South Alabama football will be on the spring practice field on Thursday morning, with three new coaches and several other new faces.

The Jaguars finished 7-6 in 2024 under first-year coach Major Applewhite, their third straight winning season. South Alabama also recorded its second consecutive postseason win in December, beating Western Michigan 30-23 in the Salute to Veterans Bowl in Montgomery.

South Alabama welcomes new assistant coaches Broderick Fobbs (running backs), Jason Washington (cornerbacks) and Jerone Steckel (defensive line) this spring. In addition, Paul Petrino has taken on the title of offensive coordinator following the departure of Rob Ezell to Wake Forest, with Applewhite handling quarterback coaching duties.

“We’re really excited to finally put the ball down, and watch us operate as more of a football team than an offseason training team,” Applewhite said. “We’ve had some additions to our staff, with some guys moving to some great opportunities. I’m happy for those guys and grateful for them helping us get into a bowl game last year. But getting those four new coaches on and getting on the same page has been great. I feel like we’re moving in the right direction.

“I think in year two, there’s a little bit fewer surprises for the players. They know what’s kind of coming around the corner. So I think things are working more smoothly from that standpoint.”

South Alabama returns a number of key players from last season, including quarterbacks Gio Lopez and Bishop Davenport (the latter was MVP of the bowl game while Lopez sat out due to injury), running back Kentrel Bullock, wide receiver Devin Voisin, offensive linemen Jordan Davis and Malachi Preciado, defensive lineman Ed Smith, linebackers Aakil Washington and Blayne Myrick, cornerback Lardarius Webb and safety Wesley Miller. Cornerback Ricky Fletcher — a starter in 2023 — has also returned to health after missing all of last season with a back injury.

New faces abound

South Alabama also has added 12 new players through the transfer portal — wide receiver Brendan Jenkins (Samford), tight end Miller McCrumby (Arkansas State), offensive linemen Leavy Johnson (Western Kentucky), Ni Mansell (South Carolina) and Amaury Wiggins (Arkansas), linebackers Caleb Dozier (Georgia Tech), Tre’Mon Henry (Southern Miss) and Tirrell Johnson (Harding) and defensive backs Anthony Brown (Purdue), Jayvon Henderson (East Tennessee State), Tywon Wray (Oklahoma State) and Dallas Young (Arkansas). All enrolled in January and will participate in spring practice.

Four junior-college transfers joined the program in January — running back Keenan Phillips (Georgia Military), tight end Brec Long (Coffeyville, Kan.), defensive back Lorenzo Smith (Jones, Miss.) and defensive lineman Dominic Wiseman (Iowa Western). Three high school signees also enrolled early — defensive lineman E’Mauri Smiley (Opelika), cornerback Deuce Vance (Hattiesburg, Miss.) and safety Kohl Bradley (Lucedale, Miss.).

Also new to the team is walk-on backup quarterback Bubba Thompson, a former McGill-Toolen star who spent the last eight years playing professional baseball. The 26-year-old Thompson was a first-round pick of the Texas Rangers in 2017, and played a total of 109 major-league games with the Rangers and Cincinnati Reds from 2022-24.

Departures and returns

South Alabama lost several scholarship players through the transfer portal, including running backs Fluff Bothwell (Mississippi State), Braylon McReynolds (Louisiana-Monroe) and Jarvis Durr (Northwest Mississippi Community College), defensive end Jordan Norman (Tulane), defensive backs Jordan Scruggs (West Virginia), Rickey Hyatt (Ohio) and Amarion Fortenberry (Kansas State) and kicker Laith Marjan (Kansas). Safety Brian Dillard initially entered the portal before withdrawing and returning to South Alabama for his final season.

One additional scholarship player, cornerback Reggie Neely, left the program in January over playing-time concerns, Applewhite said. Offensive lineman Reid Gavin is back this spring after first choosing to end his football career with one year of eligibility remaining (linebacker Gavin Forsha is also back after receiving an extra year via the NCAA’s Diego Pavia ruling, but is rehabbing a knee injury and is not expected to participate in spring).

Injury updates

In addition to Forsha, fellow linebackers Myrick (shoulder) and Dalton Hughes (knee) are out for spring, as are defensive lineman Achilles Wood (shoulder) and safety Cole Blaylock (shoulder). Webb will be limited early on, but could return by the end of spring, Applewhite said.

“There’s new people at every position,” Applewhite said. “There’s not a single position in our team that has not been introduced a new player through the portal or from high school. So there’s a lot of new faces in this building. So, as a family, let’s like create our own rules for the house and let’s live by them. Let’s hold each other accountable and let’s operate in that manner. And I’ve been very pleased with them.”

In addition to Thursday, South Alabama will practice Saturday, then March 18, 20, 22, 25, 27 and 29 and April 1, 3, 5, 7, 8 and 10. The annual Red-Blue spring game is set for Saturday, April 12, at Hancock Whitney Stadium.