Southern Miss football is just over two weeks away from the season- opener against the Liberty Flames. The energy is high, with the football season just around the corner. I talked with head Liberty football beat writer Damien Sordelett of The News and Advance, to preview this matchup and see what Southern Miss fans should expect on September 3, when the Flames roll into Hattiesburg.

Q: What do Liberty fans think about Southern Miss? Do they feel like this is an easy-win game or a challenge?

Damien: “They feel like it’s a challenge. It’s not going to be anything like the 2020 game in Lynchburg where Liberty won 56-35, and honestly, it should have been more of a blowout than that. Liberty’s defense just didn’t show up in the second half and they let Southern Miss get back into that game. Liberty fans do know that 2020 season for Southern Miss was an anomaly with however many coaches the Eagles went through and all the Covid issues, so you can kind of throw that game out the window. You’re looking at a team that’s totally different with Will Hall at the helm, and then he brings in his best friend Sam Gregg to run the offense and offensive line. And obviously, the thousands of fans that were in the stadium for that game got a glimpse of Frank Gore Jr. and realized how dynamic he is and have a feeling he will be a focal point of the team. Also, Liberty fans are very aware of the influx of transfers from Ole Miss and Mississippi State, especially on the defensive line, and how that’s going to be a challenge for Liberty because they’ve had to retool the offensive line [and] they’ve brought in a new position coach. They gave up 51 sacks a year ago, which is an astronomical figure. Can the offensive line hold up against what should be a much more formidable defensive front for Southern Miss?”

Q: Obviously, our readers want to know about the QB situation. Just talk about that.

Damien: “Right now, it’s still a four-horse race between Charlie Brewer, who, between his time at Baylor and Utah, has more than 11,000 yards of total offense and I think 90 total touchdowns- you would think he was the front runner. But they have guys like Johnathan Bennett, who’s been in the system. He’s a fourth-year sophomore with lots of experience, but no college starts. Then you have two redshirt freshmen that Liberty really loves in terms of six-foot-six Nate Hampton and then Kaidon Salter, who transferred from Tennessee and has the athletic ability of a Malik Willis to open up that part of the playbook if they go in that direction. All signs are pointing to Brewer because he has big game experience. He played in the 2020 Sugar Bowl for Baylor, so he’s been on that stage before. I think Bennett might be like the dark horse guy because he’s been in the system for so long, and he knows what to do, and he’s not going to make boneheaded decisions or freshman decisions, I should say.”

Q: Do you have a ballpark timeline of when Head Coach Hugh Freeze will announce the starting QB?

Damien: “If the first scrimmage went as everyone had envisioned it would, we probably would have known a starter about this time now. But he said none of the starters graded out above 80%, and that number needs to be around 90%. Ideally, you probably have a starter announced no later than Tuesday the 23rd. That’s the day after the first day of classes and first in-season practice.

Q: Liberty lost running back Joshua Mack last season, but they gained a Hawai’i transfer, Dae Dae Hunter, who is popping off in practice. Could you talk a little about the running back room?

Damien: “He led Hawai’i in rushing yards with about 650, averaging 6.5 yards per carry. He had two explosive runs in the scrimmage on Sunday. T.J. Greene, who played at Liberty last season after transferring to Utah, he’s another guy who was actually second on the team in rushing last year behind Willis, and he averaged like 6.4 yards per carry, but doesn’t have the explosiveness that Hunter has. Also, Shedro Lewis is probably the fastest player on the team and is also the kickoff returner. He’s the home run threat. He’s five-eight, 170-pounds, and mostly muscle. You got those three that will get the bulk of the carries.”

Q: Liberty lost two receivers from last season but added a bunch from the portal. Could you discuss the WR room?

Damien: “Yeah, they lost Kevin Shaw and DJ Stubbs. Shaw was your home run hitter, and he’s with the Chicago Bears now. You return Demario Douglas, who led the team in receptions and receiving yards last year. He’s a guy that NFL scouts are really high on. He’s very shifty, very twitchy. He runs a four-three-forty. The big name they added out of the portal was Caleb Snead, the six-foot-four wide receiver out of Campbell. He was an FCS All-American last year, bringing a different factor to that wide receiver room. He brings a different dynamic to the receiver room that’s going to make the outside more explosive. And then getting CJ Yarbrough, he has the ability to have a 1,000-yard season and ten touchdowns if he stays healthy.”

Q: So, four returning starters for the defense- talk about them and what USM fans should expect.

Damien: “There are only four returning starters, but you have a ton of experience at the other positions. They’re having to replace a lot of production, but what Liberty has been able to do is to build depth on the defensive line. A guy like Kendy Charles, who was like second on the team in sacks last year despite only starting three games, he’s moving up to defensive tackle. Drake Butler, the Auburn transfer, will get some playing time on the defensive line. Ahmad Walker played 11 games as a true freshman, and he’s looking like he can play quite a bit there at “Will” linebacker next to Mike Smith Jr. Looking at the secondary, Robert Rahimi, who goes by ‘Rocket’,… he’s moving into a starting role at strong safety. Then Quinton Reese, who missed the final seven games of last year with a torn bicep, is moving into nickelback, and he played multiple positions in the secondary last season. So, the defense, especially at the line, is going to be really strong this year. I know Sam Gregg knows this good and well- Liberty’s defensive line is what’s going to get things going.”

Q: Liberty moves into Conference USA in 2023; Southern Miss just came out of Conference USA. Do you think that Liberty going into the CUSA is the best move, or is it just setting up a move further down the road?

Damien: “It’s a little bit of both, I would say. One, Liberty was fine with being independent. If you follow the model of Notre Dame, BYU, and Army, you can have success as an independent. You can get good teams on the schedule. For instance, Liberty has four Power Five teams on the schedule: Wake Forrest, BYU, Arkansas, and Virginia Tech, with BYU and Virginia Tech coming to Lynchburg. Ideally, Liberty wants to be a Power Five program. To get there, you might need to take a detour to a Group of Five conference to build your resume there, and when the time is right, you hope you have the best hand to play in terms of when they’re ready to move up. Both of your assessments are accurate- it was the right move for Liberty, and it’s possibly setting up a potential avenue to getting to a better league.”

You can follow Damian on Twitter and read his coverage of Liberty on newsandadvance.com

Southern Miss opens the season against the Liberty Flames on September 3 at 6 PM. The game will be televised on ESPN+.