Sophomore working behind senior James Miller at 'Mike' position
Sep. 07, 2023, 6:30 a.m. Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt is sacked by South Alabama linebacker Khalil Jacobs during an NCAA football game on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023, in New Orleans. South Alabama’s 37-17 defeat at Tulane last weekend was forgettable in many ways, but sophomore linebacker Khalil Jacobs stood out in a losing effort.
Rotating in behind James Miller at Mike linebacker, Jacobs totaled four tackles in about a half-game worth of action. He also forced a turnover with a sack of Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt, which teammate Ke’Shun recovered to set up a Jaguars field goal in the second quarter.“He’s so electric,” linebackers coach Will Windham said. “He is dynamic in the blitz game. Obviously, he put on a show for the whole world the other night, I would say it was his ‘coming out party,’ so to speak. He’s in his wheelhouse when we can get him in there to rush the passer. He’s so athletic and so strong, just a freak of nature. “The more chances we got to put him in situations like that, we’re going to do it. We put him out there because that’s what we believe he can do and we trust him to do those things.” The 6-foot-2, 218-pound Jacobs signed with South Alabama as part of the 2022 class out of Niceville High School. He played in 11 games as a true freshman on both defense and special teams, totaling four tackles and a quarterback hurry. South Alabama’s two starting inside linebackers, Miller and Trey Kiser, are seniors this year. Jacobs and Brown form the second unit, but have been impossible to keep off the field. “I’ve gotten a lot faster,” Jacobs said. “My technique is getting better since I had never really played middle linebacker until I got here. I had played mostly outside linebacker and receiver in high school, so it was a big change to come inside the box. “, they push me every day. They’re always making sure I’m on top of stuff with academics, football stuff, staying right outside of football. Those guys are real leaders. I love them and yeah, they keep my head on straight every day.” South Alabama linebacker James Miller will wear the honorary No. 5 jersey on Saturday vs. Southeastern Louisiana. Speaking of Miller, he gets the special honor of wearing the No. 5 jersey this week in practice and in Saturday’s home-opener vs. Southeastern Louisiana. He totaled seven tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss against Tulane, and also recovered a fumble. Miller is in his second season at South Alabama after transferring from Indiana, where he played for Jaguars head coach Kane Wommack from 2018-20. But their relationship goes back even farther than that, as Wommack personally recruited Miller out of Armwood High School in the Tampa area. “He has continued to be a stable presence on our team,” Wommack said. “I thought when you looked just at the film, even in the game, a lot of winning football that was played on defense up front, in terms of our linebacking core and our D line. He did some really tremendous things — was in the right place, got lined up, communicated really well. But he’s also just been a workhorse and kind of a person that embodies the demeanor, the body language, the effort that you give every single day. “For me on a on a personal and professional level, I’ve gotten to see James full-circle. I recruited him out of high school at Indiana. Got to watch him grow, watch him go through mistakes and fix those mistakes and have gotten close with him and his family.” Said Miller, “It means a lot. We use that jersey as important in the program and I’m happy to have it. I’m just honored to be able to represent the team with the No. 5 jersey.” The No. 5 jersey is given each week to a different South Alabama player in honor of Anthony Mostella, a former Jaguars running back who was killed in a 2011 motorcycle accident. Wide receiver Devin Voisin wore the 5 jersey vs. Tulane. South Alabama quarterback Carter Bradley throws a pass against Tulane during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game in New Orleans, Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023. • Carter Bradley continues climbing up South Alabama’s all-time passing charts after throwing for 190 yards and a touchdown in the loss to Tulane. The second-year starter is now third in program history with 3,533 passing yards, behind only Dallas Davis and Ross Metheny . He ranks fourth in completions and fifth in attempts , and already holds the program record for career touchdown passes . A victory Saturday would give Bradley 11 as a South Alabama starter, which would also be a program record. Running back La’Damian Webb is now fifth in program history with 1,104 yards and should surpass Jay Jones to move into third on Saturday. It would take a big season for Webb to overtake the top 3 in program history: Xavier Johnson , Kendall Houston and Tra Minter — all of whom played at least three years with the Jaguars. As noted earlier this week, kicker Diego Guajardo is now the Jaguars’ all-time leading scorer with 244 points. He is also first in program history in extra points and extra point attempts and ranks second in field goals and field goal attempts . He needs four more field goals to tie Aleem Sunanon’s record of 49 set from 2013-15. • Safety Yam Banks was back at practice Wednesday and is a full-go for the Southeastern Louisiana game, Wommack said. Banks suffered a head injury while making a tackle during the third quarter of the loss to Tulane. Another Jaguars player who dealt with injuries in the preseason is Webb, who eased his way into full-speed work throughout preseason camp. Webb rushed for 40 yards on nine carries against Tulane, with South Alabama forced to throw the ball much of the second half while down multiple scores. “It was kind of a slow and steady pace, but I think it worked out well,” Webb said. “I feel like everything is back to 100%.” Webb, a former Mr. Football at Beauregard High School, rushed for a school-record 1,064 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2022. He was a first-team All-Sun Belt Conference pick in his first season with the Jaguars. • Kickoff Saturday between South Alabama and Southeastern Louisiana is set for 4 p.m. The game will stream live via ESPN+. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. By browsing this site, we may share your information with our social media partners in accordance with our
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