The humidity was suffocating as the Golden Eagles took the practice field for the 11th time this fall. It was their third day in full pads, with most of the session focused on situational scenarios across roughly 50 live ball snaps.
“We got a lot of great situational work in today, a lot of live tackling,” said head coach Will Hall.
Two key points stood out during today's live-action football:
The Defense Had a Poor Day.
The defense struggled significantly, failing to excel in any area. While some inconsistency is expected as they work to understand the scheme, the unit has had a few consecutive practices where they haven't looked as sharp as they did early in camp.
Whether it was poor tackling, busted coverages, or wrong reads, the defense didn’t compete at the level they’re generally expected to. "Yeah, maybe so," Hall said regarding the tackling being high and out of control. "Early on, JQ broke a tackle or two."
I counted three or more plays with over 20-yard completions where the secondary wasn’t even running stride for stride with the wide receivers. There were also a few instances where receivers were running free, and the quarterbacks simply missed them.
However, the defense managed to bounce back at the very end of practice when the offense went into two-point conversion drills. They stopped both offensive units, with Ques McNeil even securing an interception to seal the day for the defense.
On Saturday, the team will hold their second full scrimmage, and this is the main area I’ll be watching to see if it improves when the team is live again. It’s one thing to perform in shells; it’s another to take live game reps.
I expect them to bounce back, though; not every practice can they look terrific. It's nothing that concerns me as of yet. The front seven still continues to excel; it's really the back end that worries me the most and where most of the deficiencies have been thus far other than tackling.
JQ Gray Has Potential at Running Back.
I thought JQ Gray had one of his better days at running back. He’s really seeing the holes in the line well, and he emphasized the importance of getting multiple reps per practice to develop his strengths.
“It’s all just reps. Once you keep doing it back-to-back-to-back, you start to find your groove,” Gray said. “My offensive line is putting in a lot of work, so I have to make sure I reward them.”
There was a play today where Gray was run out wide for a swing pass from Crawford, and he made two defenders miss before bursting up the middle with incredible acceleration. While he may not be pushing Kenyon Clay for the second-string running back spot just yet, Gray has the potential to help Southern Miss in the low red zone and in certain packages.
“I thought JQ Gray slipped a few tackles, which he has been doing,” Hall said. “He had a great goal-line run too. He’s so powerful, compact, and slippery. A lot of little guys like that are great goal-line runners. He had a good goal-line run down there.”
Southern Miss will be back in action tomorrow morning in shells.
