Caullin Lacy could still play in South Alabama bowl game

Caullin Lacy could still play in South Alabama bowl game

South Alabama wide receiver Caullin Lacy has entered the NCAA transfer portal, though he hasn’t necessarily been ruled out of the 68 Ventures Bowl vs. Eastern Michigan on Dec. 23, head coach Kane Wommack said Monday.

Lacy, a first-team All-Sun Belt Conference pick who set a South Alabama program record with 91 receptions this season, entered the portal on Friday. Wommack said Monday the junior from Mobile is still evaluating all his options, one of which includes returning to the Jaguars in 2024.

“We’ve been walking Caullin through his options, kind of hand-in-hand with him and his family,” Wommack said. “We had a very good meeting (Sunday) afternoon with him and his family about just what his options may look like. There’s a number of things on the table and we’re looking at each of those things. There’s an opportunity for him to stay here with us going into next season. There’s an opportunity for him to maybe go to Power 5 program and (play) his senior year there. And then there’s an opportunity for him to move into an NFL career.

“As we get a couple of those things together, we’ll decide on the bowl game and how that fits as well. Caullin’s a great young man, great teammate. I think he wants to compete in the bowl game. But we’ve just got to make sure that it’s the best thing for him and for our team. We’ll figure those things out in the coming days.”

Both the Jaguars and Eagles are 6-6 heading into the 68 Ventures Bowl, which will be played on the South Alabama campus at Hancock Whitney Stadium. The game kicks off at 6 p.m. on Dec. 23, with television coverage on ESPN.

In addition to Lacy, other South Alabama players whose status remains up in the air for the bowl game are quarterback Carter Bradley (knee), running back La’Damian Webb (toe), running back Kentrel Bullock (undisclosed) and offensive tackle Jordan Davis (knee). All four missed all or part of the Jaguars’ regular-season finale at Texas State, a 52-44 loss.

“Carter looks good, feels good,” Wommack said. “He’s moving around on a very limited basis. We shut him down for the two practices we had last week. That knee needs rest. That’s the best thing we could do for it, especially considering we’re (close to) a month out from the game. We will look at him this week and evaluate based off the defense that we face and how well he’ll be able to move around. But I’d say at this point we’re very optimistic that he’s gonna play in the game.

“We’re still evaluating the other guys as we go into the next couple of practices, and then we’ll figure out what our options are. I’d say all those things are kind of in flux until we get back out on the field together.”

South Alabama backup defensive end Nathan Rawlins-Kibonge has also entered the NCAA transfer portal and won’t be back with the team, Wommack said. The 6-foot-6 Rawlins-Kibonge, who transferred to South Alabama from Oklahoma prior to the 2022 season, totaled two tackles in six games for the Jaguars the last two years.

Rawlins-Kibonge announced Monday morning he’d entered the portal:

South Alabama returns to the practice field on Tuesday, and then will practice again Friday. Wommack has labeled those two workouts as “developmental practices” for the Jaguars’ younger players, with actual game prep for Eastern Michigan not set to begin until next week.