Southern Miss faces South Alabama in season opener Saturday. Here’s what to expect.

It’s game week at Southern Miss, and first-year head coach Will Hall says he and the Golden Eagles are ready.

USM will open the 2021 season at 7 p.m. Saturday at South Alabama in Mobile. Hall met with the media on the field at M.M. Roberts Stadium after Tuesday’s practice.

“We had really good energy today,” said Hall. “We really got after each other. I can’t wait to get in there to watch the tape and check it out.”

Hall took time to express his feelings about the people affected by Hurricane Ida, which blew through the area Sunday and Monday. Hall came to Southern Miss after spending the past two seasons as offensive coordinator at Tulane, and his former colleagues were on his mind.

“We spent some time in prayer as a program for those people,” said Hall. “I want to do everything we can to help. Obviously, I know a lot of people at Tulane that are going through a lot of stress right now.

“At the same time, we are very thankful and blessed that we were able to come out unscathed.”

Like the Golden Eagles, South Alabama also will be debuting a new head coach in former Golden Eagle Kane Wommack, who was named the third coach in the program’s history in December after three seasons as defensive coordinator at Indiana.

“Kane has always been really good on defense; that’s why he got a head job,” said Hall. “I think their motto is ‘Swarm D,’ so they’re going to be swarming around, flying at the football.

“He’s also hired Corey Batoon as his defensive coordinator, and he is well-respected. I don’t know Corey directly, but I have a lot of friends that think a lot of him. They’ll be a tremendous challenge on defense.”

The Jaguars were 4-7 last season, but one of their wins was a 32-21 season-opening victory over the Golden Eagles at Roberts Stadium.

“We’ve tried to prepare for everything, like you do for all first games,” said Hall. “You’ve got film on the opponent and what they’ve been, but you can change and morph from being a lot of things over an offseason.

“We have to be ready to adjust on the fly. But we do know that they’re a team that doesn’t sit back and take it defensively. They want to bring it on you and force the issue.”

Although most positions have been set after preseason practice, Hall said there is still competition for the starting job at left tackle and at the backup quarterback position.

“We had (at left tackle) what we had going into the day, and we’ll see how it plays out after today,” said Hall. “Tykeem (Doss) was the starter after last Tuesday.

“Ty Keyes was a little ahead of Tee Webb (as the back-up quarterback) after last week, now Tee finished the week really strong, and Jack (Walker) is getting healthy again. He’s a proven commodity at quarterback; he’s played a lot of good football.”

Walker is a redshirt junior who previously starred at Northwest Mississippi Community College after originally signing with Georgia State out of Madison Central High School. Keyes is a true freshman who led Taylorsville to three state championships, while Webb transferred from Louisville after starring at Carterville (Ga.) High.

Although this is Wommack’s head coaching debut, Hall spent three seasons as head coach at West Alabama and three years as the head man at West Georgia before moving to the Division I ranks as an assistant.

“Football is football,” said Hall. “Obviously, I’m proud to be here, but it meant just as much to me to coach those boys at West Alabama as it does here. It will all be about trying to make sure we put them in the best possible position to win games.”

From his first day on the job, Hall has continually stressed building up the Southern Miss culture and raising the program’s expectations. He says that won’t chance regardless of the outcome Saturday.

“You just want to represent everybody in a positive way at this great program,” Hall said. “You want to put a product out there that is reflective of, not only what they’ve been in the past, but where we’re going to get it back to.

“Are we going to be a finished product Saturday night after this game? No way. We’re pushing this thing back to where it’s going to be, and that’s going to take time. How quick we get there, I’m not sure yet. I hope we get there fast, but we are headed in the right direction.”

Saturday’s game will be streamed on the internet on ESPN+ and can be heard on the Southern Miss Sports Network from Learfield Sports (WBUV-FM, 104.9 in Gulfport).