University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Homecoming Week Preparations Start for Golden Eagles
11/4/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - With a bevy of homecoming activities slated for this week, the Southern Miss football team took to the Joe P. Park Practice Facility Tuesday afternoon for a two and a half hour workout in full pads. The Golden Eagles had a spirited practice in preparation of hosting No. 23 and undefeated Marshall on Saturday night at M.M. Roberts Stadium.
The Southern Miss defense, which has improved each game this season, is in for a tough task stopping the potent running and passing attack of the Thundering Herd. The duo of quarterback Rakeem Cato and running back Devon Johnson make for a powerful 1-2 punch for Marshall.
"This year, they hand it off to (Johnson) and take shots (down the field), which is good football," head coach Todd Monken said after practice. "They have good guys on the perimeter. They have a really good offensive line and a really good running back."
Monken said that he sees similarities between Johnson and Louisiana Tech's Kenneth Dixon. The Golden Eagle defense was able to limit Dixon to just 41 yards rushing when the two teams met on the gridiron on Oct. 25.
"He is a bigger version of Kenneth Dixon," Monken said of Johnson, who measures 6-1 and 243 pounds. "You have to find a way to make him go sideways. The most important thing is that you stop his momentum. Once he gets going it is hard to stop him. He doesn't make you miss. He breaks arm tackles. Those guys are difficult to handle."
Offensively, quarterback Nick Mullens sat out another practice. The sophomore did some passing drills as he continues to rehab with a foot injury.
"He was throwing today," Monken said of Mullens. "We will see tomorrow. He did a little shuffling yesterday and felt pretty good about it. We will have to see tomorrow. He wasn't able to go today but he is getting close."
Redshirt senior Cole Weeks continued to take reps with the ones should he receive his second start of his career. Weeks threw for over 300 yards in each of the last two games adding a pair of touchdowns. Weeks threw for the second-most yards by a Golden Eagle starting signal caller making his first career start last week at UTEP. Weeks collected 309 yards on 20-of-46 passing and a touchdown. He hit Casey Martin on his career-long throw of 55 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter.
The Southern Miss football team will entertain Marshall this Saturday in the school's annual homecoming contest, but that is not the only thing happening on the Golden Eagle campus this weekend. The following is a list of events taking place on the Golden Eagle campus this weekend running from Thursday, Nov. 6 - Sunday, Nov. 9: http://www.southernmiss.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/110414aab.html.
