USM starts camp with changes due to COVID-19. Also, a key senior is back from injury.
The Southern Miss football team began fall camp Wednesday amid the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, knowing there are two fewer games on the schedule for a season that’s still not 100 percent guaranteed to take place this fall.
USM athletic director Jeremy McClain is in the process of trying to fill two games that have been called off — the Sept. 19 contest that was originally supposed to be a home game against Jackson State and Sept. 26, which was initially a road trip to Auburn worth $1.85 million.
The game contract with Auburn allowed USM to receive $400,000 of that total by July 30, 2019, but there was still $1.45 million that Southern Miss was supposed to receive by March 1, 2021.
The contest was called off after the Southeastern Conference decided on July 30 that its football teams would play 10-game conference-only schedules that begin on Sept. 26.
The contract’s termination clause says that if the SEC or the NCAA prohibit the playing of the game, “both parties shall be relieved of any and all obligations of this agreement.”
Since the SEC canceled the contest, USM seems likely to miss out on the remaining $1.45 million.
The Jackson State contest is typically one of the more profitable home games for USM, meaning the Golden Eagles are missing out on two significant sources of revenue for the 2020 season.
Conference USA’s members are moving forward with an eight-game conference schedule with hopes of scheduling as many as four non-conference bouts, according to Stadium’s Brett McMurphy.
USM redshirt senior quarterback Jack Abraham said there isn’t much speculation among players as to who they will be playing on the last two weekends of September.
“I just let Jeremy McClain and all those guys handle it,” Abraham said in a Zoom meeting with members of the media on Wednesday. “I think I speak for a lot of guys on the team in that we just want to go out and play ball. That’s all we want to do. We’ve been sitting around, waiting for a long time.”
The Golden Eagles are scheduled to start the season on Sept. 5 with a home game against South Alabama, but the kickoff time is still to be determined.
Coronavirus changes practice at USM
Members of the Southern Miss coaching staff wore masks during Wednesday’s session, but it wasn’t the only way COVID-19 has altered practice in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Coach Jay Hopson described the changes as “nothing drastic,” but he acknowledged there were some differences.
“We’re playing football now. It is what it is,” he said. “We’ve done our practice schedule a little different than we have in the past. We did a little more one-on-one individual work in the past on Day 1. We cut out a little of that.”
The only difference that Abraham pointed out was how the players get a drink of water.
“There’s really nothing about the football side that is different,” the Oxford native said. “We can’t go to the water cow and douse ourselves anymore. We have little pumps where we individually have to get our own water. There are different safety precautions we have have.”
Redshirt senior linebacker Racheem Boothe said that he’s noticed members of the staff and team following guidelines.
“I feel like the staff around here has been taking care of it pretty well,” he said. “They make sure we mask up and follow social distancing. They’ve also been testing a lot and trying to keep an upper hand on the deal.”
Racheem Boothe is back for Southern Miss
Boothe was back on the practice field Wednesday after having his season end after nine games due to a torn ACL in his left knee.
Boothe, who has been one of USM’s defensive leaders since he first saw playing time as a redshirt freshman, appears to be on track to contribute in Game 1.
The Bassfield native described his health as 75 to 80 percent a month prior to the season opener.
“The off-season went pretty well, honestly,” Boothe said. “I kind of moved quickly through the process.”
Boothe had 49 tackles in nine games in 2019, battling injuries much of the way.
Jack Abraham adjusts to another new offense
Abraham is entering his third season as USM’s starting quarterback and he will have his third offensive coordinator — Matt Kubik from Louisiana-Monroe.
Kubik’s spread offense at ULM featured more of a rushing attack than USM has seen the last two seasons, but Abraham is confident that he can make the adjustment even though the team never held a spring practice.
“We met a good bit on Zoom and (Kubik) had one-on-ones with the other quarterbacks,” Abraham said. “I hit the playbook hard and watched a lot of ULM film. Going into camp, it’s really about the same. You go through the process and learn everything about the plays, and there hasn’t been that much of a difference.
“He brings a lot of good things from ULM. He has a good run game scheme, but I know for a fact we’re going to throw the ball around with the wideouts out here today. We have some freaks out there.”
This story was originally published August 5, 2020 at 1:39 PM.
