[12/23/04]Over the past decade, the Southern Miss football program has been known for its staunch defense.

Now, a Warren Central grad will lead the historically powerful squad.

Jay Hopson, who left Hattiesburg for Ole Miss before last season, will return as the Eagles’ defensive coordinator next season. He will replace Tyrone Nix, who was hired at South Carolina earlier in the week.

“I can’t wait to be a Golden Eagle again,” Hopson said in a press release. “It helps that I still know a lot of the players and that I am familiar with the system that we will run. There’s a defensive tradition at Southern Miss, and it’s one that we have to uphold.”

Southern Miss also hired Jay Johnson as the team’s offensive coordinator. He will replace the fired Rip Scherer, who led the Eagles’ offense for two seasons.

“Jay Hopson has coached here before, and he is a very knowledgeable coach who did an outstanding job,” Southern Miss coach Jeff Bower said. “That will allow us to have some continuity with our defensive scheme. He’s an outstanding coach and an outstanding recruiter, and I look forward to having him back and leading our defense.”

Hopson served three years as the defensive backs coach at Southern Miss from 2001-03. Before then, he spent five years as defensive backs coach at Marshall. The Thundering Herd won four straight Mid-American Conference championships during Hopson’s tenure.

Hopson’s job will be intense from the start. The Golden Eagles lose their two best linebackers, Michael Boley and Antoine Cash, and five seniors overall. The entire defensive backfield is returning, however.

While Hopson will be in charge of re-tooling, Johnson will be in charge of rebuilding.

The offense has been a struggling point for Southern Miss during Bower’s years. Scherer lasted only two years after the team tried to install a one-back offense that had mixed results.

Johnson is in his second season in Hattiesburg, having been in control of the running backs last season.

“Jay Johnson is a very sharp, young football coach who is also an outstanding recruiter,’ Bower said. “I have all the confidence in him to lead this offense. By promoting from within a quality coach like Johnson, we will also have some continuity. There will be some changes, but a lot of the things that we’ve done, we’ll continue to do.”

Johnson, a former Northern Iowa quarterback, began coaching high school in 1993. He has steadily moved up in the ranks since then, joining the Southern Miss staff in 2003 as the team’s tight end’s coach.

“It’s a great opportunity that coach Bower is giving me,” Johnson said. “As a coach, there are certain stops you want to make in your career, and this is a great opportunity for me.”