OCTOBER 09, 2017 12:46 PM
HATTIESBURG
The quarterback position is uncertain for Southern Miss headed into Saturday's homecoming contest against UTEP, but Keon Howard appears on pace to again get the start.
Howard received his first start since the season opener on Saturday and played well in a 31-29 victory at previously unbeaten UTSA, completing 15-of-20 passes for 212 yards and three touchdowns while running 10 times for 31 yards.
He filled in for redshirt junior Kwadra Griggs, who continued to wear a soft cast on his injured left hand on Monday.
USM head coach Jay Hopson wasn't ready to commit to a starter for Saturday's 6 p.m. game in Hattiesburg.
"We're waiting to see," he said. "Kwadra can play, but is he 100 percent? I don't know yet. We're just waiting. We'll go out there and watch the first couple of days this week. We're certainly blessed to have two guys. We've got to see how it looks on the practice field."
USM offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said the decision to start Howard last week was an easy one.
"Going into the game, the decision we had to make was either play with a 60 percent Kwadra or a 100 percent Keon," Dawson said. "Keon was playing well the last couple of weeks. Kwadra could have played for sure, but right now Keon is the healthy guy and playing well."
Dawson said that he saw Howard showing improvement recently in practice leading up to the UTSA contest.
"Over the past couple of weeks, you could see that Keon was getting comfortable," Dawson said. "He relaxed a little. Sometimes if you sit back and look and watch for a little while, things settle down for you."
Griggs has completed 53.7 percent of his passes for 951 yards, eight touchdowns and one interception in four games.
Howard has also appeared in four games, completing 27 of 43 passes for 370 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.
USM is 3-2 and 1-1 in C-USA play.
Patrick Magee: 228-896-2333, @Patrick_Magee
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