University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Head Coach Jeff Bower Signing Day News Conference
2/1/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Feb. 1, 2006
On The Class:
"It was a good day for us. We are all pleased with the signing class. I think there is a lot of talent in this group. I'd like to compliment our coaches. They did a tremendous job of recruiting. We worked hard at it. When you look at the top to bottom quality of this class, it shows the tremendous job our staff did. It was a good year for us in Mississippi. We got 17 signees in Mississippi and I've said all along, this is where we want to recruit. It's important to keep in-state players that are capable of playing Division I ball in the state. We worked it hard and did a tremendous job. We had four signees from Florida, four from Louisiana, two from Alabama and one from California, who is a junior college player. We met most of our needs and we feel good about that. The one thing that excites me is that 11 of our signees were in one of our football camps this past summer. That's probably the most we've ever had. We found out a lot about them and recruited them the entire time. We are very excited and think we had a heck of a year."
On If Recruiting The Defensive Front Was A Big Priority:
"There were a lot of priorities, but when you look at what we signed there, Sean Merrill was a junior college signee and is in school right now and Chris Johnson from Itawamba. Anthony Gray, I think he's got a chance be an immediate help. He is big and strong and physically he is capable of playing next year. I think he's very talented. On our defensive ends, David Boyce was a kid that was in our camp and very important to us. He has tremendous growth potential and is a two-time defending champion in wrestling. He's a hard nosed, very athletic player. Vontre Mason, a juco player from California. We really like him. Roshaad Byrd from Meridian is actually an outside linebacker that we projected to be a defensive end. He has growth potential and put on some weight. We did a good job on our defensive ends and on the defensive line."
On Tory Harrison:
"He's a guy that Coach Messingham got on three weeks ago. We got tape and couldn't believe what we saw and how good he was. We brought him in the last weekend and extended an offer. He will be a good sized running back. He also plays baseball and track. Once he gets on a year-round weight program, I think he will grown into a good size back with a lot of ability. We're excited about him."
On Signing A Quarterback:
"We wanted to sign one. That's what we did and we think we got a very good one."
On The Coast Players:
"There was better talent throughout the state, but especially on the coast. C.J. Bailey is a very talented player that we project to be a cornerback. Damion Fletcher can play a lot of places. We are going to give him a shot at running back first, but we think he can go on either side of the ball. Domonic Hopson was a high priority because we need some help at linebacker. We think he is a pure inside linebacker. He was the best linebacker we had on the board. We did a good job on the coast. Mitch Rodrigue did a good job down there."
On Domonic Hopson:
"I think so. He's a guy that is capable physically playing as a freshman. He's 6-2, 232, so he would have a chance."
On If Recruiting Mississippi Was More Of An Emphasis This Year:
"It's always an emphasis. We did one thing different, by putting one more coach in Mississippi, which helped. There were more players in the state this year. There was also more Division I talent and more qualifiers. Yes we did emphasize it a little more, in that we had another coach in Mississippi. I'm glad we did that."
On How Mississippi Recruited Up Among The Coaching Staff:
"Derrick Nix had North Mississippi, Jay Hopson had Central Mississippi and Mitch Rodrigue had South Mississippi. Jay Johnson had a 45-mile radius around Hattiesburg, in addition to his out of state area."
On If The Class Came Together Late:
"It's typical of how it has been in the past. We went on some guys late. Most of these signees we've been recruiting for a long time."
On The Class' Eligibility:
"No one is eligible until they graduate. For the most part, the vast majority will be qualifiers. There are probably a few that have some work to do, but we think all of them are in the ballpark to be qualifiers."
On The Total Class:
"We signed 28, two counting back. We counted back Sean Merrill and Octavious Everett. Octavious took the fall off due to knee surgery, so we brought him in mid-semester."
On If Any Of These Players Will Be Gray Shirts:
"That's always a possibility. We'll see how it plays out with grades."
On If He's Glad The Recruiting Process Is Over:
"We're always relieved when it's over. We can take a break, shift gears and get ready for spring ball. We'll also start the recruiting process over."
On The Start Of Spring:
"We're going to start March 10 right now. We'll have the spring game on April 1."
