
“I thought we responded well today,” head coach Joey Jones said of the team’s first live scrimmage, which lasted one-and-a-half hours. “We put them in some situations that they hadn’t been in in practice where you are tackling full speed. There is a difference, I don’t care who you are and how hard you practice — and we practice hard — games are different because there is that little extra burst that you always have to give. We realized in the scrimmage today that we have to do a little bit more of this where they are used to game-type situations.
“I thought they got a little tired, but that’s due to the fact that we’ve been practicing 10 days in a row. The bottom line is they need to realize that the game is a little different than practice. The kids are fighting through it, I thought they gave good effort.”
The offense scored three times in the first half, recording a touchdown and a field goal from the first-team unit as well as a field goal from the second team on the final possession before the break.
“We’ve been back and forth with the defense all fall camp, we’ve been in tough situations at the end of practice in team work; last play of the game, third down, third-and-long and fourth down,” added Bennett. “We got out here in a regular situation with a live game plan, and our offensive line did great. We ran the ball good and threw the ball really well, I was content with the performance.”
Bennett guided the unit 57 yards in 10 plays before Jordan Means connected on a field goal from 30 yards. In addition to completing a pass to Corey Waldon for 25 yards to move the group past midfield, Demetre Baker carried four times for 39 yards on the drive — the series was the running back’s only appearance of the day. Jordan Means ended the series by hitting a 30-yard field goal for the first points of the day.
On his last possession of the half, Bennett led the Jaguar offense on a seven-play, 60-yard march that culminated in an 18-yard touchdown run by Robinson. Santuan McGee — who would finish with 26 yards on five attempts — picked up the initial first down of the drive with a carry for 11 yards, with J.J. Keels moving the chains again after runs of eight and four yards. The unit moved into the red zone on a 13-yard completion from Bennett to Waldon, and on the next play appeared to score on a 19-yard pass from Bennett that was called back due to offensive pass interference.
Instead, Keels picked up 16 yards before Robinson went around right tackle and raced to the goal line. The duo were USA’s leading rushers on the day, with the former carrying 13 times for 74 yards and the latter adding 57 on 14 attempts.
“Of course Kendall Houston didn’t play today and Demetre, we got him out after about six plays; we know good and well what he can do,” Jones stated. “We’re trying to develop some depth, and J.J and Devin looked good. And Santuan has always looked real good, so we feel like we’ve got five guys back there that can play.”
Fetner then guided the second team 54 yards, leading to a 28-yard Michel Chapuseaux field goal on the final snap before the break. The key to the drive was a completion to Jake Howton on a post pattern for a pick up 47 yards, with Robinson carrying three times for 12 more yards immediately after that play.
The only score of the second half came on the next-to-last series when Fetner found Anthony Ingram open down the middle for a 40-yard scoring pass.
Fetner was 4-of-7 passing for 106 yards, while Bennett finished 2-of-4 through the air for 38 more. On the day, the Jag offense gained 328 yards while averaging just under five yards per play.
“We had plans to have our No. 1 units go in there for 15-18 plays then have the twos and threes work a good bit today, which is what we did,” commented Jones. “I thought the offense picked it up today and put some things together; it had been looking pretty bad the last few days to be honest, the defense had kind of been dominating them. The offense played a little better today, it was good to see them fight back.”
The defense would put points on the board as well after the break, as Ramon Lewis deflected a pass into the hands of Desmond Jones, who ran it back 43 yards for a touchdown.
Desmond LaVelle paced the unit with seven total stops, five of which were unassisted, while Cori Barnett and Cordivido Grice chipped in with five tackles apiece. Both B.J. Scott and Damond Smith were credited with three tackles for the first team, with Ameriol Finley, Ben Giles, Maleki Harris, Ceasare Johnson and Ramon Lewis making three stops each for the second- and third-team units. Grice, Jesse Kelley and Andrew Philon all posted two tackles for loss.
“I think I have made progress through camp, but there is always room to get better,” LaVelle stated. “I’m just trying to do my best and help out the team. I’ve caught on to things and my coaches are helping me out a lot, today I think I did okay; I still think I can do better, we’ll just have to see.”
“I think we got game speed [out of the scrimmage], because in practice we’re going full speed to the ball but we have to slow up and not hit,” said inside linebacker Jake Johnson, who finished with a solo sack. “Today it was up tempo with linemen coming off hard and cutting us, running backs were running hard. We’re not there yet, but it was good for a first scrimmage to see that and where we need to be.”
To end the scrimmage, all three Jaguar placekickers attempted three field goals. Means led off, connecting from 37, 40 and 50 yards, while Chapuseaux hit a 49-yarder and Lawson McGlon was successful on a 45-yard attempt.
The Jags will be off on Sunday, returning to the fields on campus for a 6:15 a.m. workout Monday.
“We’ve got some good freshmen, I believe they are going to find some playing time,” Jones observed. “We’re going to have to make a decision next weekend after the scrimmage whether to redshirt them or play them; that’s a valuable decision. Some of those guys are stepping up and could fill some starting roles before long, but we’ll see how things progress.”
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).
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Scrimmage stats
Scrimmage and "Fan Day" photo gallery
