‘We’re back and we’re coming.’ Will Hall breaks down his Southern Miss signing class
New Southern Miss football coach Will Hall and his staff had just two weeks to piece together their first group of signees, and the Mississippi native couldn’t be happier with how it all went down.
“Let everybody know that we’re back and we’re coming,” the former Tulane offensive coordinator exclaimed as he finished his video chat with members of the media on Wednesday.
With a mix of high school standouts and FBS transfers, Hall announced 11 signees on the first day of the early signing period on Wednesday.
Of those 11 signees, 10 are from Mississippi.
Taylorsville High School quarterback Ty Keyes was the headliner for a group that was made up of players who mostly committed in the last few days. Petal receiver Jeremiah Robinson is the lone new signee who pledged to the previous staff.
Hall acknowledged the effort to flip Keyes from Tulane to USM was somewhat of a sensitive topic with his former employer.
“It’s always a touchy deal,” Hall said. “(Tulane) had several players committed that I agreed with (Tulane coach Willie Fritz) that I wasn’t going to mess with out of respect.
“Ty is a special scenario and I was up front with Coach Fritz when I was leaving. Ty is a young man that I’m close with. A lot of his family members went to Southern Miss and Ty lives right next to Southern Miss. Me and Ty have a special bond I felt like that couldn’t be broken over a job change. I was up front and honest about it and I’m glad he’s with us. Ty is going to have a great career.”
The Golden Eagles also landed a pair of solid skill players late in the afternoon with a duo from Magee — receiver Zay Franks, who flipped late from UCF, and athlete Chandler Pittman.
Hall expects both players to line up at receiver for USM with Pittman working out of the slot with the possibility of seeing some carries out of the backfield and lining up behind center as a wildcat quarterback.
“Franks and Pittman both had a ton of offers and were heavily recruited,” Hall said. “Our staff has great relationships with those guys and (receivers coach/passing game coordinator) Desmond Lindsey did a phenomenal job with them.”
USM football’s high school signees
▪ Ty Keyes, Taylorsville QB — Hall flipped Keyes from Tulane on Sunday. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound dual-threat quarterback completed 67.8 percent of his passes for 2,546 yards, 30 touchdowns and three interceptions as a senior. He rushed 41 times for 560 yards and six touchdowns. He also received offers from Auburn, Kansas, Louisiana-Lafayette, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Nebraska and Oregon.
▪ Richard Mays, Ridgeland WR — Mays flipped from Louisiana-Monroe to USM on Tuesday. The 6-foot, 200-pounder caught 66 passes for 1,216 yards and 14 touchdowns as a senior. He also received offers from Central Arkansas and Samford.
“Richard Mays is already over 200 pounds and he’s a phenomenal basketball player,” Hall said. “The sky is the limit with his size and change of direction. He exploded on the scene this year.”
▪ My’Kal McLeod, Greene County OT — A year after he picked up an offer from USM, McLeod made his commitment to Southern Miss public on Wednesday by signing with the Golden Eagles. The 6-foot-5, 310-pounder also held a Central Arkansas offer.
“My’Kal played defensive line most of his career,” Hall said. “He had one year of offensive line. In a normal year where there were camps to go to, I believe he would have blown up as a recruit. USM has won with players like him for years.”
▪ Jeremiah Robinson, Petal WR — Robinson committed to Southern Miss in October, but seemed open to looking elsewhere after picking up a late Tulane offer. He played running back and receiver for Petal, catching 50 passes for 79 yards and seven touchdowns while running 88 times for 391 yards and 11 TDs.
“Jeremiah is an extremely explosive kid,” Hall said. “The camps he was able to attend, he ran 4.4 (in the 40-yard dash).”
▪ Jack Tannehill, Oxford kicker — The son of Oxford mayor Robyn Tannehill chose the Golden Eagles over Memphis. He averaged 41.9 yards as a punter and made 15 of 18 field goals with a long of 45 as a senior. He also converted on all 40 of extra point tries.
“He’s made a lot of big kicks where the money was on the table,” Hall said.
▪ Brendan Toles, Lafayette CB — A former Mississippi State commit, Toles committed to Southern Miss on Tuesday. He also received offers from Louisiana Tech and Arkansas State.
“Brendan Toles is really talented on the back end and he was highly recruited,” Hall said. “I have a long standing relationship with him. He has a lot of family from (Hall’s hometown of) Amory.”
▪ Zay Franks, Magee WR — He decommitted from UCF on Tuesday. The 6-foot-2, 180-pounder caught 68 passes for 1,087 yards and 13 touchdowns as a senior.
▪ Chandler Pittman, Magee athlete — The high school quarterback committed to USM on Wednesday and signed along with his teammate, Franks, on Wednesday. At 5-foot-9, 165 pounds, he received offers from Ole Miss, Florida State, Indiana and Memphis.
The three FBS transfers are quarterback Tee Webb of Louisville, Memphis defensive end Everitt Cunningham and Missouri defensive tackle Montra Edwards. Webb and Edwards each have four years of eligibility remaining after sitting out the 2020 campaign.
USM’s FBS transfers
▪ Tee Webb, Lousiville QB — The Cartersville, Georgia, product went to the same high school as Clemson star Trevor Lawrence and was the quarterback who replaced him as a starter. As a senior, he threw for 2,943 yards, 27 touchdowns and four interceptions. He enrolled early at Louisville and took part in spring practice. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound pro-style quarterback watched from the sideline during the 2020 season. Webb was recruited by Hall when he was the offensive coordinator at Tulane and he received a long list offers that included Miami, Michigan State, Kansas, Georgia Tech, Coastal Carolina, Memphis, Syracuse and Rutgers.
“I wanted more competition in the quarterback room and, man, I don’t think Santa Clause could have delivered any more than this,” Hall said. “Tee Webb will be here in January and he comes from a winning program in Cartersville. He was a great high school football player.”
▪ Montra Edwards, defensive tackle — It’s been a while since the Southern Miss defensive line looked the part on interior in terms of size and athleticism, and the addition of Edwards can help change that. He’s listed at 6-3, 290 pounds and received other offers from Maryland, Arizona State and Arkansas out of high school.
▪ Everitt Cunningham, defensive end — He didn’t touch the field much this season at Memphis, but he did register three sacks as a junior. The former East Mississippi Community College standout has a chance to provide pressure off the edge. The 6-foot-3, 241-pound West Point native has one year of eligibility remaining.
Coast FBS signees
▪ M.J. Daniels, George County DB — The senior two-sport star provided one of the surprises of signing day when he chose to sign with Ole Miss over Mississippi State.
Daniels committed to the Rebels as a junior, but switched his pledge to MSU over the summer.
The 6-foot-3, 191-pound senior plans to also play baseball for Ole Miss.
▪ Jacobi Moore, Harrison Central receiver — Moore followed through with his commitment to the Bulldogs and signed with Mississippi State on Saturday.
▪ Elijah Sabbatini, Biloxi DB — Sabbatini de-committed from Ole Miss in October, but announced earlier this month that he planned to sign with Lane Kiffin’s squad. On Wednesday, he made it official by signing with the Rebels.
▪ Justin Walley, D’Iberville DB/RB — Walley committed to Minnesota in August and stuck with the Gophers despite receiving interest from a long list of schools closer to home.
This story was originally published December 16, 2020 at 2:49 PM.
