How Blake Anderson is navigating quick transition to Southern Miss football coach
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In college football, it’s normal for coaches to have to work quickly to transition from the end of one season to the beginning of the next, especially after a coaching change.
Blake Anderson, who has 10 years of head coaching experience at Utah State and Arkansas State, knows that reality well. Still, he expects his transition to being the new Southern Miss football coach to be unusually demanding.
“We’ve got a big challenge ahead of us,” Anderson said on Dec. 15 at his introductory press conference. “You don’t typically have turnarounds this quickly. I’ve kind of been part of this before, but the dynamic in college football is much different now.”
Anderson was promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach on Dec. 11, just four days after being named USM’s interim coach after Charles Huff’s departure for Memphis.
He will debut as the Golden Eagles’ coach in the New Orleans Bowl where USM (7-5) will take on Western Kentucky (8-4) at Caesars Superdome on Dec. 23 (4:30 p.m. CT), before fully shifting his focus to the 2026 season.
How Blake Anderson plans to navigate recruiting, the transfer portal
The Golden Eagles have a senior class of over 30 players, and Anderson expects to see more leave to follow Huff to Memphis.
He said solving the Golden Eagles’ roster turnover problem is something to be done in stages, beginning with recruiting fresh talent, which he called “the lifeblood of what you do.” USM signed nine recruits during the early signing period Dec. 3-5 and has already sent offers to more players. Signing day is Feb. 4.
“(We’re) going to continue to make more (offers) on guys that we think are worthy of being at this level here for us,” Anderson said. “We’re not going to compromise our standards, but there are some good, high-quality high school players that are out there.”
Anderson plans to attack the transfer portal as well. He expects to see “the biggest portal entry in history” with there now only being one transfer window Jan. 2-16.
“We’re going to take a … very detailed, very targeted, very specific approach to what we’re looking for, and I want to do it in a thoughtful, careful manner. I don’t want to panic and make hasty decisions and take guys that just don’t fit us.”
How Blake Anderson is building his Southern Miss coaching staff
Anderson’s transition also includes hiring a new staff. Multiple coaches are joining Huff’s Memphis staff, including defensive coordinator Jason Semore, according to reports.
However, Anderson has wasted no time in putting the first pieces in place to fill out his staff, including convincing some coaches to stay.
“I’m able to secure a couple guys that are staying … and then filling in with a few that I think are quality guys that I’ve either coached against or seen grow up in the profession that add value,” Anderson said. “I think we’ll have a full staff very quickly.”
He said he has lined up an offensive coordinator, although he did not provide a name.
The biggest position Anderson has not filled and is holding interviews for is defensive coordinator.
Tia Reid covers Jackson State sports for the Clarion Ledger. Email her at treid@usatodayco.com and follow her on X @tiareid65.
This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Southern Miss football coach Blake Anderson details quick transition
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