Southern Miss football transfer portal: Three positions to prioritize for 2024 season

HATTIESBURG – Southern Miss football is retaining coach Will Hall for the 2024 season. Yet, significant changes are still expected – some already done with the firing of four assistant coaches.

Hall has also said recently that the Golden Eagles are looking to add around 15 new players to the roster via the transfer portal.

Last year, Southern Miss made key additions from the portal in quarterback Billy Wiles, running back Dreke Clark, safety Dylan Lawrence, cornerback M.J. Daniels and offensive lineman Gabe Cavazos Jr.

Here are three positions that Southern Miss needs to prioritize in the transfer portal:

TRANSFER PORTAL TRACKER: Southern Miss football transfer portal tracker: Who is joining, leaving via portal

Wide receiver

Hall mentioned the need for a wide receiver from the transfer portal on Monday’s SuperTalk Eagle Hour radio show, so this is a bit of a gimme, but definitely true.

Southern Miss’ top two receivers – Jakarius Caston and Latreal Jones – have both graduated. That leaves Ti Mims as the top returning wide receiver, who caught 39 passes for 445 yards and two touchdowns. Junior Tyquan Henderson is the next-best returning wide receiver, and he caught only nine passes for 90 yards and one touchdown.

Mims is uniquely talented, but at 5-foot-9, he’s probably not who Southern Miss wants to rely on for contested catches that can win on the outside. Freshman J.J. Butler is a name to watch as someone Hall mentioned as an improving player multiple times during the season.

Finding one or two plug-and-play wide receivers should be at the top of the list.

Linebacker

Hayes Maples and Swayze Bozeman have both played their final games with Southern Miss, and so has T.Q. Newsome, who will be attending medical school next year, Averie Habas and Josh Carr Jr.

That’s a lot of experience that Southern Miss must replace.

The good news is Jalil Clemons returns after leading the Golden Eagles in sacks. Ja’Len Sims is seasoned, and Eric Thomas seemed to come along at the end of the season. Kolbe Cage was a notable transfer from Arizona last season and will probably be leaned on more in 2024.

It will be an interesting task for inside linebackers coach Chad Williams, and for whoever Southern Miss hires to replace defensive coordinator Dan O’Brien and outside linebackers coach Mark Criner.

NEW OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR: Southern Miss football to name new offensive coordinator for 2024; OLB coach fired

Offensive line

This is probably on every single team’s list; you can’t really have too many offensive linemen.

But for Southern Miss’ sake, it must retool its offensive line that is projected to lose four of its five starters.

Cavazos, a redshirt junior next season, is the only starter slated to return. He started the final seven games at left tackle. Sophomore Kyron Barnes started the first five games at right tackle, but fell into a reserve role for the rest of the season. Redshirt junior Matt Ryals made two spot starts at left guard, but that’s it.

Based on the depth chart from the last game of the season, Cavazos is in line to start at left tackle, Ryals at left guard, Drew Lawson or Luke Rogers at center, Wil Saxton at right guard and Peyton McKinion at right tackle.

Those could be good options, but inexperienced as a unit.

Other positions of need

Tight end, defensive back and defensive line.

Sam Sklar is the Southern Miss beat reporter for the Hattiesburg American. Email him at ssklar@hattiesb.gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.

This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: 3 positions for Southern Miss football to prioritize in transfer portal