On a Southern Miss football team loaded with 1st-year players, these are the 5 best
When Southern Miss wrapped up the 2019 campaign with a 7-6 mark, it was on track to return as much experience as any team in Conference USA this season with 15 starters with eligibility remaining.
Eight months and a pandemic later, the depth chart for USM’s season opener against South Alabama is stocked with first-year players. Of those 15 players who were part of the final official depth chart of the 2019 season, only nine remain.
Redshirt junior receiver Quez Watkins decided to forego his final year of eligibility and was selected in the sixth round of the NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles.
In the last two weeks, six USM players have decided to opt out of the 2020 season and transfer elsewhere. Included in that group were three returning starters — redshirt sophomore receiver/return man Jaylond Adams, redshirt senior defensive end Jacques Turner and redshirt senior linebacker Racheem Boothe.
This means plenty of first-year players, both freshmen and junior college transfers, will take the field when USM opens the season at 8 p.m. on Sept. 3 with a game against South Alabama in Hattiesburg.
Of the 44 players listed on the team’s two-deep depth chart, 16 are players who are in their first season on the roster.
With so many first-year players on campus, let’s take a look at those who have the best chance to make an impact at Southern Miss in 2020 and beyond.
1. Frank Gore Jr., freshman running back
The son of an NFL legend, Gore was the high school signee who generated the most buzz when he inked with the Golden Eagles in February.
After an impressive fall camp, the Miami product is on track to play a significant role in the USM offense and all signs point to him eventually becoming the standout so badly needed in the Golden Eagles’ backfield.
In two scrimmages, the 5-foot-8, 185-pound Gore carried 17 times 139 yards.
Teammates and coaches paint him as being a complete back as a true freshman.
“Frank has kind of set himself apart from being extremely consistent,” USM running backs coach Akeem Davis said Wednesday. “Since the first day he’s walked on campus, he’s been seen and not heard. He’s done what he’s needed to do and he’s been consistent. I’m glad he’s on this football team and I’m glad we’ve got him for four years, maybe even possibly five. He’ll be a cornerstone for the Southern Miss black attack.”
2. Jason Brownlee, junior wide receiver
The transfer from East Mississippi Community College appears ready to become quarterback Jack Abraham’s best target on the outside after catching 75 passes for for 1,055 yards and 12 touchdowns as a sophomore in junior college.
The 6-foot-3, 185-pound junior from West Point can go up high and get it.
“He’s a guy I thought was the best junior college receiver in Mississippi,” USM offensive coordinator Matt Kubik said. “He gives you an extra element outside and he’ll take a little of the load off (Tim Jones).”
If there’s one first-year receiver who can replace the production lost with Watkins (1,178 yards, 6 TD), it’s Brownlee.
3. Averie Habas, sophomore LB/DE
Unlike most junior college signees, Habas has three years of eligibility remaining.
As a freshman at Iowa Western Community College last year, he tallied 108 tackles and had 11 tackles for negative yardage.
Pecoraro described Habas as having the potential to be a “stud” early in fall camp.
“Averie has done a good job,” USM defensive coordinator Tony Pecoraro said. “I feel like I have four guys I can rotate at the mike, stinger or the wolf. Averie is the starter at wolf.”
4. Camron Harrell, junior cornerback
I debated between Harrell and another junior college transfer DB, Natrone Brooks, for this spot, but the fact that Harrell is listed above returning starter Rachuan Mitchell was convincing enough.
The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Harrell is a former Iowa Hawkeye who will bring badly needed experience to a secondary that struggled early during the 2019 season.
If Brooks, Harrell and Eric Scott Jr. put together strong seasons, Southern Miss will again have one of the best defenses in Conference USA.
5. Don Ragsdale, junior running back
The Hinds Community College product is listed at the top of the depth chart at running back and has a chance to be a difference maker for the Golden Eagles.
Ragsdale, who earned a late offer from Tennessee before signing with USM, is the option at running back that best brings it all together in terms of power and speed.
Gore, Ragsdale, senior Kevin Perkins and redshirt freshman Dee Baker give USM good options in the backfield, but it’s been a while since the Golden Eagles have consistently put up yardage on the ground.
If they deliver, USM will be a contender in Conference USA.
This story was originally published August 28, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
