There are roughly three weeks remaining before South Alabama begins summer football workouts, but there are still several holes to fill on the Jaguars’ 2024 roster.
After the transfer portal closed for new entries on May 1, South Alabama had approximately 10 scholarship spots available for 2024. Two of those have since been filled, but there is still work to be done.
“We’re trying to address some of our needs,” first-year Jaguars head coach Major Applewhite said Tuesday prior to a speaking engagement in Mobile. “There’s some areas that we still need to close on. There’s some areas that we’ve added that have helped us, but it’s still early.”
South Alabama has added commitments in recent days from linebacker Darius McKenzie (Maine) and safety Trent Singleton (Mississippi State), both of whom are expected to enroll in summer classes at the end of this month. The Jaguars are still looking to bring in multiple offensive linemen and at least one player at wide receiver, on the defensive line, at outside linebacker and at safety, and possibly at quarterback.
Things have definitely changed from a year ago, when South Alabama returned 20 starters from a 10-3 team and then-head coach Kane Wommack used the portal mostly to add depth. This time around, the Jaguars return only nine starters from a team that went 7-6 in 2023.
“We need people to come in and play,” Applewhite said. “We’re not good enough to say, after 7-6, ‘We need guys come in and back up people.’ We need people to come in and play and contribute. There are some things in terms of pass-rushers, linebackers, safeties, O-line — it’s virtually every position. When you’re batting around .500 as a program, you need to improve every area. “We need to get better everywhere. There needs to be competition at every position.”
South Alabama was hit especially hard by the transfer portal in both January and April. The Jaguars lost All-Sun Belt Conference wide receiver Caullin Lacy (Louisville) and starting defensive backs Marquise Robinson (Arkansas) and Yam Banks (Ole Miss) prior to spring practice, and then offensive lineman Adrein Strickland and linebacker Khalil Jacobs — both projected starters — immediately afterward (Strickland and Jacobs have not yet chosen their destinations for 2024).
Also gone are a number of players who could have provided the Jaguars with experienced depth in 2024 if they weren’t going to start. The talent drain has left Applewhite with a less-than-rosy outlook coming out of spring practice.
“What stood out the most is honestly, just the glaring holes in terms of what we’ve got to replace from a portal standpoint,” Applewhite said of his post-spring assessment. “When you lose three guys in the portal before your bowl game and you kick off two offensive linemen, you (lost) five players from your team, and so you naturally put yourself behind the 8-ball in terms of getting back some of those numbers. And you’ve done that without knowing how this portal cycle is gonna be.
“So those things have to be corrected. You’ve got to have long-term vision before you do those things. And so we’re gonna correct some of those decisions.”
And that roster crunch was compounded by the portal losses of Strickland and Jacobs, who presumably will receive lucrative NIL deals at their next schools. That’s now a fact of life at the Group of 5 level.
“Unless you’ve got a whole bunch of dough, that’s the way it goes,” Applewhite said. “… I wish I could say something different, but unless your pocketbook’s fat, people can come buy players from you.”
Applewhite also provided updates on two projected starters who missed spring practice entirely. Senior offensive lineman Reed Buys, who started games at both guard positions last season, is on track to return by June following offseason surgery.
Wide receiver Devin Voisin, however, is not yet 100 percent healthy following knee surgery. Voisin caught 64 passes in 2022 before tearing his left ACL in Week 2 last season.
“I believe Reed is (ready to return); I’ll see with Devin,” Applewhite said. “There’s been some talk that he’s (recovering) a little bit slower, but I think Reed’s done a good job of coming back.”
South Alabama opens the 2024 season at home Aug. 31 vs. North Texas.