University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Fall Camp Notebook: Football is Back at Camp
7/30/2025 7:14:00 PM | Football
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- It was a historic day in Hattiesburg as Southern Miss kicked off the Charles Huff era with the first practice of preseason camp. The Golden Eagles will go through a series of 15 practice days until camp concludes on Aug. 16.
#PackTheRock
Single game tickets went live to the general public on Wednesday morning. The Golden Eagles host seven opponents this season, including a pair of in-state foes to start the season. Season tickets are still available for as low as $99 for all seven home games. Fans are encouraged to buy now as Section E and South End Zone are approaching sellouts for Mississippi State. The To The Top Terrace, a group opportunity with food and beverage included, is sold out for the Mississippi State game and approaching a sellout for Jackson State. Visit SouthernMiss.com/Tickets to buy today.
Wednesday Happenings
Day one started with team meetings and workouts in the morning before the afternoon gave way to the team's first walk-through. More meetings followed for coaches and student-athletes before Southern Miss took the field at 5 p.m.
It wasn't the most ideal start to camp as the Golden Eagles were sent scrambling back to the locker room an hour into practice as lightning struck near the Joe P. Park Practice Facility. Prior to the weather delay, practice included a special team's period, stretching, skill work and reps with the offense and defense battling each other. Despite the weather, there was still a sense of urgency and excitement as Aug. 30 nears.
The Golden Eagles returned to the practice field shortly before 7 p.m. and ran through the remainder of the first practice. While there was a lot of hype around the first practice, as Huff alluded to yesterday in his pre-camp press conference, the first few days are about evaluating what you have in terms of who can be consistent.
And while Huff is just now seeing who consistent performers on the field can be, he's already taken notice to who was consistent in the offseason with Ben Ashford, the Director of Sport Performance for Football. Ashford's strength and conditioning program was the main component for the Golden Eagles in the months of June and July.
A New Look
Southern Miss is made up of 65 four-year transfers and five junior college transfers, while 18 come from the high school ranks. The Golden Eagles return fewer than 20 players to its roster from the 2024 season.
Twenty-one transfers followed Huff from Marshall and 10 staff members joined as well. The bunch was led Braylon Braxton, Josh Moten and Ian Foster — all were named Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team. With plenty of new faces, key returners include Chris Jones and Brodarius Lewis. Lewis was tabbed to several preseason Sun Belt lists and Jones was a force for Southern Miss in his freshman season last year.
There are 21 different states represented on the roster with Mississippi leading the way at 31. Other states with 10-plus players are Florida (15) and Georgia (11). The roster also spans two countries and one U.S. territory:
On July 21, the Sun Belt Conference released its preseason award haul, and Southern Miss had a hefty number of players on the list. The group was led by quarterback Braylon Braxton being named Preseason Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year after he took home Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year last season. Braxton helped guide Marshall to a Sun Belt title where he threw for 193 yards and rushed for another 66 yards.
Braxton was also named Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team. Other Golden Eagles named Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team included defensive lineman Brodarius Lewis, defensive back Josh Moten and return specialist Ian Foster. Tight end Kyirin Heath was tabbed Preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team as he heads into his second season with the Golden Eagles.
In total, 13 Golden Eagles earned preseason honors from various media outlets. Southern Miss was voted to finish fifth in the Sun Belt West Division, while Louisiana was picked to win the division with six first-place votes. The rest of the division followed with Texas State, Arkansas State, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Troy and ULM.
Fan Fest
Southern Miss will host Fan Fest 2025 on Saturday, Aug. 16 from 5-7 p.m. in the South End Zone of M.M. Roberts Stadium.
Location: South End Zone
Time: 5–7 p.m.
Admission: Free
Entry: Gate 5
Activities for the whole family:
Follow @SouthernMissFB at X, Instagram and Facebook to see the latest camp news.
#PackTheRock
Single game tickets went live to the general public on Wednesday morning. The Golden Eagles host seven opponents this season, including a pair of in-state foes to start the season. Season tickets are still available for as low as $99 for all seven home games. Fans are encouraged to buy now as Section E and South End Zone are approaching sellouts for Mississippi State. The To The Top Terrace, a group opportunity with food and beverage included, is sold out for the Mississippi State game and approaching a sellout for Jackson State. Visit SouthernMiss.com/Tickets to buy today.
🗣️ 𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗟𝗘 𝗚𝗔𝗠𝗘 𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗧𝗦 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗢𝗡 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗘 𝗡𝗢𝗪
— Southern Miss Football (@SouthernMissFB) July 30, 2025
Don't wait to get yours, #PackTheRock!
🎟️ » https://t.co/Tpx6falToJ pic.twitter.com/xgrA8qfDVF
Wednesday Happenings
Day one started with team meetings and workouts in the morning before the afternoon gave way to the team's first walk-through. More meetings followed for coaches and student-athletes before Southern Miss took the field at 5 p.m.
It wasn't the most ideal start to camp as the Golden Eagles were sent scrambling back to the locker room an hour into practice as lightning struck near the Joe P. Park Practice Facility. Prior to the weather delay, practice included a special team's period, stretching, skill work and reps with the offense and defense battling each other. Despite the weather, there was still a sense of urgency and excitement as Aug. 30 nears.
The Golden Eagles returned to the practice field shortly before 7 p.m. and ran through the remainder of the first practice. While there was a lot of hype around the first practice, as Huff alluded to yesterday in his pre-camp press conference, the first few days are about evaluating what you have in terms of who can be consistent.
I'm hard to impress because consistency is the key. If you ask me how many one-handed catches we had out there, I'd probably say 500, but then we'll drop a hitch, so I don't get excited about the one-handed catch," Huff said. "What's been really impressive to me is to watch the body transformations, that's the woah moment. Some guys, [sophomore safety] Corey Myrick's a guy, who was a young guy who came in and transformed his body drastically.
And while Huff is just now seeing who consistent performers on the field can be, he's already taken notice to who was consistent in the offseason with Ben Ashford, the Director of Sport Performance for Football. Ashford's strength and conditioning program was the main component for the Golden Eagles in the months of June and July.
Even some of the older guys, you look at Braylon and where he was in the spring he was a little heavier, he's transformed his body," Huff said. "So, I'm a little bit more on the consistency part. There have been some guys that have been ultra-consistent. We've got a good football team, so there's going to be some aha wow moments, but as a coach you learn to fall in love with the consistency – who can you count on. We talked about that trust between players and coaches, who can I count on to consistently execute, that's what these next 30 days are going to answer.
A New Look
Southern Miss is made up of 65 four-year transfers and five junior college transfers, while 18 come from the high school ranks. The Golden Eagles return fewer than 20 players to its roster from the 2024 season.
Twenty-one transfers followed Huff from Marshall and 10 staff members joined as well. The bunch was led Braylon Braxton, Josh Moten and Ian Foster — all were named Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team. With plenty of new faces, key returners include Chris Jones and Brodarius Lewis. Lewis was tabbed to several preseason Sun Belt lists and Jones was a force for Southern Miss in his freshman season last year.
There are 21 different states represented on the roster with Mississippi leading the way at 31. Other states with 10-plus players are Florida (15) and Georgia (11). The roster also spans two countries and one U.S. territory:
- Aloali'i Maui (American Samoa)
- Jack Murley (Australia)
- Jez Janvier (Canada).
On July 21, the Sun Belt Conference released its preseason award haul, and Southern Miss had a hefty number of players on the list. The group was led by quarterback Braylon Braxton being named Preseason Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year after he took home Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year last season. Braxton helped guide Marshall to a Sun Belt title where he threw for 193 yards and rushed for another 66 yards.
The @SunBelt Preseason Five 😈
— Southern Miss Football (@SouthernMissFB) July 21, 2025
➡️ » https://t.co/1gF18mvwwP#FlipTheScript | #SMTTT pic.twitter.com/InlpMyeGyY
Braxton was also named Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team. Other Golden Eagles named Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team included defensive lineman Brodarius Lewis, defensive back Josh Moten and return specialist Ian Foster. Tight end Kyirin Heath was tabbed Preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team as he heads into his second season with the Golden Eagles.
In total, 13 Golden Eagles earned preseason honors from various media outlets. Southern Miss was voted to finish fifth in the Sun Belt West Division, while Louisiana was picked to win the division with six first-place votes. The rest of the division followed with Texas State, Arkansas State, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Troy and ULM.
Fan Fest
Southern Miss will host Fan Fest 2025 on Saturday, Aug. 16 from 5-7 p.m. in the South End Zone of M.M. Roberts Stadium.
Location: South End Zone
Time: 5–7 p.m.
Admission: Free
Entry: Gate 5
Activities for the whole family:
- Photo booths
- Inflatables
- Caricature artist
- Photo ops with Southern Miss Cheer, Southern Misses, and Seymour
- Meet and Greet/Autographs: 5–6 p.m. with football, soccer, volleyball, and cross country student-athletes
- Concessions available
- Barnes & Noble pop-up shop to purchase Southern Miss gear and get gameday ready
Follow @SouthernMissFB at X, Instagram and Facebook to see the latest camp news.
Players Mentioned
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SAF
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