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How Southern Miss football has changed since the murder of MJ Daniels

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Mitchell Williams was stretched on the floor of his house watching television on the evening of June 11 when the phone rang.

On the other end of the line was Dwike Wilson, the cornerbacks coach at Southern Miss. Wilson explained to the team chaplain that he had received a call from coach Will Hall that something had happened to MJ Daniels and they needed to go to his apartment immediately.

“I jumped in the truck and drove off, even though I knew it wasn't going to end well,” Williams said. “And when I got there, several players were there, some of our coaches and MJ's car. I saw the coroner and a lot of my friends from the Hattiesburg Police Department there, and I just looked at one of them and didn't need to know. I just didn't know what had happened.”

Daniels, a 21-year-old defensive back, was shot in the driver's seat of his black Dodge Challenger, which was parked in front of his apartment.

“I see MJ's dad, and he's with Coach Wilson,” Williams said. “They bring a chair and sit him down. And then I go over and he's crying. So I spontaneously switched with him as if that was my child: I go over to him, hug him and hold him while he's there and cry with him.

“And then MJ's mom came and tried to take her turn. She knows it's not good. So I went to her and prayed for her and talked to her about the Bible until we felt she had enough support around her. Tough night.”

Four teenagers were soon charged as adults with felony counts of attempted armed carjacking. They are all being held without bail in the Forrest County Jail.

Daniels was a senior who was expected to start at safety for the Golden Eagles this season. Wilson said on a recent podcast episode of “Inside Southern Miss Athletics” that he believes Daniels would be selected in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Southern Miss' football season begins Saturday (6:45 p.m., SEC Network) at Kentucky, the team's first game since Daniels' death. To some extent, the team has moved on and hopes to improve on last season's record (3-9). They also continue to mourn the loss of not only a talented teammate, but a friend who was known for his infectious smile, bubbly personality, outstanding athleticism and passion for hunting and fishing.

“Let me tell you something, something nobody's talked about because he's such a great kid and it's such a tragedy,” Hall said. “That jerk was also a hell of a football player. He's probably the best free safety in this league, so there was a hole there that we had to fill as well.”

“I miss him every day. I love him every day, but we have to move on. That's what MJ would have wanted from us. He would have wanted us to pursue our goals, pursue our dreams. He came here to get this program back on track, and I like this football team. I think they're driven to do that.”

How Southern Miss offered consulting services

The day after Daniels' murder, Southern Miss held a team meeting. Portia Granger was there.

Southern Miss' athletics department previously did not have a dedicated psychologist for athletes and coaches until Granger was named assistant director of athletic counseling and performance in 2020, shortly before Hall was hired.

Granger is the only psychologist for the Southern Miss track and field team. Her responsibilities include certifying all Southern Miss coaches in mental health and first aid when they are hired. Hall also has a degree in psychology.

“When I'm in their space, I move the way they move,” Granger said. “And if the environment doesn't call for me to stand up and say something, then I don't. But if the environment calls for it or if the coach calls for me to speak, then I do. I've made myself available for a couple of players who needed immediate support. I've made myself available for a couple of staff members who needed immediate support, like all of these things. And then after that, I just sit there and wait for what they need. I show up. Sometimes I show up there just to ask.”

Then Granger said she tried to be approachable but not intrusive, as people's grief is unpredictable. Her conversations were limited not just to the football team, but to other Southern Miss programs as well.

Fall classes began last week, and Granger believes players and coaches may need more support as they return to their normal sports and school routines.

“Our job is not to make these uncomfortable feelings go away,” Granger said. “My job is to help these athletes live with them so that they don't dictate their lives and they don't overwhelm them to the point where they can't enjoy what lies ahead because of events in the past.”

MORE: This is how MJ Daniels' mother remembers the life of the murdered Southern Miss football player

Team Chaplain another resource for Southern Miss Football

Come to a Southern Miss practice and you'll find Williams, known to the team as “Brother Mitch,” wearing sunglasses and a bucket hat, probably making laps around the field.

He shakes everyone's hand as he walks down the field. He also hugs the players. Sometimes Daniels was his first hug.

Williams' role is simple, he says.

“It’s about loving players and coaches and just being there for them,” he said.

Williams said he also made himself available as a resource for the players and coaches. Four players were baptized a week after Daniel's death.

“One of our greatest gifts was that Coach Hall stopped making us stop working,” Williams said. “We didn't take breaks from training. MJ wouldn't have wanted that. The atmosphere here was so good before MJ died. If this had been a negative here, it would have been bad.”

“You don’t know”

Outside expectations for Southern Miss are low in 2024. The team was projected to finish second to last in the Sun Belt Conference West Division and not a single player was named to the preseason All-Conference team.

Southern Miss players and staff recently started wearing black shirts with yellow words that read, “They don't know.” It's an ode to the 2011 Golden Eagles, who won the Conference USA championship in coach Larry Fedora's final season. Fedora gave a halftime speech in the regular season against East Carolina where players gathered around him and said, “They don't know.”

Southern Miss will wear patches with the number 11 – Daniels' jersey number – on their helmets and will also walk onto the field wearing his jersey during the season.

“MJ's life ended abruptly and because of his personality, it affected all of us,” Williams said. “But the unfortunate gift it gave us is that no one knows how we feel about each other but us. So coach had a great idea, like, 'They don't know.' And yes, it's a reflection of the 2011 team, but the truth is, no one really knows what they went through.”

Sam Sklar is the Southern Miss reporter for the Hattiesburg American. You can email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @sklarsam_.

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