Jeremy McClain Speaks on Southern Miss Football Expectations Under HC Blake Anderson

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – This time last year, Southern Miss football had something it hadn’t had in quite some time: buzz.

Charles Huff had arrived, the transfer portal was paying off, and excitement surrounded the Golden Eagles from the first day of training camp. Then Southern Miss backed it up with its play on the field.

A 7-2 start to the 2025 season had Eagle Nation believing again. The Rock was alive, fans were showing up, and for the first time in years, meaningful football in November was taking place in Hattiesburg.

Sometimes all a fan base needs is a reason to believe. Southern Miss gave everyone that reason before injuries changed the story. One weekend, you're in the driver's seat for a Sun Belt Championship berth, the next, the season has slipped away. And then to add insult to injury, Huff left for Memphis after just one year coaching the Golden Eagles.

This year, the conversation around the football program feels different. There isn’t the same buzz surrounding Southern Miss entering the season. Blake Anderson, despite having ample success as a DI head coach throughout his career, wasn't the flashy hire that Huff was, and the team is quite literally "starting from scratch" due to unprecedented roster turnover, but maybe that’s exactly why this season is so intriguing.

In a recent interview with The Pine Belt News' Dima Mixon, Southern Miss Athletic Director Jeremy McClain made it clear that Anderson wasn’t simply the easy choice after Huff’s departure.

“We went pretty hard, actually," McClain said of the program's coaching search. "It was a short window, but we were prepared and ready to go because we kind of knew it might happen. It became pretty obvious to us that the best candidate in the market was the person who was in the building with us.”

That quote tells you this wasn’t simply a promotion for the sake of continuity. McClain made it clear he believed Anderson was the best candidate for the job.

However, despite Anderson facing some challenges for this upcoming season due to the number of new faces on the roster, the expectations for Southern Miss football haven't changed.

“The baseline for us should be playing in a bowl game,” McClain said. “I’m not saying that every year we win six games we should be thrilled. I don’t really function that way.”

He continued: “I think that should be where we need to be. Then it’s about trying to figure out how you get to eight or nine or 10 wins a year and put yourself in a position to win championships.”

That has always been the standard for Southern Miss football, despite the program struggling to find consistency over the last 15 years.

McClain also commented on the importance of playing meaningful games late in the season. “I think ultimately it’s about playing really important games in November. Southern Miss should be in that position every year.”

Ironically, that’s exactly where Southern Miss found itself a year ago with a brand-new head coach before the season got derailed at the end. So with that in mind, here are a couple of questions worth asking:

What if Anderson proves his biggest critics wrong? What if "starting from scratch" refers exclusively to roster building and not the win column? What if this new roster develops quicker than expected? What if Southern Miss is right back in the Sun Belt race come November?

No one outside the building is talking much about Southern Miss football right now, but that’s okay. This program has a storied history that was built on being an underdog.

Last year’s team proved how quickly things can change in college football, and maybe this year’s team writes a different ending. If Anderson has Southern Miss playing meaningful football in November, nobody will care how quiet July was.

You can watch the entire interview with McClain below. Stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI for more preseason football coverage over the next two months.

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