Southern irons out wrinkles with first scrimmage of fall

Southern running back Gary Hollimon runs away from defense during scrimmage.

OK, so maybe fall classes haven’t yet begun at Southern University.

But by Saturday morning, the football program had time to do a little bit of simple math. Between Aug. 3 and Saturday morning, the team had practiced 11 times during preseason camp. Each session lasted about 2 1/2 hours. That, in theory, gave the Jaguars some 30 hours to improve by the time Saturday’s first scrimmage of the season got under way. So what else, exactly, did the Southern football team learn about itself by the end of the scrimmage?

Two things, in particular. No. 1: This week, when a few key starters recover from some minor setbacks, the team will probably look a lot better. No. 2: No matter who returns and who doesn’t, the Jaguars have work to do between now and their Sept. 5 season opener in Orlando, Fla., against Delaware State. “This was really the first time it was a game-type atmosphere for them. So it’s good to get the jitters out,” first-year coach Stump Mitchell said. “We do have two more scrimmages, and that’s a good thing that I’m taking.”

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