HATTIESBURG, Miss. - When Southern Miss was wrapping up its first week of fall camp two weeks ago, head coach Blake Anderson, who has worked to establish a culture of hard work and accountability in a short period of time, had to stop practice about 10 minutes in to correct his team's energy. It had been a long, hot first week on the practice fields, and the guys were feeling it, as it was affecting their effort and attention to detail.
The team responded to Anderson's challenge that day and finished out the rest of that practice with much higher energy and enthusiasm. That's the result Anderson was looking for, but ideally, he would have liked some of the players to notice the problem and correct it before he had to say anything.
"That's where we're missing that true, very comfortable-in-his-skin leader," Anderson said at that point in camp. "They responded to me, but if I'm the leader every day, we're only going to get so far. I need those guys to take ownership of this."
Southern Miss head coach Blake Anderson ahead of the Golden Eagles' first fall camp scrimmage on August 15, 2026. | Josh House
Two weeks later, that moment still illustrates one of Anderson's biggest questions about this team. Make no mistake, the Golden Eagles made significant strides throughout fall camp , but Anderson is still looking for more players willing to take full ownership of those leadership roles.
Anderson doesn't expect that transition to happen entirely on its own. With camp over and preparation for Alcorn State officially beginning, the coaching staff intends to identify players who have earned enough credibility on and off the field to become more vocal going forward.
"We're going to foster some of that [leadership]," Anderson said. "We're going to pull some guys aside and identify it a little bit more than we have in the previous weeks and see if we can help encourage them and obviously back them up, and give them a little bit of confidence to speak out even a little bit more. Some of it just had to happen on the field first before they had the platform that they needed. But in a couple of weeks, those particular guys are starting to create that opportunity."
Ethan Hampton and the other Southern Miss quarterbacks go through drills during a fall camp practice. | Josh House
It's going to take a little while longer for that player-led leadership to get where Anderson wants it to be. That just comes with the territory of having the most roster turnover in the country. But Anderson believes the signs of growth in that department over the last three weeks are there.
"Work in progress still, but some guys are starting to step up," Anderson said. "Some fellas in both areas are starting to emerge little by little. And I think the time that we still have is really, really important."
Although Anderson and his staff believe they have a group of players talented enough to accomplish far more than many expect this season, they know getting there will take more than just talent development and depth. Anderson feels like team leadership could ultimately decide his team's ceiling.
"I think that could be one of those hidden, underlying themes that really impacts the team's ability to fight through tough times as the season goes and stick together," Anderson said. "So it's still really, really important."
Southern Miss quarterback Ethan Hampton didn't participate in the Golden Eagles' Fan Fest srimmage, but he's expected to be back in action soon. | Josh House
If Anderson is looking for players capable of stepping into that role, one of the most obvious candidates spent most of fall camp standing directly behind center during first-team reps.
Redshirt-senior quarterback Ethan Hampton could end up being the guy who spearheads that next level of team leadership, as he emerged as one of the "loudest voices" on the team and a player that teammates gravitate toward.
Despite the hand injury that kept him out of action last week, Anderson said the veteran quarterback still showed noticeable value to the team by remaining engaged with teammates and being involved in everything the offense was doing.
"He's got enough experience under his belt," Anderson said. "You kind of feel like he's the one guy that if he's going to miss a snap or two, he's played as much as he's played in the past. He's done a really good job of staying active and involved and hasn't missed a beat."
Ethan Hampton (#5) before Southern Miss' first fall camp scrimmage at The Rock. | Josh House
That obviously matters even more at quarterback, a position that naturally carries significant leadership responsibility. And before the injury, Hampton had seemingly started to separate himself in that area.
"Clearly one of the loudest voices that guys listen to," Anderson said of Hampton. "I feel like he's done as good as he can do under the circumstances. And it's been good, too. It's given us a chance to force-feed some reps to both [Landry] Lyddy and John [White] and truly see what they can do with the ones, and we've got two good scrimmages and a good week of practice to go back and really try to make the best decisions. We're getting close to making that decision. I don't know exactly when it's going to come, but we're approaching it pretty quick."
Anderson expects Hampton to be back at practice on Tuesday when practice resumes. Hampton spent fall camp taking the first-team reps, including that first scrimmage before he got hurt, and if that trend continues heading into this week, even after he missed a full week, then that'll probably be a good sign of who your Golden Eagles' starting quarterback will be for the season opener.
The Golden Eagles have made quite a bit of progress since fall camp began three weeks ago. | Josh House
Hampton may be one of the more visible examples, but Anderson's overall vision for team leadership extends well beyond one player or one position. Ultimately, he wants the good habits established during camp to become part of the team's identity, regardless of who is providing the loudest voice. In that respect, Anderson believes the Golden Eagles have come a long way in three weeks.
"I've been really pleased with how they've handled long days and meetings and walk-throughs. It's a lot," Anderson said after Saturday's scrimmage . "I don't know if everybody does it, but with an inexperienced team, to some degree, guys just don't really know what to expect from me. They're still learning from me every day what I want. I was pleased."
That progress doesn't mean there still aren't mistakes from time to time. In fact, the final two days of camp offered another small example of how this team is still growing into what Anderson wants it to be.
"Anybody that was out here [Friday] knows I gave them a big spanking yesterday morning. We were a little dead-legged today [because of that], but it was warranted, and we got the response that we wanted. They responded the right way. So, all in all, I like where we're headed in terms of culture in the locker room."
Southern Miss improved its player leadership over the last three weeks of fall camp, but HC Blake Anderson says the team still has a ways to go to get where it needs to be. | Josh Hous
Once again, the Golden Eagles were challenged by Anderson and responded when he demanded more. The unanswered question is whether they can eventually do the same thing without needing their head coach to provide the spark, particularly when the adversity is coming from an opponent rather than a practice field.
"We've got to play better than we did today in a lot of areas, but [they're] good kids that try to give us what we want, work hard, are coming together as a group, which is not easy to do with that many new people," Anderson said. "So I'm pretty pleased in that area. We've just got to see when we get it to the field ... are we ready? Have we grown up enough? Can we handle the adversity that we're going to face on a Saturday?"
Three weeks ago, Anderson had to be the one to stop practice, point out the problem and demand a response. The Golden Eagles have made plenty of progress since that point, but over these next two weeks, the next step will be to see those corrections come from inside the locker room. Because once Sept. 5 arrives, Anderson won't always be able to stop the action and reset the energy.
Stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI throughout the week for more football stories and updates as practice resumes on Tuesday.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/southernmiss as Blake Anderson Identifies a 'Hidden' Factor That Could Shape Southern Miss' Season .
