Who? Mike Jones… is the SWAC Player of the Week

There aren’t many offenses in college football that can turn to a third or fourth-string wide receiver, against a ball-hawking secondary and get a 100-yard performance. The Southern Jaguars and receiver Mike Jones provided further confirmation last Saturday. And he did a little better than 100.
At some point, they may want to consider naming the Southwestern Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week award the “Crown a Jaguar award.”
Jones earned the honor this week, his first. He also became the third receiver for the Jaguars to earn the honor so far this season. Jones caught five passes for 211 yards and had three scores in the Jaguars 31-28 win over Alabama State last weekend. His third touchdown was the go-ahead score that gave the Jaguars its first lead in the game.
“We couldn’t stop him,” said Alabama State head coach Reggie Barlow.
When all-conference receiver Lee Doss was suspend against Prairie View early in the year, Jones stepped in and caught four passes for 53 yards and had one score. His longest catch went for 38 yards and he was unfazed by a Panther secondary that currently ranks ninth in pass defense. He surpassed 100 yards for the first time in his career.
“All week in practice we had been talking about the next man being ready,” said Jones, whose 319 receiving yards ranks third on the team and four touchdowns tie for third. “They were playing a lot of cover zero and press-man so we switched to our blazer (all-go routes).”
The Jaguars defensive unit was the responsible for the Jaguars win against the Hornets’, but the impact of Jones’ contributions certainly didn’t go unnoticed.
“This is a football team that’s got players that step up,” said Jaguars head coach Dawson Odums. “My job as a coach is to make sure everybody is prepared so that when they get the opportunity they make the best of it.”
Doss and freshman receiver Randall Menard each earned the honor once so far this season. Doss’s selection came in a 17-7 win over Mississippi Valley. He caught 10 passes for 164 yards and had one score. Menard emerged as another target for quarterback Dray Joseph, winning New Comer of the Week for his performance against Alcorn. He caught three passes for 119 yards had totaled three scores which he recovered a blocked punt and retuned it for a score.
Joseph earned the award after leading the Jaguars to a come-from behind victory over the Panthers. He threw for a career-high 480 yards and six touchdowns on 30 of 48 passing.