Blog Article

Southern Miss Football 2025: Charles Huff Just Copy-Pasted a Championship Program

Mark Haines on August 12, 2025

Here’s what everyone is missing about the Southern Miss hire.

Charles Huff didn’t just take a new job. He literally copy-pasted an entire championship program from Marshall to Hattiesburg. Most coaching hires involve one person switching schools. This is different. This is importing a proven system, proven players, and proven results wholesale.

And if you understand what actually happened here, you’ll realize Southern Miss just pulled off the most aggressive program rebuild in modern college football.

This Isn’t a Coaching Change. It’s a Hostile Takeover.

Let me paint the picture:

Marshall goes 10-3, wins the Sun Belt championship, and destroys Louisiana 31-3 in the title game. Their quarterback throws 19 touchdowns with 2 interceptions. Their offense averages 382.8 yards per game. Their defense allows just 23.1 points per game.

Southern Miss goes 1-11, scores 15.3 points per game, allows 37.8 points per game, goes winless in conference play.

Normal world: Southern Miss hires a good coach and hopes he can slowly rebuild.

What actually happened: Southern Miss hired the good coach AND most of his championship team.

Key players who switched uniforms:

Braylon Braxton: Marshall’s quarterback with the 19-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio
Carl Chester: 20 catches, 342 yards, 3 touchdowns at Marshall
Tychaun Chapman: Multi-use weapon with rushing and receiving TDs
Bralon Brown: Explosive receiver from Marshall’s championship squad
Elijah Metcalf: Proven target with multiple touchdown catches
Josh Moten: Cornerback with 5 interceptions

That represents approximately 20 key contributors from Marshall’s championship team now wearing Southern Miss uniforms, creating an unprecedented roster transformation in modern college football.

This isn’t roster building. It’s roster importing.

The numbers only underscore just how dramatic this turnaround is poised to be.

The Numbers Don’t Lie (And They’re Brutal)

Here’s the gap Huff is bridging.

Quarterback play:

2024 Southern Miss QBs: 7 touchdown passes, 17 interceptions
Braylon Braxton at Marshall: 19 touchdown passes, 2 interceptions

Offensive production:

Southern Miss 2024: 283.5 yards per game
Marshall 2024: 382.8 yards per game

Scoring differential:

Southern Miss: -22.5 points per game
Marshall: +8.7 points per game

Conference results:

Southern Miss: 0-8 in Sun Belt play
Marshall: 8-1 in Sun Belt play

Same conference. Same level of competition. Completely different results.

The question isn’t whether Southern Miss will improve. The question is how much.

But understanding the statistical transformation requires examining the strategic genius behind it.

Why This Strategy Works

Most people think college football rebuilds take 3-4 years because you have to recruit high school players, develop them, install systems, and build culture.

Huff skipped all of that.

Traditional rebuild vs. Huff’s method:

Recruit 18-year-olds and hope they develop → Brought 22-year-olds who already know his system
Install new offensive and defensive schemes → Brought the same coordinators who installed those schemes at Marshall
Build championship culture → Imported players who already lived it

This is what smart business leaders do when they take over struggling companies. They don’t start from scratch.

They bring their proven team and proven processes.

The scope of this organizational transplant becomes even clearer when you examine the coaching staff changes.

The Coaching Staff Migration Tells the Real Story

Jason Semore, Marshall’s defensive coordinator who held Sun Belt offenses to 23.1 points per game? He’s now Southern Miss’s defensive coordinator.

Johnathan Galante, who coached Marshall’s top-15 nationally ranked special teams? Southern Miss special teams coordinator. Telly Lockette, who directed Marshall’s 201.7 yards per game rushing attack that ranked 19th nationally? Running backs coach at Southern Miss.

This isn’t just Charles Huff getting a new job. This is an entire championship operation relocating.

The transfer portal skeptics completely miss why this approach represents the future of college football rebuilding.

What Everyone Gets Wrong About Transfer Portal Era

Critics say the transfer portal ruins college football because players just chase money and change schools constantly.

They’re missing the point.

The transfer portal allows proven coaches to bring proven systems and proven players to new programs instantly. It allows smart programs to skip the traditional 3-4 year rebuild cycle. Southern Miss just demonstrated the blueprint: Don’t recruit and develop.

Import and deploy.

Now the practical test begins with Southern Miss’s 2025 schedule, where this transplanted championship core will face familiar competition.

The 2025 Schedule Reality Check

Southern Miss opens against Mississippi State on August 30.

That’s a measuring stick game against an SEC opponent. The Sun Belt schedule includes home games against Appalachian State, Jacksonville State, Louisiana-Monroe, Texas State, and Troy. Road tests at Georgia Southern, Louisiana, Arkansas State, and South Alabama.

Here’s what’s different: Last year, these same Marshall players went 8-1 against Sun Belt competition. Now they’re playing the same conference schedule wearing different uniforms.

The logical outcome isn’t 1-11. It’s bowl eligibility, and potentially much more.

Traditional rebuilding timelines simply don’t apply when you’re importing championship-level talent and systems.

Why Traditional Rebuilding Wisdom Is Dead

Old model: Hire coach, recruit players, install system, develop culture, hope for improvement in year 3-4.

New model: Import championship coach, championship players, championship system, championship culture. Compete immediately.

Southern Miss just proved the new model works faster.

The evidence is overwhelming when you step back and assess what actually happened in Hattiesburg.

The Bottom Line

Charles Huff brought a 10-3 Marshall team to Southern Miss and changed the uniforms.

The quarterback who threw 19 touchdown passes with 2 interceptions is the same quarterback who will take snaps for Southern Miss. The receivers who caught those touchdown passes are the same receivers running routes in Hattiesburg. The defense that allowed 23.1 points per game at Marshall is largely the same defense taking the field for Southern Miss.

This isn’t hope and potential. This is proven production with a change of address. Southern Miss didn’t just hire a good coach.

They acquired a championship program.

Expect to see Southern Miss fighting for bowl eligibility in 2025—and if this blueprint works as designed, they’ll be competing for much more than that.

Want to know which other “under the radar” coaches are about to be on the hot seat?

I track the real hot seats (not just the obvious ones) every Friday in my free newsletter.

Join thousands of readers who get the stories before they become headlines: Coaches Hot Seat Insider.

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Blog Article

Coaches on Fire? Readers Respond to the Hot Seat Rankings

Mark Haines on October 25, 2024

Welcome back to the Coaches Hot Seat, where we dissect the volatile world of college football coaching and track those whose seats are getting too toasty for comfort. Today, we’re tackling our readers’ fiery feedback and passionate perspectives. Because let’s face it, college football fandom is a crucible of emotions, and sometimes those emotions boil over. So hang on – we’re about to explore the highs and lows, the agreements and disagreements, and the raw, unfiltered takes from the passionate community that makes college football what it is.

A Fan’s Take: Will Hall’s Legacy and the Future of Southern Miss Football

“Will Hall is a good man who did many great off the field teams for the program. But, on the field, it just didn’t work out. His “last season” (2023) was 3-9, replicating his first season, and now this 1-6 start that finally led to the plug being pulled. Southern Miss not many years ago under Jeff Bower and Larry Fedora, consistently had winning records and made bowl games. Jay Hopson had winning teams every year, until resigning after the first game of 2021 after losing to South Alabama.

In the landscape of NIL and up and rising programs like South Alabama that have cut into their recruiting pool, it is going to take a home run hire to bring USM back to relevance in my opinion.”

You bring up some great points about the challenges facing Southern Miss football. It’s a brutal landscape, with the rise of NIL and programs like South Alabama making it harder to recruit top talent.

Will Hall indeed had some success off the field, and we wish him all the best in his future endeavors. Ultimately, wins and losses matter most in college football, and unfortunately, those weren’t consistently enough during his tenure.

As you mentioned, Southern Miss has a proud football tradition with a history of success under coaches like Jeff Bower and Larry Fedora. The fans in Hattiesburg are hungry to get back to that level, and it will take a dynamic leader and a strong recruiting effort to make that happen.

We’re excited to see who Southern Miss hires as its next head coach. It’ll be interesting to follow their search and see what direction they decide to take. Hopefully, they can find someone to bring the Golden Eagles back to prominence in the Sun Belt!

“Do Some Research!”: Fans Demand Huff’s Hot Seat Status

How do you not list Charles Huff in your Coaches Hot Seat Rankings? 20 coaches with a hotter seat is complete BS!! He almost got fired last year and still sucks!!! He blew a 23-3 in the 4th quarter and almost blew another lead against Georgia State. We know you don’t care about the smaller schools. The fact that nobody has Huff on the hot seat at this point in the season is ridiculous!! Do some research, probably don’t even know the Sun Belt exists. At least pretend to care about smaller schools like Marshall.

Look, I get it. It’s infuriating. You’ve got a coach who, in your eyes, just isn’t cutting it. The team’s underperforming, and to add insult to injury, nobody seems to notice or care. It’s like Marshall football exists in its own little bubble, right?

Believe me, I understand that frustration.

But here’s the thing: you’re not alone. We see those smaller schools grinding it out, battling every week. Look at our Hot Seat rankings – we’ve got coaches from smaller programs all over the list. Did we miss Marshall this time? Absolutely. And that’s on us. We’re not perfect.

But here’s where you come in. This isn’t just my list. It’s a conversation. Our community, our members – you guys – you have a voice. You provide the insights and the on-the-ground perspective that we need. And guess what? Starting next week, you’re going to have even more say. We’re putting the power in your hands with community voting.

So speak up. Let your voice be heard. This is how we build a truly comprehensive and insightful Hot Seat ranking – together.

Fan Reaction to Riley’s Reign

This is year 3, and “coach” Lincoln Riley can collect $12,000,000 per year for the rest of the decade.

The stadium was 1/3 full on Saturday. Will Jennifer Cohen be handing tickets out at the border before the ND game to fill seats? Lincoln better be #1 on the hot seat list. He was there last year.

“Better be?” “1/3 full?” Okay, let’s dive into this.

First, let’s acknowledge the elephant in the room: Lincoln Riley is making money. A reported $10 million a year (not 12) is a lot of cheddar, and with that comes a certain expectation. USC expects to win, and they expect to win big.

He’s also got a reported $87 million buyout. Do you want to know why he’s not #1? There are 87 million reasons why.

Wisconsin and Penn State were sellouts. So are Nebraska and Notre Dame.

I’ve been critical of certain aspects of Riley’s program at USC, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

So, let’s hold off on the “better be’s” and the panic buttons. It’s more likely that he decides to leave on his own rather than USC buying him out.

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