By Robert Wilson
Everyone knew the famous pro basketball player, the late Kobe Bryant, by his first name.
If Southern Miss junior defensive back Kobi Albert keeps up what he did Saturday afternoon in his debut for the Golden Eagles, fans will be calling him by his first name, too.
Albert intercepted three passes – only the fourth player in school history to intercept three passes in a game – to help Southern Miss to a 49-3 victory over Alcorn State in the season opener at Southern Miss’ M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg.
The 5-foot-11, 175-pound Albert, who made his first career start, had an interception in each of the first three quarters.
Albert joined Larry Ussery, who intercepted a school record four passes against Louisiana Tech in 1967, Josh Moten (three interceptions against Arkansas State in 2025) and Etric Pruitt (three interceptions against Army in 2002) as the only Southern Miss players to accomplished the feat.
Albert’s first interception came in the first minute and a half of the game to stop Alcorn State’s first drive at the Southern Miss 15. His second interception came with 4:56 to play before halftime at the Southern Miss 3. Albert’s third interception came on Alcorn State’s first drive of the second half with 9:49 to play in the third quarter at the Alcorn State 45.
Albert, who played at Fairfield, Ala., High Prep School, near Birmingham, is at his fourth stop in college. He played one year at Kentucky in 2022, sat out a year with an injury at Mississippi State in 2023, played one year at MSU in 2024, and played one year at Connecticut in 2025. He has never started a game until Saturday.
Albert is one of 74 new players on the Southern Miss roster.
“It is surreal. I trusted the process and the training I did all season and it paid off today,” said Albert after the game on an interview with Jason Baker of the Southern Miss Network. “We practice hard. We come out every day at practice like its game time. The coaches were genuine when I came down. (Safeties) Coach (Kendrick) Shaver and (defensive backs) Coach (Tavese) Calhoun were previously at Mississippi State with me. Knowing that I had people here knowing I could count on and take care of me was a no-brainer for me to come down here and play for them. Our secondary can be elite. We’ve got to continue to keep bringing everybody along and making plays. It’s a honor playing for (first-year Southern Miss defensive coordinator and linebacker) Coach (Joe) Bolden and have the opportunity to compete. I’m blessed and I thank God.”
“Super high football IQ. Super consistent work ethic. Leader, natural leader. Everybody gravitates towards him,” first-year Southern Miss head coach Blake Anderson said of Albert in a SI.com story in August. “Physically, has a lot of tools. I don’t know that he’s the fastest or strongest or longest, but when you put it all together, the intangibles and how he goes about things, he’s been really, really solid, and he has emerged as a very dependable leader in a room and in a space that really needs that. He’s a guy that killed it all summer, and he’s shown up really doing the same thing in practice every day. So I’ve been really pleased with what he’s bringing to us.”
Albert was a four-star recruit and rated the No. 12 player in the Alabama in the Class of 2021 and rated as the No. 20 athlete in the country in the Class of 2022 by Rivals and the No. 21 cornerback in the country in the Class of 2022 by 247 Sports. He played wide receiver, defensive back and return specialist and scored 12 touchdowns, had 31 tackles and four interceptions and 147 yards on five kickoff returns and a TD as a senior in 2021. Albert had offers from Auburn, Maryland and Michigan. His brother Kory played linebacker at Kentucky and Alabama-Birmingham.
