Southern Miss building a top transfer class in the country
Southern Miss is taking full advantage of the controversial and crowded transfer portal this offseason.
The portal offers NCAA athletes the opportunity to put their name out there for other coaches to see, find and recruit.
The introduction of the portal and the one-time transfer policy has led to a record number of football players transferring from their schools.
The Golden Eagles are not immune to this phenomenon. At least 13 USM players have entered the portal since August. The portal works both ways, though, and head coach Will Hall and staff have worked to use college football’s free agency as a roster-strengthening tool.
As it stands at the time of this writing, USM has the No. 1 transfer portal class in Conference USA, according to 247sports.com . Beyond that, it even has the top class across the entire Group of Five and lands just inside the top 15 nationally.
Southern Miss currently has three transfers signed and seven more committed to continue their careers in Hattiesburg. Of the 10 total, eight of them are transferring in from Mississippi State and Ole Miss.
Defensive back Janari Dean from Mississippi State and Ole Miss linebacker Daylen Gill have already signed their national letter of intents and represent two of the three non-line of scrimmage players added in the class, so far.
The most recent addition, Ole Miss transfer Tylan Knight, is the third non-scrimmage player and one who will likely make an instant impact. Knight has one year left after playing all three phases for the Rebels.
Knight projects to be a key special teams player and adds depth to the Golden Eagle secondary.
The other seven will all arrive in trenches with five of them being defensive linemen. Hall’s staff has placed an emphasis on adding size and D-I ready talent up front. Among the notable names is Ole Miss offensive lineman Bryce Ramsey.
Ramsey is a Harrison Central graduate who had an offer from USM out of high school. He got his first piece of extended action on offense in 2021 as a rotation player at guard and center. The Golden Eagles struggled to find consistency along its front five last season and the addition of the 336-pounder will add some stability.
On the other side of the line, USM is adding production in Ole Miss transfer Quentin Bivens. The interior lineman recorded 35 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks for the Rebels.
Armondous Cooley from Mississippi State transfers in as a 300-pound run-stuffing defensive tackle who will also add depth to the “Nasty Bunch.” Cooley did not appear in a game for the Bulldogs but drew plenty of interest out of high school, getting offers from Oregon and Tennessee among others.
Other commitments include defensive lineman Jalen Williams from Arkansas, offensive lineman Calvin McMillian from Mississippi State, and defensive lineman Aaron Odom from Mississippi State while defensive lineman Jalil Clemons has signed by way of Memphis.
The late signing period begins on Feb. 2.
