5 Things You Need to Know About the Southern Miss Golden Eagles

It is officially Football Time in the Bluegrass. The wait is over after a long offseason and the Kentucky Wildcats are ready to take on the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. There are new faces at quarterback, running back, and offensive coordinator, but head coach Mark Stoops is back in the saddle for year 12. Sporting a 73-65 record, Coach Stoops has brought some of the best times in Kentucky Football history to Lexington. However, after back-to-back 7-6 seasons with 3-5 SEC marks, some fans are getting restless for more success.

Getting back to winning eight or nine games will be more difficult than ever though with the expanded Southeastern Conference. Kentucky will have to make a trip to Texas this season which wasn’t something that Big Blue Nation previously had to deal with. Resetting expectations isn’t always easy within a rabid fanbase, but it is very possible that the Wildcats could have as talented of a team as Coach Stoops has had and still “only” win seven games. That is life in the SEC, but especially in the new look SEC.

While every new season brings excitement of what could be, all that matters for now is winning on Saturday night. The Southern Miss Golden Eagles came into Kroger Field back in 2016 and beat the ‘Cats in Week One. Kentucky got their revenge the following year in Hattiesburg, but that game wasn’t pretty either. Saturday night will be all about Brock Vandegriff setting the tone offensively and watching the defense flex their muscles against a lesser opponent. Ultimately, all that matters is going 1-0. However, some style points would be nice in this season-opening matchup.

As always, we have all of your pregame needs right here on Kentucky Sports Radio dot com for the 7:45 p.m. (Eastern Time) kickoff on the SEC Network between the Kentucky Wildcats (0-0, 0-0) and the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (0-0, 0-0). If you haven’t already, you have to dive into Adam Luckett’s Scouting Report. That is your in-depth, football-nerd preview. For those in search of a more surface level look at what to expect on Saturday night, you are in the right place. Let’s dive on in to five things you need to know about Southern Miss.

Florida State Transfer at Quarterback

After struggling offensively in 2023, Southern Miss hit the transfer portal to try and make some upgrades. Nearly half of their Week One starters could be transfers when the offense hits the field. Florida State transfer quarterback Tate Rodemaker is the biggest name of the bunch bringing four years of ACC experience.

Rodemaker played sparingly in his first three seasons, but appeared in nine games last year for the Seminoles. The 6’4″ quarterback threw for 510 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions. While Rodemaker kept from turning the ball over, accuracy isn’t necessarily his strong suit. He connected on 32 of 56 passes a season ago to match his careering completion percentage of 57.6%. Overall, through four years, he has thrown for 901 yards with seven touchdowns and five interceptions. The Golden Eagles will give him his first real shot at leading a team here in 2024.

One Returner, Two SEC Transfers Lead Southern Miss Receivers

Ti Mims might be small, but he has made a big impact in two seasons with the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. The 5’9″ 175 pound wide receiver has 64 career receptions for 825 yards and five scores. He will be a primary target for Tate Rodemaker who can put some pressure on Kentucky’s secondary with the deep ball.

Before heading to Hattiesburg, Dannis Jackson played in 35 Southeastern Conference games across five seasons. He caught 12 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns in 2021 at Ole Miss. However, he failed to record a reception in 2023 after transferring to Missouri. Jackson will be looking for a fresh start in the Sun Belt. Similarly, Larry Simmons comes to Southern Miss after spending two years at Ole Miss. The former three-star recruit is still looking for his first collegiate reception though after playing in just one games for the Rebels.

Veteran Running Back Poised for Breakout Season

As we alluded to earlier, the Southern Miss Golden Eagles are going to be transfer-heavy at the skill positions. However, Rodrigues “Dreke” Clark already has a year in Hattiesburg under his belt. After spending three seasons at Memphis, Clark rushed for 429 yards and two touchdowns last season as RB2 for the Golden Eagles. On his career, the fifth year senior is now up to 1,462 rushing yards. He has the opportunity to really blossom this season as the clear top running for Southern Miss.

New Faces Will Look to Turn Around Southern Miss Defense

Sometimes returning a lot of players can be overrated. If your defensive unit wasn’t any good, like Southern Miss last season, you don’t necessarily want a lot of those guys back. Luckily for the Golden Eagles, they have a new defensive coordinator and a bunch of new faces to try and turn things around.

In 2023, Southern Miss finished 120th or worse defensively in several important categories. Scoring, yards per play, yards per rush, and yards per pass were all ugly. This is a team that allowed 35.8 points per game. Clay Bignell is the defensive coordinator who has been brought in to right the ship. He will do so with only one player who played over 500 snaps last season. Again, with a group that was so bad, that might be a positive.

High-Upside on the Defensive Line

A couple of talented former Junior College transfers give the Southern Miss Golden Eagles a massive one-two punch up the middle. Brodarius Lewis is now in year three in Hattiesburg. The 6’2″ 310 pound defensive tackle accumulated 31 tackles last season. Meanwhile, 6’3″ 340 pound Demo Roland was responsible for 23 tackles. Those two will command some attention at the point of attack from the Big Blue Wall.

On the edge, fellow super senior Jalil Clemons will be the name to know. The 6’3″ 240 pound pass rusher collected five and a half sacks last season along with two forced fumbles. A former Memphis transfer, Clemons will be relied upon to provide some havoc in this new look Southern Miss defense.

If this defensive line can play up to their potential it will give Clay Bignell’s group a chance to be vastly improved in 2024. The bar is low, but there is enough talent and experience to create some issues in the Sun Belt.