University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Golden Eagles Football Players Named To All-Conference Squads
12/14/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Golden Eagles Football Players Named To All-Conference Squads
Hattiesburg, Miss. - CollegeFootballNews.com and The Sporting News have named their all-conference teams and several Southern Miss players are found on the lists. Torrin Tucker (OL), Rod Davis (LB) and Etric Pruitt (DB) were named to both lists and Michael Boley (LB) was named to the CollegeFootballNews.com list and Terrell Paul (DE)was on the The Sporting News' list.
Tucker, also named to the All-Conference USA first-team, led the Golden Eagles in pin blocks this season with 14. He also help pave the way for running back Derrick Nix to rush for over 1,000 yards and the Golden Eagles to finish with over 1,700 yards rushing this season.
Davis, who was named the recipient of the Conerly Trophy given to the best football player in the state of Mississippi, was named as a first-team All-American by CollegeFootballNews.com and honorable-mention All-American by CNNSI.com. He 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. 1 in the nation in solo tackles (116), No. 5 in total tackles, No. 11 in tackles for loss and tied for 20th 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 that record.
Pruitt, a first-team Conference USA selection, was named a second-team All-American by CollegeFootballNews.com and CNNSI.com. He 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. 11 in the nation in total interceptions, tied for No. 15 in interceptions per game and is No. 16 in interception return yardage. He is currently No. 6 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.
Boley, a first-team All-Conference USA selection by the Coaches and Media, was second on the team in tackles with 134, including 87 solo tackles, eight sacks and 16 tackles for loss. He also had four pass breakups, two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble and an interception that he returned 54 yards for a touchdown at Alabama. He had double-figure tackles in seven games and his top tackle performance was 15 twice this past season at Alabama and at TCU.
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 Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the coming week, before departing for Houston on Monday, Dec. 23.
