Southern head coach Terrence Graves shed light on deciding to start and stick with Cam’Ron McCoy on a night when the Jaguars’ passing attack was pedestrian in a 31-14 loss to NC Central on Saturday night.
The second-year head coach admitted in the postgame presser, though with little detail or context, the decision to start the Jackson State transfer instead of redshirt sophomore Jalen Woods.
“We had some things that we had to deal with, and that’s why we made that decision,” Graves said, who didn’t nor was asked to further explain the reasoning.
Though Graves had previously stated that the starting quarterback would be revealed just before kickoff, a depth chart obtained by a Louisiana sports reporter had listed Woods as the No.1 quarterback.
The move to start McCoy looked good early after he ran for a 69-yard touchdown on the Jaguars’ opening drive.
However, Southern’s passing attack could not establish flow or consistency as the game progressed.
McCoy finished the game by completing 9 of 14 passes for 71 yards, rushing for 98 yards, and a touchdown on nine carries.
@GeauxJags QB Cam’Ron McCoy (@camRonmccoy2) shows off the speed and takes it to the house! pic.twitter.com/1fuWeoeUxI
— Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge (@MEAC_SWAC) August 24, 2025
Jalen Woods relieved McCoy with 6:12 left in the game. He completed 4 of 5 passes for 21 yards.
Could Woods have appeared in the game earlier to provide a spark?
Graves stressed that such adjustments are always collaborative. “I have assistant coaches and coordinators. Those guys collaborated. They liked what we were doing. They had a game plan,” Graves explained. “They said, hey, maybe we need to warm Jalen up and get him going. But we gave Cam’Ron another series. We were moving the ball down the field.”
That momentum stalled after McCoy fumbled in the red zone to stall what was a rare, promising second-half drive, a mistake Graves acknowledged as a turning point.
“Unfortunately, he got a little careless with the football and turned it over. That kind of took a little wind out,” the coach said.
Despite the turnover, Graves praised his starter’s overall performance. “Hats off to him. He played a good football game. We just have to protect the football,” Graves said.
Graves reiterated his confidence in both quarterbacks, signaling a healthy competition moving forward. “Like I said before, we’ve got two really good quarterbacks, and I’m satisfied with what [Cam’Ron] did tonight.”
Southern will continue to evaluate both signal-callers as they prepare for next week’s matchup, with Graves emphasizing that the team’s offensive execution—and ball security—remain the primary focus.
“I’m disappointed in the way that we played, he said. “We didn’t play the way that we’re capable of playing. And we got to go and fix some things and get back on the drawing board so we can get on pace to do what we need to do.”
