As Southern Miss heads into its final game of the season with the possibility of making a bowl out of the picture, the Golden Eagles are looking toward the future in hopes of bringing in the best recruiting class of the Will Hall era.
Ahead of early signing day on December 20, Southern Miss currently has the third-best signing class in the Sun Belt and the No. 74 signing class in the nation with 17 hard commits, according to 247Sports.
“We’ve gotta keep recruiting,” Hall said following the Golden Eagles’ 55-3 loss at South Alabama on October 17. “This recruiting class coming up is gonna be our third class. We’re excited about it. We’ve gotta keep adding to it and keep building this roster.”
Of those committed to play under Hall, Madison-Ridgeland Academy’s John White might be the most vital as quarterback play for the Golden Eagles has been inconsistent since Hall took over in 2019. White, a right-handed gunslinger, recently broke the state record for most passing yards in a high school career, a record previously held by former LSU quarterback Myles Brennan.
With a long list of all-conference skills players such as Frank Gore, Jr., and now-NFL wide receivers Quez Watkins and Jason Brownlee, Hall has been unsuccessful up until this point in finding a compatible quarterback to bring out the best in the offense. This year alone, three quarterbacks have seen playing time, while a total of 11 quarterbacks have fielded snaps over the last three seasons – not including the team’s usage of the “super back.”
During a recent appearance on the Mississippi Farm Bureau High School Football Scoreboard Show, White reaffirmed his commitment to the Golden Eagles, saying he’s ready to make it to Hattiesburg and begin competing for the job.
“I’ll sign December 20 and then head to Hattiesburg whenever we go to school in January, so I’ll be down there for the spring and really looking forward to getting down there and getting to work,” White said. “They’ve got a great quarterback room down there, so I’m really looking forward to competing and learning the inside and out of the offense and really all of the defenses and the defensive schemes.”
Joining White in those in the class of 2024 currently committed to the Golden Eagles are:
- OT Larry Edwards, Humphreys County
- CB Vernorrius Chaney, Hinds CC
- DL Caleb Moore, Oak Grove
- S Damion Miller, Port Gibson
- DL Miles Adams, Flomanton (Ala.)
- DL Aaron Travis, Grenada
- WR TK Keyes, Taylorsville
- IOL Elijah Baker, Hattiesburg
- DL Zay Lowery, West Point
- OT Greg Nunnery, Mississippi Gulf Coast CC
- TE Reed Jesiolowski, Hartfield
- DL Jalen Owens, Oak Grove
- RB Jalen Washington, Houston
- LB Christopher Jones, Hartfield
- OT Hastings Carruth, Southwest Mississippi CC
- TE Tyler Fortenberry, Copiah-Lincoln CC
Southern Miss (3-8, 2-5 SBC) will wrap up the 2023 campaign on Saturday against Troy (9-2, 6-1). Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. and can be watched on ESPNU.
