HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Southern Miss is getting closer to kicking off the 2026 season, but first-year head coach Blake Anderson still isn't ready to put an end to one of the biggest questions surrounding this year's team.
With less than two weeks remaining before the Sept. 5 season opener against Alcorn State right here in Hattiesburg, the neck-and-neck quarterback competition remains open. The biggest reason for that is that Anderson wants to evaluate the contenders on equal footing before making a decision, and redshirt-senior Ethan Hampton hasn't been able to provide that opportunity recently.
Ethan Hampton (5) and the other Southern Miss quarterbacks go through drills during a fall camp practice. | Josh House
Hampton returned to throw during roughly half of Tuesday's practice as he continues working his way back from a bone bruise that proved a little more troublesome than initially expected. Although Anderson reiterated there is no structural damage to Hampton's throwing hand, swelling and discomfort have limited his ability to throw at full strength and have kept him from being a full participant in practice for over a week now.
Tuesday's practice was an encouraging step for Hampton, just not the final one on his road to full recovery. But the clock is officially ticking.
Southern Miss quarterback Ethan Hampton (5) throws a pass during a fall camp practice. | Josh House
Anderson knows that people are getting a little antsy given that a starting quarterback still hasn't been named so close to the season opener. However, he'd rather be patient and make the correct decision for Week 1 rather than rush things.
"Well, it's ongoing. I know people would like to know the answer to that, but ongoing," Anderson said of the quarterback battle while speaking with the media after Tuesday's practice.
"Ethan threw partial practice today, so it's good to see him back. We really don't want to make the final decision till we got all those guys competing, but it was good to have him back. They were close. Just a little bit more patience, I guess, would be the request."
Southern Miss head coach Blake Anderson at The Rock ahead of his team's first scrimmage of fall camp on Aug. 15, 2026. | Josh House
So what exactly does Anderson mean when he says Hampton only threw a partial practice on Tuesday?
"The first half of practice is mostly without the defense out there, and so working together with the wideouts," Anderson explained. "Don't know that he jumped on a bunch of throws today, but you could tell he felt better. Says he feels better. I don't think he feels 100 percent yet, but that may be a little bit longer. We're two weeks out, or a little bit less than, so we've got some time."
That's plenty of time for Hampton to fully recover, but it may not be enough time for him to recover fully enough for Anderson to get the full view of his three quarterbacks on equal ground before making the decision.
Southern Miss QB Ethan Hampton in between drills during a fall camp practice. | Josh House
When Hampton first suffered his bone bruise injury in the Golden Eagles' first scrimmage of fall camp on Aug. 15, Anderson believed he'd be ready to roll by the time the Fan Fest scrimmage came around on Aug. 22. Things just didn't happen that way.
"Took a little longer than we thought," Anderson said when asked about Hampton's recovery timeline. "It wasn't structural, but it was a significant bone bruise, so a lot of swelling initially and discomfort, and just his ability to throw with power has probably been affected."
Ethan Hampton (5) at Southern Miss' first fall camp scrimmage at The Rock on Aug. 15, 2026. | Josh House
Regardless, Anderson still believes Hampton looks much better than he did a week ago, and the expectation remains that he'll be able to practice without limitations by the time the weekend arrives. But if he can't, this injury could push redshirt-senior Landry Lyddy into the QB1 role for Week 1.
"He looked good today, and got about half of practice," Anderson said. "Hopefully he'll get the whole thing tomorrow. And as we lead towards the weekend, we'll start having some tough conversations."
Stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI as more updates on this situation develop throughout the week.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/southernmiss as Ethan Hampton Injury Still Progressing as Southern Miss QB Competition Nears 'Tough Conversations' .
