HATTIESBURG — Braxton Myers wouldn't be at Southern Miss football if it weren't for an NCAA lawsuit in December that immediately granted him multiple undergraduate transfer eligibility.
Myers is a redshirt freshman cornerback for the Golden Eagles. It will be his third Division I team since January 2023.
The former 247Sports four-star prospect enrolled early at Ole Miss before entering the transfer portal in the spring. He landed at Purdue and re-entered the portal after one semester.
Now at Southern Miss, Myers believes she has finally found her home.
“He's a very talented guy who's starting to learn how to be a college football player,” Southern Miss coach Will Hall said. “He is still young, but he has a bright future.”
Why Braxton Myers chose Ole Miss and then transferred to Purdue
Myers originally committed to the University of Southern California, but transferred to Ole Miss during his senior season at Coppell High School in suburban Dallas. The reason he chose the Rebels, he said, was then-cornerbacks coach Sam Carter.
But when Myers arrived in Oxford, Carter took the cornerbacks coaching job at Purdue and left.
Myers followed Carter to Purdue after spending the spring at Ole Miss before redshirting last fall.
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Why Braxton Myers ended up at Southern Miss
The lawsuit gives Myers the opportunity to transfer again without penalty, similar to how Southern Miss basketball point guard Andre Curbelo was cleared to play starting in December.
“At first, it was a little stressful because we had just switched to the unlimited transfer rule,” Myers said. “I had a meeting with the coaches at Purdue just before, and I didn't like how it played out.”
Myers' father is Michael Myers, a native of Vicksburg, Mississippi, who played 10 years in the NFL as a defensive lineman. Before attending the University of Alabama, Michael Myers was a two-time JUCO All-American at Hinds Community College outside Jackson.
He recommended Braxton go to a team with a better chance of getting playing time.
After his NFL career, Michael Myers became Hines' graduate assistant in 2012, where he coached alongside current Southern Miss cornerbacks coach Dwyke Wilson.
Twelve years later, his son Braxton is playing for Wilson.
“It was very smooth,” Braxton Myers said. “They make you feel very welcome.
“Coach Hall, he’s always checking in on me and asking me how I’m doing. I've never had a head coach do that to me.”
Southern Miss' defense is currently undergoing a makeover with new defensive coordinator Clay Bignell.
It's too early to declare what exactly Braxton Myers' role will be this season, but the 6-foot-1, 205-pounder is a fan of Wilson's ability to use his length for physicality. He said he enjoys philosophy. He also added that Southern Miss' scheme is similar to the one he briefly studied at Ole Miss.
“I think it’s very easy to learn and free to play,” he said.
Sam Sklar is the Southern Miss beat reporter for the Hattiesburg American. Email ssklar@hattiesb.gannett.com and follow us at @sklarsam_.
