It felt like football returned on a 90-degree Saturday morning at Pete Richardson Field this past weekend.
The periodic whistles of Southern coaches pierced the air, guiding more than 200 athletes from the high school and college transfer ranks during the Marshall Faulk Elite Camp. The first camp by the Jaguars first-year coach and former Pro Football Hall of Fame player was the latest instance of him and his staff staying active since spring practice ended in April.
Recruiting, whether in high school or the college transfer portal, is a daily task Southern tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator Ben Miles understands well. He and other staff members spent about six weeks on the road after spring practice to evaluate players at multiple levels. They returned to campus to share notes and create player boards.
One of those recruits Southern discovered and signed in May was quarterback Christian Johnson, a Hutchinson (Kansas) Community College transfer. The 6-foot, 206-pound signal-caller completed 156 of 258 passes (60.5%) for 2,120 yards, 22 touchdowns and five interceptions while leading his team to an 11‑1 record last season.
“Christian is smart as a whip,” said Miles, who is the son of former LSU football coach Les Miles. “I mean, really, really smart. Christian will bring you through every coverage and explain to you every concept we can run and read his progressions. And Chris is also very athletic. I mean, he's a broad sort of kid. He can run and he can change directions. So, athletic quarterback in the room, somebody who has leadership qualities, somebody who's a bright kid.”
Southern tight ends coach Ben Miles walks across the field before the start of a camp on Saturday, June 13, 2026 at A.W. Mumford Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Staff photo by Michael Johnson
STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL JOHNSON
This staff’s first high school recruiting class has joined the rest of the team on campus. Miles said they are training in the weight room ahead of August camp with strength and conditioning coach Barry Gant.
“Guys came back in June, started workouts,” Miles said. “(The) team is working hard and looking good. Coach Gant is bringing those guys through rigorous exercises every day, and they're challenging and being challenged and overcoming those things. So growing the team, maturing your team and making sure that the next class is getting in line.”
The staff's effort to identify talent that bolsters Southern now and in the future was exemplified on Saturday, where players as young as high school freshmen received instruction from coaches.
Over the last two weeks, the Southern coaching staff met with Faulk to plan the camp. The Jaguars coach said that while evaluation is crucial, he wants to show attendees the structured nature of the program. Another emphasis was simply “pouring into these kids,” so they can bring what they learned back to where they came from, Miles said.
Before position‑specific drills, athletes completed athletic testing in the 40‑yard dash, three‑cone drill, broad jump and standing vertical jump.
While Southern values the data collected in‑house, Miles said among the most important aspects of the camp was building genuine relationships with prospects from Louisiana and neighboring states.
“We can start building that relationship,” Miles said. “It's not necessarily over the phone, but in person. And not about, ‘Hey, your stats were so good, and man, we enjoyed your tape. But really like, ‘No, we know you. We really want to coach you, and we really want to tell you what you do well, and tell you what you need to improve on.’ So it's a big deal for us, and then the relationship piece of it.”