| ||
Courtesy: SWAC.org
|
2015 Football Preview: Southern
Courtesy Sam Peshek
Fri, August 21, 2015
Returning an abundance of experience on both sides of the ball, the Southern University Jaguars are expected to be in the thick of the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship race for a third consecutive year.
Southern (9-4, 8-1) ranked third in the league in scoring offense (34.2 points per game), fourth in total offense (415.3 yards per game) and rushing offense (193.3 ypg) and sixth in passing offense (222.1 ypg) while advancing to the 2014 SWAC championship game.
Mandated to cancel spring practice as part of Academic Progress Rates sanctions, the Jags will have some catching up to do once camp opens.
Quarterback Austin Howard is back with a year of experience after starting as a true freshman. Fresh out of West St. John High School, Howard completed 168-of-325 passes for 2,334 yards and 17 touchdowns with only eight interceptions.
Junior Lenard Tillery (209 carries, 1,196 yards, 9 touchdowns; 19 receptions, 196 yards) is a proven asset in the backfield.
Five of Howard's top six targets are back, including first-team All-SWAC Willie Quinn (62 receptions, 892 yards, 5 TDs), who is joined in the senior-laden receiving corps by Justin Morgan (22-392-4) and Mike Jones (16-305-2). Also back is senior tight end Montrell Jones (16-168-1).
Southern must revamp up front following the departure of first-team All-SWAC standouts Zach Brown and DeWayne Houston from a unit which allowed just eight sacks. The return of Anthony Mosley, who started for SU's 2013 SWAC championship team before sitting out the entire 2014 season as an academic casualty, should speed up the rebuilding process.
Defensively, the Jaguars ranked seventh across the board in the SWAC in scoring defense (32.7 ppg), total defense (423.5 ypg), rushing defense (173.5 ypg) and passing defense (250 ypg).
Four of the top five tacklers return in senior linebacker Demetrius Carter (101 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks), senior defensive back Dionte McDuffy (61 tackles, 5 TFL, 2 interceptions), junior LB Roshund Turner (54 tackles, 2.5 TFL) and sophomore DB Bryan Anderson (54 tackles, 4 TFL, 2 INTs). Among the others to keep an eye on are junior DB Blake Monroe (49 tackles) and senior tackle Gabe Echols (41 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks).
Southern's special teams were among the best in the league, ranking first in punt return yardage (18.7), second in kickoff return yardage (23.6) and third in punting (36.7). Additionally, fourth-year coach Dawson Odums' Jaguars were the SWAC's least-penalized team (55.7 ypg).
Doubling as a dynamic return specialist, Quinn returned 25 kickoffs for a 25.8-yard average and 13 punts for a stellar 22.2-yard norm, including a pair of touchdowns.
Junior punter Paul Randall Soden punted 63 times for a 40.7-yard average and senior kicker Greg Pittman was 11-of-17 on field goals.
SOUTHERN SCHEDULE
DATE OPPONENT TIME
Sept. 5 at Louisiana Tech 6:00
Sept. 10 at Mississippi Valley* 6:00
Sept. 19 Jackson State 6:00
Sept. 26 at Georgia TBA
Oct. 10 at Alabama State* 6:00
Oct. 17 Prairie View A&M* 4:00
Oct. 24 Texas Southern* (at Houston) TBA
Nov. 7 at Arkansas-Pine Bluff* 2:30
Nov. 14 Alabama A&M* 4:00
(Bayou Classic at New Orleans)
Nov. 28 Grambling* TBA
Bold Games: Home
* Conference games
Bold Games: Home
* Conference games
No comments:
Post a Comment