South Alabama will honor 22 seniors prior to Saturday’s game vs. Marshall, but Jamie Sheriff will carry an extra bit of recognition into his final game at Hancock Whitney Stadium.

Sheriff, a senior defensive end from Terry, Miss., will wear the honorary No. 5 jersey on Saturday, which is Senior Day for the Jaguars (5-5 overall, 3-3 Sun Belt Conference). He’s finishing up the fourth year of a South Alabama career that was originally intended only to be a two-year stay after transferring from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, with the 2020 COVID year and a medical redshirt following a season-ending injury in fall camp in 2021 extending his tenure in Mobile.

“It’s a special honor to me,” Sheriff said. “It shows recognition of how hard I work on the team and it just shows the appreciation of the type of player I am. I’m honored to be able to represent such a player that Anthony (Mostella) was. So it’s a blessing.

“… It’s sort of bittersweet, being my last game. Sometimes you’re ready to leave and sometimes you’re not. But it’s going to be a special moment out there. I have a lot of family coming to the game and I’m excited to go out there and play for them and play for the fans one last time at home.”

Sheriff has totaled 35 tackles, six tackles for loss, three sacks and a team-best seven quarterback hurries this season as one of the leaders of a South Alabama defensive line that also includes fellow seniors Charles Coleman, Maurice Strong and Jamall Hickbottom. His consistency is perhaps his greatest attribute, head coach Kane Wommack said.

“Jamie is such a consistent, steady presence in the way he goes about his business,” Wommack said. “He works really hard, has fought through a lot of pain in his career and this season. But you know he’s going to give it everything he’s got and play at a high level. He executes on game day. He just does his job.

“To have a senior that’s worked his tail off and been a multi-year starter, I’m just proud of him to be able to walk out with the 5 jersey on Senior Day.”

The No. 5 jersey is given to a different South Alabama player each week in remembrance of Mostella, who was killed in a 2010 motorcycle accident. Others who have worn 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), defensive lineman Wy’Kevious Thomas (Southern Miss), center Reggie Smith (Louisiana), wide receiver Jamaal Pritchett (Troy) and linebacker Quentin Wilfawn (Arkansas State).

Also playing his final game at Hancock Whitney Stadium is quarterback Carter Bradley, who returned from injury prior to last week’s game vs. Arkansas State. Though he played only two years at South Alabama, Bradley holds nearly every program passing record, including career completions (461), attempts (704), yards (5,636) and touchdowns (43).

“It’s been a blessing for sure,” Bradley said. “God gave me another opportunity to come here to get a new, fresh start. And I can’t thank the people here enough, coach Wommack, (offensive coordinator Major) Applewhite, and the University of South Alabama for allowing me to do that. It’s been amazing, a group of friends and teammates that I’ll have for life. So it’s been awesome.”

In addition to Sheriff, Coleman, Hickbottom, Strong and Bradley, other South Alabama seniors set to be honored Saturday are quarterbacks Trotter and Tanner McGee, running backs La’Damian Webb and Marco Lee, offensive linemen Smith and Joshua McCulloch, tight ends Brandon Crum, Jacob Hopper and Lincoln Sefcik, linebackers Ke’Shun Brown, Kiser, Miller and Wilfawn, defensive backs Keith Gallmon and Jalen Jordan and kickers Diego Guajardo and Jacob Meeks.

• South Alabama welcomed back one of its more dynamic offensive players last week vs. Arkansas State, as running back Braylon McReynolds saw his first game action since suffering a broken collarbone in the season-opener vs. Tulane.

McReynolds touched the ball just seven times in the Jaguars’ 21-14 victory, rushing three times for two yards and catching four passes for 20 yards. However, just being back on the field after an eight-week layoff was special for the sophomore from Mobile.

“At the beginning of the week, they said the x-rays looked good, so it was really up to me,” McReynolds said. “And if it’s up to me, I’m going to go play football. They kind of worked me in, they took their time with me, but when my name was called, I went out there and did what I had to do.

“After missing two months of playing football, you’re always a little hesitant. But after I took that first hit, it was back to me being me and just playing football.”

After totaling more than 900 all-purpose yards as a freshman in 2022, McReynolds entered this season as the Jaguars’ No. 2 running back behind Webb, as well as their primary kickoff returner. He’s likely to stick with just running back for the remainder of this season, however, Wommack said.

Kentrel Bullock, who missed the Arkansas State game due to injury, is expected back this week, Wommack said. That will give the Jaguars their healthiest backfield since the season-opener.

“To have really all of our backs healthy and available is going to be really great here at the end of the season,” Wommack said. “Kentrel is looking good; he’s had a good week so far. And having Bam (McReynolds) back is a good bit of juice for our offense. You only saw him for a couple of plays (vs. Arkansas State). He was on a pretty tight pitch count the other night, but I would imagine we’ll start to open that up more as we go these last few weeks.”

• In other roster news, Sefcik, the Jaguars’ starting tight end the last three seasons, is out for the remainder of the year due to a violation of “team and NCAA protocols,” Wommack said. Sefcik caught 62 passes for 494 yards and seven touchdowns in 34 career games for the Jaguars.

Offensive lineman Lucas Taylor, who transferred from Mississippi State over the season, has not played the entire season due to medical issues that popped up during preseason camp. Wommack said the Mobile native should be able to return to the field next season and could be in the mix for a starting job at either center or guard.

• South Alabama remains one victory from bowl-eligibility, but most media projections now figure the Jaguars will win one of their final two games to get into the postseason for a second straight year.

The possible destinations and opponents vary, but among the projections listed are the Boca Raton (Fla.) Bowl (Dec. 21), the Camellia Bowl (Dec. 23 in Montgomery), the Birmingham Bowl (Dec. 23) and the 68 Ventures Bowl, which takes place Dec. 23 at Hancock Whitney Stadium. Among the potential opponents listed are BYU, Northern Illinois and Central Florida, though there are a couple of other possibilities that would really move the needle in terms of fan interest.

College Football News projects the Jaguars into the Birmingham Bowl against … wait for it … Auburn. Almost as intriguing, USA Today has the Jaguars headed to the Boca Raton Bowl to face Jacksonville State (as an FBS transitional team, the Gamecocks could only play in a bowl game if there are not enough 6-win teams, which is projected to be the case).

Final bowl invitations go out Dec. 3, the day after the various conference championship games are complete.

• Kickoff for South Alabama-Marshall on Saturday is set for 4 p.m. The game will stream live via ESPN+.