What you missed in Southern Miss sports over the winter break

Dima Mixon, Jackson Howell, and Charlie Luttrell 4th Street Sports

while Southern Miss students sat back and relaxed on their winter break, Southern Miss sports could not have been busier. Southern Miss had three primary sports teams in action, and here is a brief snapshot of everything that happened over the break in each one of those sports.

Football

On Dec. 17, Southern Miss running back Frank Gore Jr. went bonkers. The team traveled to Mobile, Alabama, and played in the LendingTree Bowl against the Rice Owls. There, Gore ran for a career-high and school record 329 yards on 21 attempts and added two touchdowns to carry Southern Miss to a 38-24 victory. The Golden Eagles won their first bowl game since 2016 and notches their first winning season since 2019. Gore Jr's 329 yards was the single most rushing yards in a game in NCAA Bowl Game History. Crazy, right?

Starting quarterback Trey Lowe went 7-16 for 170 yards and threw two touchdown passes, one to Jakarius Caston and the other to Jason Brownlee.

"Just a special night for everyone who is affiliated with our program, from our fans to our coaches, to our wives, to our players. We got to keep working and building. We came here to win championships. This is a step in the right direction, and I'm so proud of these kids." Head football coach Will Hall said.

Coaching Changes

Southern Miss defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong accepted an on-field defensive coaching job at the University of Alabama after two seasons as defensive coordinator. A couple of days later, Hall announced the promotion of Dan O'Brien to defensive coordinator.

O'Brien, who had been on staff as the safeties coach since 2020, will now enter his third year on the job with keys to the defense.

Transfer Portal & Recruiting Class

After clinching its first winning season since 2019 and first bowl win since 2016, Southern Miss spent some time retooling the roster for 2023.

The quarterback position was the top priority for Hall, and he found two transfers to build the quarterback room Holman Edwards (Jr.) of Houston and Billy Wiles (R-So.) of Clemson. Both saw playing time at their former university, but both are expected to compete with Zach Wilcke for the starting job this fall.

Rounding out the offensive acquisitions are offensive lineman Gabe Cavazos Jr. (R-So.) and running back Rodrigues Clark of Memphis. Clark, who has two years of eligibility remaining, was Memphis' leading rusher in 2020 and second-leading rusher in 2021 before leaving the team in 2022. He fills the void left by Janari Dean, who left the team, according to the Biloxi Sun Herald.

The Golden Eagles lost several notable names on defense but quickly addressed those holes with the portal. Southern Miss gained a pair of George County defensive back standouts in MJ Daniels (Jr.) of Ole Miss and Dylan Lawrence (Gr-Sr., two years remaining) of Mississippi State. Also gained from the transfer portal were linebacker Kolbe Cage (R-So.) of Arizona and defensive end Eric Thomas (Jr.) of Arkansas.

Hall once again added a supreme group to his resume after signing day in 2022. Southern Miss signed 23 new Golden Eagles on national signing day.

Woman's Basketball

At the beginning of the season, Southern Miss women's basketball looked like it had a lot to figure out due to being shorthanded with injuries and offensive inconsistencies.

However, the Lady Eagles showed over the break and through their early conference slate that they are a force this season, even if they are still piecing everything together. After a home loss to Alabama, Southern Miss swept the Long Beach Classic and started conference play undefeated with wins against Troy, South Alabama, and Louisiana.

As of January 23, the Lady Eagles are 13-6 and 6-2 in the Sun Belt, ranking them only behind James Madison in the conference standings.

A key to their early success in the conference is a part of their identity: defense. The Lady Eagles forced 104 turnovers in their first five games in the conference over the break and held all but one opponent to under 40% shooting.

Moreover, with the emergence of newcomers such as Femi Funeus, Lani Cornfield and Jacorriah Bracey, the weight has been lifted off guard Domonique Davis' shoulders a bit from the start of the season. Sophomore forward Melyia Grayson has started to find her rhythm as well.

Southern Miss showed areas of concern to begin the season, but the team has been cool and collected and has shown they have a legitimate shot to make a run in Pensacola this March.

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