Ben Milam

Writer, Broadcaster, Storyteller

Ordinary Moments Lead Charity Reeves To Launch Blossoming Youth Literacy Movement In New York City - 4/9/2026Just over 15 years ago, the front steps of New Horizon Church of New York became an impromptu hangout spot for neighborhood kids with nowhere else to go.No one knew it then, but it was also the staging area for what has become a blossoming nonprofit changing the lives of hundreds of children in New York City.Charity Reeves describes feeling a sense of restlessness in those days, when she was a stay-at-home mother and was looking for ways to serve in a larger capacity. “Take care of your baby,” she recalls hearing God say to her as she asked what more she should be doing.“In those quiet moments in my living room with my son and us trying to figure it out, I didn't realize that the Lord was building something in me,” Reeves said. “I had no idea he was building a capacity in me to be able to take this and pass it on to someone else.”Reeves was soon given a resounding answer to her petition for more.New Horizon offered an open invitation to the neighborhood youth on their steps, which quickly evolved into an informal Bible study and after-school program. It was there that Reeves was confronted with a shocking reality – many of the children could not read.“If it was a large word, they couldn’t read it,” Reeves recalled.The realization propelled the young mother to find out how significant the problem really was, and what she found was deeply unsettling. According to Reeves, nearly 70% of all children in Harlem were not proficient readers at the time.So, in partnership with New Horizon and with a $5,000 grant from The City College of New York in hand, the Harlem Literacy Project was born.“I had this idea and I thought, ‘What would it look like if the people of God were to come alongside and help?’” Reeves said.As the pieces began to fit together and the work slowly left the launch pad, it became clear that a major shift would be required in how modern NYC thought about child literacy.Many did not see the urgency that Reeves did, shrugging off her challenges to reevaluate the system and join the effort to raise literate children.“I think a righteous anger rose up,” Reeves explained. “How could this be okay – that so many of our young people are coming to middle school or college unable to read, and the school system is just pushing this along?”But during the COVID pandemic in 2020, the American illiteracy crisis was placed front and center. More importantly, as daily education was brought home, parents could no longer ignore the issue. An estimated 50% of children in the U.S. were not proficient readers, according to the National Literacy Institute.Alarm bells sounded, and the Harlem Literacy Project was ready. Partnerships formed with organizations like the Reading Institute of New York and nonprofit support network Hope for New York. It became clear that a new approach was needed, and families in Harlem began to find out that’s exactly what Reeves and her team were offering.“It really gave energy to the work that I was doing. We had more people coming along saying, ‘Oh, you’re already doing this. How can we give some more energy to that? How can I help? How can I support?’” Reeves said.The Harlem Literacy Project’s approach offered a departure from the traditional method of trained tutors or teachers instructing children in a classroom setting. Instead, Reeves wanted to equip the loved ones of the students – those who could make the most immediate and largest impact.“I always ask our families, ‘Who is that person who taught you to read?’ Most people would not say a teacher. They would say it was my dad or my mom or a cousin, and so forth. And I say, ‘Exactly,” Reeves explained.“You can also be that for your child or whoever in your family who is struggling to read. We teach them these foundational skills, we empower churches and all of our volunteers, we teach it to them, and they teach it to families.”Volunteers from partner churches become reading mentors who, once trained, take parents through seven-week courses with their children. The course is designed to enable the parent or guardian to continue the work on their own so that the student is reading proficiently before they even step into a classroom.Many parents in the city, who are often worn thin by multiple jobs and raising children by themselves, are skeptical at first. But when Reeves explains that it takes just 20 minutes per day to instill lifelong reading skills in their child, the sale becomes a natural one.Even in the early days of the organization, which launched its first official program in 2023, there is an abundance of success stories to show those still skeptical.And the impact is going far beyond teaching kids how to read, Reeves says. The interaction with families can offer a unique avenue to share Gospel hope with those who wouldn’t otherwise allow it in their home.Reading mentors are trained to be aware of how the child or parent is feeling. Lessons are often paused to allow volunteers to encourage, pray with, or simply listen to a weary parent.“Our goal is to be a good neighbor,” Reeves said. “Jesus calls us to be good neighbors. If I see you struggling, how can I help you? I tell all our reading mentors, I say, ‘All you’re doing is being a good neighbor – let the Lord do whatever he’s going to do with that.”God is indeed using the Project, fostering Gospel conversations and enabling skills in underprivileged children that can transform their future. Reeves has eyes on a larger impact, working to partner with more churches and schools.But as the Harlem Literacy Project team works toward a brighter and more hopeful tomorrow for New York City children, Reeves is doing so with yesterday in mind – where she can trace the faithful hand of God that brought her thus far.“I could have never imagined that from those moments in the living room teaching my son his sounds, that I’d now be in a position where I’m helping hundreds of families, hundreds of children, helping schools,” Reeves said.“I don’t know what the Lord is doing, but I’m excited that he’s using me and he’s using the Harlem Literacy Project. He’s using this mission to not only gather his Church together to support, but also to show the love of Christ and people who have lost hope. They’ve lost hope in everything. But Jesus is still real. He’s still true. He still reigns. It’s been a phenomenal journey, and we are just getting started.”Learn more or get involved at harlemliteracyproject.org.Will Hall sees golden opportunity for Southern Miss in college athletics evolution - 7/23/2024Will Hall, Southern Miss’ fourth-year head football coach, is one of many expecting a major reconfiguration of the Division I college athletics landscape. Instead of worrying about it, he’s encouraging fans of his program to capture what he sees as an opportunity.Changing times in college sports were punctuated most recently by the folding of the Pac-12 conference, along with the additions of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC. Most believe the tectonic plates of conference alignment will continue shifting into a system that solidifies the already well-defined gap in resources among America’s collegiate programs. Some expect it to fracture altogether.Hall holds to the latter, predicting DI college football schools will be cleaved into three tiers. At the top, he thinks 16 to 32 of the NCAA’s highest-resource programs will form their own league, while those programs that already struggle to make ends meet will be left behind.“Obviously, you’ll have the elites of the elites – your Ohio States, your Michigans, your Georgias, your ‘Bamas, your Texases, and so on – that’ll have their way of doing things,” Hall said. “Then, you’ll have a level that can’t do anything and can’t pay players at all. They’ll be playing for scholarships.”Since 1984, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the NCAA could no longer have full ownership of college football television rights, a steady flow of TV revenue has swelled to tsunami-esque proportions.According to the NCAA, $4.2 billion in broadcasting revenue poured into DI college athletics in 2022. With the most recognized brands and highest revenue programs coalescing into a smaller group, that number is expected to grow exponentially.The bulk of that revenue had been previously shared by the Power Five conferences, but now will be drawn to just four conferences with the death of the Pac-12. In July 2021, the NCAA began allowing external payment to players for the use of their name, image, and likeness (NIL). With an abundance of resources, combined with a lack of regulation and no limit on players’ ability to transfer to new schools, the top programs expanded the canyon between themselves and the rest.“A lot of people say, ‘I wish we could go back to the way it was,'” Hall said, noting that upcoming lawsuit settlements will provide some clarity. “Well, players were getting paid back then too. It was just called cheating.“Social media talks about 10 to 12 schools and about three to five players at those schools. Outside of them, no one’s riding up in Cadillac Escalades or Lamborghinis. There are still 110, 120 players at those schools that aren’t getting that. Then, there are 120 other teams that have a whole roster to fill.”An athletics program like Southern Miss, which has the second-lowest athletic budget in the Sun Belt Conference, is one that many would label in danger of losing its footing in the national picture and slipping into the lowest tier that Hall speaks of. While the head coach recognizes the urgency of the black and gold improving its position, he sees an opportunity for the program to move into a better position than ever.“What we’ve got to do is get to functioning a little bit more like some of those other in-betweens that aren’t operating at an elite level budget-wise – the ACC and SEC teams that aren’t gonna make that cut with the elite,” Hall said, explaining that getting to a $2 million annual NIL budget would put Southern Miss in a strong position to move up a tier. “Southern Miss has been left behind so many times, and every time it’s been about TV money. That doesn’t matter so much anymore.”The SEC is expected to soon follow in the tracks of the Big 10, who just inked a $1.1 billion dollar media rights deal, in becoming the next 10-figure league. But Hall doesn’t think the current makeup of conferences will last long. And when the “non-elite” programs are separated from the soaring influx of TV cash, there won’t be as much separation.“You look at a place like Mississippi State, they get $52 million from the SEC every year. Without that $52 million, there ain’t a whole lot of difference between us and them,” Hall said. “I mean, UCLA’s head football coach left to go be an assistant at Ohio State – in the same conference. There’s a group of schools that are functioning at such a high level that no one, even in their own conference, can touch them.“Look, there’s a tier that’s spending between 10 and 20 million dollars a year [on NIL]. That tier’s gonna run off and leave everybody. People say it’s the SEC and the Big 10 – it’s not. It’s a select few schools from each with a few others. We’re way closer to the bottom level of those two leagues than the lowest tier is to the elite schools in those leagues. We’re not that far away. If we can get to functioning on $2 million a year total, we’re right there with being like a lot of schools in the Big 10, ACC, and others.”Southern Miss’ athletic budget ranked 125th in the NCAA in 2023, or ninth-lowest among FBS schools. But bright spots like an average baseball attendance ranking in the top 10 nationally, three straight years of improved attendance in basketball, and a record-high budget last fiscal year are evidence of momentum in Hattiesburg.Hall also points to the fact that the chaos surrounding the current landscape will result in a reversion to the “way things used to be,” albeit in a different form. He referred to most Southern Miss athletes, such as current NFL players Frank Gore, Jr. and Jason Brownlee, choosing to stay in the black and gold instead of moving up via the transfer portal.Data from a national transfer portal study conducted by the NCAA solidifies his point that most current college athletes benefit from staying where they started. In the 2023 transfer cycle, 154 players transferred from Group of Five programs to Power Five schools. Just four of them, or 2.5%, went on to be drafted in the NFL, while about 12% of players picked in the 2024 NFL draft were products of a Group of Five program.“The reality of it is most players stay. NIL allows them to stay,” Hall said. “Believe it or not, most of these kids still care about getting a degree – they want to. They don’t want to have to go start at a new school. They really care about their legacy. Frank Gore, Jr. cared about his legacy.”But to get to a point where success is sustainable and separation from Group of Five peers is likely, Hall says it will take a fanbase-wide effort. Southern Miss’ NIL collective, To The Top Collective, has more than quintupled in the last eight months – from around 80 annual members to now around 400.“[The situation] is as urgent as it could possibly be. If we can get everybody that loves Southern Miss to do what they can, we will run off and leave our competition,” Hall said. “One of two things will happen, we’ll out-recruit everybody at our level and win a bunch of games. And/or, it’ll put us in a position to when the next shift happens, a higher level will grab us. We have a fanbase that cares. Our number one resource is our people. We just gotta get everybody educated and bought in.”

William Carey women’s basketball completes perfect regular season - 2/26/2025The William Carey Lady Crusaders basketball team will step into postseason play this week without a blemish on their win-loss record.It’s the first time in school history a Crusader team has run the table in the regular season and the first time in 10 years a Southern States Athletic Conference has done so. It took a double-digit comeback effort in the final regular season affair – a 72-67 win over Loyola New Orleans – to complete the accomplishmentHead coach Tracy English, the 35-year veteran bench boss, said the feat of flawlessness was an experience like any other.“It was the best locker room feeling I’ve ever had – 35 years. Just to go in there and see those kids excited about what they’d just accomplished,” English said. “The fans were awesome, and it just felt like a championship battle the whole way. And then for them to finish it off the way they did – it was awesome.”A perfect campaign was the only thing on the line in that game as the Lady Crusaders had long wrapped up a regular season title and No. 1 seed in the upcoming SSAC conference tournament in Montgomery.The most recent win, and a host of others before it, was anything but easy. On their race to a 25-0 record, along with a 16-0 mark in SSAC action, the Crusaders won six games by five or fewer points. Seniors Kolten Blakeney and Rose Warren, along with sophomore Shaneal Corpuz, have led the way for the Crusaders all season.But it’s been an all-hands-on-deck approach in important moments that’s kept English’s team perfect in big moments. A prime example of that was redshirt freshman Anna Rose Engle’s 9-point performance against Loyola Saturday – a career-high for the sharpshooter.The top-seeded Crusaders will now put their perfect record on the line in postseason play, with the first test coming against No. 8 seed Blue Mountain Christian on Thursday at 12:30 in the SSAC Tournament.You can listen to the Lady Crusader’s postseason run on SuperTalk Hattiesburg or stream online here.

Auburn Regional: Golden Eagles claw their way to Hattiesburg Super Regional - 6/6/2023It was anything but easy as Southern Miss advanced to super regional play.On April 22nd, Southern Miss was 22-15. A host spot was out of the question and an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament looked bleak. Was this a super slump after falling flat in the Hattiesburg Super Regional last year? Were the arms lost from the 2022 club too much to replace? Was there any hope?On Monday afternoon, the Golden Eagles won their 24th of 26 games since that day in late April. They celebrated betwixt the pitcher’s mound and home plate for their second consecutive regional championship. But this time, the festivities were muted jubilation – almost businesslike. In a month and a half, Scott Berry’s boys have gone from dead in the water to soaring toward college baseball’s highest peak. Monday afternoon, heroes abounded.Christian Ostrander’s patchwork approach on the mound proved successful in the end. Tanner Hall was far from sharp, but set the tone for gutsy performances all the way around. Billy Oldham secured the win with 3 innings of scoreless relief, Luke Trahan and Colby Allen picked up some big outs, and Will Armistead once again dazzled to put the 11-7 win on ice.Offensively, Dustin Dickerson once more broke out the power stick for his 4th long ball of the regional – a 3-run hammer over the green monster to give the Eagles an 8-5 lead that they would not relinquish. Carson Paetow and Rodrigo Montenegro each supplied clutch knocks in big spots, continuing the theme set on Sunday evening. After a rough day to start the regional in the loss to Samford, the bats responded with 38 combined runs across the next four games to earn a regional championship the hard way.The Black and Gold have answered questions all year long. One particular quandary seemed to linger for long stretches – is Southern Miss any good? The answer is yes. In fact, the answer could not be more resounding in Scott Berry’s final postseason trip. He leads a crew of swashbuckling believers into the super regional round of NCAA Tournament play vs Tennessee.On Tuesday morning, the NCAA announced that there would be a Hattiesburg Super Regional for a second consecutive year. The Golden Eagles and Vols drew the Saturday - Monday (if necessary) time slot and will play game 1 at 2 o'clock on Saturday.

College baseball is here: Previewing Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Southern Miss - 2/14/2025The return of college baseball is finally upon us with Mississippi’s three major programs again having their sights set on competing in the sport’s upper echelon.Mississippi State is the only of the three to land in D1Baseball’s preseason top 25 rankings ahead of the 2024 season, but MSU, Ole Miss, and Southern Miss were all comfortably in the publication’s recent list of the top 100 college baseball programs. The trio also made up one-third of the nation’s top nine home attendance averages last season.The Magnolia State’s illustrious baseball tradition was cemented when the Bulldogs and Rebels went back-to-back as national champions in 2021 and 2022, while the Golden Eagles were a win away from the College World Series the following year.Can a Mississippi team finish 2025 with another run to Omaha? Let’s take a look.No. 18 Mississippi State | 2024 record: 40-23 (17-13 SEC)
Chris Lemonis’ club snapped a postseason drought in 2024 after landing a No. 2 seed in the Charlottesville Regional via a quarterfinal run in the SEC Tournament. The season ended in the regional final against host Virginia, but the Bulldogs now approach 2025 with higher aspirations.Gone are weekend pitching lynchpins Khal Stephen and Jurrangelo Cijntje, along with the team’s top three hitters, including 2024 CSpire Ferris Trophy winner Dakota Jordan. But, as seventh-year head coach Lemonis says, last year’s group set the stage for what he hopes is a bigger jump.“We had the tough seasons and then we started tough [last year] – probably the first 10 days were really hard,” Lemonis told SportsTalk Mississippi. “We probably put as much into those kids than we ever have, and they responded. Yeah, it was a tough finish in Charlottesville. But man, it was a gritty effort in the second half.”Replacing Cijntje and Stephen will be a tall task, but a handful of returning veterans and an intriguing new crop of talent gives pitching coach Justin Parker plenty to work with. Veterans like senior lefthander Pico Kohn and sixth-year righty Stone Simmons, who returns after two years of injury absence, will be leaned on to provide stability in the early going. Flame-throwing redshirt freshman Mikhai Grant is also a sneaky prospect to eat serious innings after sitting out his first year of college ball.For the pitching staff to reach their potential, the influx of high-profile transfers must live up to their billing. USC Upstate transfer Noah Sullivan, Indiana State transfer Jacob Pruitt, and Virginia transfer Chase Hungate will be the primary suspects.Sullivan drew national acclaim and an array of all-conference awards in the Big South as a two-way player, bringing a set of tools to Starkville that could be difference-makers on the mound and in the batter’s box. Pruitt dazzled as a starter for Indiana State in 2024 and will push for a weekend role for the Bulldogs, while Hungate’s ACC and postseason experience make him the preseason leader in the clubhouse for closer responsibilities.And even with the departure of Jordan, Connor Hujsak, and David Mershon, the pieces are present for MSU to improve offensively and in the field.It starts with Hunter Hines, who Lemonis mentioned first as a candidate to take over the club’s primary power-hitting role in the middle of the order.The Madison native is one of college baseball’s most proven quantities, starting 171 games across his three years in Starkville and bashing 54 career long balls along the way. His batting average took a dip to .257 after hovering around .300 his first two seasons, but he still found a way to contribute double-digit home runs and 56 RBI in his junior season.Around Hines, senior outfielder Bryce Chance will likely be called on to replace Mershon in the fire starter role towards the top of the lineup, with catcher Ross Highfill and shortstop Dylan Cupp expected to slide back into starting roles after coming back from injury.“We have some nice pieces. Right now, you feel like we have a nice group of depth, too,” Lemonis said. “We have to find out who our stars are – who our Friday and Saturday guys are. But we had to find that out last year. We didn’t know Khal Stephen was going to be like that, so hopefully we have some guys step up like that again.”The Bulldogs open the new season with a three-game home set against the Manhattan University Jaspers with a double-header beginning Friday at noon.Ole Miss | 2024 record: 27-29 (11-19 SEC)
The Rebels have trudged through a national championship hangover for two years – compiling the worst win-loss record of any SEC team over that span. That puts Mike Bianco and his crew in a similar position to 2024 Mississippi State, with pressure mounting to right the ship.Bianco doesn’t need anyone to tell him about that pressure, but he’s confident that his program will return to its winning ways after revamping the roster and bringing several important pieces back.“We’ve had success,” Bianco said, regarding the feeling around the program after two disappointing campaigns. “There’s guys in the room that have won a national championship, and players recruited here because we win and we go to the postseason. It’s always been a positive deal for us – fortunately for a long time.”Part of the effort to get back to that success was doing something the 25th-year Ole Miss head coach has never done: hire a pitching coach.Brandon native Joel Mangrum was brought on with the sole objective of reinvigorating Rebel pitching after they finished 12th and 13th in the SEC for team ERA in the last two seasons. Mangrum carries a wealth of experience, which includes six years as a pitching coordinator for the Cleveland Guardians in Major League Baseball.“It wasn’t good enough [in 2023 and 2024],” Bianco said of hiring Mangrum. “I thought they needed a new voice. I think we’re all better for it and Joel is terrific. There was a high expectation when we hired him, and he has well surpassed that. He gets what we do.”Bianco says the feeling is different in the clubhouse this spring because his staff feels “really comfortable on the mound.” Part of that is Mangrum’s arrival, but the largest part is what’s coming back.Hunter Elliot is finally healthy after a long recovery from surgery on his throwing arm. The 2022 Freshman All-American has thrown just six innings since Ole Miss hoisted the national championship trophy two and a half years ago, but he’s expected to play a lead role in his return.Parts two and three of the Rebel mound monster are Mason Nichols and Riley Maddox – both of whom have thrown a bunch of important innings as starters in SEC play. The pair combined for 108 innings pitched and an ERA of 4.82 in 2024.St. Joseph’s transfer Will McCausland and freshman Cade Townsend also impressed during fall practice, making them candidates for starting roles as well. Throw in the return of closer Connor Spencer, and Mangrum has a more than solid foundation to build on.The biggest question mark for the Rebels is in the field and at the plate. Every outfield position must be replaced, with middle infield and catcher also being points of competition leading up to opening day.Andrew Fischer, Ethen Lege, and Jackson Ross all moved on to either minor league opportunities or the transfer portal, meaning Ole Miss must replace their top three home run hitters from a season ago.Campbell Smithwick, Will Furniss, and Judd Utermark bring some experience to the order, while a smattering of talented transfers such as two-year BYU starting catcher Collin Reuter, Illinois State transfer shortstop Luke Cheng, and New Orleans transfer Mitchell Sanford will need to meld together well for the Rebels to return to form.Ole Miss begins the 2025 season in Arlington, Texas at the Shriner Children’s College Showdown round-robin tournament, with first pitch set for 3 p.m. on Friday against No. 21 Arizona.Southern Miss | 2024 record: 43-20 (20-10 Sun Belt)
Despite a nearly brand-new roster and a new leader at the top, the Golden Eagles didn’t skip a beat in 2024. They extended their current streak of eight consecutive 40-win seasons – the best running mark in Division I baseball – and reached a regional final for the fifth straight year before losing to eventual national champion and overall No. 1- seed Tennessee in the Knoxville Regional.But recent achievements like hosting two Super Regionals in three years’ time or back-to-back Sun Belt conference titles create a higher standard of success. The next step in Hattiesburg is to get back to the College World Series.“It’s a new group, new team, new pulse – you just got to figure it out. But we’re excited about the possibilities that are out there,” second-year head coach Christian Ostrander said. “I think it’s a really good blend of some really solid experience position player-wise and pitching-wise, then some youth and a couple of transfers that we’re excited about.”Dependable 2024 starters Billy Oldham and Niko Mazza both moved on to minor league baseball after the season. The good news is that every other difference-maker from a year ago is back for more.Junior Colby Allen was primarily used as a high-leverage reliever in late-game situations last season until a dazzling 7-inning start against Indiana in the Knoxville Regional proved he has what it takes to be a starter. He’s one of the odds-on favorites out of the fall to be the staff ace, while fellow relievers-turned-starters JB Middleton and McCarty English will have to be in the mix as well.The return of veterans Kros Sivley and Matt Adams adds yet another element to a wealth of experienced arms for Ostrander and pitching coach Keller Bradford. And don’t forget about Josh Och, who burst onto the scene in his freshman season and projects as one of the premiere closers in the Sun Belt.On the other side of the diamond, vets like Nick Monistere, Ozzie Pratt, Carson Paetow, Matthew Russo, and Davis Gillespie will be the cornerstones for a stingy offensive order and defensive lineup. Tucker Stockman and Lawson Odom are back to split catching duties, giving Ostrander’s staff another swath of battle-tested returners to build on.“I think the leadership and unity of this team is strong and we sensed that this fall,” Ostrander said. “They’re guys that have been here a while. They’ve seen what it looks like, and they know it’s their turn.”Paetow and Gillespie have competed amongst an outfield crop jam-packed with both talent and experience. Kentucky transfer Ben Higdon, Butler transfer Joey Urban, and sophomore Jake Cook have all shown the capacity to command one of the outfield spots. With someone inevitably left out of the three positions, the Golden Eagles will have multiple options for the designed hitter role.Third base is the only true wide-open position on the roster as opening day approaches. Freshman Drey Barrett, sophomore Seth Smith, and Mississippi State transfer Jace Norton have all been mentioned by Ostrander as suitors for the hot corner, though it will likely take the early stretch of the season for one of the three to secure the everyday starting role.Though not in the preseason top 25 rankings, Southern Miss was named one of the “next 10” teams by D1Baseball and called a contender to host a regional come postseason time.Southern Miss begins their new season on Friday with first pitch slated for 4 p.m. against Lafayette College in the first of a four-game weekend series.All three head coaches for Mississippi’s major programs painted the college baseball season as a long, winding road – one that will be colored by highs and lows aplenty.“It’s a long season. You just have to try to stay in the middle of the ring,” Ostrander said. “That’s a saying that Coach (Scott) Berry said for many years and it’s so true. Just stay in the middle of the ring. You’re going to get punched and you’re going to have good moments too. But you just can’t get too high or too low.”

‘I didn’t come here to play’: Southern Miss introduces Charles Huff as next head coach - 12/12/2024
The unprecedented hiring of 2024 Sun Belt champion head coach Charles Huff marked the end of a winding, nearly two-month search process for Southern Miss. His introduction on Thursday is what athletic director Jeremy McClain, university president Dr. Joe Paul, and Golden Eagle faithful hope is the beginning of a resurgence in Hattiesburg.Huff’s first public appearance as the head coach of Southern Miss football was framed by an abundance of fanfare. A parted sea of black and gold welcomed the former Marshall head coach as he strolled to the stage under banners paying homage to former Golden Eagle legends like Reggie Collier, Jeff Bower, and Brett Favre.The location was a purposeful, symbolic setting for a program that was once among the upper echelon of “mid-major” of schools that routinely took down giants like Alabama, LSU, and Nebraska. With Huff at the helm, those who put him there are optimistic that Southern Miss can reclaim that standing.“It’s only fitting that we stand here on Eagle Walk as we introduce our next head coach. As we look at these banners above us, we’re reminded of the legendary players and coaches that have come before us,” McClain said, echoing Dr. Paul’s sentiment that Huff fits the profile of someone who not only understands the past, but exhibits the ambition and mettle it will take to return the program to success.In four years as the head coach at Marshall, Huff compiled a 32-20 record, never won less than six games, and punctuated the tenure with a 10-win, championship campaign.The Maryland native lands in south Mississippi with a lengthy track record of success, which includes time under James Franklin at Penn State, Nick Saban at Alabama, and being named the national recruiter of the year by 247 Sports in 2021. Huff also spent the 2018 season as the associate head coach at Mississippi State under Joe Moorhead.“To the great state of Mississippi, it’s good to be back,” Huff said to the crowd of Golden Eagle faithful. “To the Hattiesburg and Southern Miss community, fans, alumni, donors, supporters, haters – all of the above – it’s time to get back to the top.”Huff went on to detail his vision for success for Southern Miss, one of attitude, work ethic, and a competitive edge that will reinstate the national respect once commanded by Golden Eagle football that has been eroded by a 13-year comatose in which the program has gone 58-101.“People will stop scheduling Southern Miss – period,” Huff remarked.But, Huff says, it will be far from easy. He noted the new topography of college athletics that has made consistent success for programs like Southern Miss a steeper climb than ever. Commitment from top to bottom, alignment of approach, and focused action are non-negotiable to achieve revival.“We put those three things together, we can get exactly where we want to be. It’s not going to be easy. This is going to be the toughest transition anyone connected to this university has ever been through,” Huff said. “It’s going to be hard… Our traditions are going to be challenged. The way we’ve always done things is going to be challenged. Not forget, not remove, but adjust.“It’s going to be the hardest thing we’ve ever been a part of it, but I can guarantee you it will be the most rewarding, most gratifying moment we’ve ever been a part of when we hoist that trophy in the Rock.”Huff inked a 5-year, $4.75 million contract (which includes an automatic rollover after the fourth year) to lead the Golden Eagles – a $950,000 yearly salary. He’ll also have $1.75 million to spend on building a staff of 10 assistant coaches and $600,000 for support staff. According to USA Today, the deal makes Huff the fourth-highest paid head coach in the Sun Belt.Huff, McClain, and Dr. Paul all took advantage of the celebratory introduction to emphasize a need for the fanbase to join in on the investment – be it through the program’s independent NIL fundraising arm, To The Top Collective, the Eagle Club scholarship fund, or simply buying season tickets.An additional facet of the challenge for Huff is reinvigorating a fan base that has spent the better part of 15 years in the doldrums of college football. In his first address to those supporters, he made a confident promise.“I didn’t come here to play,” Huff concluded. “I came here to win. And we will win.”Southern Miss will open the 2025 season against in-state foe Mississippi State on August 30 at M.M. Roberts Stadium.

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