Loyalty Brought Tyler Lassiter to Southern Miss and Now He Wants to Make It Count

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Tyler Lassiter hasn't forgotten who believed in him when there weren't many others willing to do so.

An injury had changed the trajectory of the redshirt-sophomore's recruitment. Schools began backing away, and Lassiter was preparing to return to the junior-college ranks for another season. But Southern Miss defensive coordinator Joe Bolden never stopped pursuing him.

That mattered to Lassiter. And when other opportunities came calling over the offseason, after he had already arrived in Hattiesburg, leaving wasn't something he was interested in doing.

"Coach Bolden, he stayed with me through thick and thin, so loyalty is very important to me, especially being at the lowest moment in junior college with not many options," Lassiter said following Southern Miss' Saturday scrimmage. "How could I switch up on him?"

Now, Lassiter is trying to make sure that faith Bolden had in him is rewarded.

The 6-foot-3, 230-pound linebacker is still learning Bolden's defense and fighting for his place in a competitive Southern Miss linebacker room, but his ambitions stretch beyond just earning snaps. Lassiter wants to eventually become one of the unit's leaders, and, in his words, "cause havoc" whenever he's on the field.

A Loyalty That Goes Both Ways

Southern Miss Football, Linebackers — Southern Miss linebacker Tyler Lassiter (#2) among his teammates during Saturday's scrimmage. | Southern Miss Athletics

As mentioned above, if Southern Miss hadn't stayed loyal to Lassiter, he says he'd still be at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas for his redshirt-sophomore year instead of beginning his Division I journey in Hattiesburg.

“I just want to start off with thanking Coach Bolden," Lassiter said. "I planned on returning back to junior college this past year, with the injury and a bunch of schools dropping me in my recruitment. And once he brought me in, [I was] super excited for the opportunity. He's developing me day by day, and I'm hungry for it every single day, so I'm ready to come and make an impact.”

Although Lassiter had already joined the Golden Eagles soon after the conclusion of spring camp, teams still started knocking at his door in an attempt to get him to leave. That was a sign that he was healthy again and showing some of the same promise that made teams want to recruit him initially, but despite those new offers materializing late, Lassiter returned the favor for Bolden.

"Tyler was a highly recruited guy out of high school. Everybody's path is different, especially at this level, whether you’re coming from the top level down or you're moving up," Bolden said during the first week of fall camp.

"Tyler got here, [and] people still wanted him, right? And that's okay. … [That’s] a credit to him. He walked to my office one day, he said, ‘Coach, there's been a lot of talk, and people have hit me up, but I'm saying with you, and we're riding.’ And then that mindset, that attitude, really kind of transcends through that linebacker group.”

Loyalty is often a forgotten virtue in today's NIL era, with players and coaches swapping teams seemingly every time you can blink, but in this specific case, both Bolden and Lassiter have remained loyal to each other, and it appears to be having a positive effect on the Golden Eagles' linebacker room.

Getting Acclimated to Southern Miss and Hattiesburg

Southern Miss Football — A snapshot of the "Welcome To The Rock" banner inside M.M. Roberts Stadium before Saturday's fall camp scrimmage. | Josh House

Lassiter mentioned that Bolden can be tough on players at times, but that it always comes from a place of love. At the end of the day, Bolden is a coach players can have real conversations with outside of practice, which has helped with Lassiter's transition to Southern Miss. Something else that has helped with that transition is his new teammates making him feel right at home almost immediately.

“I’m learning a lot about Southern Miss day by day. I really appreciate how the team took me in super fast. First day in here, sat in the very back seat,” Lassiter said while pointing to the back corner of the media room.

“I didn't know a soul, and they basically took me up underneath their wings. They didn't treat me like I was somebody different because I got here in the middle of the summer. So, I feel like there's a really good team put in here, especially for whole teams basically brand new as well. Not just on the defensive side of the ball, on the offensive side of the ball [too]. [I] talk to those boys every single day.”

While Lassiter has quickly settled in socially, there are still a few parts of life in South Mississippi he's getting used to.

“The humidity, it'll get you from time to time. But it's pretty hot down in North Carolina [too]," Lassiter said. "But last season, I was out in Kansas, so I'm pretty used to the heat. Just got to get acclimated to the humidity. And it's a nice little city out here, too. Good food, as you can tell. Went from 215 to 230 in a month, so yep, it's pretty good.”

Finding His Place in a Fast, Physical Defense

Avery Sledge, Joe Bolden, Southern Miss Football — Southern Miss linebacker Avery Sledge (#33) with defensive coordinator Joe Bolden going over last-minute adjustments before Saturday's scrimmage at The Rock. | Josh House

As Lassiter continues to get comfortable at Southern Miss, he's been encouraged by the talent he's seen around him, particularly as it relates to the energy and experience that Bolden's defense possesses.

"There's a bunch of things I love about the defense. I love how the front four play in and out every day. They bring the intensity," Lassiter said. "I also love how Mathis Haygood and Avery Sledge... they brought me in and took me under their wing, helping me learn the playbook day by day. And it's nothing but appreciation for them. And I also want to thank all the DBs for playing their tail ends off day by day.”

That intensity was on display during Saturday's scrimmage. Lassiter acknowledged that the defense didn't begin the day particularly sharp, but said the unit quickly responded and began creating problems for the offense as the day progressed.

“I feel like we played fast and physical today," Lassiter said following Saturday's scrimmage, where he registered several nice tackles and an interception that was nearly returned for a touchdown. "First drive, we came out a little bit slow. And we all got on the sideline and picked it up from there. And as you saw, we had a couple of interceptions, a bunch of [tackles for losses] and stuff. We were just feeding off of each other's energy.”

With no starting roles completely settled yet, going into Week 3 of fall camp, Lassiter believes Southern Miss has several linebackers capable of making an impact this season.

“I feel like the linebacker room is super solid, from the top to the bottom," Lassiter said. "We're rotating. No position's solidified yet, and I feel like everyone out there can play. There's generally one person in the room that I don't think that can go out there on Saturday and make plays.”

Lassiter Wants to Grow Into a Leadership Role

Lassiter might be one of the newer faces in Southern Miss' linebacker room, but he already has a great example to follow in Mathis Haygood when it comes to how to be a leader on the team. For now, though, Lassiter isn't trying to force himself into that kind of leadership role before he's fully comfortable with the defense.

“Obviously, Haygood's a very good leader in the room. [I'm] listening to him and starting to speak up day by day," Lassiter said. "My main focus right now is really getting comfortable with the playbook and everything, because I don't want to go out there and get on somebody's tail end when I'm not 100 percent on what I'm doing the whole time. That's accountability. So, just day by day, keep on learning, pick it up, and I feel like that leadership role will come.”

Having that learn-first, lead-second approach fits what Lassiter wants his identity to eventually become on the field. He isn't promising perfection. He's promising a response when things don't always go the Golden Eagles' way and an aggressive, dare we say "Nasty Bunch" style that Southern Miss fans have been yearning for over the years.

“What fans are going to get is someone, if something bad happens on one play, next play, I'm going to go get it back the next play," Lassiter said. "My goal … is to eventually be a leader and step up on the defense, and I just want to cause havoc on the field at all times. Even if someone doesn't have the ball, I'm going to hit them. You know what I mean? That's just my goal.”

For Lassiter, then, the next step is fairly simple: keep mastering the defense, keep earning the trust of the players around him and let the leadership grow from there. Now, the big question is whether the loyalty that helped keep Lassiter and Bolden together can translate into something even more valuable: winning football this fall.

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