Southern Miss Football Preview 2026: Rebuilding the Rebuild
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You'll have to forgive Southern Miss fans if they're getting annoyed with this.
It's a program that spent years as a Conference USA powerhouse, going to ten straight bowl games from 2002 to 2011.
It rebuilt after a few disastrous years into a winner again, and then it all collapsed.
Southern Miss Has Been Here Before — Now Blake Anderson Has to Build It Back Again
© Chuck Cook-Imagn Images
From 2020 to 2024, the proud program won three games or fewer in four of the five years.
In came Charles Huff fresh off a Sun Belt title at Marshall. He brought a ton of talent with him, and boom. Southern Miss won seven games and got to a bowl.
And … boom. Huff left for Memphis and took a ton of talent with him.
Southern Miss has one of the emptiest teams in college football when it comes to returning talent.
Blake Anderson, who took over in the bowl loss, had to start from scratch, needing to piece together parts from the portal, while hoping some of the players still around can step up and shine.
So yes, this should be yet another tough year for Southern Miss football. Only this time, there might be a real foundation being built.
Southern Miss Quick Hits
- Head Coach: Blake Anderson (1st full year, 0-1; 11th year overall: 74-55)
- Best Case / Worst Case: Find a way to get to six wins and a bowl/A third season with three wins or fewer in four years
- Key Player: Broderick Roman, C Sr.
- 2025 Record: 7-6
- Biggest Question: Can the Golden Eagles find something that consistently works on both sides of the ball?
Southern Miss Key 2025 Stats
- Total Yards: Opponents 5,250, Southern Miss 5,221
- Interceptions Thrown: Opponents 23, Southern Miss 11
- Penalties: Opponents 109 for 916 yards, Southern Miss 97 for 782 yards
Offense
There's almost nothing coming back.
It's not quite as bad as the defensive side, but the entire offense is starting from near scratch from a good attack that was in the middle of the Sun Belt pack.
Offensive coordinator Kyle Cefalo comes in from Cal, where he worked with a decent receiving corps – he'll want to get the passing game going from jump.
What’s Working
The quarterbacks are fine. The gig is wide open. Braylon Braxton is done after an excellent season, throwing for a Sun Belt-high 24 touchdowns.
Ethan Hampton is a more than capable signing from Illinois, Landry Lyddy was good in a backup role last year, and sophomore John White and freshman Hugh Price will get their chances.
The staff is piecing together a decent group of running backs. Robert Briggs is back after finishing third on the team with 304 rushing yards and 13 catches. Landing Brandon Hood from UMass helps, and Jamarice Wilder is a nice prospect from Louisville.
All things considered, the Golden Eagles should have a decent starting five on the line. Broderick Roman is back at center, and he's a good one.
The staff did a decent job in the portal, landing tackle Braden Cain, an experienced all-around blocker from Texas Southern, and Christian Young, a massive 6-4, 335-pound guard from Emory & Henry.
What Needs Work
The losses are bigger on the defensive side, but through both graduation and the portal, really, there's no one left from last year.
Over 1,000 yards and 14 touchdowns of running back production are gone. The top five wide receivers, and all of the receiving touchdowns but one from the wideouts and tight ends, are gone.
There's almost no FBS experience at wide receiver. AJ Little was decent at UT Chattanooga, and while smallish speedster Jaylen Himes from Wingate caught 66 passes last year, now there's a big step up in competition.
Kaden Saunders (Penn State) and Mario Sanders (Illinois) have the Power Four tools, but little time logged in.
As a team, it would be nice to start controlling the clock. Last year's USF offense was among the worst in America in the time of possession battle. That was sort of by design, but this team needs to have the ball for far more than 27 minutes per game.
Player to Watch
Brandon Hood, RB Soph.
He was supposed to be a good recruit for Colorado, but he didn't see any real time. He moved to UMass and ran for 368 yards and two touchdowns with no real blocking to help the cause.
He should be a good factor in a 1-2 combination with Robert Briggs to get the USM ground game going.
Defense
Former special teams coach Joe Bolden takes over the defense, and he has a blank canvas to work with.
It's a complete and total overhaul of talent from a defense that gave up over 400 yards and 27 points per game,
What’s Working
The linebackers aren't deep, but the starters should be good.
Mathias Haygood is back after making 44 tackles, and Andrew Martin is a fast option from Stetson.
Melvin Spriggs isn't all that big – just 220 pounds – but the Akron transfer can move. He made 51 tackles with 2.5 sacks and five tackles for loss last year.
While there isn't a ton of overall experience, there's depth and options at defensive back. The starting five will be thrown into the fire, but it was one of the main focuses of the portal.
Corner Jyaire Brown from UCF, and safeties Jordan Pride from Texas A&M and Kolby Peavy from Alabama are at least Power Four-level prospects to help fill in the gaps.
New year, brand new team, new coaches, but can the Golden Eagles somehow keep up the takeaway pace?
They were fourth in the nation last year with 29 takeaways, coming up with three or more in seven games, and going 7-1 when coming up with two or more. However …
What Needs Work
Southern Miss didn't win when it didn't force a ton of takeaways. It's asking the world for this entirely new defense to have the same ability to come up with turnovers.
Last year's team went 0-5 when it didn't force multiple takeaways – this team has to learn how to win when they're not flowing.
The transfer portal hammered the Golden Eagle defense. Chris Jones (Florida State) led the team in tackles. J'Mond Tapp (Memphis) led the team with 7.5 sacks. Garrick Ponder (Baylor) is gone after making 11.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks.
Corner Josh Moten is done after picking off five passes, safety Ian Foster is gone to Memphis after making 72 stops and with three picks and two pick-sixes, and on and on.
There's almost no real experience on the front. To be a broken record, the coaching staff had to somehow find players, and there's a decent mix of parts to try getting this all together. They're almost all prospects, though, with little proven production.
Player to Watch
Will Smith, EDGE (North Texas)
He made three tackles in one year at Tulsa and didn't do much of anything at North Texas last season.
However, he's got the size and skills to get his career going, and he'll be given every opportunity to take over one of the edge spots.
Keys to the Season
- Can Southern Miss get a new starting 22 on the field that can produce right away?
- Start controlling the clock, be better overall on third downs, and be in command of games.
- Stop the run and get the running game going.
Player Who Needs To Shine
Broderick Roman, C Sr.
It's a lonely place being the only returning starter on this Southern Miss team, but the 6-1, 301-pound center is a veteran who can be the leader to work around.
The former Eastern Michigan Eagle was good last season, and is one of the few players the coaching staff can rely on right away.
Biggest Concern
Simply getting everyone on the same page.
It'll be an interesting experiment on a national scale to see if it really is possible to see how well a Group of Six program can do with this big of a change at almost every position. Finding any sort of consistency will be impressive.
Biggest Game
at Troy, October 6
The Sun Belt opener is a weeknight game on the road, and it'll set the tone for the rest of the season – maybe.
If the Golden Eagles win, all of a sudden, they're in the mix for big things in the Sun Belt East with home games against Arkansas State and Louisiana coming up next. Lose, and at least they'll know where they stand.
Transfer Portal
There's losing players to the portal, and there's losing everyone.
Okay, so Southern Miss has a few players coming back, but it's a total do-over after losing 16 players to Memphis.
Anderson and his staff did enough to find players to come in and fill the spots, but there's little in the way of experience or top talent. This will be a major work in progress.
Best Signing
Jyaire Brown, CB (UCF)
He started out at Ohio State, and after two years went to LSU, and last year was part of the UCF defense. He's got the Power Four tools and upside, but in four seasons he has just 19 tackles with no picks and four broken up passes. This is his chance to shine.
Biggest Loss
Chris Jones, LB (Florida State)
One of the Sun Belt's best tacklers is off to Florida State after making 135 stops with 3.5 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss.
Other Names to Know
- Brandon Hood, RB (UMass)
- Jalen Himes, WR (Wingate)
- Jonah Martinez, CB (TCU)
CFN Season Prediction
But … how?
Southern Miss will need to work a few minor miracles to get a team on the field, much less be good. Give it half of the season, and then see where the team is.
And yes, there is just enough talent brought in to be more than merely competent in Sun Belt play.
CFN Prediction: 3-9
USM will beat Alcorn State to start, and it'll need to sneak out a few home wins here and there. The problem is Sun Belt home slate – James Madison, South Alabama, Arkansas State, and Louisiana.
The Golden Eagles will come up with a win here – like, at ULM – and a right game on a right day there, but without something special, this season is all about building up to 2027.
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