South Alabama Football: Jaguars facing do-or-die season in 2020
Defense looking for new standouts
On the defensive side of the ball, the Jaguars found themselves in tough situations due to injuries and replacements of starters due to inefficient play. Last season, they were ranked 88th in points allowed per game (30.7) and 79th in total yards allowed per game (408.8). The defense was often not put into good situations thanks to the offense’s inability to score or drive the ball.
The Jaguars return five starters from last year’s team with most of them coming in the secondary.
The defensive line for the Jaguars last season was put into a tough situation as their pass rusher in defensive end/tackle Tyree Turner suffered a lower leg injury in the season-opener against Nebraska. Overall, the Jaguars defense accounted for only 17 sacks in 2019.
Sophomore defensive end Maurice Strong Jr., junior nose tackle Gi’Narious Johnson and senior defensive end Jeremiah Littles are all returning after playing a significant amount of the season. Between all of the three defensive linemen, they accounted for 7.5 tackles for loss and two sacks in 2019.
South Alabama returns three of its four starting linebackers as well. Junior outside linebacker Nick Mobley is back as the leading tackler as he finished with 91 total tackles. He was mobile and moved sideline-to-sideline well all last season as he plays like a middle linebacker. Senior Riley Cole comes in as the other starting linebacker as he accumulated 59 total tackles and nine tackles for loss.
The secondary was one of the weakest position groups on the defensive side of the ball last season. It wasn’t so much that they gave up too many yards in a game, but they gave up the easy passes and they couldn’t take them down.
They will miss their star press coverage cornerback in Travis Reed. Senior Devin Rockette returns as lone returning starting cornerback while former junior college transfer Ryan Melton is projected to start at the other cornerback. Junior Keith Gallmon returns as a starter and senior Tre Young is projected to his first full season start in 2020 as the other safety.