HATTIESBURG, MS – With the 2022 football season just days away, Will Hall’s Golden Eagles look ahead to a brand-new season. But with all the talk of the offense, this article turns the focus to defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong’s bunch and discusses whether or not the defense can return to its ‘Nasty Bunch’ banner.

Armstrong brings back a defense with six returning starters, who brought the squad to a No. 42 total defense ranking in the nation last season.

They would have had seven returning starters but lost star linebacker Hayes Maples for the entire season.

Armstrong and Hall have praised the linebacker room, touting that if USM had to lose someone out of a room, it would be in that room, so it seems like they will be able to adjust without Maples.

Who to Watch For:

Defensive line:

Hall and company added ten transfer players from the SEC this offseason. Three of those SEC transfers are on the defensive line, with junior Quentin Bivens from Ole Miss, freshman Armondous Cooley and redshirt sophomore Jalen Williams coming in from Mississippi State.

Sophomore Brodarius Lewis has also flashed in preseason camp, and he will be a force to be reckoned with this season. The defensive line, most importantly, has three complete lines of rotation.

Last season, Southern Miss tallied just 23 sacks. While that is an improvement from 16 sacks in 2020, Armstrong and defensive line coach Brandon Lacy are set up for better success this season.

Linebackers:

Obviously, the Maples injury hurt a lot. If Southern Miss had Maples going into this season, this might be the most vital room of the defense.

Names you’ll want to know before game one are senior Swayze Bozeman and senior Ole Miss transfer Daylen Gill.

Bozeman accompanied Hall and wide receiver Jason Brownlee to Sun Belt Media Days in July, whom Hall has recognized as a strong leader on the team. Bozeman played a good deal last season and registered 20 personal tackles, but Hall has praised him as a “significantly improved player.”
Gill showed he is a force to be reckoned with- his on-field presence during fall camp was felt. It seemed like he was in the backfield on every snap.
“[He’s] a great football player that plays the game the way it’s supposed to be played. [He’s a] real physical guy [and] a tough guy. I’m glad he is on our team,” Hall said about Gill.

Another name you will want to get to know is TQ Newsome. Newsome has flashed in fall camp enough to get mentioned several times by Hall in his media availability.
If the linebackers can be improved from last season, this could be a nasty front seven. All in all, the linebackers are set up for a great season, even without the blow of losing Maples.

Defensive Backs:

The passing defense ranked one of the worst in the country in 2020, and last season, the Golden Eagles aimed to change that.
In 2021, they moved up quite a bit and had a better secondary, but this season, they could be set up for a standout secondary.

They return Malik Shorts and are adding another key Ole Miss transfer in the secondary in Tylan Knight. Knight has flashed in fall camp, and along with him, Jay Stanley and Natrone Brooks return to the secondary. This is a very talented and experienced secondary that should propose challenges for the offenses they play.

The defense will look different with new faces, but the scheme and coach will look the same. Last season, Southern Miss’ depth held them out from being able to compete in games past the first half. The team would run out of gas.

“Fans think of that depth as games, but the practice is where it matters most. Now we’ve got three full groups of o-linemen with some extra to go on top of that. We have three full groups of d-linemen with some extra…we can practice the right way,” Hall said.

The increased depth and the added skill players should enable this team to have the chance to get back the “nasty bunch” mantra.
“We just got more dogs- that’s really what it is,” Shorts said about this season’s unit.

The defense will have a significant test to start the season against Liberty on Sept. 3, but they will be ready to go.