Buddy Supple (1976) - Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame

Buddy Supple

Induction:
1976

   A fullback is a lot like an offensive linemen, in that they don’t receive a lot of attention and are noticed only when the miss a block. But every once in awhile a fullback comes along that has the ability, speed and quickness to play almost like a halfback, but still has the size and strength to throw the bone crushing blocks that make the offense go. And when you find one like that you have something special. You have Buddy Supple.
   Supple came to Southern Miss and red-shirted during the 1956 season, but in high school he had become one of Alabama’s all-time bests with 145 points his senior year.
   He was such a talented fullback when he set foot on the campus that Coach Pie Vann and his staff were able to switch Lawrence Meeks to halfback and in the process make the team’s running attack much stronger.
   As the No. 2 man at fullback in 1957 only one other player carried the ball more than he did that season. Supple toted the ball 69 times that year for 289 yards (4.2 average) and scored a touchdown on a team that would finish 8-3 and advance to the Tangerine Bowl to play East Texas State. He would also show his versatility that season by punting three times for a 32.3 yard average.
   There was some talk prior to the 1958 season about Supple moving to halfback, but one would have to think that Vann realize he had one of the better players in the country at fullback and would only hurt his team rather than help it if he made the switch.
   Supple would stay at fullback in 1958 and help lead Southern to the UPI College Division national Championship with a perfect 9-0 record. Supple was the leading rusher on that team with 87 carries for 551 yards and four touchdowns. He also caught a couple of passes that year, punted six times for a 31.8 yard average and returned two kickoffs as well. That team averaged an incredible 257.5 yards a game rushing and averaged 21.0 points.
   The 1959 season would see Supple back at fullback and there were some who thought he might be one of if not the fastest player in the country at his position. The team would finish 6-4 that year, but Supple again led the team in rushing with a career high 100 carries for 408 yards (4.1 average) and four touchdowns. He was the third leading pass receivers with six catches for 121 yards and a touchdown, punted 14 times for a 31.3 yard average and had a team high 13 punt returns for an 8.0 average. He also led the team in scoring with 32 points.
   Supple would finish his career with 258 carries and 1,260 yards rushing, an number approached by just a few Southern Miss fullbacks. He also scored nine rushing touchdowns in his career.
   At 5-9, 170-pounds Supple might have been pound for pound one of the best players in school history. He was certainly one of the school’s best and most versatile fullbacks. At a school in which the halfback or the tailback normally carries the load of the running attack, Supple was the exception and it led him to the Southern Miss Hall of Fame.