Scouting Southern Miss QB Braylon Braxton
Braylon Braxton will make his 20th career start at quarterback for the Golden Eagles on Saturday night at Joe Aillet Stadium.
Career Recap
As a redshirt senior in 2025, Braylon Braxton finally entered a season where he was won the starting quarterback job and did not have to constantly worry about looking over his shoulder. The Frisco, Texas, native started his career at Tulsa and showed promise as a redshirt freshman in 2022. Braxton entered the following season as the starter, but quickly lose his position after he went down and Cardell Williams flashed his potential. After transferring to Marshall in 2024, Braxton lost the job opening day to Stone Earle. The Thundering Hurd sputtered on offense until deciding to give Braxton a shot. After he was named the starter, the 6’2 230 pound quarterback threw for 1,624 yards and 19 touchdowns to just 2 interceptions, while rushing for 610 yards and 4 touchdowns. More importantly, Marshall finished the season 8-0 and won the Sun Belt Championship. After Head Coach Charles Huff bolted for Southern Miss, Braxton and a myriad of Marshall players packed their bags for Hattiesburg in pursuit of another SBC Title.
2025 Statistics
3 GP, 67/97 (69%) for 692 yards, 7 TDs, 2 INTs, and 132 rushing yards.
For his efforts, Braxton has earned a 76.4 PFF grade through 196 snaps this season.
Let’s take a deeper dive into his numbers.
Passing Numbers by Level
At LOS or Behind | 28/28 (100%) for 156 yards, 1 TD & 0 INTs
0-9 Yards Downfield | 27/34 (79%) for 242 yards, 2 TDs & 0 INTs
10-19 Yards Downfield | 6/18 (33%) for 119 yards, 3 TDs & 2 INTs
20+ Yards Downfield | 6/14 (43%) for 175 yards, 1 TD & 0 INTs
Braxton’s high level accuracy in the short passing game jumps off the screen, but his long ball has also been impressive, earning a a 91.1 PFF Grade on passes 20+ yards down the field. Equally as glaring are Braxton’s struggles connecting on mid level passes ranging from 10-19 yards.
Passing Pressure
Kept Clean | 57/79 (72%) for 639 yards, 5 TDs & 2 INTs
Under Pressure | 10/18 (56%) for 53 yards, 2 TDs & 0 INTs
Not Blitzed | 50/74 (68%) for 570 yards, 4 TDs & 1 INT
When Blitzed | 17/23 (74%) for 122 yards, 3 TDs & 1 INT
Braxton’s production doesn’t fall of a cliff when being blitzed, but his effectiveness when being pressured does reduce his completion percentage by 16 points, and drops his yards per attempt to just 2.9.
Top Playmakers in Renewed Rivalry
Saturday’s matchup will see the Bulldogs and Golden Eagles face off in football for the first time since 2021, the infamous Frank Gore Jr. at quarterback game. This season, Southern Miss dropped their home opener to Mississippi State by 17, defeated Jackson State relatively comfortably, and impressively handled App State to begin conference play.
Slot receiver Elijah Metcalf leads the Golden Eagles’ receiver room with 10 receptions for 124 yards, and it will not be the first time that the Bulldogs defense has faced off with the wideout. Prior to arriving at Marshall in 2024, Metcalf led Middle Tennessee in receiving yards the year prior, and recorded 59 yards and 1 touchdown versus Louisiana Tech. 2nd and 3rd on the team in receiving are also Marshall transfers, slot receiver Tychaun Chapman (120 yards) and outside receiver Carl Chester (93 yards).
Against App State in Week 3, Braxton completed 22 of 30 passes for 279 yards and 2 touchdowns with 1 interception, while adding 27 yards on the ground.
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