Date: 8/10
Time: 8 a.m.-10 a.m. (CDT)
Place: James A. and Frances H. Yance Football Practice Facility
Practice attire: Full pads

Offensive Player of the Day: Xavier Johnson, Jr., RB, Tampa, Fla.
-Offensive coordinator Bryant Vincent on Johnson: "One of the things I'm most proud about Xavier is the person he has become from when he stepped on campus to where he is now, just what he stands for as a person outside of football.  He's just a special kid that brings so much spirit, positivity and work ethic.  On the field, he's a special and dynamic player.  He's explosive, tough and intelligent.  He can break a game open at any moment.  He's the kind of guy you are looking for to have on your football team."

Defensive Player of the Day: Sean Grayer, So., DL, Green Cove Springs, Fla.
-Defensive coordinator Kane Wommack on Grayer: "Sean has been consistent all through camp.  This summer, we asked him to move down to a three-technique and he has welcomed that challenge.  He's faced some adversity [with the move] just being a little bit undersized, but he's now got to the point where his technique is so good, he's executing at a really high level and making plays on the inside for us."

Play of the Day: Needing six yards for a first down during the final team period of the day, Kevin Kutchera made a one-handed catch following a cut to the sideline to help the first-team offense move the chains.

Team period highlights: Prior to the first of two water breaks on the day, the Jaguars had a nearly 15-minute period that included run and play-action plays; there was also a 15-minute period playing from first-and-10 from the offense's 20-yard line, followed by a final five-minute segment of practice featuring third-down conversions.

Miscellaneous Notes
-The Jags' first-team defense forced two three-and-outs during the next-to-last period of the morning, then stopped their counterparts on three of four third-down snaps.  In addition to a Jalen Thompson interception, Randy Allen and Chason Milner both broke up passes.
-The second-team offense twice advanced from its own 20-yard line into the red zone, but managed just three points on a 23-yard Gavin Patterson field goal.  On the first drive Evan Orth completed third-down passes to Sa'Mory Collier, Jordan McCray and Collier again.
-McCray and Milton Revell each caught passes to help the second-team unit convert on two of four third downs.
-Wayne Johnson broke up two passes and deflected a third that led to a completion for a loss of 10 yards during the initial second-team drive in the second 15-minute team period.
-During 7-on-7 skeleton passing drills, Gerald Everett hauled in an 18-yard scoring pass from Orth one play before the sophomore quarterback connected with Kutchera for an 11-yard score.  Cole Garvin hit Sam Harris for an 11-yard score as well, while Cole Butler threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Jahmmir Taylor.
-Taji Stewart and Tyree Vines recorded interceptions during skeleton passing drills for the South defense.
-Both returns were featured during special teams periods, with the Jaguars working on running back kickoffs the first period of the morning and punt returns after the second water break.

Head coach Joey Jones
-On why younger members of the program saw more practice time on Wednesday: "The first part is obviously to get the older guys healthy, we're getting a little beat up — nothing really major, but some dings here and there — at the end of the second week [of preseason camp].  It's a good time to be able to develop depth, though, it forces coaches to get those second- and third-teamers in there and get them some serious reps.  I'm glad the way it is going, I think these young guys need the reps."
-On Finessé Middleton and SirCalvin Wallace being cleared to begin practicing: "We ran into it last year with so many injuries on the defensive line, you can't have enough of those guys; bringing those two in was huge for us.  We'll find out how good they are, but right now we think they are going to be very good players for us.  We'll see in the next few days."
-On the defense's performance in the final period of the morning: "It was a real good day, I thought Jalen made a great pick on one of the third-down situations.  I thought the defense won it today on third down in the competition period."

Dallas Davis
-On how practice is going since donning full pads: "We're pretty proud of where we are at right now, but we have to keep climbing.  We're a whole different team from last year, all the guys are buying in and it means a lot to us, to the team and to the coaches.  We're looking forward to this year."
-On the performance of young receivers in preseason camp: "We don't have the depth that we need right now at receiver, those are the guys who have to step up and fill that role.  I feel like they are doing a great job right now."
-On his expectations for Saturday's scrimmage: "I want to see the team have a lot of energy coming out, and playing fast and smart.  And I want to see what I can do and keep moving forward."

Finessé Middleton
-On being able to get on the field: "It's amazing, this team really feels like a family with the way we have bonded and come together so quick.  I have a crazy feeling about what is about to happen this year, I think this is a very special team."
-On what attracted him to transferring to USA: "One day I got a phone call from Coach Wommack, he told me he was at South, and Coach Jones got on the phone and we had a conversation.  I really don't like cold weather, and I had a chance to move back home."
-On what he expects his role to be in the fall: "I'm really just a piece of the puzzle, that's how I look at it; I'm just coming in to do my job and help any way I can.  We have some good guys who are out right now — some will be back soon, some will be back a little later — but they all will be back.  I feel once we all get clicking we can be dangerous."

SirCalvin Wallace
-On how it feels to be at practice with the rest of the team: "It feels good just to be out on the field again; I didn't go through spring ball at North Texas so it feels good to be playing football again with a group of guys working toward a great goal."
-On what he found attractive about the program when he was looking to transfer: "I remember them talking to me out of high school, they came all the way to East Texas to see me, so that stuck in my head.  And when I talked to [assistant] coach [Brian] Turner I liked the way he coached and the way he sounded, he is the type of guy who doesn't want to give you anything but let you work for everything.  I really respected that, I liked that about him — he seemed like a player's coach, and reminded me a lot of my old D-Line coach, so I thought this must be the right place to go."
-On what he thinks his role in the Jaguar defense is: "They brought me here to do a job, I know what I'm here for.  I have one season left, my job is to make sure when I am on the field that I dominate and that when I leave the guys behind me know how to dominate as well.  I'm not saying they don't know how to but that I need to make an impact on those guys as much as I can because I will be here with them for a short time."

Up next: Thursday's practice for the Jaguars is slated to start at 8 a.m. at the James A. and Frances H. Yance Football Practice Facility and last just under two hours
 
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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