By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN, Advocate sportswriter
As Camp Pete Richardson XV closed Saturday, with game week for the season opener beginning today, the surprises were few.
Sophomore Bryant Lee emerged as the winner of the quarterback duel with fellow sophomore Warren Matthews, somewhat as expected. Meanwhile, the team closed camp with more questions on its offensive and defensive lines than before the Jaguars began practicing on Aug. 2.
The Jaguars, 5-6 last season, play Florida A&M, 7-4 last season, in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge on ESPN Classic at 2 p.m. Saturday at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala.
Offense
Eligibility concerns continue to surround three offensive linemen, two of whom have not been with the team. Also, true freshman guard Brian Bridges was pulled from the team because he has yet to be OK’d by the NCAA Clearinghouse.
As it was, the team entered with two guards, junior Adrian Banks and senior Jacoby Collins, academically ineligible, plus junior tackle Ruben Oliver missed the first few weeks of camp as he completed a summer internship.
The surprises here were moving senior tight end Trent Thomas to the crucial spot of left tackle and junior Rafael Louis inside to left guard from left tackle. That leaves Southern small on the left side.
Junior defensive tackle Frank Harry, meanwhile, came over to play guard last week.
“Offensively, we made some adjustments as far as the lack of depth,” SU coach Pete Richardson said. “The offensive line coach (Damon Nivens) did a great job of keeping those guys alive.”
Lee, who started the last two games of last season, has solidified his role as the No. 1 quarterback with two sharp scrimmages.
Meanwhile, the staff still contends Matthews, who came on strong in the spring, continued to improve his skills and conditioning in the summer and competed well in preseason camp, will be counted on much this season.
“The quarterbacks made progress the last three weeks, as far as directing our offense, taking control and making the right decisions,” Richardson said.
Though senior Darren Coates, sophomore Brian Threat, junior Kendrick Smith and senior Chad Harris, a scatback, along with fullback Alvin Fosselman have little to no experience, that group appears to have made strong improvement under first-year running backs coach Elvis Joseph.
The one worry for the wideouts has been a variety of injuries. Senior Gerard Landry (oral surgery) has missed almost two weeks, pretty much all since Lee was named as the No. 1 quarterback.
Landry, therefore, has to work on his conditioning and timing. Senior A.J. Turner missed time with a knee injury and a pulled muscle, but he’s back. And senior RaShon Jacobs, out of football last season after transferring from Louisiana-Monroe, was out much of camp with an ankle injury.
A zone-blocking scheme and athletic quarterbacks who can run are looked at as ways to offset the thinness and inexperience of the offensive line.
“Our wide receivers corps, we’ve got some depth; they can make some plays,” Richardson said. “If we can keep our running backs healthy, we can get our running game started and be patient with our quarterbacks.”
Defense
There are no seniors among either the defensive line or the linebackers.
Moving Harry last week further sapped the defensive line, which lost five players since the spring. True freshman defensive tackle Calvin Cunningham (shoulder) has also been out for some time.
Along with Cunningham inside, freshman ends Steven Williams, Ted Jones and Dexter James all impressed coaches. With the line down to nine roster players, unless Harry swings back, the freshmen should see playing time.
Junior tackle Joseph Selders and junior end Vince Lands highlight the front.
Sophomore Allan Baugh edged sophomore Bryan Lewis for the eagle linebacker spot, which quarterbacks the defense. Neither has much experience. ... Junior Johnathan Malveaux, hampered by injuries in his first two seasons, has had a strong camp. Malveaux and junior Donald Steele play okie linebacker and, by far, have the most experience in that group. ... Sophomore Gary Chapman developed at drop, and he and redshirt freshman Andre Coleman give the Jaguars a future with prototypical players for that difficult position, though neither has experience.
The unit with the most experience and depth is the secondary, where Southern senior free safety Jarmaul George, a co-captain with Landry, is the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s preseason defensive player of the year. Fourth-year junior Michael Williams, who has started the two previous seasons, also lurks.
Southern may go to more three-man fronts, away from its traditional four-man setup, in order to help the line from wearing out as well as using its depth at linebacker and secondary.
The team got comfortable with nickel packages as last season progressed. Attacking with the linebackers, instead of counting on young players to sit back and make reads, could also be an option. The staff will rely on the speed of the entire defense to overcome being light up front.
“We were real physical on defense (in camp),” Richardson said. “We’re running to the football. We’ve stressed that aspect. &hellip We’ve got some speed on defense. They can get to the football. We have to create some turnovers.”
As Camp Pete Richardson XV closed Saturday, with game week for the season opener beginning today, the surprises were few.
Sophomore Bryant Lee emerged as the winner of the quarterback duel with fellow sophomore Warren Matthews, somewhat as expected. Meanwhile, the team closed camp with more questions on its offensive and defensive lines than before the Jaguars began practicing on Aug. 2.
The Jaguars, 5-6 last season, play Florida A&M, 7-4 last season, in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge on ESPN Classic at 2 p.m. Saturday at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala.
Offense
Eligibility concerns continue to surround three offensive linemen, two of whom have not been with the team. Also, true freshman guard Brian Bridges was pulled from the team because he has yet to be OK’d by the NCAA Clearinghouse.
As it was, the team entered with two guards, junior Adrian Banks and senior Jacoby Collins, academically ineligible, plus junior tackle Ruben Oliver missed the first few weeks of camp as he completed a summer internship.
The surprises here were moving senior tight end Trent Thomas to the crucial spot of left tackle and junior Rafael Louis inside to left guard from left tackle. That leaves Southern small on the left side.
Junior defensive tackle Frank Harry, meanwhile, came over to play guard last week.
“Offensively, we made some adjustments as far as the lack of depth,” SU coach Pete Richardson said. “The offensive line coach (Damon Nivens) did a great job of keeping those guys alive.”
Lee, who started the last two games of last season, has solidified his role as the No. 1 quarterback with two sharp scrimmages.
Meanwhile, the staff still contends Matthews, who came on strong in the spring, continued to improve his skills and conditioning in the summer and competed well in preseason camp, will be counted on much this season.
“The quarterbacks made progress the last three weeks, as far as directing our offense, taking control and making the right decisions,” Richardson said.
Though senior Darren Coates, sophomore Brian Threat, junior Kendrick Smith and senior Chad Harris, a scatback, along with fullback Alvin Fosselman have little to no experience, that group appears to have made strong improvement under first-year running backs coach Elvis Joseph.
The one worry for the wideouts has been a variety of injuries. Senior Gerard Landry (oral surgery) has missed almost two weeks, pretty much all since Lee was named as the No. 1 quarterback.
Landry, therefore, has to work on his conditioning and timing. Senior A.J. Turner missed time with a knee injury and a pulled muscle, but he’s back. And senior RaShon Jacobs, out of football last season after transferring from Louisiana-Monroe, was out much of camp with an ankle injury.
A zone-blocking scheme and athletic quarterbacks who can run are looked at as ways to offset the thinness and inexperience of the offensive line.
“Our wide receivers corps, we’ve got some depth; they can make some plays,” Richardson said. “If we can keep our running backs healthy, we can get our running game started and be patient with our quarterbacks.”
Defense
There are no seniors among either the defensive line or the linebackers.
Moving Harry last week further sapped the defensive line, which lost five players since the spring. True freshman defensive tackle Calvin Cunningham (shoulder) has also been out for some time.
Along with Cunningham inside, freshman ends Steven Williams, Ted Jones and Dexter James all impressed coaches. With the line down to nine roster players, unless Harry swings back, the freshmen should see playing time.
Junior tackle Joseph Selders and junior end Vince Lands highlight the front.
Sophomore Allan Baugh edged sophomore Bryan Lewis for the eagle linebacker spot, which quarterbacks the defense. Neither has much experience. ... Junior Johnathan Malveaux, hampered by injuries in his first two seasons, has had a strong camp. Malveaux and junior Donald Steele play okie linebacker and, by far, have the most experience in that group. ... Sophomore Gary Chapman developed at drop, and he and redshirt freshman Andre Coleman give the Jaguars a future with prototypical players for that difficult position, though neither has experience.
The unit with the most experience and depth is the secondary, where Southern senior free safety Jarmaul George, a co-captain with Landry, is the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s preseason defensive player of the year. Fourth-year junior Michael Williams, who has started the two previous seasons, also lurks.
Southern may go to more three-man fronts, away from its traditional four-man setup, in order to help the line from wearing out as well as using its depth at linebacker and secondary.
The team got comfortable with nickel packages as last season progressed. Attacking with the linebackers, instead of counting on young players to sit back and make reads, could also be an option. The staff will rely on the speed of the entire defense to overcome being light up front.
“We were real physical on defense (in camp),” Richardson said. “We’re running to the football. We’ve stressed that aspect. &hellip We’ve got some speed on defense. They can get to the football. We have to create some turnovers.”
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