Southern Miss football has key players to replace, but Jay Hopson isn’t stressing
With every starter lost in the defensive secondary and star running back Ito Smith now an Atlanta Falcon, it’s easy to understand why most prognosticators see Southern Miss as a middle of the pack team in Conference USA for the 2018 football season.
However, third-year USM head coach Jay Hopson doesn’t seem overly concerned about the situation in either area with the first practice of fall camp set for Aug. 3.
Smith was one of the most productive running backs in program history, rushing for 4,538 yards and 42 touchdowns in four seasons. He also caught 140 passes for 1,446 yards and seven scores.
Those numbers were good enough to make him a fourth-round pick by the Falcons and leave big shoes to fill in the backfield this year.
The options at running back will include redshirt senior George Payne, who sat out last year with a hip injury, redshirt senior Tez Parks, senior T’Rod Daniels, redshirt freshman Darius Maberry and redshirt freshman Steven Anderson.
When conversation on Thursday turned to the arrival of freshman Trivenskey Mosley from Shreveport and the running back group as a whole, Hopson was clearly excited about the possibilities.
“I like our running back mix because we’ve got three seniors and three young guys,” Hopson said during the USM Gulf Coast Beach Bash at the Biloxi Civic Center. “I like our depth at the position. We get George back. Trivenskey is doing really well. Darius is running a month ahead of schedule (after tearing his ACL in December). He’ll be in the fold, ready to go.
“We understand Ito Smith was a great football player for us. He’s playing for the Atlanta Falcons for crying out loud. He’s going to be a great player. But top to bottom depth-wise, this is the best that I can remember us being. We’ve got a lot of talented guys that have to step up and compete because everybody is going to be on each other’s tail. It’s a battle. We’ve got good speed, size. I’m counting on the running back position to be a strength with the talent we have at that position.”
Among the freshman backs, Maberry and Mosley are seen as explosive backs that can break it for big plays. In Anderson, USM offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson will have one of the biggest running backs in Conference USA. He also happens to fairly quick with the ability to get up field.
Hopson said Thursday that Anderson checks in at 6-foot-2 and a little over 250 pounds as fall camp approaches.
Anderson arrived at USM as a quarterback, but made the move to tight end soon after.
Hopson recalls being impressed when he first saw Anderson’s high school film at Suwannee High School in Live Oak, Florida.
“I saw a zone-read quarterback,” Hopson said. “We thought if he can throw, he’s a quarterback. Steven can throw, but he wasn’t an ideal pocket passer. If he doesn’t (throw well enough), we may be able to play him at tight end. When we got him, we said, ‘You know, he’s a better athlete than a quarterback/tight end.
“We moved him on our scout team to running back when we played teams with big backs. He was getting the ball and running over linebackers and running around guys. It dawned on us about Week 5 or 6 that this kid needs the ball in his hands. That’s what got the wheels turning. Having a big back like Steven is a big plus.”
Parks and Daniels combined to run 74 times for 462 yards and three touchdowns this season. Payne, another powerful back at 6-foot, 210 pounds, will see his first action since running 103 times for 496 scores and two touchdowns in 2016.
Revamped secondary
On the defensive side of the ball, it’s the secondary that loses the most experience after every starter wrapped up their eligibility.
This also doesn’t seem to faze Hopson. He pointed back to the early 2000’s when safety Etric Pruitt and cornerback Greg Brooks were leading the way as a comparable group to this year’s defensive backs.
“We have some youth at certain spots, but it reminds me of that old Southern Miss secondary,” Hopson said. “Hard edge, tough guys that are real athletic. They’re a fun bunch to coach. I’m looking forward to watching those guys this year and for years to come.”
Versatile senior Picasso Nelson will provide leadership in the secondary and redshirt sophomore Rachuan Mitchell saw significant time at corner last year, but the rest of the group will be fairly new. Sophomore Tyler Barnes, junior college transfer Ky’el Hemby and redshirt senior Xavier Marion will be among the group competing for time at safety.
At the other corner, East Mississippi Community College transfer Ty Williams appears set to step in as a starter.
“I felt two years ago that he was the best corner in Mississippi up at Charleston (High School),” Hopson said. “Just watching the competition he played and how he played against them, Ty has done everything I expected him to do at cornerback. He’s an NFL talent with great hips, can change direction and he’s physical. He’s a competitor. It was a big get getting Ty.”
This story was originally published July 27, 2018 at 11:30 AM.