Date: 8/20
Time: 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. (CDT)
Place: Ladd-Peebles Stadium

Play of the Day: With the offense facing 4th-and-1 at the defensive 18-yard line on its final drive of the first half, Diantae Thomas stopped Xavier Johnson for a one-yard loss to end threat.   Also considered were Jordan McCray's 40-yard touchdown reception from Cole Garvin on fourth and seven on the offensive units second drive of the second half and DeShawn Applewhite's 55-yard pass from Evan Orth.

Scoring Plays (drive information)
-Gavin Patterson 36-yard field goal (12 plays, 79 yards)
-Riley Cole safety
-Jordan McCray 40-yard pass from Cole Garvin (10 plays, 65 yards)
-Corlis Waitman 24-yard field goal (6 plays, 58 yards)
-Waitman 28-yard field goal (7plays, 34 yards)
-Maaseiah Francis 10-yard pass from Evan Orth (6 plays, 45 yards)

Red Zone Scores (20-yard line start)
-Patterson 33-yard field goal
-Waitman 39-yard field goal
-Francis 22-yard pass from Orth
-McCray 19-yard pass from Garvin
-Waitman 40-yard field goal
-Garvin 8-yard run
-Dami Ayoola 1-yard run

Key Statistics
-Passing: Evan Orth 11-of-14, 142 yds, 2 TDs; Cole Garvin 8-of-18, 105 yds, 2 TDs; Dallas Davis 10-of-17, 98 yds
-Rushing: Deonta Moore 10-25; Xavier Johnson 3-16; Orth 3-16
-Receiving: Maaseiah Francis 4-32, 2 TDs; Jordan McCray 3-65, 2 TDs; Quinton Lane 3-30; Sa'Mory Collier 3-27; Josh Magee 2-59; Grant Powell 2-26; Andrew Reinkemeyer 2-20
-Defense: Nigel Lawrence 3-4—7 TT; Darrell Songy 3-3—6 TT; Devon Earl 4-1—5 TT; Riley Cole 2-3—5 TT, 1 sack; SirCalvin Wallace 2-2—4 TT; Zach Befort 1-3—4 TT; Chason Milner 1-3—4 TT
-Special teams: Gavin Patterson 4-7 FG, long 42; Corliss Waitman 4-6 FG, long 40; Brandon McKee 1-54.0 avg punting; Waitmann 3-40.0 avg punting

Miscellaneous Notes
-USA's offensive unit averaged 4.7 yards per play, posting a total of 451 yards on 96 snaps
-That included 345 yards passing as four quarterbacks combined to complete 29-of-51 attempts.
-The Jaguar defense recorded four sacks — including Riley Cole's safety in the first half — while finishing with nine total tackles for loss.
-South's 29 completions went to 15 individuals, with nine players catching at least two passes.
-Jordan McCray finished with three receptions, including a pair of touchdown catches, for the second straight scrimmage.
-Orth connected on his first eight pass attempts and his only two of his three incompletions were both drops in the end zone.

Head coach Joey Jones
On his overall observations on the scrimmage: "Our defense is playing at a real high level right now, which is very comforting.  As a head coach, you want everything great to happen on offense and defense, but the defense is really getting after [the offense].  We're really good right now on defense.  Offensively, we're really doing some good things, but in my opinion, we're playing against one of the best defenses in the league right now.  I think we have a chance to be good on both sides of the ball.  The negative today though were the mental mistakes and I talked to the team about them after [the scrimmage].  We can't jump offsides or have 12 guys out there on our field-goal unit.  We can't do those types of things and I'll take the blame for that.  I probably didn't do a good enough job getting those guys in the right place.  We're not going to make mistakes like that anymore.  Those are the things that will get you beat."
On what he feels the team needs to improve on offensively before the first game: "Number one offensively we need to get all the guys out there that are going to be playing on Saturdays.  We've been working three groups and giving everybody a chance.  We've just been trying to look at guys one last time before we get to our one- and two-deep.  Secondly, we are running the football well.  Our guys on defense have been going against the offense for a few weeks so they kind of know the plays and formations and have a little bit of an advantage there.  We're doing some good things in our blocking.  Our quarterbacks are throwing the ball better.  Protection has broken down a couple of times and we have to fix that.  Overall though, I think we are on the right track.  I think the defense is just a little bit ahead of the offense right now."
On if the pass protection is where it needs to be: "I'll have to watch the film more, but I thought that it felt better out there [today].  I don't think we gave up as many sacks as we did last week [in the first scrimmage].  A lot of our first team guys weren't giving up many sacks.  We have to improve there.  We want to be down to zero [sacks allowed]."
On the progression of Dallas Davis: "I think Dallas has progressed.  He's played the way we thought he could.  He's very consistent and throws the ball well.  He's a leader and is doing really well out there.  Cole [Garvin] can make some really good throws as well.  His arm strength is good and he's made some big plays for us throwing the ball.  He's in the [quarterback] mix.  Evan Orth has gotten better.  We have three quarterbacks that I feel can all win for us.  We just have to make the decision of which one we are going with.  All three of those guys have gotten better and I've been real pleased with them."

Dallas Davis
On assessing the offense's performance: "We came out and started off strong and we finished strong, which is pretty big.  I felt really good out there, I have to give all the credit to the big guys up front; if you watched the scrimmage I had about 4-5 seconds back there to get the ball off.  They did a heck of a job out there.  Those guys work the hardest — [assistant] Coach [Richard] Owens does a great job with them — you have to give all the credit to them."
On his performance in the scrimmage: "I came out here and made some smart decisions and didn't force any bad balls or put any balls on the ground."
On what he feels his biggest strength is: "I would say coming out there with a purpose.  You have to go out there and focus on one goal at a time to get better and better every day."

Devon Earl
On the emphasis of the defensive line applying pressure in the offensive backfield: "You always want to be able to apply that pressure, especially on first and second down to put the offense behind the sticks.  I think we did that really well today.  The defensive line was coming off the ball well and when they do that, it makes our job easier."
On the unit having fun out on the field: "It's a lot of fun out there.  When you don't have to think and you can just run around and make plays and enjoy yourself, it's really enjoyable.  I tell the safeties all the time to just enjoy ourselves out there.  Other people want to be out here and can't be so we are really blessed to be out her."
On if he feels the defense is where it needs to be heading into the start of the season: "We still have some more work to do.  We're taking it one step at a time and one day at a time.  We're slowly progressing and I know we'll be where we need to be come September 3.  We're where we need to be right now, but not where we'll need to be September 3."

Jordan McCray
On his performance in the scrimmage: "Today was a decent day.  I'm just trying to improve every day.  The two touchdowns were exciting to have as a freshman, but I still need to work on blocking and coming out of my breaks."
On what he sees as his role in the offense: "I just want to get on the field and help [the team] anyway I can.  If it's being a red zone target, that's perfect.  If it's catching deep balls when we are pinned back, that's fine too.  Just anything I can do to help."
On if he feels his height gives him an advantage against defenders: "My height does give me an advantage of course, but I'm trying to build up my speed to give me even more of an advantage.   A lot of people are faster than me.  If I can get stronger and faster, that will definitely give me more of an advantage."

Up next: South Alabama will return to practice on campus Tuesday beginning at 3:30 p.m. after a pair of off days.

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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