A beautiful Hattiesburg morning paved the way for a practice that was just as beautiful according to head coach Will Hall. Hall described the practice as having “a lot of juice”, and he was impressed with how his players competed ahead of Saturday’s difficult road matchup against Coastal Carolina.
One thing that makes this weekend’s game a little bit easier is the fact that Coastal Carolina’s elite starting quarterback, Grayson McCall, has been ruled out for the next three-to-six weeks. McCall’s backup is very experienced in his own right, as Bryce Carpenter steps in as a fifth-year senior. Since joining the Chanticleers in 2018, Carpenter has 1,905 passing yards with 18 touchdowns and five interceptions. He has been seen primarily as a rusher this season, and he has 892 yards and five touchdowns on the ground in his career. Prior to McCall’s injury, Carpenter threw a 31-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, so Carpenter is used to having a role in the offense.
Will Hall was asked prior to the news whether or not his team’s preparation would change with McCall’s status unknown.
“No, because we've seen the other guy they play with, and he's a really good player too. They're going to run their offense regardless,” Hall said. “Obviously, McCall is a great, great player and a proven player. But their other quarterback played last week against App State and played well. We know Coach Chadwell and what they're going to do offensively.”
While Coastal Carolina seemingly has their quarterback situation locked down, Southern Miss is in quite an opposite position. Hall said following Tuesday’s practice that they would play “a lot of guys'' at quarterback, and today’s depth chart backs up that claim. Zach Wilcke, Trey Lowe and Jake Lange were all listed as “ORs” on today’s depth chart, meaning they all could play. However, today he had a different answer when asked if he knew who his starting quarterback would be.
“Yeah, but I’m not gonna tell you,” Hall joked. “I’m sorry, but that’d be a disadvantage for our program.”
Hall does not want to give away the quarterback situation, but one quarterback in particular seemed to get more first-team reps than the others. Lowe took the majority of the starter reps, though the Superbacks got a lot of action, too. Wilcke took the bulk of the second-team reps, and Lange took the third-team reps in most cases. It is not a guarantee that Lowe will be named the starter, but he is certainly the leader in the clubhouse based on what we have seen at practice.
Jakarius Caston returned to practice Tuesday, and he continued practicing today. Hall believes Caston will be back for Saturday’s game, but his status may have more doubt than Hall is leading on. Caston’s right hamstring was heavily taped today, and he spent the second half of practice doing stretching and running instead of running routes with the team. He may very well be back after missing the better part of four games, but his status is one to keep an eye on. He was listed as an “OR” with Ty Mims, who has shined in Caston’s absence.
One player that has little to no chance on returning Saturday is Janari Dean. Dean is still in the apparent concussion protocol, and Hall said he will be a game-time decision. His status is doubtful at best, so Kenyon Clay will play in his third game of the season. Clay takes the role of the “bruiser” back in Dean’s absence, though he will only be able to play in one more game if he wants to have a redshirt year.
Not much else has changed on the depth chart. Eric Scott Jr. is listed as the starter at left cornerback, so he should be good to go. Natrone Brooks remains the starting punt returner despite being seemingly benched in favor of Mims following a fumble against Georgia State. There has been no change on the offensive line, and the defense appears to be locked in.
The Golden Eagles have their hands full this weekend as they face the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina Saturday, November 12 at 6:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
