Here is the first in a series of camp previews for selected non-AQ schools.

Opening camp: Southern Miss

Schedule: Practice starts today. The first day in full pads is Friday.

What’s new: Record-setting running back Damion Fletcher is gone, along with his 5,032 career yards. A mainstay in the backfield for four seasons, Southern Miss is going to have to make do without him. V.J. Floyd is a top candidate to start, but watch out for Tracey Lampley and freshman Kendrick Hardy.

Sidelined: Quarterback Austin Davis was cleared to practice in June and should be 100 percent for practice after injuring his foot last season. Still, coach Larry Fedora expects good competition between Davis and Martevious Young during fall camp. Wide receiver DeAndre Brown should also be healthy after a hamstring injury slowed him in the spring.

Key battle: Four starters are gone on the offensive line, leaving some major battles going into camp. The two biggest could be at tackle. On the left side, the race is between sophomore Darius Barnes and junior college transfer Lamar Holmes; at right tackle it is between Jason Weaver and Thomas Edenfield.

New on the scene: Hardy came in as a highly touted freshman and redshirted in 2009. But he had a great spring and could have a great season.

Breaking out: Let’s give this to the entire defense, which is going to have to break out for Southern Miss to do better than 7-6. With nine starters returning, the pressure is on this unit to show it can stop opponents on a consistent basis. The talent is there, with defensive end Cordarro Law along with the best linebacking corps in C-USA of Korey Williams, Martez Smith and Ronnie Thornton.

Don’t forget about: Defensive end Roshaad Byrd. He missed the second half of last season with an ankle injury and is confident he will be healthy. He could be a good complement for Law.

All eyes on: The secondary. The front seven is just fine for the Golden Eagles. But two starters are gone and so is Alabama transfer Alonzo Lawrence, leaving this unit with question marks.

Quoting: “We are expecting a breakout year. We’re going into our third year. We’ve upgraded our talent level and I’ve got the pieces of the puzzle in place. We’ll be a major player in this league.” -- Southern Miss coach Larry Fedora