Southern Miss Spring Football: Landry Lyddy Brings Familiarity to QB Competition

With spring football about to start, Southern Miss head coach Blake Anderson will start to get an idea of who his next starting QB is in 2026.

Southern Miss Golden Eagles quarterback Landry Lyddy (18) looks to pass against the Texas State Bobcats at M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Miss, on Nov. 15, 2025. / Matt Bush/Special to the Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

HATTIESBURG, Miss – Although Southern Miss didn't finish 2025 the way it had hoped–losing four consecutive games, including the New Orleans Bowl–it still finished the season with a 7-6 record, which was a vast improvement over the 1-11 record that the Golden Eagles had in 2024. Former head coach Charles Huff, who left to be the head coach at Memphis in December, got the Southern Miss football program back on track, and now, first-year head coach Blake Anderson will look to continue that positive momentum for a Golden Eagle fan base that craves consistent, meaningful football in Hattiesburg.

For Anderson to get off to a good start, he'll first need to figure out who his starting quarterback will be for the upcoming season. Last year, Huff brought in a senior Sun Belt championship-winning QB in Braylon Braxton from Marshall to help make the program a winner again. This year, Braxton is gone, but there's a familiar name that could have the upper hand when it comes to being the Golden Eagles' next starting QB.

Southern Miss Golden Eagles quarterback Landry Lyddy (18) looks to pass against the Texas State Bobcats at M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg,Miss, on Nov. 15, 2025. / Matt Bush/Special to the Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Landry Lyddy, who is returning for his senior year at Southern Miss, could be the answer for Coach Anderson in 2026. Lyddy appeared in six games last year, completing 34-of-52 passes (65.4%) for 406 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.

Lyddy's best performance came at Centennial Bank Stadium in Jonesboro, Ark., in early November, as the Golden Eagles, who were 6-2 at the time, played the Arkansas State Red Wolves with first place in the Sun Belt West Division on the line. Braxton had to come out of the game early in the first half due to a knee injury, forcing Lyddy into action.

Braxton eventually returned in the second half, and the Golden Eagles ended up winning, 27-21, thanks to a last-second pass breakup in the endzone, but they wouldn't have won that game without Lyddy, who stepped in and completed 4-of-5 passes for 128 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also had a gutsy rushing touchdown as well.

Given how much roster turnover Southern Miss saw between the end of last season and now, one has to think that Anderson's familiarity with Lyddy gives the senior QB a great chance of taking the starting role. With all that being said, though, it won't be a forgone conclusion that Lyddy will be the starting QB come opening day, as Illinois senior transfer Ethan Hampton and freshman High Price could have something to say about that during spring competition before it's over with.

Dalton Trigg

“We're focusing right now on our roster, trying to get 60 new guys to know each other," Anderson said in an interview with Southern Miss sideline reporter Jason Baker following National Signing Day.

"We got 60 new players from 21 states that we combined with 25 returners to make a roster, and they don't even know each other's names at this point. We're getting to know each other daily. We got a lot of new staff members that are getting to know each other. So that's where our primary focus is at.”

What Lyddy did in Jonesboro was a small sample size, but that burst, in what ended up being the last win of the season for Southern Miss, could be a foreshadowing of what we could see more of at The Rock this year. Stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI for more football coverage with spring training right around the corner.