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Inexperienced? Yes, but Southern Miss is confident the secondary has plenty of talent

Southern Miss football coach Jay Hopson spoke to the Hattiesburg American recently about the team's overhauled secondary. Jason Munz/Hattiesburg American

The secondary was as veteran as they come.

Out of a possible 65 starts at its five defensive back positions, seniors were penciled into the starting lineup 62 times in 2017. The cornerbacks’ coach, Dan Disch, has spent more than three decades coaching football.

And it worked, too. Southern Miss held opponents to just 193.5 passing yards per game, the 25th-lowest total in the nation. Its opponents’ passer rating was 117.