Emerging Leader Nasim Cairo Working to Establish Southern Miss Defensive Line's Identity

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Among the many questions Southern Miss had coming into fall camp, one of the biggest was about how a brand-new defensive line would look and whether it would be able to produce enough pressure to help out the linebackers and defensive backs behind it.

Overall, that question remains as fall camp wraps up this week, but Nasim Cairo has not needed much time to show Southern Miss defensive coordinator Joe Bolden what made him such a productive player through three seasons at Southeast Missouri State.

'Quick. Explosive. Violent.'

Southern Miss Football, Nasim Cairo — Southern Miss defensive lineman Nasim Cairo (#5) going through fall camp drills. | Southern Miss Athletics

The 6-foot-2, 280-pound redshirt-senior has brought quickness, explosiveness and a physical edge to the Golden Eagles' defensive front, along with the kind of energy Bolden believes can spread throughout an entire unit. In fact, Bolden's evaluation of Cairo was so complimentary that he suggested slightly different measurements might have put the veteran defensive lineman on an even bigger stage.

"He's quick, he's explosive, he's violent at the point of attack," Bolden said. "Really, everything you want in a defensive lineman. If my man was 6-3, 280-290 pounds, we wouldn't be talking about him right now."

Cairo isn't exactly far from that description. Listed at 6-2 and 280 pounds, he's only an inch shy of the height Bolden referenced and falls within the weight range as well, having added about 10 pounds since his time at SEMO. More importantly for Southern Miss, the other traits Bolden values have little to do with a tape measure.

'An Energizer Bunny'

Before missing last season with a devastating ankle injury, Cairo started all 13 games for SEMO in 2024, finishing with 40 tackles (13 solo), 5.5 tackles for loss and four sacks en route to being named Second-Team All-Ohio Valley Conference-Big South.

Through fall camp, Cairo has emerged as an energetic and disruptive presence for a defensive line being asked to play fast and create havoc in the backfield from a variety of different fronts.

“Number one, it’s like [he’s] an Energizer bunny. I love seeing it,” Bolden said of Cairo during the second week of fall camp. “I can look at him right in the eyes and he knows exactly what I’m thinking."

That connection with his coach hasn't only helped him individually, but also has helped him develop as a leader.

"He’ll turn around, he’ll get the defense rolling," Bolden said. "Same thing with [Mathis] Haygood and those guys. Those guys that are really embracing what Coach A had talked about in regards to leadership. Nasim has been a great addition.”

Defensive Line Building an Identity

Southern Miss Football — Southern Miss defensive line coach Jerone Steckel and his guys go through drills during the first week of fall camp practice. | Josh House

Although Bolden is the overall orchestrator of a Golden Eagles' defense looking to build a "fast and physical" identity, Cairo credits Southern Miss defensive line coach Jerone Steckel with setting the tone for the big guys up front.

“Coach Steck preaches: ‘We're not going to just sit on the ball. We're going to get off the ball every play.’ Every play we got to get off the ball, take a good step, strike somebody, get in the backfield, because we want to create havoc," Cairo said after Monday's practice.

"We want [tackles for losses], we want sacks, we want to disrupt quarterbacks. We want to get quarterbacks out the game. You know what I'm saying? So for us to be that defensive line, being in the backfield is very important. Very important.”

When it comes to overall defensive schemes, including a handful of different fronts that Bolden could throw out there, Cairo says the goal is to keep the opposing offenses guessing every down.

“We're going to run a lot,” Cairo said. “We're not just going to be in one thing. Coach Bolden has done a great job with just teaching us and showing us that we can make plays out of different fronts. … Keeps the offense on their toes.”

Cairo went into more detail on some of the different stunts the defensive line will use as well: “We will run a lot of stunts, whether it's in pass or whether it's in run. … We have a wide playbook, so different fronts, different stunts out of different fronts. But we'll also just be base and just play ball and get off the ball and not move every play. I don't think we're going to be moving every single play, but there's going to be a good amount where we're going to be moving.”

Looking to Fix the 'Little Things'

Southern Miss Football, Jerone Steckel — Southern Miss defensive line coach Jerone Steckel and his players going through drills during a Golden Eagles' fall camp practice. | Josh House

During the Golden Eagles' first fall camp scrimmage last weekend, the defense, while not perfect, showed flashes of the identity it wants to achieve as chemistry continues to build. Guys were flying around, making some big plays and letting the offense know about it when they did.

“Man, I feel like we played fast and physical,” Cairo said. “That's really a big thing that we preach is getting off the ball, striking, setting that edge, and just really just being a dominant force."

The Golden Eagles' offensive line had a decent scrimmage, especially in the first half, but as the day progressed into the second half, the defensive front appeared to get stronger. Whether that was the defensive front truly getting stronger or merely the offensive line being fatigued two weeks into fall camp is a fair question, but no matter which way you want to slice it, the defense racked up nine sacks on the day. That's impressive, scrimmage or not.

"The offensive line had a couple of good runs that we could squeeze better, be in the right gap," Cairo said. "But overall, I felt like we really had a good day and showed that we can make plays when it matters. Had a lot of sacks, had a lot of tackles, too. … Just got to be better on the little things.”

Cairo's energy, experience and willingness to hold himself and others accountable have helped him quickly emerge as one of the main voices Bolden can lean on within the defensive unit.

Saturday's Fan Fest scrimmage, which will kick off at 11 a.m. at The Rock, will provide Cairo and the Golden Eagles one final fall-camp opportunity to put that growing identity on display before attention fully shifts toward the season opener. If Cairo continues setting the tone the way he has throughout camp, he'll play a big part in determining just how effective this Southern Miss defense can be this season.

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