SU football coach Mitchell focused on players' grades

Wednesday night, as he drove through Baton Rouge from one errand to the next, Southern football coach Stump Mitchell discussed priorities for the offseason. Nearly three months have passed since he took over, and in that time, he hired a staff of assistants, evaluated the current roster, instituted a winter workout program, signed 34 recruits and navigated the Jaguars through 15 sessions of spring practice — most of which happened before sunrise.

Nearly four months stand between now and the start of preseason training camp. Still, Mitchell said his No. 1 priority — improving the players’ grades — hasn’t changed. “We’re settling in now as coaches, and we’re getting an opportunity to learn these young men. They’re learning us, too. I think that’s more important,” Mitchell said. “These guys understanding that they’re going to get an education first. We’re not going to allow them to just get by so we can win a football game. It doesn’t mean that much to me.” Of course, winning football games still means quite a bit to Mitchell, and for the players, it’s not all about exams and research papers.

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