South Alabama Football Preview 2026: Was Last Year Just a Blip?

After a tough run for South Alabama as an FBS program, it started winning.

It failed to come up with a winning season in the first ten seasons after joining the big-time college football world in 2012, and then Kane Wommack cranked up three straight great campaigns before leaving.

Major Applewhite kept it going, and then it was back to the grind.

It’s not like there are massive expectations like there are at the big Alabama schools, but the one-year slide needs to stop, and that might be tough.

Was 2025 an Exception For South Alabama or the New Normal?

Applewhite won seven games in his good first season in 2024, but the team was totally gutted by the portal.

He rebuilt, put together a season that was better than the 4-8 record – with three achingly close one-score losses along the way – and now it has to rework what it has and improve.

He has more of his own parts in place, the team needs to rise from within, and he has to prove that 2025 was just a blip.

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South Alabama Quick Hits

• Head Coach: Major Applewhite (3rd year: 11-14, 5th year overall: 26-25)

• Best Case / Worst Case: A fourth winning season in five years/A second straight losing season under Applewhite

• Key Player: Stephen Johnson, DT Jr.

• Biggest Question: Can the 2025 parts from within be the stars in 2026?

South Alabama Key 2025 Stats

• Total Offense: South Alabama 4,572 yards, Opponents 4,565 yards

• 4th Down Conversions: Opponents 19-of-26 (73%), South Alabama 18-of-34 (53%)

• Kickoff Returns: Opponents 22.92 yards, South Alabama 9.9 yards

Offense

Paul Petrino has a decent amount of talent returning, and it’s needed without a lot coming in through the portal. There’s hope for a decent season, but everyone has to be better.

Last year’s team ran well, was okay at times scoring, and needs to be more explosive.

What’s Working

The ground game should be effective. Kentrell Bullock is done after running for close to 1,100 yards, but Keenan Phillips is a good, quick No. 2 back who’ll take over the main spot after running for 605 yards. 

PJ Martin brings a little more thump, averaging 5.4 yards per carry.

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Bishop Davenport is back at quarterback. Don’t take this for granted. It wouldn’t have been a stunner if he took off for somewhere else after hitting 68% of his throws for 2,073 yards and 12 touchdowns. A baller, he ran for 325 yards and eight scores.

Midrange throws. There isn’t enough happening down the field, but Davenport is a nice short-range thrower, and with so many new targets, there won’t be too many chances taken.

Sometimes the offense bogs down a tad, but until the main receivers get up to speed, hovering around 70% completion should keep things moving. But …

What Needs Work

It’s not a good thing when you have to complete every pass. Davenport is good, but the team went 0-7 when he didn’t hit at least 71% of his throws, and was 4-1 when completing more.

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The receiving corps. Anthony Eager was the No. 2 target, but he only averaged 8.5 yards per grab. Leading receiver Devin Voisin caught 67 passes, and Jeremy Scott is gone to TCU after averaging over 17 yards per grab.

It’ll help to have a safety valve at tight end in Everett Hunter from Nicholls State.

The offensive line has experience, but now it has to work. The pass protection wasn’t good enough, and the running attack was just okay, but stalled too often.

Four players with decent starting experience are back, but this is one area where losing parts to the portal sting a bit – guard Asher Hale is off to Baylor and tackle Jordan Davis left for UCLA.

Player to Watch

Anthony Eager, WR Jr.
The Jaguars need a true No. 1 target, and they really need someone who can get down the field. Eager occasionally made big things happen, but for the most part he was about the safe plays.

The experience and talent are there to go from 40 catches to about 60.

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Defense

The defense brought former USF defensive coordinator Todd Orlando to take over a bunch that wasn’t totally awful, but couldn’t do anything to get into the backfield.

There’s not a lot coming in from the portal, so what you see is mostly what you get with the Jaguar defense – but there’s not a ton of starting experience back.

What’s Working

The linebacking corps should be okay as long as there aren’t a slew of injuries. Tirrell Johnson made 54 tackles and five tackles for loss in a hybrid role, and landing Seidrion Langston from ULM should matter. 

Overall, there should be a nice mix here – it just might take a month to get the right rotation in place.

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The young size has to be a factor. The defensive line depth and experience overall is a huge problem, but 320-pound redshirt freshman Rickey Sutton, 310-pound freshman Brayden Hurst, and 305-pound JUCO transfer Rodney Hunter at least bring more bulk to develop.

Considering there wasn’t any pass rush, the defense was stunningly okay at getting off the field. It wasn’t great overall on third downs – when opposing offenses got into a groove, forget it. However, it allowed teams to convert fewer than 37% of their chances in six of the last ten games.

What Needs Work

Where’s the pass rush? Only three teams came up with fewer sacks per game, and there aren’t any sure-thing pass rushers or playmakers who can get behind the line.

This is where the portal would normally help, but the line took a hit losing players the other way.

South Alabama came up with three sacks in the opener against Morgan State, and that was about it – there were just nine over the remaining 11 games.

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The defensive line wasn’t totally gutted, but five tackle options are gone through the portal. There’s little to no developed depth on the inside, and there’s not enough experienced size outside of 310-pound Stephen Johnson.

The transfer portal losses across the board weren’t too bad, including the defensive line, at least talent-wise, but the secondary has to replace some terrific producers. 

Nehemiah Chandler came up with a Sun Belt-high 13 broken up passes, and now he’s at Florida State. Safety Ty Goodwill made 32 tackles with seven broken up passes, and now he’s at Cincinnati. Safety Wesley Miller made 59 stops, and he’s off to FIU.

Player to Watch

Tirrell Johnson, LB Jr.
For a defense that doesn’t have a ton of returning starters, Johnson has the upside to become a stat-sheet filler now that he knows what he’s doing.

Last year he made 54 tackles with a sack, five tackles for loss, a pick, and two forced fumbles. Expect far more.

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Keys to the Season

• Make more downfield plays happen.

• Be way better defensively when pushed up front.

• Find a pass rush that can do something.

Player Who Needs To Shine

Stephen Johnson, DT Jr.
The Jaguar line desperately needs the tackles to hold up, and it’s even more in need of size on the inside.

The 6-3, 310-pound former Auburn Tiger made 15 tackles in his time in the rotation last year with USA. Now he has to be more of an anchor.

Biggest Concern

The pass rush.
This has to be fixed immediately.

The program was a force behind the line in 2021 with 32 sacks, and it hovered around the high 20s for a few years. The pass rush was a problem in 2024 with a scattered 21 sacks, and last year it was non-existent with just the 12.

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Biggest Game

at Arkansas State, October 8
If this is going to be any sort of a turnaround season in the Sun Belt, the Jaguars have to get off to a hot start.

With a home game against ULM to start the conference campaign, and a week off before going to Marshall, this is big.

South Alabama lost last year’s game 15-14, and dropped the 2024 date 18-16.

Transfer Portal

Everyone gets hit by losses through the portal, but even the least of the FBS programs finds players to bring in to add more ideas, depth, and parts.

South Alabama didn’t exactly sit this one out, but it didn’t bend over backwards to sign loads of players to fill in the gaps. It’s a micro-targeted class without a lot of room to make mistakes.

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Best Signing

Seidrion Langston, LB (ULM)
The defense needs more big play stoppers who can get to the ball. Langston is only 6-1 and 220 pounds, but he can move, making 58 stops and three tackles for loss for ULM over the last two years.

Biggest Loss

Jeremy Scott, WR (TCU)
For an offense that has to find players who can get down the field, Scott will be missed. He only caught 24 passes for 417 yards and four scores, but he averaged 17.4 yards per grab. He’ll be a big deal for TCU.

Other Names to Know

• Everett Hunter, TE (Nicholls State)

• Shalik Hubbard, OG (Monmouth)

CFN Season Prediction

It’s one of the most interesting Sun Belt teams to figure out.

There needs to be a winning season – or, at least a big step forward – but to do that, a whole lot of untested parts in the system have to be terrific.

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The dates at Kentucky and Tulane are almost certain losses, but there’s no James Madison, Old Dominion, or a good Georgia Southern team on the Sun Belt slate.

CFN Prediction: 5-7

It’ll be a grind, and it all might come down to winning the home games – the Jaguars can’t lose to Troy or Louisiana Tech – but getting to six wins and a bowl is a good next-step goal.

Related: Sun Belt Football 2026 Win Totals: Spring Predictions for All 14 Teams