College Football News Preview 2021: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the South Alabama Jaguars season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– South Alabama Schedule Analysis
– South Alabama Previews
2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2020 Record: 4-7 overall, 3-5 in Sun Belt
Head Coach: Kane Wommack, 1st year
2020 CFN Final Ranking: 108
2020 CFN Preview Ranking: 123
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 119
South Alabama College Football Preview 2021: Offense
– There were signs last year. The offense had a few good moments when everything looked sharp and effective, but there weren’t enough of them. The O died, though, over the second half of the season and ended up scoring 17 points or fewer six times in the last nine games. The new coaching staff should fix that.
– New head coach Kane Wommack is a young, talented head coach who might be more for the defensive side, but offensive coordinator Major Applewhite should be able to pump up the attack. He has the pieces to do it, starting with South Carolina/Utah transfer quarterback Jake Bentley to likely take over the offense if veteran Demond Trotter doesn’t keep the gig.
The receiving corps is potentially terrific. Junior Jalen Tolbert is a big-time playmaker, but Kawaan Baker is gone after finishing second on the team with 51 catches with eight touchdowns. Throw in 6-2 Jalen Wayne and 6-0, 200-pound Cade Sutherland join the 6-3 Tolbert as part of a very big, very good group. Now …
– The offensive line has to be a whole lot better. It struggled to get the running game going and had an even harder time in pass protection. It’s going to be a new puzzle the coaching staff has to put together, but a few transfers should help the options to play around with.
Making things even tougher is the suspension of RB Carlos Davis, the team’s leading rusher with 674 yards. Junior Terrion Avery is a smallish, quick back who was second on the team with 180 yards, and 210-pound Jared Wilson will do more as the possible main man who can bring a bit more thump.
– What You Need To Know: Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– South Alabama Schedule Analysis
NEXT: South Alabama College Football Preview 2021: Defense
4. South Alabama College Football Preview 2021: Defense
– The defense showed off some flash early on last year, but the pass rush fizzled as the season went on, the run D wasn’t anything special, and there weren’t enough key stops. This is where new head man Kane Wommack comes in – he knows defense, and defensive coordinator Corey Batoon knows how to make a run D work in the 4-2-5 scheme.
– Leading tackler Riley Cole is gone, but Nick Mobley is back on the inside after finishing second with 94 stops, and overall the defensive front should be experienced and improved.
Thanks to the super-senior season, there’s a shot that around 20 of the 23 tacklers should return – they need the depth for an undersized group. Throw in a few interesting transfers, and the new coaching staff is going to throw everything at the wall to see what sticks for a pass rush. However …
– The defensive backs aren’t quite as strong, and they’re going to need a pass rush to help the cause. There are plenty of options at corner – senior Devin Rockette led the team with two picks – but a few need to stand out from the pack. Safety might be a bigger issue, but junior Keith Gallmon is built like a running back and he can hit.
– What You Need To Know: Offense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– South Alabama Schedule Analysis
NEXT: South Alabama College Football Preview 2021: Top Players
South Alabama College Football Preview 2021: Top Players
Best South Alabama Offensive Player
WR Jalen Tolbert, Jr.
A legitimate NFL prospect, the 6-3, 195-pounder will get the ball in his hands in a variety of ways as the team’s most dangerous weapon. He has good size, No. 1 target ability, and he can make big things happen with 96 catches for 1,666 yards in his three seasons averaging over 17 yards per catch with 14 touchdowns.
2. QB Jake Bentley, Sr.
3. WR Jalen Wayne, Jr.
4. TE Brandon Crum, Soph.
5. PK Diego Guajardo, Soph.
Best South Alabama Defensive Player
S Keith Gallmon, Jr.
Built like a running back, the 5-9, 205-pound junior is a compact hitter who can get all over the field. The All-Sun Belt performer made 143 stops over the last two seasons with two picks and 14 broken up passes, becoming more of a playmaker when the ball was in the air last year.
2. LB Nick Mobley, Jr.
3. DT Gi’Narius Johnson, Jr.
4. LB AJ DeShazor, Jr.
5. CB Devin Rockette, Sr.
Top Incoming South Alabama Transfer
QB Jake Bentley, Sr.
It’s been an in interesting career so far. He seemed like the franchise QB as a true freshman at South Carolina, and he wasn’t bad over his first few years – outside of throwing way too many interceptions – and then he lost his gig. He moved on Utah, was just okay last year – again, too many picks – and now he’s Kane Wommack’s (most likely) starting quarterback in what should be a pass-friendly offense.
NEXT: South Alabama College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season
South Alabama College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season
South Alabama Biggest Key: Offense
Score 30 points. South Alabama has had its problems over the years, but when it scores, it wins. That’s usually how it works, but this program, the magic mark is 30.
Last year the Jaguars went 4-7. Take a guess which four they scored 30 in and which seven they didn’t.
Over the last two seasons they’re 5-0 when getting to 30, and 0-17 when they don’t, and they’re 10-2 since 2016 when they’re able to hit the mark. Under the new coaching staff and with Major Applewhite as offensive coordinator leading a veteran group, there should be a few more big scoring bursts.
South Alabama Biggest Key: Defense
The pass rush has to show up. At the very least, the new defensive style has to generate more pressure and big things behind the line. There isn’t a sure-thing pass rusher – that’s where some of the transfers are supposed to step in – and there wasn’t enough production with just three multi-sack games last season.
It’s a bit of a coincidence, but the three times the team came up with more than one sack, it one – it was a bit indicative of the overall pressure generated. For what it’s worth, the program has won its last five games going back to 2018 when it came up with three or more sacks.
South Alabama Key Player To A Successful Season
RB Jared Wilson, Soph.
The Jaguars need to have a running game, and potentially losing all-star back Carlos Davis – who was suspended this spring – could potentially be a huge deal for an O that needs more balance.
The 210-pound Wilson will be a part of a rotation, but he’s got the size to be a bit more of a workhorse to go along with AJ Phillips and veteran Terrion Avery to balance out the attack.
South Alabama Key Game To The 2021 Season
Southern Miss, Sept. 4
Where does the program stand under the new coaching staff right out of the gate? It was a bit of a mirage, but South Alabama was dominant against a Southern Miss team that didn’t appear ready, winning the 2020 season opener on the road 32-21. Win this, and with Bowling Green and Alcorn State to follow, 3-0 is more than likely going into the Sun Belt season.
– South Alabama Schedule Analysis
2020 South Alabama Fun Stats
– 4th Quarter Scoring: Opponents 93 – South Alabama 39
– Sacks: Opponents 40 for 273 yards – South Alabama 13 for 71 yards
– Rushing TDs: Opponents 22 – South Alabama 7
NEXT: South Alabama College Football Preview 2021: What Will Happen, Season Prediction
South Alabama College Football Preview 2021: What Will Happen, Season Prediction
The new coaching staff should be exactly what the program needed.
You are what your record is – no winning seasons since joining the FBS in 2012; 13-34 over the last four years – but the program has been a wee bit better than it seems. It needs better line play, more playmakers, and a differentiating factor of a styles.
The offense should be more dynamic with a fantastic receiving corps and South Carolina/Utah QB Jake Bentley to run it. The defense needs more of a pass rush, but there’s enough experience coming back to play around with.
Set The South Alabama Regular Season Win Total At … 5
It’s going to take several upsets in a suddenly strong Sun Belt to make any sort of run at a winning season, and it’s asking too much to be this year’s Coastal Carolina, but there’s reason to get fired up.
The 34-year-old new head coach is bringing the energy – as all young head coaches try to do – with the prevailing theory that Kane Wommack is a rising star with a huge future.
First, he and a good-looking Jaguar team should have a fun 2021 to kick it all off.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– South Alabama Schedule Analysis
