By Robert Wilson
Eighteen defensive players entered the NCAA transfer portal when Southern Miss finished last season with an 1-11 record and the Golden Eagles’ administration decided to make a coaching change.
But Hartfield Academy alumnus Chris Jones wasn’t going anywhere.
The 6-foot, 230-pound Jones had an outstanding freshman season at Southern Miss and made 46 tackles (25 solo tackles) – second most on the team – despite not playing the last three games of the season due to injury. He also had 2.5 tackles for loss for 9 yards, 1 sack for 8 yards, 1 interception for 9 yards, 2 forced fumbles and 1 pass breakup. He had a season-high nine tackles against Arkansas State and eight each against Jacksonville State and Marshall.
“Chris had options to leave and choose to stay,” said first-year Southern Miss coach Charles Huff, who replaced Will Hall. “I met with his parents (Willie and Lisa Jones) when we first got here. You want to talk about a person who truly loves Southern Miss, that’s Chris. He loves the campus, loves the city, truly loves state of Mississippi. Chris is one who has influenced and bridged the gap between the new players who have come in and the old players. He has been one who has embraced new and hard. Chris told me the other day every day at practice he feels uncomfortable. That’s great. That means he is growing. He said he loves it though.”
Huff, who won the Sun Belt Conference championship last season with Marshall, is glad Jones stayed in Hattiesburg. He is just one of two players who contributed to this defense last season who stayed. Southern Miss has 25 new defensive players, 13 of them from Marshall.
“My biggest improvement is just learning football,” Jones said. “I will keep it simple as that. Coach Huff brought in a great DC (defensive coordinator) in Jason Seymour. He has done a great job of teaching me football. That’s something I struggled with last year was knowing what was going to happen before the play and knowing what would happen in certain formations. He has also helped me on my technique. I have improved on the way to approach the way mentally and physically.”
Jones is a big fan of Huff.
“Coach Huff is a great coach,” Jones said. “I knew from the jump I was going to stay. There was no question. I saw what he did at Marshall. He had every quality as a head coach to come to Southern Miss and win a championship. When I saw him walk through those doors, I knew I was going to stay. He cares about his players. He wants what is best for us. That’s what you look for in a coach these days not just a coach cares about football, but also his players. We did go 1-11 last year, but the culture has changed and is different with Coach Huff bringing the championship culture to us.”
Jones and his teammates got their first win this season Saturday with a 38-20 victory over Jackson State in Hattiesburg, matching the win total of last season. Now they will try to double it Saturday when Appalachian State comes to Hattiesburg for their first conference game of the season. Southern Miss was the only team out of the 14 Sun Belt teams not to win a conference game last season. Southern Miss has lost nine straight conference games, eight last year and the last one in 2023. The last conference win was a 34-31 overtime victory against Louisiana-Lafayette.
Jones has 19 tackles this season – tied for second in the Sun Belt, one behind the leader. He had a team-high 13 tackles against Mississippi State in the season opener and six against Jackson State.
Jones helped Hartfield to the first state championship in school history and a 14-0 record his senior season. He was named the MAIS Class 6A Defensive Player of the Year and had 112 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 4 interceptions, 4 quarterback hurries and scored 7 touchdowns as a senior. Jones was named to the Army All-American Bowl and was the Defensive MVP in the MAIS Class 4A-5A-6A All-Star Game. He was a first team linebacker on the Mississippi Scoreboard All Metro Jackson team.
“Chris Jones is the kind of person that every coach wants on their team,” Hartfield coach Craig Bowman said. “I had the privilege to watch Chris grow and develop into the young man he is today. He was such a positive presence in the locker room and held his teammates accountable to a very high standard. We are not shocked at all that Chris is having the success he is having at Southern Mississippi. He is a dedicated hard worker and works to achieve his goal of being the best possible player he can be. I believe that Chris has the potential of making a living in this sport. He wants to play at the highest level possible and wakes up every day working towards that goal.”
