Southern Miss ran about 90 plays in its first fall scrimmage Saturday as head coach Charles Huff continued shaping the depth chart for the Aug. 30 opener against Mississippi State.
The scrimmage offered a key early look at a Golden Eagle team still developing its identity under Huff’s leadership. After weeks of conditioning and drills, this was the first chance for players to compete in a live, game-like setting, a critical step as the coaching staff evaluates depth and readiness.
“Both sides of the ball made some plays today,” Huff said. “It was good today to get out and get as close to a full game amount of reps as you can.”
The scrimmage lasted nearly two hours. The first and second teams did not engage in full tackling, but the third team had a couple of live reps.
Offensively, the spotlight shone on Sun Belt Conference Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, quaterback Braylon Braxton. Braxton threw for 170 yards and two touchdowns. He connected on an eight-pass streak at one point, including a 13-yard scoring strike to running back Robert Briggs and a 30-yard touchdown toss to senior receiver Carl Chester.
Other quarterbacks also saw reps and contributed. Landry Lyddy passed for 168 yards, John White threw for 68 yards and Jacobe Robinson added 51 yards through the air.
As for receiving, Bralon Brown hauled in five catches for 73 yards. Chester matched that with five grabs for 72 yards. Davis Dalton six passes for 61 yards and Jermane Hayes added five receptions for 19 yards. Running back Tyrese Weeks capped off the scoring with a one-yard touchdown run.
One of the biggest questions so far in camp is who will start on the offensive line. Huff said the coaching staff has shuffled players at that position all week to prepare for the scrimmage. He now feels ready to group players by specific roles, which will help solidify the final depth chart.
“We had planned to go through today, move some guys around,” Huff said. “Some guys have shown over the last week or so, including today, they perform a little better on a certain side than the other.
“Now we'll get a little bit more, ‘Hey, you're our group of guards’ or ‘you're our group of tackles,’ which should create a little more consistency. There's still going to have to be some flexibility, because the reality is, you got to put the best five out there.”
Huff praised the team’s energy and intensity on the field and said he was pleased with what he saw from the skill players, even without full tackling.
The defense also had a productive day. The unit recorded four interceptions during the scrimmage, including a pick-six from Kyle Davis. The other interceptions came from Guylijah Theodule, Ishmael Ibraheem and Avery Sledge.
(All stats provided by Southern Miss Athletics)
Huff particularly pointed to the defensive line’s ability to create pressure on Braxton and the growth he still wants to see from that unit during the rest of camp.
“I thought there was a good balance of pressure,” Huff said. “But there was good balance of opportunities for the quarterback to have a good pocket, probably not as much pressure as we were a week ago. You know, I mean, defensive line wise, we've moved some guys around, which helped us.”
Another big question for the Golden Eagles is special teams, with a couple of players competing for starting jobs. Huff wanted to see more consistency but noted it was the first time this fall they worked on the game field, which may have played a role.
“I didn't think we hit it well,” Huff said. “We missed two field goals today. The consistency has got to continue to stay there. You know, that's a position where we some new guys there. They have the ability. But the consistency is what we got to continue to work on.”
The Golden Eagles have another week of fall camp before the final scrimmage next Saturday, which Huff said will provide a clear picture of the depth chart heading into game week.
“There was definitely some positive,” Huff said. “Some of the guys that we were expecting to play well, they played well. Some of the guys that we were expecting to see some things from did show us some things… overall, I felt pretty good about it.”
