Southern Miss hires Alcorn State’s Jay Hopson as head coach
Southern Mississippi moved quickly to find its new head coach.
Six days after Todd Monken left the program to become the offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, athletic director Bill McGillis announced the hire of Jay Hopson as head coach. Hopson spent the past four seasons as head coach at FCS Alcorn State, where he notched a 32-17 overall record and won back-to-back Southwestern Athletic Conference titles in 2014 and 2015.
This will be Hopson’s third stint at Southern Miss. He previously served as the Golden Eagles’ defensive backs coach from 2001-03 and was defensive coordinator from 2005-07. The team led Conference USA in scoring defense in two of Hopson’s seasons as defensive coordinator.
Hopson, a native of Vicksburg, Miss., has also had stints as an assistant at Delta State, Marshall, Michigan, Memphis and Ole Miss, his alma mater.
Hopson inherits a team coming off a 9-5 season and a Conference USA West title. Quarterback Nick Mullens, the 2015 C-USA Offensive Player of the Year, also will return for USM.
The hire of Hopson comes just four days before national signing day, and McGillis indicated that Hopson will head right out onto the recruiting trail before being introduced via press conference on Monday.
The Golden Eagles currently have 21 commitments, including six early enrollees who have already signed their letters of intent. The program’s class is ranked No. 2 in Conference USA by Rivals.com.
For more Southern Miss news, visit BigGoldNation.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
