The defense strikes back

During fall camp this year it's been a constant back and forth game of one-upmanship between the Southern Miss offensive and defensive units. It's been a topic of conversation from pretty much the beginning of camp.

On Saturday that trend continued, with the defense having an outstanding showing in the second scrimmage of fall camp.

Offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson limited senior quarterback Nick Mullens during Saturday's scrimmage to help get younger signal callers more snaps.

BGN reported early last week that Southern Miss had began to emphasize creating turnovers during practice and had spent extended time on rip drills and batting passes. The extra work paid off.

After not creating a turnover during the first scrimmage the cagy Eagle defense feasted on during the second scrimmage.

The defense produced a pair of pick six touchdowns. Picasso Nelson, Jr. returned his interception for a 50 yard score. Ernest Gunn bested Nelson by returning his interception for a 69 yard touchdown.

Senior D'Nerius Antoine and walk-on Allen Falls, Jr. each recovered fumbles.

Despite the showing by the Southern Miss defense the offense was not shut out.

Junior Parker Adamson converted on two short touchdown strikes to senior D.J. Thompson of 10 and five yards, while freshman Keon Howard threw a 40-yard scoring toss to freshman Quez Watkins and a 25-yard TD pass to senior Jarell Aaron.

Expect this back and forth to continue, in many ways it's what you want to see, two competitive units who show the ability to adjust and improve.

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Lanny Mixon can be reached at BigGoldNation@yahoo.com and he can be heard each Mon-Thurs on the Pine Belt Sports Drive at 5:00 PM CST on NewsRadio98.1 WMXI-FM in Laurel/Hattiesburg.