South Alabama had to replace its all-time leader in points scored, field goals and extra points this season, but has seen no drop-off at the kicker position thanks to Laith Marjan.

The East Carolina transfer has fit in seamlessly for the departed Diego Guajardo, a four-year starter who scored 325 points on 58 field goals and 125 extra points in his South Alabama career. Heading into Saturday’s game at Louisiana, Marjan (pronounced “Margin”) is 29-for-31 on extra points (with one of the failed attempts due to a bad exchange between snapper and holder) and 14-for-15 on field goals (with the only miss from 50 yards) while also handling kickoffs for the Jaguars.

“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” said Marjan, who has made nine straight field goals since that lone miss vs. Northwestern State on Sept. 14. “… I knew that just because I had played at my old school that I wasn’t just gonna come in and everything’s gonna be handed to me. You still have to go out every day and prove it.”

Marjan’s production this season has been something of a pleasant surprise for the Jaguars, given that he did not attempt a field goal or extra point during his three years at East Carolina. He joined the South Alabama program in January out of the transfer portal, but only after the Jaguars had signed high school kicker Davis Little in December.

Marjan struggled through an inconsistent spring at South Alabama, but tentatively beat out Little for the kicking and kickoff job in preseason camp. After Little was lost for the season due to injury in September, it became Marjan’s show full-time.

“He’s done a great job,” South Alabama coach Major Applewhite said. “He had an OK spring, not a great one, but he had a really good fall camp. We went out against North Texas (in the season opener) on the first drive, he makes a field goal. Then he makes several others. He’s really settled into the role.”

Marjan’s father, Nawaf, grew up in Kuwait before coming to the U.S. in the early 1990s to study business at North Carolina State. The family settled in Raleigh, where Marjan played multiple sports at Enloe Magnet High School.

At 6-foot-2 and 219 pounds, Marjan hardly looks the part of the stereotypical diminutive kicker. He played multiple sports as a youth before gravitating from soccer to football midway through high school.

“I played all the sports when I was a kid — I did baseball, basketball, swimming, soccer, football, but soccer was my main sport. As things got more competitive, I started to do just soccer for a few years. … I was always tall, but kind of lanky and scrawny. I didn’t really get bigger until I joined the football team and started doing football lifts in high school. It was definitely a transition. I played both soccer and football, but then I just fell in love with football.”

Louisiana is 8-1 overall and in first place in the Sun Belt West Division with a 5-0 conference record, though South Alabama (4-5, 3-2) still has an outside shot at a berth in the league championship game if it wins out and the Ragin’ Cajuns lose twice. That task begins Saturday in Lafayette, where Louisiana is around a touchdown favorite.

The last time South Alabama played at Cajun Field, Guajardo drilled a 44-yard field goal as time expired to give the Jaguars a 20-17 victory in 2022. Marjan said he’d like nothing more than to repeat history on Saturday.

“I hope I do get blessed with that opportunity,” Marjan said. “But at the end of the day, you have to treat it like every other field goal. Yeah, the score matters, and I’ve hit a couple that have kept us in the game or have given us the lead. But when it’s an important one, it will be a little on your mind, like ‘yeah, this is for the game.’ But you kind of have to let that be a fleeting thought, push that out and just go out there, trust my guys and do what I do.”

• Following its bye week, South Alabama is largely healthy at most positions with the exception of inside linebacker. The Jaguars have lost two of their top four at the position group — Gavin Forsha and Dalton Hughes — with season-ending knee injuries.

That’s forced the Jaguars to move freshmen Julian Demby and Parker Shattuck into the rotation behind starters Blayne Myrick and Darius McKenzie and veteran backup Chrystyile Caldwell. Demby has played in eight games — totaling three tackles and a fumble recovery, while Shattuck has seen action in the last three games — posting four tackles and a pass breakup.

“It’s just next man up,” defensive coordinator Will Windham said. “… Injuries have taken a big toll in that room. It helps that Gavin and Dalton are still around; they’ve become kind of secondary coaches behind (inside linebackers coach Cam) Cleminson. … Blayne is playing at a high level and Darius is playing at a high level. But no matter who is in there, we just need to make sure we’re communicating. We’ve all got to work together.”

Another player recovering from injury is junior cornerback Ricky Fletcher, who has missed the entire season with a stress fracture in his lower back. Fletcher has been cleared to work out, Applewhite said, but likely wouldn’t be in playing shape until a possible bowl game for the Jaguars.

The news is better for wide receiver Javon Ivory, sidelined off and on this season with a knee injury. Applewhite said Ivory — a fifth-year senior – has been cleared for contact, and might begin working his way back into the receiver rotation in the last three games of the regular season.

Kickoff for South Alabama-Louisiana on Saturday is set for 6 p.m. at Cajun Field. The game will stream live via ESPN+.