MOBILE, Ala. – The morning session of the University of South Alabama’s first two-a-day practice of preseason camp was a physical, vigorous workout that showed glimpses of what may be in store for Saturday’s Fan Day scrimmage.

“Today was a good, physical practice,” Jaguar head coach Joey Jones said. “I thought the defense had a good day today – they played with a lot of intensity. Offensively, we’re playing hard; it just takes a while for an offense to gel. Our goal right now is to find some depth. We have to find some kids who want to step up and play. We have six guys who can play on the offensive line right now. If we can find two more that can really play, that’s what we’re looking for. Those guys have a great opportunity to step up in that spot and get some playing time.”

Tuesday’s practice opened with nearly 10 minutes worth of punt team work. The offense then spent over 30 minutes on individual and group work, which included a screen drill and route-running drills for the tight ends, wide receivers and running backs.

The Jaguars then worked on the inside running game, followed by 10 minutes of play-action pass and outside runs against the defense.

From there, the offense moved into skeleton pass drills against the defense, while the offensive linemen worked on pass protection against the defense.

Following a 10-minute break, the offense spent 10 minutes on reverses against the scout team before going live against the defense.

The first 12 plays were run from around the offense’s 20-yard line. The first two plays, a rush by Demetre Baker for no gain and a fumble recovery by Myles Gibbon on a low snap, resulted in negative yardage for the offense. But it responded with a 15-yard rush by Kendall Houston on the next play, followed by a six-yard run by Devin Robinson. Baker then reeled off a 10-yard run on the following play.

One play later, Anthony Taylor came off the end to pressure C.J. Bennett and force an incompletion. Taylor then recorded a tackle for loss on the ensuing play. But Baker responded with a 20-yard run through the left side of the defense on the ensuing snap. The defense then stiffened, allowing just three yards on the next three plays.

After moving to red zone drills, the offense found the end zone a few plays later on a 17-yard play-action pass from Bennett to Lamontis Gardner, but the defense responded with a forced fumble on the following play that was recovered by Logan Bennett at the 11-yard line.

The Jaguar field goal unit then came on to attempt an 18-yard field goal, but the kick was blocked by Will Thompson. Later in the drill, Jordan Means drilled a 32-yard field goal and Lawson McGlon connected on a 22-yard attempt.

The ball was then placed on the defense’s 10-yard line, but the defense didn’t break. After holding Robinson to just four yards on the first two plays, Damond Smith came off the edge to sack Bennett. The offense suffered another loss of yardage on the next play, as Ben Giles brought down J.J. Keels three yards behind the line of scrimmage. Cori Barnett sacked Trey Fetner on the ensuing play, and a 34-yard field goal attempt missed wide left to end the drill.

Baker carried four times for 34 yards to lead the Jaguar rushing attack. Robinson picked up 21 yards on six attempts, and Houston added a 15-yard run. Keels added eight yards on three carries, and Santuan McGee gained five yards on two attempts.

The defense recorded two sacks, a fumble recovery, one blocked field goal and held the offense to three yards or less on 18 plays. The offense gained five yards or more on eight plays, highlighted by Bennett’s touchdown pass to Gardner.

Practice closed with work on punt returns, while the quarterbacks worked on ball security.

The Jags will return to practice in shells at 4:30 p.m. at the practice fields on campus. USA will also be in shells for Wednesday’s practice, which will begin at 6:15 a.m.

“We’re going to back off tomorrow,” Jones said. “We will practice for the same amount of time, there just won’t be as much hitting. We’ll come back and hit a little more on Thursday, then back off Friday before Saturday’s scrimmage.”

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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