University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Football's 3-1 Start Geared by Diverse Effort
9/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Southern Miss football team pounded preseason watch lists all summer long, but several other program veterans deserve the praise as well.
LaDarius Harris, George Payne and C.J. Perry have been valuable contributors for the team this year. Payne missed the entire 2015 renaissance season due to injury and Perry played in seven games and made two tackles. Both have sought to it that the Golden Eagles replicate and exceed that success in 2016.
Harris has his two first career starts this season and has a dozen tackles after recording 15 in 2015. Five of those came in the stormy, marathon game versus Troy.
Payne was a star in the 44-35 win over Kentucky, rushing for 100 yards on 16 carries as the Golden Eagles torched the field in Lexington. He went for a season-high 116 on 14 carries in the home opener the next week and his 6.7 yards per carry is just one-tenth away from Ito Smith for the team lead.
Perry, the defensive representative at Conference USA Media Days, has started all four games for the Golden Eagles and made three tackles Saturday at UTEP.
The Golden Eagles play Rice at 6 p.m. Saturday inside The Rock.
