# Southern Miss Golden Eagles

Sun Belt · M.M. Roberts Stadium, Hattiesburg, MS
Head coach: Blake Anderson · year 2 · 0-1 at USM · 74-55 career over 13 seasons
Offense: Multiple · Defense: 4-2-5

## 2026 outlook

- 2025 record: 7-6 (5-3 in conference)
- National title odds: +125000 (#135 on the futures board)
- Season win total: 3.5 (over priced -105)
- Returning starter games: 12%
- Schedule difficulty: 84th-hardest of 138 FBS teams

## Returning production by unit

| Unit | Returning games | Games back | Depth back |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Skill offense | 15% | 11/72 | 2/14 |
| Offensive line | 41% | 24/59 | 6/14 |
| Defensive front | 0% | 0/88 | 3/22 |
| Secondary | 0% | 0/65 | 2/13 |

## Roster movement

- Key returning: Greg Nunnery (OL), Luke Rogers (OL), Jameer Lewis (DL), Aloali'i Maui (OL), MaLik Caswell (SAF)
- Key departures (with destination): Braylon Braxton (QB), Josh Moten (CB), J'Mond Tapp (DL) – MEM, Ahmere Foster (SAF) – MEM, Ian Foster (SAF) – MEM
- Key arrivals (with previous school): Brandon Hood (RB) – MASS, Mario Sanders (WR) – ILL, Melvin Spriggs (LB) – AKR, Champ Lewis (DB) – TLSA, Jyaire Brown (DB) – UCF

## Depth chart

### Offense

- WR-X: Carl Chester, Davis Dalton
- WR-Z: Micah Davis, Bralon Brown
- WR-SL: Elijah Metcalf
- LT: Blake Bustard, Jez Janvier
- LG: Greg Nunnery, Luke Rogers
- C: Broderick Roman, Cooper Frazier
- RG: Aloalii Maui
- RT: Rj Whitehead
- TE: Kadinn Morris, Kyirin Heath
- QB: Braylon Braxton, Landry Lyddy, John White
- RB: Jeffery Pittman, Matt Jones, Robert Briggs

### Defense

- LDE: Jj Hawkins
- NT: Isaiah Gibson Sr
- DT: Champ Lewis
- RDE: Champ Lewis
- WLB: Mathis Haygood
- MLB: Joseph Harper
- LCB: Brendan Toles
- SS: Josh Battle
- FS: Dominick Hill
- RCB: Josh Moten
- NB: MaLik Caswell

### Special Teams

- PT: Jack Murley, Reed Harradine
- PK: Creighton Wilbanks, Reed Harradine
- KO: Reed Harradine, Creighton Wilbanks
- LS: Luke Beard, Andrew Tate
- H: Kyle Mccormick
- PR: Chuck Montgomery, Elijah Metcalf
- KR: Micah Davis

## 2026 schedule

| Week | Opponent | Site | TV | Spread |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Alcorn State Braves (FCS) | Home | ESPN+ | USM -21.5 |
| 2 | Auburn | Away | SEC Network | – |
| 3 | UConn | Home | ESPN+ | – |
| 4 | Tulane | Away | – | – |
| 6 | Troy | Away | ESPN2 | – |
| 7 | Arkansas State | Home | – | – |
| 8 | Louisiana | Home | – | – |
| 9 | Louisiana-Monroe | Away | – | – |
| 10 | James Madison | Home | ESPN Networks | – |
| 11 | Louisiana Tech | Away | – | – |
| 12 | South Alabama | Home | – | – |
| 13 | Old Dominion | Away | – | – |

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Source: SharpData OS – https://www.sharpdataos.com/cfb/teams/southern-miss
Depth chart updated 2026-08-11. Odds shown are point-in-time snapshots.