South Alabama cornerback Darrell Luter was drafted in the fifth round by the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers in April, but the Jaguars have seen no discernible drop-off at the position this season thanks to the emergence of sophomore Ricky Fletcher.

Fletcher has stepped into a starting job across from returning starter Marquise “Cuddie” Robinson, and has been playing the best football of his short career of late. He tied a school-record with three pass breakups in last week’s 55-3 victory over Southern Miss, and is among the national leaders with 10 PBUs this season.

“Southern Miss went at Ricky, tried him over and over again, and all they got was one pass-interference call,” South Alabama coach Kane Wommack said. “So that’s pretty impressive. He just does the same high-level job over and over again. His eyes are in the right place the majority of the time and he’s so long, that at the top of the route he’s going to get his hand in there and stay in the lead position.

“He’s just become a really consistent player already as a young player. You saw some of those same things from Darrell Luter as a very experienced player last year and (Fletcher is) doing it with consistency. I know that’s pretty high praise, but I think it’s praise that Ricky’s deserving of right now.”

The 6-foot-2, 186-pound Fletcher was among the top players in South Alabama’s 2022 recruiting class out of Holmes County (Miss.) High School, with the Jaguars having to fend off a late charge from Mississippi State on signing day. He played in all 13 games (including one start) as a true freshman, totaling five tackles.

With Luter off to the NFL, Fletcher beat out several candidates for a starting job in the spring. He said he’s starting to “get in the flow of the game” midway through his second season at South Alabama.

“Things were moving kind of fast for me at first, but I feel like I’ve been able to catch up with the flow,” Fletcher said. “I had the goal to just get better as the season goes on and I feel like I’ve done that.”

Fletcher is still looking for his first career interception, though perhaps that will come this weekend vs. Louisiana. The Jaguars (4-3, 2-1 Sun Belt) host the Ragin’ Cajuns (4-3, 1-2) at 4 p.m. Saturday at Hancock Whitney Stadium.

• Sharp-eyed fans might notice that the Jaguars have tweaked their “Swarm D” concept in recent weeks, often showing a 3-3-5 alignment (three linemen, three linebackers, five defensive backs) as opposed to their base 4-2-5 look.

In addition to one fewer down lineman, South Alabama has taken to moving linebacker Quentin Wilfawn to different spots inside and outside in pass-rushing situations. Defensive coordinator Corey Batoon said the move was made in part to maximize Wilfawn’s production.

“We’re just trying to get guys a little closer to the action,” Batoon said. “(Wilfawn) has a different skill-set, in regards to his ability to rush the passer. We’d been getting him matched up on tackles, but there are times where we can get him matched up on a guard. So some of those things are schematics, where we feel we have a favorable matchup.”

The changes were also made to get more speed on the field and help limit big plays. James Madison and Central Michigan in particular hurt the Jaguars with both quarterback runs and long pass plays.

“Some of it was responsive to limiting the explosive plays that we were giving up for touchdowns on the front end of the season,” Wommack said. “Some of it was geared towards what we felt like we were going to face on the back end. You’ve got more athletic quarterbacks, you’ve got more RPO (run-pass option) game, more spread-style offenses.

“And so we felt like (1) when we don’t give up explosive plays, especially for touchdowns, we’re a pretty damn good defense and (2) when we play these athletic quarterbacks and these people that create space to open up the RPO game, I think you’ve got to adjust a little bit different than your traditional four-down front.”

• Mississippi State transfer Reed Buys has taken over as the Jaguars’ starting left guard the last two weeks, displacing former starter James Robinson from the lineup after the Oct. 1 James Madison game.

The 6-foot-4, 300-pound Buys — who played in just two games in three seasons at Mississippi State before transferring to South Alabama prior to spring practice — has joined South Carolina transfer Jordan Davis to give the Jaguars a different left side of the line from that which started the season. Davis stepped in at left tackle after Josh McCulloch suffered a knee injury and has refused to give the job up.

“In his first start, (Buys) probably didn’t play as physical as he was capable of,” Wommack said. “We challenged him a week later to play really physical and I thought he took great ownership of it, showed tremendous improvement from week 1 to week 2 as a starter. I love his demeanor, love his work ethic. He’s smart guy that I think is going to help us over the next couple of years.”

The other three line positions have been largely stable, with center Reggie Smith and right tackle Adrein Strickland starting ever game. Dontae Lucas has started all but one game at right guard, where Buys started in Week 2 vs. Southeastern Louisiana.

• Smith gets the honorary No. 5 jersey this week, though as an offensive lineman he’ll wear 50 instead. Under NCAA rules, offensive linemen must wear numbers from 50-79 to designate them as ineligible receivers.

The 6-foot-1, 287-pound Smith, a Pensacola native, came to South Alabama as a walk-on under former head coach Steve Campbell. He worked at offensive tackle in the spring of 2022, then started all 13 games at right guard last season before moving to center this year.

“Here’s a guy that walked on to this football program under a different staff,” Wommack said. “… So it was pretty impressive for him to come in and earn his stripes under that staff. And then when we came in, he earns his stripes with us.

“… In this league, you’ve got some defensive lines that are pretty special and he’s really holding his own and playing very good football right now. I think he’s one of our more consistent players out there on the field. He makes great communication, gets everybody lined up. He’s an example of what great practice habits need to look like every single day, and so we’re very proud of Reggie Smith.”

The No. 5 jersey is given to a different South Alabama player each week in honor of former Jaguars running back Anthony Mostella, who was killed in a motorcycle accident in 2010. Other players to wear No. 5 this season are wide receiver Devin Voisin (Tulane), linebacker James Miller (Southeastern Louisiana), linebacker Trey Kiser (Oklahoma State), quarterback Desmond Trotter (Central Michigan), wide receiver Caullin Lacy (James Madison), safety Jaden Voisin (Louisiana-Monroe) and defensive lineman Wy’Kevious Thomas (Southern Miss).

• To put a final button on “Billboard-gate,” a Southern Miss spokesman told the Hattiesburg American on Tuesday that the promotional billboards in Mobile that so angered Wommack last week were actually removed in July and were “not part of any current marketing campaign.”

Wommack acknowledged to AL.com on Tuesday that he knew the billboards were no longer in place in the days leading up to the Jaguars’ game vs. Southern Miss, but noted that he still found their placement and wording disrespectful to South Alabama as a university and Mobile as a city.