UAB Football- March 12, 2014

UAB Offensive Coordinator Bryant Vincent is shown during the first spring football practice session in Birmingham, Ala., Wednesday, March 12, 2014. (Mark Almond/malmond@al.com) ORG XMIT: ALBIN

(MARK ALMOND)

MOBILE, Alabama - Earlier this week, Bryant Vincent said he had not been offered the job as offensive coordinator at South Alabama. That changed Thursday morning when the UAB offensive coordinator was offered the job - and he accepted.

Vincent spent three seasons (2011-13) as the Jaguars' quarterbacks coach for then-offensive coordinator Robert Matthews before accepting the UAB job he held for the 2014 season. He takes over for Matthews, who was dismissed by head coach Joey Jones after the Jags' final regular season game this year against Navy.

Vincent, 39, will be at South Alabama's practice Friday for the upcoming Raycom Media Camellia Bowl. It will be the Jags' first practice of the week following a break allowing players to concentrate on final exams. Vincent is expected to coach in the Jags' Camellia Bowl game against Bowling Green on Sat., Dec. 20 at Montgomery's Cramton Bowl.

"Bryant Vincent is a complete football coach,'' Jones said. "He's a great recruiter, a great motivator and has a very good offensive mind. He went up to UAB and did extremely well. They were scoring a lot of points, including 34 against Mississippi State; watching them play, you could see they had an explosive offense. It's great to have him back."

Vincent said he is happy to be back on the South Alabama staff.

"I'm extremely excited to come back to South Alabama,'' Vincent said. "This is a first-class university with first-class people. I believe that South Alabama football is on the verge of exploding. Coach Jones and his staff have done a tremendous job of getting the program where it's at from the ground up and I'm just excited about being a part of it.''

Vincent has coached several of the players currently on the Jaguars' offensive roster from his time as the team's quarterbacks coach and that familiarity will be a big help he said as he jumps in right away to help the team prepare for the bowl game.

"Being here three years prior to this last season, I do have a lot of familiarity with the players and coaches and I do think it helps with the transition,'' he said. "Knowing what those guys are capable of.''

With South Alabama's involvement in the Camellia Bowl, Vincent won't have a waiting period to get back to coaching.

"It's obviously very unique, but you love the competition,'' Vincent said. "This is a tremendous moment, a tremendous milestone for this program playing in its first bowl game and obviously I'm extremely excited to be a part of that.''

Prior to accepting the quarterbacks coach job at South Alabama, Vincent spent five seasons as a high school head coach, one at Greenville High and four at Spanish Fort where he led the Toros to the 2010 state Class 5A championship.

The Glasgow, Ky., native is a graduate of the University of West Alabama (1998) where he also served two seasons as a student assistant coach. He was an assistant coach at Hart County, Ky., High School, Charles Henderson High in Troy and Spain Park in Birmingham prior to being named head coach at Greenville for the 2006 season.