University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Football Opens Spring Practice
2/23/2023 12:34:00 PM | Football
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Southern Miss football team opened spring practice on the Golden Eagle campus Thursday.
The two-plus hour workout was held in helmets and shorts under a cloudy, humid day that was in the early 70s when the session began.
For third-year coach Will Hall it was the excitement of getting back to work and looking forward to a new season. The Golden Eagles finished 2022 with a 7-6 record, including a 38-24 LendingTree Bowl victory over Rice in Mobile, Ala.
"I really like our newcomers and love where our roster is at after three years of building it and we have a chance to be a really good football team," said Hall. "We have to continue to improve and get better. There is obviously some things we need to do to get better."
Hall went on to say that the team got some good punt work in during the session, along with some installation of both the offensive and defensive schemes. He said his staff will meet, watch film from the day and return to practice on Saturday morning.
"We have three guys that are really competing right now to be the starter with (Zach) Wilke returning," said Hall. "We have Billy Wiles (Clemson) and Holman Edwards (Houston) that have transferred in, and we also brought in Ethan Crawford and he has been cleared to do some things but not contact. He is a true freshman out of Hillcrest in Tuscaloosa, who is going to be a great player as well.
"We have a lot of talent in that room, the most we have ever had and we have a lot of competition for the first time. I really feel good about that group. We have done to that room is what we did to the D-Line last year. We brought in a lot of kids that can really play so we are going to run them out there and let them compete. We saw a lot of good things (from that group) today."
The Golden Eagles will have their second helmet and shorts practice Saturday before they can transition into pads next week.
The two-plus hour workout was held in helmets and shorts under a cloudy, humid day that was in the early 70s when the session began.
For third-year coach Will Hall it was the excitement of getting back to work and looking forward to a new season. The Golden Eagles finished 2022 with a 7-6 record, including a 38-24 LendingTree Bowl victory over Rice in Mobile, Ala.
"I really like our newcomers and love where our roster is at after three years of building it and we have a chance to be a really good football team," said Hall. "We have to continue to improve and get better. There is obviously some things we need to do to get better."
Hall went on to say that the team got some good punt work in during the session, along with some installation of both the offensive and defensive schemes. He said his staff will meet, watch film from the day and return to practice on Saturday morning.
"We have three guys that are really competing right now to be the starter with (Zach) Wilke returning," said Hall. "We have Billy Wiles (Clemson) and Holman Edwards (Houston) that have transferred in, and we also brought in Ethan Crawford and he has been cleared to do some things but not contact. He is a true freshman out of Hillcrest in Tuscaloosa, who is going to be a great player as well.
"We have a lot of talent in that room, the most we have ever had and we have a lot of competition for the first time. I really feel good about that group. We have done to that room is what we did to the D-Line last year. We brought in a lot of kids that can really play so we are going to run them out there and let them compete. We saw a lot of good things (from that group) today."
The Golden Eagles will have their second helmet and shorts practice Saturday before they can transition into pads next week.
Players Mentioned
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Southern Miss 2026 National Signing Day
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