Southern Miss freshman center Trace Clopton spoke to the Hattiesburg American recently about his performance during spring training.
In January, Trace Clopton traded his high school textbooks for the Southern Miss football playbook.
The month before, the 6-foot-2, 290-pound offensive lineman completed his degree requirements — one semester early — and decided to get a head start on his Golden Eagle career. And, if spring training is any indication, it could turn out to be one of the more fortuitous choices he has made.
Clopton has made the most of the past five weeks ascending to the top of the depth chart at center, a position not normally seized by a true freshman.