Will Hall has a healthy to-do list at Southern Miss. Here are 4 things he must achieve.
Southern Miss made Will Hall the first new FBS head coach to be hired in advance of the 2021 season, giving him an early start to put together his staff and first recruiting class.
The Tulane offensive coordinator will need to take advantage of whatever little edge works in his favor as he takes over a USM football program that has plenty of concerns to address.
The Golden Eagles are 2-7 headed into their season finale against Florida Atlantic on Dec. 10 in Hattiesburg.
The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the college football season and no team has faced more obstacles than USM, including working through three head coaches.
▪ Jay Hopson resigned following a season-opening loss to South Alabama.
▪ He was replaced on an interim basis by Scotty Walden, who put together a 1-2 mark through three games before being hired to take over the Austin Peay program on a full-time basis.
▪ Walden was replaced by associate head coach Tim Billings, who is 1-4 in the interim role.
Hall is set to take over as the USM head coach Monday after calling plays one last time for the Green Wave in Saturday’s regular season finale against Memphis.
He’ll have plenty to accomplish once he settles into his Hattiesburg office.
Hold onto the USM players you’ve got
There’s been plenty of turnover on the Southern Miss roster this season with a long list of players choosing to sit out the 2020 season and transfer.
Redshirt senior quarterback Jack Abraham decided to end his season in the middle of November after suffering a concussion. He initially hoped to remain with the team and meet the new head coach, but he has since moved on and is looking to transfer.
Hall will likely look to sign a quarterback or two to contribute, but redshirt sophomore Tate Whatley seems like a good fit for Hall’s system as a good athlete who has shown improvement as a passer this season.
The main task for Hall will be convincing senior offensive linemen Khalique Washington, Arvin Fletcher and Bryce Foxworth to take advantage of the extra season of eligibility all players were granted by the NCAA in August.
While freshman running back Frank Gore Jr. has given no indication that he plans to leave, Hall should make it a goal to make sure he stays on board as one of the few bright spots coming out of a rough season.
Hire a staff that can recruit Mississippi high schools
As Hopson’s time at USM began to wind down, he relied heavily on junior college signees.
If Hall is to build a winner for the future, he’ll have to nail down some of the top high school talent in South Mississippi as well as neighboring Louisiana and Alabama.
In the Hattiesburg area alone, Hopson’s staff missed out on several players who would have made an impact at USM, including former Petal product Stephen Huderson, who is a senior running back at Tulane.
Taylorsville quarterback Ty Keyes, a Green Wave commit for the class of 2021, may be one player that Hall can sway to USM.
Keyes, who received offers from Auburn and Ole Miss, seems like a great fit for Hall as a good passer with plenty of athleticism.
FootballScoop.com reports that Hall is moving toward hiring Liberty offensive line coach Sam Gregg as his offensive coordinator, Arkansas State running backs coach Desmond Lindsey to handle receivers and Tulane offensive line coach Cody Kennedy for the same spot at USM.
All three worked with Hall at West Georgia. Gregg and Lindsey are native Mississippians.
Lindsey served for two seasons on Hopson’s staff at USM, coaching outside receivers and handling recruiting South Mississippi.
Hall has good relationships with high school coaches throughout the state, and that will be vital to his success.
Choose a quality defensive coordinator
With his offensive background, Hall’s most important hire will be at defensive coordinator.
USM athletic director Jeremy McClain told the Sun Herald in October that the salary pool for Hall’s assistants will rank in the top five in Conference USA, which means he should up the pay for a new defensive coordinator.
Billings made $200,000 as the USM defensive coordinator in 2019.
While he may cast a wide net in the search, Hall has options if he wants to hire defensive coaches who once worked for him.
His defensive coordinator at West Georgia, Scott Symons, is in the same position at Liberty.
One other potential candidate for Hall’s defensive staff is former Golden Eagle Chad Williams, an All-Conference USA defensive back at USM in the early 2000’s. Williams, who was a linebackers coach for Hall at West Georgia, is the defensive coordinator at Central Arkansas.
Drive interest in Southern Miss football
Former head coaches Todd Monken and Larry Fedora were able to generate interest in the football program through wins and their charisma.
While Hopson finished with an above-.500 mark at USM at 28-23, attendance generally lagged under his watch.
USM had a slight uptick in home attendance in 2019 with an average of 24,711, but the stands didn’t look much better after averaging 21,711 in 2017 and 21,615 in 2018.
It’ll be critical for Hall to not only deliver a winning product, but also find a way to engage fans and connect with the community in South Mississippi.
It’s been a while since there’s been a genuine buzz around the USM program.
It’s up to Hall to get people talking about Golden Eagle football again.
This story was originally published December 2, 2020 at 7:29 PM.
