University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Anderson Kicks Off Bowl Practice with Press Conference, Golden Eagles Ready for Postseason
12/10/2025 3:35:00 PM | Football
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss interim head football coach Blake Anderson took the podium to address the media ahead of the Golden Eagles' first day of bowl practice on Wednesday, Dec. 10. Anderson was joined by sophomore linebacker Chris Jones (Byram, Miss.) and redshirt senior quarterback Braylon Braxton (Frisco, Texas).
Southern Miss (7-5, 5-3 Sun Belt) meets former Conference USA foe Western Kentucky (8-4, 6-2 C-USA) in the 25th New Orleans Bowl at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La., on Tuesday, Dec. 23, for the Golden Eagles' 28th all-time bowl appearance. Southern Miss is in a postseason bowl for the first time since 2022 with a 12-15 record in bowl games since the program's first, the 1953 Sun Bowl.
Fans can purchase tickets to the 25th New Orleans Bowl at SouthernMiss.com/Tickets. The game will be broadcast on ESPN with Courtney Lyle (PxP), Rene Ingoglia (Color) and Ian Fitzsimmons (Sideline) on the call. The Voice of the Golden Eagles, John Cox, analyst Lee Roberts and sideline reporter Jason Baker will begin their pregame show on the Southern Miss Sports Network at 3 p.m. with kickoff against the Hilltoppers set for 4:30 p.m.
Here is what Anderson said to the media:
Opening Statement…
"I appreciate y'all being here, excited to get rolling on bowl prep. Just considering the history here, recent history here, getting this thing moving in the right direction. Having a chance to go to a bowl game with these guys is going to be a lot of fun. They're excited about the opportunity. I would say 99 percent of our guys have made it very clear that they not only want to play, but they want to win the game and finish the right way. I know, with people opting out all over the country and guys choosing not to play, that means a lot, and hopefully the fans will appreciate that our leaders and our seniors who could very easily decide not to play, have chosen to do the opposite, and there's a ton of energy in the room. Love the fact that it's here close, where our fans can travel. I've been down there before, both here at Southern Miss and at other schools, and it's a great bowl. So, we're going to prepare to win it, try to finish and get number eight and kind of cap off what we've been able to do with Coach Huff moving on. Obviously, there's changes in the building, but there's enough continuity in the staff and the players that to me, we ought to just be able to keep rolling and just build and finish and hopefully send the fan base and the players and everybody into the off season on a really, really high note. So, looking forward to it."
Q: Could you speak on who will be here for practice week?
"I mean, honestly, the only person that is not going to be here for the game is Coach Huff. All the staff have chosen to stay and finish the game. All the players, with exception, a couple exceptions that had some off-the-field things that they needed to deal with. Everybody that has been significant to getting us to this point will be with us, apart from coach Huff, and his choice was just to not be a distraction, and you can appreciate that. But staff and players, I would expect us to be full strength."
Q: How are you viewing this opportunity?
"This opportunity is honestly just the opposite; this is not about me at all. I told the players and the administration; my job is to steer them towards game time and be as little of a distraction as possible. We've got a good system in place. Coach Huff did a phenomenal job building the culture and in the system is going to stay the same through the game. It's my job just to make sure that we stay on course, that we're prepared for the game, that we're fresh, fast and honestly a little pissed off when game time starts, and then do the best I can to let them cut loose and play so it's not a about any other opportunity, except for what the guys have. I understand. Oh yeah, I've made it very clear, I love to be the head coach here. I wouldn't have probably come back here if I didn't feel that way about this place, not that I ever expected when I came back, that that would be the opportunity. But that's what I think about Southern Miss. So yeah, I've made it really clear to Jeremy and administration, they know that, and they're working through the process, and I trust how they're handling everything, and they're going to do what's right for the university."
Q: When Huff decided to go to Memphis, and then what was the kind of discussion with the team, what their reaction was, and that timeline?
"Y'all know, as well as I, in this business, it happens quick. So, there were rumors. Most of the rumors are typically not true. I think as it developed, just the last 24 hours or so, maybe it made sense, and I don't remember exactly what day that was that like, this is legitimate that it might happen. We weren't with the players at the time, so we were kind of all away when it became reality. You know, the next conversation was we had already had a scheduled staff meeting. He came in and said, guys, obviously I've heard. Y'all heard the news, and I'm taking it and I'm going to be stepping away to make sure that I'm not a distraction. He told the players later that day, met with the leadership group, and honestly, within a 12-to-18-hour period, it went from rumor to reality to "Hey, I want y'all to go have a great experience, and I love you guys. I appreciate you guys" and move on. The players stood up immediately and said, "We're playing and we're winning this damn game", which I thought they responded exactly the way you would want a group to respond. So, it wasn't a long process. It all developed in just a day or two. I think it's the nature of college football-you don't have time to wait."
Q: In bowl games over the last couple of years, some teams use it for development, right, to get a look at maybe some guys who haven't seen as many snaps this year. How are you kind of approaching that with Western Kentucky?
"Well, the circumstances are unique. I'm the interim head coach. I'm not the head coach. Love to be, but I'm not at the point, and so I think the approach that we need to take is to freshen our guys up. We're beat up, as people saw late in the year, we've got some guys playing through injury. So, this is not a development approach. This is a get our bodies healthy, put in a good game plan, shorter, crisper practices, with more days to handle the game plan, and try to celebrate an amazing season. You know, when you consider what we took over, how many new guys we brought in, and really just the season they were able to put together. We all wanted to win them all. We all wanted to play in the championship game, but to go from 1-11 to 7-5 to become bowl eligible again, start that streak up again, there's a ton to celebrate. And so that's really the purpose of this. Celebrate this group. Celebrate these 31 seniors, find a way to go win number eight and cap off what I think is an amazing season and create some momentum for the future at this place, but it is not a spring ball, fall camp development type approach. We don't have the healthy bodies to do that, and I don't think it gets the result that we want."
Q: Kind of speak to you in the booth all year, kind of how that dynamic changes with you on the sideline play calling.
"Yeah, I've called plays from the sideline a good bit over the last 10 years, several years were calling the plays as a head coach, I like seeing it from up top, and if anybody would tell me it was okay for the head coach to go up there during the game, I probably would. But no, I've done it. I feel comfortable doing it. I need good eyes in the box, and I've got those that'll be up there, and it is a transition, but definitely not something that is completely new to me. So I might do better. I don't know. You know, we'll see."
Q: Obviously, it's a very senior-heavy team right now, and an opportunity for those guys to create value for themselves. How are you approaching those next couple of practices with those guys?
"That's a key point. I think that's number one. The message that coach Huff had for them, like guys, this is a chance, before and after he chose to take the job, before this bowl game, is important for all of you guys. This is the last, you know, really just a definition of who you are on tape for the next level. We got a lot of guys with next-level aspirations, and even after he chose to take the job. Guys, y'all need to play this game. Not only do you need to play, you need to play well for you and for the university. So that is part of the reason we are practicing the way we are. These guys have played a lot of snaps. We've not had a ton of guys rotate at certain positions. So, shortening up being more about body maintenance and freshness and fresh legs and fresh bodies going into game time where they're ready to hit and fly around, is a big part of that process, and that's to allow those guys to play at their very best."
Q: Over the season, Coach Huff has always talked about how this was a player-led team. He felt like, I mean, even walk-throughs and things like that, led by players. Over the last couple of days, what have you seen from those guys that have kind of made this transition seamlessly?
"It's been very seamless. It's been as smooth as you can expect it to be. In chaos, the leaders stood up immediately following coach Huff, saying, Guys, I'm going to leave. I'm going to turn this over to you guys. Jeremy and myself, spoke to the team and told them what was going to go on. And before we could leave the room, the leaders stood up and said, hold up. Coach is out of space. And the message was, we're playing and we're winning the damn thing. That was an immediate response for them, unprompted by us. That's how they feel. So, yeah, player-led is when you have a chance to do something special, which you've seen us do. They've been leading it all year. Anytime the coaches look, we prod and we push, but at the end of the day, it's got to come from them, and the way they've handled has been phenomenal."
Q: There's a lot of chances to get some younger guys in action as well. Do you foresee that in the bowl game?
"I mean, possible if they, younger guys will play if they help us win the game. There is no thought to charity reps. If we see a young guy that can help us, he's going to play. If not, we're going to play whoever and whatever needs to play to win the game. That is the ultimate goal. You win the last game of the season. It makes everything taste better in the off-season, you lose it. You've got a long time to wait before you play another one. So we do have some young guys that have started to contribute, and maybe the roles will be a little bit bigger. So honestly, I'm just kind of guessing at that, because we're still in the game planning phase. But if there is a young guy that can help us, he will play, but not specifically, so we can get him extra reps. Really, just what helps the game plan."
Q: When Braylon was injured, how much does that affect your ability on your play call sheet, and how the DC defends. You know that extra gaps gone with his inability to run the football. Do you foresee him maybe being able having that ability again with his legs?
"Yeah, well, answer, in reverse, he looks better now than he has looked in a very long time. So we did conditioning work and lifting work the last two days, and actually let him have a little bit of fun. Yesterday, they played Eagle ball, which is basically just glorified football, Frisbee football, with a with a ball, and he ran around yesterday without a brace on for the first time since the injury, and looked like himself. So I am very encouraged that we can open things back up. It's been a challenge. What makes Braylon so hard to defend is his ability to create. Fans may not completely understand just how much pain he's been playing in. He's been very stationary, just based off how he felt in the weakness in the knee, in the leg, and it's been a challenge. We had to be very, very vanilla with what we were doing. It made him a very stationary target, which is a challenge, and you could see it took it as effect. We weren't as effective as we needed to be and fans that are watching, I get it. I've been frustrated with the last few weeks as well, but he was still the guy to lead us. He is the leader. He is the Alpha male in the whole room and without him, you take that out of place, and we're still we're just not the same team and so I got to commend what the dude's done, and nobody knows how bad he was hurt, or how bad it felt, or how much pain he dealt with, but himself, I can tell you, he looked amazing yesterday. I expect him to be much more like himself. He'll never be 100 percent until he really rehabs, but he is going to be a problem, and he will play much differently than he did those last few games, and this extra time is invaluable for his strength and his rehab, and it will make a huge impact on what he's able to do, and now make a huge impact on what we can do. I hope you'll see the offense you saw the first half of the season. When we were we were explosive. We weren't as much the last few weeks and really, just by the nature of where we were."
Q: Thoughts on playing at the New Orleans Bowl?
"We actually played in New Orleans bowl when I was a head coach at Arkansas State. We played Louisiana Tech after winning the championship the second year that was the championship destination. It's a great bowl. Absolutely love it. I remember them handing the trophy to Larry [Fedora], and even as much as he lifted weights and almost broke him down trying to get it over his head. I do remember that, luckily lift a lot of weights. Great trip. Phenomenal game. I just remember being like, what an overtime field goal block game. Yeah, it was awesome. My second trip there didn't end quite as well. We got our tails handed to us in 2016 or whatever it was, 15-16, anyway, great trip. They treated us great. The venues are amazing. Obviously, playing in the dome. Guys love that, being around the saint facilities, the difference, I just remember the different events they had for the guys. So, I think everybody, including myself, everybody guys, they're excited about getting to go."
Q: Coach you mentioned earlier the way you feel about this program, what do you think makes them such a great program, and how have you kind of experienced that being back here this year?
"Well, it starts with a community and fan base. Man, this place is amazing. The administration has done a crazy good job and how they've just continued to upgrade this place. It's 16 years ago. It's night and day different in terms of what they do and what they've done to nutrition, what they've done to the facilities, what the support that the guys get, but it starts to me with the community and just how much they give back and how passionate they are about it. You go to a lot of places across the country, you don't get that, you know that's going to be no matter what, rain shine, good, bad, win, loss, they're all in. And that gives you a chance to have something special."
Q: Speak a little bit about Monday, you probably haven't had a lot of time to get into film with the opponent. Kind of speak to what spectrum dedicated, what you do know?
"Yeah, we were on the surface with them, but I just know Coach [Tyson] Helton's done a phenomenal job there. They're competitive every week. They've handled people pretty well. They throw it around and always have. They've always been able to throw the ball well. They're aggressive on defense. Play a lot of man coverage and get in your face. But you know, at this point, there will be plenty of a challenge for us. We're going to have to do a great job winning one on one battles."
Southern Miss (7-5, 5-3 Sun Belt) meets former Conference USA foe Western Kentucky (8-4, 6-2 C-USA) in the 25th New Orleans Bowl at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La., on Tuesday, Dec. 23, for the Golden Eagles' 28th all-time bowl appearance. Southern Miss is in a postseason bowl for the first time since 2022 with a 12-15 record in bowl games since the program's first, the 1953 Sun Bowl.
Fans can purchase tickets to the 25th New Orleans Bowl at SouthernMiss.com/Tickets. The game will be broadcast on ESPN with Courtney Lyle (PxP), Rene Ingoglia (Color) and Ian Fitzsimmons (Sideline) on the call. The Voice of the Golden Eagles, John Cox, analyst Lee Roberts and sideline reporter Jason Baker will begin their pregame show on the Southern Miss Sports Network at 3 p.m. with kickoff against the Hilltoppers set for 4:30 p.m.
Here is what Anderson said to the media:
Opening Statement…
"I appreciate y'all being here, excited to get rolling on bowl prep. Just considering the history here, recent history here, getting this thing moving in the right direction. Having a chance to go to a bowl game with these guys is going to be a lot of fun. They're excited about the opportunity. I would say 99 percent of our guys have made it very clear that they not only want to play, but they want to win the game and finish the right way. I know, with people opting out all over the country and guys choosing not to play, that means a lot, and hopefully the fans will appreciate that our leaders and our seniors who could very easily decide not to play, have chosen to do the opposite, and there's a ton of energy in the room. Love the fact that it's here close, where our fans can travel. I've been down there before, both here at Southern Miss and at other schools, and it's a great bowl. So, we're going to prepare to win it, try to finish and get number eight and kind of cap off what we've been able to do with Coach Huff moving on. Obviously, there's changes in the building, but there's enough continuity in the staff and the players that to me, we ought to just be able to keep rolling and just build and finish and hopefully send the fan base and the players and everybody into the off season on a really, really high note. So, looking forward to it."
Q: Could you speak on who will be here for practice week?
"I mean, honestly, the only person that is not going to be here for the game is Coach Huff. All the staff have chosen to stay and finish the game. All the players, with exception, a couple exceptions that had some off-the-field things that they needed to deal with. Everybody that has been significant to getting us to this point will be with us, apart from coach Huff, and his choice was just to not be a distraction, and you can appreciate that. But staff and players, I would expect us to be full strength."
Q: How are you viewing this opportunity?
"This opportunity is honestly just the opposite; this is not about me at all. I told the players and the administration; my job is to steer them towards game time and be as little of a distraction as possible. We've got a good system in place. Coach Huff did a phenomenal job building the culture and in the system is going to stay the same through the game. It's my job just to make sure that we stay on course, that we're prepared for the game, that we're fresh, fast and honestly a little pissed off when game time starts, and then do the best I can to let them cut loose and play so it's not a about any other opportunity, except for what the guys have. I understand. Oh yeah, I've made it very clear, I love to be the head coach here. I wouldn't have probably come back here if I didn't feel that way about this place, not that I ever expected when I came back, that that would be the opportunity. But that's what I think about Southern Miss. So yeah, I've made it really clear to Jeremy and administration, they know that, and they're working through the process, and I trust how they're handling everything, and they're going to do what's right for the university."
Q: When Huff decided to go to Memphis, and then what was the kind of discussion with the team, what their reaction was, and that timeline?
"Y'all know, as well as I, in this business, it happens quick. So, there were rumors. Most of the rumors are typically not true. I think as it developed, just the last 24 hours or so, maybe it made sense, and I don't remember exactly what day that was that like, this is legitimate that it might happen. We weren't with the players at the time, so we were kind of all away when it became reality. You know, the next conversation was we had already had a scheduled staff meeting. He came in and said, guys, obviously I've heard. Y'all heard the news, and I'm taking it and I'm going to be stepping away to make sure that I'm not a distraction. He told the players later that day, met with the leadership group, and honestly, within a 12-to-18-hour period, it went from rumor to reality to "Hey, I want y'all to go have a great experience, and I love you guys. I appreciate you guys" and move on. The players stood up immediately and said, "We're playing and we're winning this damn game", which I thought they responded exactly the way you would want a group to respond. So, it wasn't a long process. It all developed in just a day or two. I think it's the nature of college football-you don't have time to wait."
Q: In bowl games over the last couple of years, some teams use it for development, right, to get a look at maybe some guys who haven't seen as many snaps this year. How are you kind of approaching that with Western Kentucky?
"Well, the circumstances are unique. I'm the interim head coach. I'm not the head coach. Love to be, but I'm not at the point, and so I think the approach that we need to take is to freshen our guys up. We're beat up, as people saw late in the year, we've got some guys playing through injury. So, this is not a development approach. This is a get our bodies healthy, put in a good game plan, shorter, crisper practices, with more days to handle the game plan, and try to celebrate an amazing season. You know, when you consider what we took over, how many new guys we brought in, and really just the season they were able to put together. We all wanted to win them all. We all wanted to play in the championship game, but to go from 1-11 to 7-5 to become bowl eligible again, start that streak up again, there's a ton to celebrate. And so that's really the purpose of this. Celebrate this group. Celebrate these 31 seniors, find a way to go win number eight and cap off what I think is an amazing season and create some momentum for the future at this place, but it is not a spring ball, fall camp development type approach. We don't have the healthy bodies to do that, and I don't think it gets the result that we want."
Q: Kind of speak to you in the booth all year, kind of how that dynamic changes with you on the sideline play calling.
"Yeah, I've called plays from the sideline a good bit over the last 10 years, several years were calling the plays as a head coach, I like seeing it from up top, and if anybody would tell me it was okay for the head coach to go up there during the game, I probably would. But no, I've done it. I feel comfortable doing it. I need good eyes in the box, and I've got those that'll be up there, and it is a transition, but definitely not something that is completely new to me. So I might do better. I don't know. You know, we'll see."
Q: Obviously, it's a very senior-heavy team right now, and an opportunity for those guys to create value for themselves. How are you approaching those next couple of practices with those guys?
"That's a key point. I think that's number one. The message that coach Huff had for them, like guys, this is a chance, before and after he chose to take the job, before this bowl game, is important for all of you guys. This is the last, you know, really just a definition of who you are on tape for the next level. We got a lot of guys with next-level aspirations, and even after he chose to take the job. Guys, y'all need to play this game. Not only do you need to play, you need to play well for you and for the university. So that is part of the reason we are practicing the way we are. These guys have played a lot of snaps. We've not had a ton of guys rotate at certain positions. So, shortening up being more about body maintenance and freshness and fresh legs and fresh bodies going into game time where they're ready to hit and fly around, is a big part of that process, and that's to allow those guys to play at their very best."
Q: Over the season, Coach Huff has always talked about how this was a player-led team. He felt like, I mean, even walk-throughs and things like that, led by players. Over the last couple of days, what have you seen from those guys that have kind of made this transition seamlessly?
"It's been very seamless. It's been as smooth as you can expect it to be. In chaos, the leaders stood up immediately following coach Huff, saying, Guys, I'm going to leave. I'm going to turn this over to you guys. Jeremy and myself, spoke to the team and told them what was going to go on. And before we could leave the room, the leaders stood up and said, hold up. Coach is out of space. And the message was, we're playing and we're winning the damn thing. That was an immediate response for them, unprompted by us. That's how they feel. So, yeah, player-led is when you have a chance to do something special, which you've seen us do. They've been leading it all year. Anytime the coaches look, we prod and we push, but at the end of the day, it's got to come from them, and the way they've handled has been phenomenal."
Q: There's a lot of chances to get some younger guys in action as well. Do you foresee that in the bowl game?
"I mean, possible if they, younger guys will play if they help us win the game. There is no thought to charity reps. If we see a young guy that can help us, he's going to play. If not, we're going to play whoever and whatever needs to play to win the game. That is the ultimate goal. You win the last game of the season. It makes everything taste better in the off-season, you lose it. You've got a long time to wait before you play another one. So we do have some young guys that have started to contribute, and maybe the roles will be a little bit bigger. So honestly, I'm just kind of guessing at that, because we're still in the game planning phase. But if there is a young guy that can help us, he will play, but not specifically, so we can get him extra reps. Really, just what helps the game plan."
Q: When Braylon was injured, how much does that affect your ability on your play call sheet, and how the DC defends. You know that extra gaps gone with his inability to run the football. Do you foresee him maybe being able having that ability again with his legs?
"Yeah, well, answer, in reverse, he looks better now than he has looked in a very long time. So we did conditioning work and lifting work the last two days, and actually let him have a little bit of fun. Yesterday, they played Eagle ball, which is basically just glorified football, Frisbee football, with a with a ball, and he ran around yesterday without a brace on for the first time since the injury, and looked like himself. So I am very encouraged that we can open things back up. It's been a challenge. What makes Braylon so hard to defend is his ability to create. Fans may not completely understand just how much pain he's been playing in. He's been very stationary, just based off how he felt in the weakness in the knee, in the leg, and it's been a challenge. We had to be very, very vanilla with what we were doing. It made him a very stationary target, which is a challenge, and you could see it took it as effect. We weren't as effective as we needed to be and fans that are watching, I get it. I've been frustrated with the last few weeks as well, but he was still the guy to lead us. He is the leader. He is the Alpha male in the whole room and without him, you take that out of place, and we're still we're just not the same team and so I got to commend what the dude's done, and nobody knows how bad he was hurt, or how bad it felt, or how much pain he dealt with, but himself, I can tell you, he looked amazing yesterday. I expect him to be much more like himself. He'll never be 100 percent until he really rehabs, but he is going to be a problem, and he will play much differently than he did those last few games, and this extra time is invaluable for his strength and his rehab, and it will make a huge impact on what he's able to do, and now make a huge impact on what we can do. I hope you'll see the offense you saw the first half of the season. When we were we were explosive. We weren't as much the last few weeks and really, just by the nature of where we were."
Q: Thoughts on playing at the New Orleans Bowl?
"We actually played in New Orleans bowl when I was a head coach at Arkansas State. We played Louisiana Tech after winning the championship the second year that was the championship destination. It's a great bowl. Absolutely love it. I remember them handing the trophy to Larry [Fedora], and even as much as he lifted weights and almost broke him down trying to get it over his head. I do remember that, luckily lift a lot of weights. Great trip. Phenomenal game. I just remember being like, what an overtime field goal block game. Yeah, it was awesome. My second trip there didn't end quite as well. We got our tails handed to us in 2016 or whatever it was, 15-16, anyway, great trip. They treated us great. The venues are amazing. Obviously, playing in the dome. Guys love that, being around the saint facilities, the difference, I just remember the different events they had for the guys. So, I think everybody, including myself, everybody guys, they're excited about getting to go."
Q: Coach you mentioned earlier the way you feel about this program, what do you think makes them such a great program, and how have you kind of experienced that being back here this year?
"Well, it starts with a community and fan base. Man, this place is amazing. The administration has done a crazy good job and how they've just continued to upgrade this place. It's 16 years ago. It's night and day different in terms of what they do and what they've done to nutrition, what they've done to the facilities, what the support that the guys get, but it starts to me with the community and just how much they give back and how passionate they are about it. You go to a lot of places across the country, you don't get that, you know that's going to be no matter what, rain shine, good, bad, win, loss, they're all in. And that gives you a chance to have something special."
Q: Speak a little bit about Monday, you probably haven't had a lot of time to get into film with the opponent. Kind of speak to what spectrum dedicated, what you do know?
"Yeah, we were on the surface with them, but I just know Coach [Tyson] Helton's done a phenomenal job there. They're competitive every week. They've handled people pretty well. They throw it around and always have. They've always been able to throw the ball well. They're aggressive on defense. Play a lot of man coverage and get in your face. But you know, at this point, there will be plenty of a challenge for us. We're going to have to do a great job winning one on one battles."
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