A deep dive on the Southern Miss QB situation as 3 players look for their shot in 2021
The Southern Miss quarterback situation may not shake out until just before the Sept. 4 season opener, but two players have been given an opportunity this spring to show first-year coach Will Hall they have the makings of a starter.
Redshirt sophomore Trey Lowe III has the most experience after making three starts in 2020. The Collierville, Tennessee, native is entering his fourth season of college football after spending his first two campaigns at West Virginia.
Freshman Tee Webb, who is the only other scholarship quarterback taking part in spring practice, is also a Power 5 transfer after he signed with Louisville out of high school and spent the 2020 campaign there as a redshirt freshman.
The one player missing from the mix this spring is Taylorsville senior Ty Keyes, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound high school legend who won’t step on the Hattiesburg campus until this summer.
Keyes, who was a late flip from Tulane before signing day in December, could factor into the competition this fall, but Lowe and Webb will have an edge in learning first-year head coach Will Hall’s system.
USM’s two most experienced quarterbacks from a year ago — Jack Abraham and Tate Whatley — are no longer with the program. Abraham transferred to Mississippi State and Whatley decided to call it a career after battling through injuries last season.
Trey Lowe looks to build on 2020 at USM
While much of the buzz since signing day in December has been about Keys and Webb, Hall believes he has a quarterback capable of taking charge in Lowe.
“If we walked in today and said, ‘Hey, we just signed a quarterback whose grandfather (Woodrow Lowe) is a former all-time great at Alabama, whose dad (Woodrow Lowe Jr.) is a high school football coach who has been very successful and his mom (Zaneta Lowe) is a very successful news anchor in Memphis, he was the No. 19-rated dual-threat quarterback in America,” Hall said as he rattled off Lowe’s bio. “He’s a great kid. He’s a really hard worker, about 6-3, 225 with a great arm.’ We’d all say, ‘Man, we got a great signee.’ That’s what we have to work with.”
Lowe has always had the reputation of being a strong athlete, but he didn’t show off his potential as a passer in his first season at USM until he had a breakout performance in a 45-31 win over Florida Atlantic in the 2020 finale. He completed 13-of-19 passes for 209 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He also ran 16 times for 70 yards and a TD.
Since Hall was hired at USM in November, he has been impressed by Lowe.
“He has done nothing since Day 1 but lead in the right way,” the former Tulane offensive coordinator said. “He doesn’t talk until he’s earned the right to. He’s been one of our leaders in conditioning drills and in the weight room. The kids have a lot of respect for him. He came into a tough situation where he had to learn a new scheme in fall camp and he finished the year strong. He’s been one of our MVPs.”
This spring practice is unique for Lowe in that it’s the first of his career that he’s not balancing multiple sports. He played baseball as an outfielder at West Virginia following a standout high school career on the diamond.
Lowe, who arrived midway through fall camp before the 2020 season, is taking advantage of a full spring of football.
“I’ve just tried to be very consistent,” Lowe said Saturday. “I just want to stack days on top of days. I think I’ve done decent.
“I’ve been making a lot of right calls, just trying to be consistent as possible.”
Tee Webb looks for his chance at USM
The 6-4, 195-pound Webb is the player who replaced Clemson star Trevor Lawrence as the starting quarterback at Cartersville High School in Georgia. He picked Louisville over a long list of offers, but made a quick decision to transfer to USM when Hall got the job.
Hall built a relationship with Webb and his family during his time as the head coach at Division II West Georgia from 2014-16.
“He knew from firsthand knowledge how I treat my players, treat my quarterbacks,” Hall said. “A starting middle linebacker that was one of our great West Georgia players married his sister.
“When I got the job, it happened fast. He got in the portal and knew he wanted to play for me.”
In Webb, Hall sees someone who could prove to be a steady hand at quarterback.
“He’s really accurate and really intelligent and a winner. He’s won his whole life,” Hall said. “He has played in high-pressure situations. He’s an extremely accurate kid. He has a strong arm and some athleticism.
“Right now, he’s learning how to do it the Will Hall way. He’s kind of a ‘Joe Cool’ kind of guy. A lot of great ones are that way. Joe Montana was that way. With the urgency we have to have, he’s getting more urgent day-to-day. A quarterback has to have that sense of urgency.”
Will Hall open to two QBs at USM
Following a Saturday practice that featured some scrimmage action, Hall was encouraged by what he saw out of Webb and Lowe.
“I thought Tee Webb had his best practice. He’s starting to learn the urgency we want,” Hall said. “Lowe had an unbelievable week.”
Although he says Lowe and Webb should be considered in a close competition at this point, junior receiver Jason Brownlee points to Lowe’s ability to hit receivers on long tosses as a plus.
“Lowe has just got more arm power, arm strength,” Brownlee said. “He’s more accurate on deep balls.”
Senior tight end Grayson Gunter believes Lowe took confidence out of his last performance against FAU and that has rolled over into his play in the spring.
“He always had the ability,” Gunter said. “With Coach Hall coaching him, he’s getting confidence. He’s been lights out the first four practices. It’s been really fun to see, and he’s been fun to catch balls from for sure.”
Keyes, a gifted passer who has the ability to run, is considered one of the better QB prospects to sign with USM over the past decade. The Taylorsville star, who accounted for more than 5,000 yards of offense as a 14-year-old, consistently put up big numbers throughout his prep career for one of the state’s more tradition-rich programs. As a senior, he completed 67.8 percent of his passes for 2,546 yards, 30 touchdowns and three interceptions.
It’s fair to consider Lowe the odds-on favorite to be the starter for the season opener based on his experience, but Webb has more time this spring to prove himself, and Keyes will get his opportunity in fall camp.
Even if one player earns the starting role to begin the season, that doesn’t mean all three won’t take the field at some point this season.
Hall has used a two-quarterback system before.
“You always prefer just one, but I actually won three conference titles playing two,” Hall said. “I like it it to be one and I’d like our quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy, but we’re going to do what it takes to win. If that’s playing two, we’ll have different packages for different wins. We’ll do whatever it takes to win.”
This story was originally published March 8, 2021 at 5:30 AM.
