“Step it up.”
Phrases like this were passionately voiced by wide receiver Darren Morris during spring practice at Southern, which went 8-5 last year. The redshirt sophomore was fed up with the offense being outdone by the defense one day.
Witnessing this kind of fire from players such as Morris during the spring brings delight to head coach Terrence Graves.
“They're really working hard to do what the coaches have been instructing them to do,” the second-year coach said. “It's been great energy. Guys are competing, they are taking care of one another, and that's what you want because the goal is come out (stay) healthy and also that everybody has a great understanding what we're implementing.”
Southern is seven days into spring practice, which concludes April 12 with the blue and gold game at 1 p.m. at A.W. Mumford Stadium.
Teaching the 29 newcomers (13 offense and 16 defense) how Southern operates and refreshing the memories of returners is the primary function of spring football. Graves and his staff are laying the foundation. They're also monitoring players' performances and intangibles.
Star defensive end Ckelby Givens is one example. While the FCS All-American has added more muscle to his 6-foot-3, 250-pound frame, Graves said even more notable is the senior's consistency as a leader.
“He's not perfect, but he walks in excellence,” Graves said. “The guys feed off of him.”
Graves also mentioned Morris and senior safety Horacio Johnson as other returning players who have stood out as positive examples.
On the field, there are position groups that have lost more production than others. The top two leading rushers, Kobe Dillon and Kendric Rhymes, both entered the transfer portal as graduates. Third-leading rusher CJ Russell is out of eligibility.
Graves still likes his running backs room, mentioning Jason Gabriel who had three carries as a freshman last season.
“He's coming from a great football program, John Curtis High School, and knowing what it takes, greatness of being a part of championship programs,” Graves said of Gabriel.
The Jaguars also no longer have All-SWAC first-team kicker Joshua Griffin, who was a senior last season.
Graves said that they will miss Griffin but he does feel confident about signee Nathan Zimmer from Central High School in Baton Rouge. Southern also retained kicker and punter Kenny Pham.
Despite having some familiar producers back for the 2025 season, Graves said that starting spots for “all positions are wide open.”
“Everybody has to compete for a position and they know that,” Graves said. “We did a great job of recruiting because we wanted to increase the level of competition to the point where a guy can't just sit back and think, ‘Hey, I'm the guy.’ No, you gonna hate to miss anything because the person behind you is just as good, if not better.”
This mindset is also applied to the the quarterback room. Graves proved last year that spot is not secure as Southern rotated among three starting quarterbacks, with each appearing in at least six games.
Redshirt sophomore C'Zavian Teasett and senior Noah Bodden were two of those quarterbacks, but both entered the portal.
Southern has two returning signal-callers in sophomores Jalen Woods and Angelo Izzard. Woods appeared in six games and started the last two regular-season games, but he missed the SWAC championship game because of a concussion. Izzard never appeared in a game.
Graves admitted that Woods has an advantage in the quarterback race because of his familiarity with offensive coordinator Mark Frederick’s system.
“Certainly Woods has an upper hand, because he played and he played well for us towards the end last year,” Graves said. “So for sure he has the edge because he's gotten comfortable, understands the system.”
Southern signed two quarterbacks in the offseason in Dillon Compton from Bunkie High School and Jamari Jones from East Mississippi Community College.
