Questions are beginning to have answers as Southern Miss held its second and final scrimmage of fall camp.
After taking over 120 snaps, the Golden Eagles saw an equal amount of back-and-forth from each side of the ball. Of the 10 drives during the full 11-on-11 portion of practice, four ended in field goal attempts.
"It was a gauntlet," Southern Miss coach Will Hall said. "It was a lot of plays from both sides.
"There were four drives that the defense held the offense to field goals. That's 16 points saved…I think defensively, we really understand that we are going to chase the ball, try to get our hands on the ball and disrupt the ball. We have to do our best to not let it get over their head."
JOBS DECIDED
Several jobs on offense appear to be decided, the most obvious being quarterback.
Florida State transfer Tate Rodemaker seems to have taken the reigns for the starting job. All of Rodemaker's snaps were with the first-team offense, while sophomore Ethan Crawford only had one drive with the first-team, which was near the end of the day.
"I thought they looked good today," said Hall of his quarterbacks. "I thought they looked good. I thought they were accurate. We had a few misses, but I thought they functioned well.
"I thought they were accurate. We had a few misses, but I thought they functioned well, especially in the red jerseys because they are all good athletes."
Rodemaker went 16-for-26 and threw for 218 yards and a touchdown to conclude his day. His first drive of the day ended in a punt, but Rodemaker bounced back with back-to-back field goals and a seven-yard touchdown run from Dreke Clark. Later in the 2-minute drill, Rodemaker connected with Clark for a seven-yard touchdown on a screen pass. Rodemaker also scored on a quarterback run during red zone work.
Crawford was also productive but not as efficient as he went 7-for-15 and tossed for 153 yards a touchdown pass, but threw two interceptions. The dual-threat quarterback began his day by finding tight end Kyrin Heath for a 46-yard touchdown. Crawford then led a drive to a 32-yard field goal. On his final drive with the first-team offense, Crawford threw a pick-six to Will James. In the two-minute drill, Crawford struggled after getting sacked and then threw an interception to freshman linebacker Chris Jones on fourth and long.
Another determined part of the team appears to be the starting offensive line, which rolled out the same five guys as the previous scrimmage which were Greg Nunnery, Dontae Lucas, Drew Lawson, Will Saxton and Gabe Cavazos.
Notably, true freshman quarterback John White went 9-for-11 and threw for 145 yards.
IT'S A BIRD. IT'S A PLANE. NO, IT'S WILL JAMES
Having one of the best overall performances this fall camps has been defensive back Will James. James' teammates shouted the Superman slogan as he joined the media interviews. According to James, it's a reference to the multiple interceptions he has come down with during camp.
"That all started when I jumped the out route," James said, "Every practice it comes. I just come in flying in there and score pick sixes every time."
James' interception against Crawford was more of a well-played move by him than a mistake by the quarterback.
"It was a great play by Will James," Hall said. "It wasn't a bad read. It was the right read based on the coverage. Will just jumped the route and made a play.
"He'll play just defense this year, but by the time his career is over, I think there's a great chance he'll play both ways for us."
James arrived at Southern Miss after spending his freshman year at Mississippi State.
"At Mississippi State they were playing with me," James said. "They were playing with me. I was catching picks every day, and they still didn't travel with me, so I had to take my talents somewhere else and show them how real I was."
JACKSON & SIMMONS DUO
One of the biggest questions when entering fall camp was whether the Golden Eagles would be able to find viable options at outside receiver.
However, SEC transfers Larry Simmons and Dannis Jackson have emerged as both needed and legitimate threats for the receiving corps. Jackson, a Sumrall alum, had four catches for 57 yards.
"We had to (wait and see), but we know they were really good players," Hall said. "They were highly recruited guys.
"Dannis and Larry have been dynamic."
Simmons, an Ole Miss transfer, had two catches for 38 yards and an 11-yard run. He also completed a pass on a two-point conversion.
I'm excited about him," Hall said. "When it became apparent that we would have an opportunity for him. I told Coach (Desmond) Lindsey to go all in for him.
"He has a skill set that is just different. What he did at Moss Point High School was incredible. He's taken to our culture quickly. I'm excited about his potential."
NOTABLE STATS
With Jack Schwing out, Chandler Merrill had a productive day after hauling in six catches for 119 yards.
Running back Kenyon Clay ran for just 12 yards on five carries, but had three catches for 68 yards most of which came off screen plays. Clark finished the day with three touchdowns and 59 all-purpose yards.
The Golden Eagles' defense recorded three sacks, which were by Braxton Meyers, Caleb Moore and Armondous Cooley.
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