RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Southern Miss football held its final scrimmage of the preseason on Aug. 22 at Renasant Stadium .
All eyes continue to be on the Golden Eagles' three-man quarterback competition involving seniors Ethan Hampton and Landry Lyddy and sophomore John White. Hampton, who is recovering from a hand injury, did not play in the scrimmage.
"He felt the best he's felt since the injury a week ago today," coach Blake Anderson said. "He wasn't ready to go today, but we've got two days that are super recovery-oriented. I would expect on Tuesday that he's full go and back to normal operations."
Hampton's absence allowed Lyddy and White to split snaps. Neither quarterback turned the ball over and Lyddy threw one touchdown to Illinois transfer Mario Sanders. As the 2026 season creeps closer, Anderson still does not have a set date by which he would like to name a starter, but he said he is nearing a decision.
"We're getting close to making that decision," Anderson said. "I don't know exactly when it's going to come, but we're approaching it pretty quick."
Here's what else Southern Miss players and coaches had to say about the scrimmage.
Defense won the day
Southern Miss' defense showed improvement from the first scrimmage to the second, allowing fewer explosive plays through the air and tackling more consistently.
"It felt on the field like the defense had a better day than the offense," Anderson said. "Good to see the defense have a good day and compete the way they did."
The defense tallied eight sacks and forced a turnover on downs at the goal line. The secondary in particular had a good showing. While it did not force any turnovers, the unit did have multiple pass breakups in the end zone that prevented touchdowns.
"I feel like we've been doing that all spring," junior cornerback Champ Lewis said. "Showing consistency on the deep ball and just being real physical. We didn't really give up too many catches in the back end."
Offensive line is taking shape
Southern Miss coaches have not decided on what the starting offensive line will be, but several players are starting to stand out.
Seniors Joe Rounds and Dante Devine are beginning to solidify themselves as starters at center and right tackle respectively while juniors Braden Cain and Larry Edwards, who missed the scrimmage with an injury, are competing for the starting spot at left tackle. Questions remain about who will step up at each guard position.
"We've got to figure out the interior pieces," Southern Miss offensive line coach Sean Coughlin said. "I think the edges are kind of starting to solidify themselves... I've been really, really pleased with the way they've worked, but obviously we've got two weeks left and we've still got a lot of work to do to figure out who's gonna be the first five to go out there."
WR Davis Dalton, TE Tyler Lassiter out with injuries
Senior receiver Davis Dalton has missed both scrimmages with a hamstring injury. The injury is day-to-day and Anderson expects that he will be available to play in the season opener.
Sophomore linebacker Tyler Lassiter starred in the first scrimmage with an interception and a sack, but missed the second scrimmage with a concussion.
"He's in (concussion) protocol," Anderson said. "It will probably take a few days, maybe towards the end of the week, but we will get him back."
Other absences included Edwards, who has a laceration on his foot that is expected to take a few days to heal, and redshirt freshman offensive lineman Toby Mealer, who is recovering from mononucleosis.
Davis Wilson covers Southern Miss athletics and Hattiesburg news for the Hattiesburg American. Email him at [email protected] or find him on X at @Davis_Wilson.
This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: What Southern Miss coach Blake Anderson said about QB battle, football's final scrimmage
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