By Robert Wilson
Landry Lyddy was ready when his name was called.
The Southern Miss redshirt junior quarterback replaced injured starter Braylon Braxton in the first quarter and led the Golden Eagles to two touchdowns in the first half before Braxton returned to finish the rest of the game as Southern Miss defeated Arkansas State 27-21 for its fifth consecutive victory Saturday at Arkansas State.
Braxton – the Preseason Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year who led Marshall to the conference title last season – bruised his knee on Southern Miss’ second drive of the game. On the next possession, Lyddy – who had only played in two games this season – replaced Braxton. The Alabama-Birmingham transfer led the Golden Eagles on a 63-yard, six-play scoring drive and finished it with a 7-yard TD run to give Southern Miss a 10-7 lead with 3 minutes, 43 seconds to play in the first quarter. Then Lyddy completed a 76-yard TD pass to Elijah Metcalf for a 17-7 lead one minute into the second quarter.
Braxton came back into the game in the second quarter and passed for 228 yards and a TD.
Lyddy finished with 4 of 6 passes for 128 yards and a TD.
“I saw what I see every single day at practice,” Braxton said about Lyddy in a postgame interview on the field with Lauren Sisler on ESPNU. “Landry is more than ready for the moment. He came in and executed a rushing touchdown and a passing touchdown. He gave the game back to me better than I gave it to him. Major shoutout to my man Landry.”
“Lyddy prepares just like he is the starter,” first-year Southern Miss coach Charles Huff said in an interview with Jason Baker on Southern Miss’ postgame radio show. “He feels confident in his abilities just like he’s the starter. He got us on the board first today with a touchdown. He no worry going in, he was ready to go. I couldn’t be more proud of him. It’s tough being the backup. You don’t know when you will get your shot. It’s not the best situation, but he stepped up today. (Offensive coordinator) Coach (Blake) Anderson did a really good job having him prepared and we felt really good about him.”
“First thing I thought was just play within the playbook,” Lyddy said in an interview with Jason Baker on the Southern Miss’ postgame radio show. “Coach Anderson has a good plan dialed up. We have an elite O-line in front of us with elite receivers and elite running backs. All I have to do is get the ball in their hands. Colossians 3:2 says to keep your mind on things above, not on Earthly things, and ultimately with that eternal perspective you are able to be in the moment more and I was able to play free like I did.”
Lee Roberts, who was Southern Miss’ starting quarterback from 1996-1998, has been the color analyst for play by play man John Cox on the Southern Miss IMG Sports Network for the past 10 seasons. Roberts led the Golden Eagles to back to back Conference USA championships in 1996 and 1997.
“Landry knows that the backup quarterback is one play away from being on the field,” Roberts said. “That’s why he prepares like he is the starter. He took command of the offense like it as his and he drove us right down the field and scored. He also showed a great amount of toughness on his touchdown run.”
Huff knew he had a good one when he was talking to Lyddy after he got in the transfer portal.
“I love him. In today’s world of transfer portal and people trying to be guaranteed starting spots, the kid said, ‘I just wanted to chance to compete,’” Huff said. “He’s doing nothing but compete from Day One. He kept the right attitude. I believe the Good Lord shines on people like that, who just do the best they can. Don’t worry about things out of their control. Take advantage of the opportunities when they come. Lyddy is a prime example of that.”
“Going into it, obviously, as a competitor you want to play,” Lyddy said. “But if you end up sitting behind somebody, you might as well be behind somebody who is pretty solid. I did a lot of prayer and talking to my family and this was the decision I came to. This college career is not how I planned at all, but ultimately it is rooted in the faith in the Lord.”
Lyddy was the Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year in 2021 and passed for 3,385 yards and 53 touchdowns as a senior at Calvary Baptist Academy in Shreveport. He signed with Louisiana Tech and played in seven games as a freshman in 2022, including passing for a career-high 264 yards against Florida International. Lyddy transferred to UAB where he only played in five games in two years in 2023 and 2024. So he entered the transfer portal and ended up at Southern Miss.
Southern Miss fans, Huff, and Braxton are glad Lyddy decided to come to Hattiesburg.
Braxton – who is 13-0 as a starter in conference games for the past two seasons at Marshall and Southern Miss – is expected to start Saturday against Texas State (3-6 overall and 0-5 in the Sun Belt) as the Golden Eagles go for their sixth consecutive Sun Belt victory. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at Southern Miss’ M.M. Roberts Stadium.
He is tied for the conference lead with 19 TD passes (tied for 17th best in the country) and is fourth in the league with 2,187 passing yards this season. Braxton has thrown only five interceptions this season.
