Southern Miss O-Line Has Plenty of Competition as Sean Coughlin Searches for Best Five

The Golden Eagles still have decisions to make up front, but overall, Sean Coughlin believes he has a deeper offensive line room now than he did last year.

Southern Miss offensive line coach Sean Coughlin gives instructions during a fall camp practice. | Josh House

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss may have officially reached the end of fall camp on Saturday, but offensive line coach Sean Coughlin is still having trouble zeroing in on his top five guys.

The Golden Eagles have dealt with plenty of moving pieces up front over the last several weeks. Veteran Brock Roman medically retired. The eligibility statuses of Aloali'i Maui and Greg Nunnery Jr. remain uncertain. Injuries have limited a few other players. And Coughlin still has to decide which players will start in the season opener two weeks from now.

Those will be tough decisions to make, but at least Coughlin has plenty of options to choose this year. After Saturday's Fan Fest scrimmage, Coughlin gave his assessment of an offensive line that remains a work in progress but one he believes possesses significantly more playable depth than it did a season ago.

Roman's Retirement Leaves a Hole, But Coughlin Likes the Room's Depth

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Redshirt-senior offensive lineman Brock Roman's unexpected medical retirement last week carried a little more weight for Coughlin than the typical roster departure would. The two had already spent time together at Eastern Michigan before reuniting at Southern Miss, and Roman entered fall camp as one of the most experienced pieces of an offensive line needing some continuity.

"Obviously, Brock was with me at Eastern Michigan. We spent a lot of time together," Coughlin said. "Great kid, competitive player. In his career, he's had a lot of bumps and bangs along the way."

Those injuries eventually caught up with Roman, as Coughlin said the veteran was dealing with stingers during fall camp that made him question if it was really worth continuing to play.

"He got one the other day, and just some of the thoughts he had with it, and he came in and talked to me for a while," Coughlin said. "We talked about it, and I just said, 'Look, man, if that's your feelings, you got my full support. I love you, and I wish you nothing but the best.'"

Losing a player who has logged that much college football would hurt any offensive line, but Roman's absence hasn't changed Coughlin's belief that Southern Miss has added enough bodies to withstand a loss like that better than it would have a year ago.

Southern Miss' offensive line running through drills at fall camp. | Josh House

Coughlin estimates there are still "10 to 12 guys" who could potentially help the Golden Eagles in some capacity.

"We brought all these guys in and told them, 'Look, you got an opportunity to compete and take the job,'" Coughlin said. "The thing that's really good ... is that we have more depth than we did a season ago."

That depth allowed Coughlin to shuffle combinations throughout fall camp, and any player can move up on the depth chart after any given practice. That's how tight some of these competitions have been.

"We've been constantly flip-flopping them and making them earn everything they get," Coughlin said. "I've been proud of the way they've worked. We've got a lot of work to do, but I feel like we're continuing to come along."

Joe Round Emerging at Center as Tackle Battles Remain At Large

Southern Miss center Joe Rounds (#50) puts in work during a Golden Eagles fall camp practice. | Josh House

If there is one position Coughlin sounds comfortable penciling in a starter at right now, it's center.

Redshirt-senior Joe Round has positioned himself at the front of that competition despite fellow redshirt-junior Luke Rogers receiving work there and Maui providing another experienced option if his eligibility situation ultimately allows him to play.

"Right now, I'm still repping [Maui and Nunnery] to keep them ready, but I'm planning like I don't have them right now," Coughlin said. "If they do come back, it's just an added bonus."

The uncertainty of Maui’s situation has only increased the importance of Round's progression.

"I feel like Joe's done a really, really good job," Coughlin said. "People look at him, and they say he's a 5-11 guy, but he's a big, thick kid. He's long-armed for his height, but man, he is physical."

The next step for Round, though, according to Coughlin, is taking full ownership of everything that comes with playing the center position.

"The thing I've been trying to push to him is, 'Hey, you got to push this tempo. You got to push the communication. That's on you. You got to take control of that," Coughlin said. "And I think he's starting to do that better."

Southern Miss Offensive Line running through drills at Fall Camp. | Josh House

On the edges of the offensive line, neck-and-neck competitions will continue on leading up to the season opener. Coffeyville Community College junior transfer Dante "Duke" Devine emerged as one of fall camp's pleasant surprises at right tackle for the Golden Eagles, with Christian Young continuing to compete alongside him.

Devine's 6-foot-7, 325-pound frame already jumps off the page, but Coughlin has been even more impressed by the energy he's brought to the room.

"He's got that mindset and a mentality where he just goes, goes, goes," Coughlin said. "He's like the Energizer Bunny out there. You watch some of the practices, he's the one flying down the field picking the [running] back up."

Southern Miss offensive lineman Dante Devine (#54) goes through drills during fall camp. | Josh House

On the other side, junior linemen Larry Edwards and Braden Cain have given Coughlin two options he feels comfortable putting on the field.

Edwards is a familiar face who has been around for a few years now and has grown from roughly 240 pounds when he first got to Southern Miss to around 300 now. Cain is one of the Golden Eagles’ many newcomers, but has experience from playing at Texas Southern.

Edwards missing recent practices due to a an injury has given Cain additional reps and, in Coughlin's words, "a little bit of an upper hand" for now.

"I feel like those two guys on the left side, we're in a really good situation, whichever one is out there," Coughlin said.

The Interior Remains Southern Miss' Biggest O-Line Question

Southern Miss offensive linemen convene during a Golden Eagles fall camp practice. | Josh House

While the center and tackle spots have things narrowed down a little bit, the guard positions are where Coughlin still has the most sorting to do. Rogers, Zerian Hudson, Brayden Warner and Casey Jean-Baptiste are all among the names in the mix, while redshirt-freshman Toby Mealer could further complicate the competition when he returns from having mono in a week or so.

"The thing we got to solidify and figure out is what's going to happen on the interior next to Joe, because I think Joe's kind of put himself in that spot," Coughlin said. "But is it going to be Luke? Is it Zerian Hudson? Where's Brayden Warner in the mix?"

Even with all the uncertainties, Coughlin views the number of legitimate candidates as an advantage.

"What I love about it is that we can sub guys, and rotate guys, and keep guys fresh," Coughlin said. "And if we have guys we can count on, if you prove to me that I can trust you on game day [and] on the practice field, then I'm not going to be afraid to put you in."

Southern Miss offensive linemen warm up during a fall camp practice. | Josh House

That philosophy has also led Coughlin to move linemen around throughout camp. Young, for example, received snaps at left tackle Saturday when Nunnery went out, giving Southern Miss another look at what contingency plans could look like when injuries happen during the season.

This puzzle was never going to be one that was solved overnight, but Coughlin has a little better idea of how the pieces could fit now than he did three weeks ago when fall camp began.

Southern Miss offensive lineman Casey Jean-Baptiste during the first week of fall camp in Hattiesburg. | Josh House

"I think the edges are starting to solidify themselves," Coughlin said. "But obviously we've got two weeks left, and we still got a lot of work to do to figure out who's going to be the first five that go out there. ... Don't be surprised if we're playing eight or nine of them."

As of Saturday's scrimmage, the starting five on the offensive line was: Devine (RT), Rogers (RG), Rounds (C), Hudson (LG) and Cain (LT). We'll see how that holds over these next two weeks.

Developing the Young Guys

Southern Miss true freshman offensive lineman Grant Kitchens (#68) gaining experience during a Golden Eagles' fall camp practice. | Josh House

Southern Miss' offensive line depth isn't limited to players expected to contribute immediately. Coughlin is also overseeing the development of several young linemen who could become important pieces in the room later on, including Grant Kitchens, who is the only true freshman offensive lineman on the roster.

For Kitchens, the transition from Nanih Waiya to Division I college football has required essentially learning a brand new version of offensive line play.

"He played at Nanih Waiya, and they're just down block, smash everybody, and run behind Grant, right?" Coughlin said. "So this sis completely different. He's never really taken a true pass set when he was in high school."

That makes the 6-foot-7, 330-pound prospect's development a longer-term process, but Coughlin has already seen tangible progress. During Saturday's scrimmage, Kitchens correctly reacted to a blitz while working in a five-man protection, which is the type of play Coughlin views as an important checkpoint for a freshman still getting his feet wet at this level.

Southern Miss offensive line coach Sean Coughlin giving directions during a Golden Eagles fall camp practice. | Josh House

"That's big growth in my opinion, from a young kid that just down blocked to the left and down blocked to the right," Coughlin said. "So I think Grant's got some tools. He's massive."

Improving Kitchens' foot speed remains a priority, but Coughlin praised his willingness to work on the necessary fundamentals. His time to shine might not be this year, but you can see the foundation being laid, and he has a lot of good veterans to soak in knowledge from.

Mealer, meanwhile, could have a more immediate opportunity once he's healthy again: "I think Toby's a tough, hard-nosed dude," Coughlin said. "He's a big man. He's 6-5. He's 330 pounds. He's strong as all get out."

Coughlin believes Mealer showed significant development in the spring, and he began fall camp getting a lot of first-team reps before being sidelined. Look for him to make another push for a starting spot once he returns to action.

These next two weeks for this Southern Miss offensive line room will be about turning competition into continuity. Coughlin may not have his starting five set yet, but with the season opener against Alcorn State less than two weeks away, time is running thin, and tough decisions will soon have to be made.

Stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI for more football content throughout next week when the Golden Eagles resume practice.