‘We kept it silent.’ How USM football landed a former SEC commit on signing day
Southern Miss football coach Will Hall had one scholarship to offer on National Signing Day on Wednesday, and it appears he landed a quality addition in Demopolis, Alabama defensive back Jay Jones.
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Jones was committed to Tennessee at one point, and also received SEC scholarship offers from Arkansas and Ole Miss.
Jones was verbally committed to Tennessee in early December, but tumult in that program convinced him to drop his pledge to the Volunteers. He was one of five players at the time who decided to de-commit from Tennessee over the span of two weeks.
On Wednesday, USM announced Jones as the last addition to the class of 2021.
From the moment he was hired at USM on Dec. 2, Hall said he and his staff had an eye on Jones. It wasn’t until about 10 days ago that the USM staff realized they’d sign him.
“We kept it silent,” Hall told the Sun Herald Wednesday. “He wanted to have a big signing day announcement, and that was fine with us.
“He’s a really good kid. First of all, he matches up with the rest of the class. He’s a really good competitor, comes from a good family. He has a good momma.”
Hall expects to play Jones at cornerback once he steps on the Hattiesburg campus.
“He’s got the ability to grow into a safety,” Hall said. “He’s a fast kid. He’s physical. He loves football and he comes from a great program. It’s the same format of all the rest of the kids. The sky is the limit.”
Hall believes Jones fits the mold of the player he wants in the secondary.
“With the type of defense we play, you want them to be able to play man (coverage),” Hall said. “Our deal is going to be to sign corners and grow them into safeties. We want guys that have played man before and can play man. That gives you flexibility.”
Hall said that two assistants who have deep ties in West Alabama, defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong and receivers coach/passing game coordinator Desmond Lindsey, “tag-teamed” the recruitment of Jones.
Southern Miss completes class of 2021
Jones is one of 14 scholarship players who USM has signed since Hall was hired — nine out of high school and five FBS transfers.
After adding Jones, Hall feels like he has addressed many of the needs he had on the roster, including at quarterback and in the secondary.
“We had to add to our quarterback room and we did that with (Louisville transfer Tee Webb and Taylorsville star Ty Keyes),” Hall said. “We wanted to spend the rest of the scholarships on good football players and good people.”
At defensive back, USM has added Lafayette standout Brendan Toles and a pair of Ole Miss transfers — Lakevius Daniel and Jay Stanley.
“We have a lot of older seniors coming back, especially at safety,” Hall said. “It was great to add to that room.”
USM has more experienced depth coming back for 2021 than it initially appeared to have at the close of the 2020 campaign.
Redshirt senior defensive end Jacques Turner and redshirt senior linebacker Racheem Boothe are back with the program after sitting out the 2020 season with plans to transfer. Also, senior cornerback Rachuan Mitchell is back with the team.
All three players will be All-Conference USA candidates entering the 2021 season.
USM football adds walk-on Drew Lawson
Also on Wednesday, USM announced that it is adding Bob Jones High School center Drew Lawson as a preferred walk-on.
The 6-foot-2, 300-pound Lawson was a starter for the Alabama squad in the 2020 Mississippi/Alabama All-Star Game.
“He’s a phenomenal kid and he’s highly talented,” Hall said. ”Drew can really play, but we were in a situation where we were out of spots in the class and he knows we’ve got five seniors coming back.
“He’ll come in and compete. If he does what he’s supposed to, he’ll be on scholarship down the road.”
Hall and new offensive line coach Jeremy Darveau will have a close eye on the line this spring, and there’s already been one change made in that group. Senior Arvin Fletcher, who has played a variety positions on the line throughout his career, will shift to center.
“Arvin is a young man who has played all the positions, but he’s a natural center,” Hall said. “We think he has a chance to be a draft pick at center. He’s a team captain.”
Hall said he’ll wait to make a decision after the spring on whether he’ll add some offensive linemen through the transfer portal.
This story was originally published February 3, 2021 at 1:09 PM.
