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Among Southern Miss football’s offensive struggles last season, tight end was one area of concern.
It started minutes before the season began when starter Cole Cavallo partially tore his calf in warmups. That cost him the first four games of the season and he finished with just nine catches for 96 yards in eight games. Southern Miss’ two other tight ends — Justyn Reid and Avery White — caught two combined passes all season. None of Southern Miss’ tight ends scored a touchdown in 2023.
The Golden Eagles have since revamped the tight end group, with the hopes of leading to a more complete and improved offense.
It starts with Chip Long, Southern Miss’ new offensive coordinator and tight ends coach. He’s coached tight ends for 11 seasons at the FBS level. Three of those came at Notre Dame — he was also the offensive coordinator during that time — and in 2018 he was a Broyles Award finalist, which is given annually to the sport’s top assistant coach.
“Chip wakes up every day with one thing on his mind: Scoring 50 points,” Southern Miss coach Will Hall said after Thursday’s practice. “He’s putting everything he can into that.”
Cavallo and White are both gone, paving the way for a mostly new-look group.
Reid returns for his sophomore season. Long said he recruited Reid to come to Georgia Tech in 2022. Reid, a three-star from Georgia, committed there but flipped to Southern Miss before signing.
“He’s been very impressive,” Long said. “Of all the offensive guys, he’s probably one of the guys who’s stood out the last two days.”
Three newcomers have filled out the tight end room. Kyirin Heath transferred from Ole Miss while Terron Bedford was added from Jones College. Reed Jesiolowski is a true freshman from Hartfield Academy that Hall said was the best Mississippi high school football…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/coordinator-chip-long-rebuilding-southern-180618194.html
Author : Hattiesburg American
Publish date : 2024-08-01 18:06:18
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