University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss' Davis and Pruitt Honored By CollegeFootballNews.com
12/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Southern Miss' Davis and Pruitt Honored By CollegeFootballNews.com
Hattiesburg, Miss. - Southern Miss' linebacker Rod Davis and defensive back Etric Pruitt have been named to the CollegeFootballNews.com 2002 All-American team. Davis was named to the first team, and Pruitt was named a second team selection.
Davis, who last week was named the recipient of the Conerly Trophy, given to the best football player in the state of Mississippi, leads the Golden Eagles in tackles (157), sacks (10.5) and tackles for loss (23.5). He also has two interceptions, three pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble. He is a two-time All-Conference USA first-team selection and was named as a semifinalist for the Butkus Award. Davis currently is ranked No. 2 in the nation in solo tackles (116), tied for fourth in total tackles, No. 7 in tackles for loss and tied for 12th in sacks. He leads Conference USA in tackles, sacks and is second in tackles for loss. He set the Southern Miss record for tackles for loss in a season and is two sacks short of matching that record.
"I still feel like I'm living in a dream world, between the Conerly Trophy last week and the All-American honors given to me this week," Davis said. "My mother always told me to keep a level head when it came to awards and honors. The Lord gave me the ability to play football at this level, and I want to thank him for the opportunity that I have to play the game."
Pruitt, a first-team Conference USA selection, led or tied for the the Golden Eagle lead in interceptions (6), pass breakups (12), forced fumbles (3), fumble recoveries (2) and blocked kicks (2). He currently has a career-high 124 tackles, including 72 solo stops, 1.5 sacks and seven tackles for loss. He was named a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award and was a two-time Conference USA Player of the Week selection during the past season. He is tied for No. 14 in the nation in total interceptions, tied for No. 14 in interceptions per game and is No. 16 in interception return yardage. He is currently No. 22 in the nation in pass breakups. He tied the Conference USA record for interceptions in a game, when he picked off three of Army's passes on Sept. 28.
"I put a lot of time and hard work this past summer into getting better and to improve myself," Pruitt said. "I go out and work as hard as I can each week and prepare for the games. I watch film and prepare myself mentally and then go out on the field during practice and prepare myself physically. I then work hard and put as much effort as I can during the games. This just proves that hard work pays off. I just want to keep working hard and get better each day."
Southern Miss finished the regular season with a 7-5 overall record and a 5-3 record in Conference USA action. The Golden Eagles will face Oklahoma State in the Houston Bowl on Dec. 27, at Noon, in the new state-of-the-art Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. The stadium is the only one in the NFL that has a retractable roof. There?s not a bad seat anywhere?all 69,500 seats are good and weather will not be a problem.
Tickets for the game are on sale at the Southern Miss Ticket Office. Tickets for the game are $57 each and can be purchased by calling either 1-800-844-8425 or 601-266-5418, by faxing an order to 601-266-6529, or via the internet at www.SouthernMiss.com. The priority order deadline for Eagle Club members and football season ticket holders is Friday, Dec. 13.
Southern Miss? revenue for the game will depend, in part, on the number of tickets the Golden Eagles are able to sell. Fans are encouraged to buy their tickets through the Southern Miss Ticket Office to assure their seating within the Southern Miss ticket area.
The Golden Eagles are scheduled to practice Wednesday, Friday and Saturday of this week, take four days off, and then work Dec. 19-22, and depart for Houston the following day, Dec. 23.
