University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Getting One Final Shot – Nasim Cairo Moves South and to Southern Miss for his Final Collegiate Season
8/14/2026 2:00:00 PM | Football
By Tim Doherty, Special to SouthernMiss.com
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Sometimes a setback can have a silver lining.
In the case of Southern Miss redshirt senior defensive lineman Nasim Cairo, that lining has a black-and-gold hue.
For three seasons, Cairo had been a standout on the defensive front at Southeast Missouri State University, a top-shelf member of the Ohio Valley Conference in college football's Football Championship Subdivision.
Then, just before embarking on his senior season in Cape Girardeau, Mo., a teammate rolled up on Cairo's right ankle.
"I got hurt in Week Zero, before the first game," Cairo said. "I had somebody fall on my ankle, and they classified it a regular high-ankle sprain. So, I was bracing it up, playing through it, Week One, Week Two, Week Three, Week Four."
As problematic as a high ankle sprain can be, a later scan delivered even grimmer news.
"I got a (magnetic resonance imaging) and everything was torn and my ankle was fractured, so I was playing on it, torn and fractured, for four games," Cairo said.
Surgery followed immediately, and the rehabilitation and recovery also gave Cairo time to think.
"So, I had to make a decision, like, 'Hey, what do I want to do here?' and I didn't want to end my last year (in Missouri)," Cairo said.
After being granted another season's eligibility, Cairo said he wanted to take a step up in his final go-round.
"The real reason why I left was that I really wanted to become more as a player and push myself," Cairo said. "That, and I really wanted to play FBS ball. I felt like I was an FBS player.
"I was at SEMO and felt like I really played well at SEMO, but for me to get better as a player, I just needed to get somewhere (else) because I'd been there so long."
The 6-foot-2, 272-pound Edwardsville, Ill., native had played well at SEMO.
As a true freshman, he participated in 12 games, finishing with 25 tackles. He was tied for third with seven tackles for loss and tied for first with four sacks.
As a sophomore, Cario played in eight games, starting two.
A year later, he earned second-team All-OVC/Southland Conference honors. In 13 starts, Cairo ranked on eighth on the team with 40 tackles, finishing with 5 ½ tackles for loss, including four sacks. He also led the Redhawks with 11 quarterback hurries.
He managed 10 tackles in four games in 2025 before seeing his senior shut down.
After entering the transfer portal, Cairo said some schools were wary that his ankle would heal in time to play his final college season.
But first-year Southern Miss defensive line coach Jerone Steckel had coached Cairo as a freshman, and the two had kept in contact over the ensuing years.
Steckel reached out to Cairo, and Southern Miss liked what it saw.
"I had a lot of time (to recover) before I got here," Cairo said. "When I got here, I didn't have to sit out or anything."
Cairo said he liked the idea of playing under Steckel's guidance again.
"Coach Steck's one of the hardest coaches I've ever had, and I that's really why I came here," Cairo said. "I knew for my last year, I didn't want to be complacent. I didn't want to feel like I made it. I didn't want to feel anything.
"Coach Steck never lets me sleep, he never lets me feel like I (got it) made, and that's what I need," he said. "I don't want somebody telling me that I do good every time. I want somebody to point out what I do wrong because I want to be great, and the only way to be great is to have someone in that corner.
"So, it's just a blessing having him, having his knowledge, having his motivation, but also him putting me in a leadership position because he knows where I am, he knows how I'll play."
Cairo said he also liked what he gleaned from first-year head coach Blake Anderson and his program.
"When I came down here, I just loved the culture, loved the standards that they followed, the morals," Cairo said. "Then, I met (Anderson), and learned his story, learned who he was, and really appreciated what kind of man he was."
Southern Miss continues preseason practice preparing for the 2026 season opener Sept. 5 with Alcorn State University, and while no depth chart officially has been announced, Cairo said the defensive front has depth.
"We're not a D-line that's only going to play four people," Cairo said. "We're going to be fresh. We're going to rotate people. We're going to play eight guys for sure, maybe 10."
Cairo, who is vying for a starting slot out of any rotation, has caught the eye of Golden Eagle defensive coordinator Joe Bolden.
"Number one, he's like an Energizer Bunny," Bolden said. "I love Nasim. A little undersized, but I can look at him right in the eyes and he knows exactly what I'm thinking, and he'll turn around and he'll get the defense rolling.
"Nasim's been a great addition. He's quick. He's explosive. He's violent at the point of attack. He's really everything you want in a defensive lineman."
Cairo also has put in the work in the classroom and is on track to graduate in December with a degree in liberal studies with a minor in anthropology.
"Long road, but I'm here, man," he said.
Before he walks the stage, Cairo said he and his teammates intend to make a point on the football field this fall.
"Really, not to prove everybody wrong, but to prove us right," Cairo said. "We've put in so much work this offseason, and everybody has counted us out.
"Nobody thinks Southern Miss can do anything, so it's really just proving us right about the work and what we've done (training) and with our coaches. Proving us right is the biggest thing I'm looking forward to this year."
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Sometimes a setback can have a silver lining.
In the case of Southern Miss redshirt senior defensive lineman Nasim Cairo, that lining has a black-and-gold hue.
For three seasons, Cairo had been a standout on the defensive front at Southeast Missouri State University, a top-shelf member of the Ohio Valley Conference in college football's Football Championship Subdivision.
Then, just before embarking on his senior season in Cape Girardeau, Mo., a teammate rolled up on Cairo's right ankle.
"I got hurt in Week Zero, before the first game," Cairo said. "I had somebody fall on my ankle, and they classified it a regular high-ankle sprain. So, I was bracing it up, playing through it, Week One, Week Two, Week Three, Week Four."
As problematic as a high ankle sprain can be, a later scan delivered even grimmer news.
"I got a (magnetic resonance imaging) and everything was torn and my ankle was fractured, so I was playing on it, torn and fractured, for four games," Cairo said.
Surgery followed immediately, and the rehabilitation and recovery also gave Cairo time to think.
"So, I had to make a decision, like, 'Hey, what do I want to do here?' and I didn't want to end my last year (in Missouri)," Cairo said.
After being granted another season's eligibility, Cairo said he wanted to take a step up in his final go-round.
"The real reason why I left was that I really wanted to become more as a player and push myself," Cairo said. "That, and I really wanted to play FBS ball. I felt like I was an FBS player.
"I was at SEMO and felt like I really played well at SEMO, but for me to get better as a player, I just needed to get somewhere (else) because I'd been there so long."
The 6-foot-2, 272-pound Edwardsville, Ill., native had played well at SEMO.
As a true freshman, he participated in 12 games, finishing with 25 tackles. He was tied for third with seven tackles for loss and tied for first with four sacks.
As a sophomore, Cario played in eight games, starting two.
A year later, he earned second-team All-OVC/Southland Conference honors. In 13 starts, Cairo ranked on eighth on the team with 40 tackles, finishing with 5 ½ tackles for loss, including four sacks. He also led the Redhawks with 11 quarterback hurries.
He managed 10 tackles in four games in 2025 before seeing his senior shut down.
After entering the transfer portal, Cairo said some schools were wary that his ankle would heal in time to play his final college season.
But first-year Southern Miss defensive line coach Jerone Steckel had coached Cairo as a freshman, and the two had kept in contact over the ensuing years.
Steckel reached out to Cairo, and Southern Miss liked what it saw.
"I had a lot of time (to recover) before I got here," Cairo said. "When I got here, I didn't have to sit out or anything."
Cairo said he liked the idea of playing under Steckel's guidance again.
"Coach Steck's one of the hardest coaches I've ever had, and I that's really why I came here," Cairo said. "I knew for my last year, I didn't want to be complacent. I didn't want to feel like I made it. I didn't want to feel anything.
"Coach Steck never lets me sleep, he never lets me feel like I (got it) made, and that's what I need," he said. "I don't want somebody telling me that I do good every time. I want somebody to point out what I do wrong because I want to be great, and the only way to be great is to have someone in that corner.
"So, it's just a blessing having him, having his knowledge, having his motivation, but also him putting me in a leadership position because he knows where I am, he knows how I'll play."
Cairo said he also liked what he gleaned from first-year head coach Blake Anderson and his program.
"When I came down here, I just loved the culture, loved the standards that they followed, the morals," Cairo said. "Then, I met (Anderson), and learned his story, learned who he was, and really appreciated what kind of man he was."
Southern Miss continues preseason practice preparing for the 2026 season opener Sept. 5 with Alcorn State University, and while no depth chart officially has been announced, Cairo said the defensive front has depth.
"We're not a D-line that's only going to play four people," Cairo said. "We're going to be fresh. We're going to rotate people. We're going to play eight guys for sure, maybe 10."
Cairo, who is vying for a starting slot out of any rotation, has caught the eye of Golden Eagle defensive coordinator Joe Bolden.
"Number one, he's like an Energizer Bunny," Bolden said. "I love Nasim. A little undersized, but I can look at him right in the eyes and he knows exactly what I'm thinking, and he'll turn around and he'll get the defense rolling.
"Nasim's been a great addition. He's quick. He's explosive. He's violent at the point of attack. He's really everything you want in a defensive lineman."
Cairo also has put in the work in the classroom and is on track to graduate in December with a degree in liberal studies with a minor in anthropology.
"Long road, but I'm here, man," he said.
Before he walks the stage, Cairo said he and his teammates intend to make a point on the football field this fall.
"Really, not to prove everybody wrong, but to prove us right," Cairo said. "We've put in so much work this offseason, and everybody has counted us out.
"Nobody thinks Southern Miss can do anything, so it's really just proving us right about the work and what we've done (training) and with our coaches. Proving us right is the biggest thing I'm looking forward to this year."
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