University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Athlon Sports Releases Football Preseason Predictions and Rankings
6/12/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
June 12, 2007
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Athlon Sports has released its 2007 Football Preview magazine, selecting Southern Miss to win Conference USA and placing several Golden Eagles on its Preseason All-Conference USA Team.
Ten members of the Southern Miss football team landed their names on the 2007 Athlon Preseason All C-USA Teams. Damion Fletcher, Shawn Nelson, Chris Clark, Martavius Prince, Gerald McRath and Brandon Sumrall were named to the first team, while Ryan McKee, Robert Henderson and Britt Barefoot were named to the second team. Rounding out the list was LeVance Richmond, who was selected to the third team.
Fletcher, Southern Miss' and Conference USA's freshman all-time rushing leader, carried the ball 276 times for 1,388 yards, an average of 5.0 yards per carry and scored 11 touchdowns last season. He also has 18 catches for 142 yards. He has a school freshman-record seven 100-yard or more rushing yard performances and had a season-high 177 yards against NC State. He also rushed for three of the top 10 freshman rushing marks in the school's history and is second on the school's single-season rushing list.
Fletcher, the GMAC Bowl MVP, was named to the Scripps Freshman All-American team, second team Freshman All-American by The Sporting News, rivals.com and scout.com, All-Conference USA first team, All-Conference USA Freshman team and was finalist for the Conerly Trophy, signifying the best player in the state of Mississippi.
Nelson, a junior tight end and All-American candidate, garnered first-team honors on the All-Conference USA Coaches' Team and honorable-mention sophomore All-American by CollegeFootballNews.com and has been named to the preliminary watch list for the 2007 Rotary Lombardi Award. He completed the 2006 season with a team-leading 36 catches for 506 yards and three touchdowns.
Clark, a senior offensive lineman, earned third-team All-Conference USA honors on the Coaches' Team and the Media Team, marking his first all-conference selection. He helped pave the way for Southern Miss' first 1,000-yard rusher since 2002. The Golden Eagles were the top rushing team in Conference USA last season, averaging 169.9 yards per game and No. 25 in the nation. Clark gave up two sacks for the season and was named the "Hawg of the Week" six times.
Prince, a senior defensive lineman, was named to the second team on the Coaches' All-Conference USA team, after being named to the third team on the Media team. He was the ninth-leading tackler on the team with 45 tackles, including 22 solo stops, two sacks and a team-leading 13.5 tackles for loss. He also had an interception, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.
McRath, a third-team All-Conference USA selection and All-Freshman team member, as well as a first-team Sporting News Freshman All-American, led the Golden Eagles in tackles with 104 tackles, including 59 solos stops, two sacks, 11 tackles for loss, one pass breakup and two forced fumbles. He finished with double-digit tackles in six games, including a season-high 15 against Houston in the Conference USA championship game. McRath also was named to the Scripps Freshman All-American team as selected by the Football Writers of America and to the Freshman All-American team by CollegeFootballNews.com.
Sumrall, a senior defensive back, was the second-leading tackler for Southern Miss with 77 total tackles, including 51 solo stops, two sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions, two pass breakups and three forced fumbles. One of his best performances of last season came against Memphis in which he recorded a total of 12 tackles, including 10 solos and a tackle for loss. He received All-Conference USA honors for the second-straight year, being named to the third team on the Coaches' and Media teams.
McKee, a junior offensive lineman, gave up only three sacks last season. He earned Hawg of the Week honors for the first time in his career against UCF, finishing with eight knockdowns. McKee had a season-high 10 knockdowns at Tulane and three pancakes against UAB. He helped pave the way for Southern Miss' first 1,000-yard rusher since 2002. The Golden Eagles were the top rushing team in Conference USA last season, averaging 169.9 yards per game and No. 25 in the nation. McKee was named to the honorable-mention team on the Coaches' All-Conference USA Teams.
Henderson, a senior defensive end, received All-Conference USA honors, landing on the second team of the Media Team and third team on the coaches' squad. He was the team's third-leading tackler with 59 tackles, including 36 solo stops, and was tied for the team lead with five sacks and has 12 tackles for loss. He forced a fumble, blocked a punt and broke up three passes.
Barefoot, who handled the team's punting and kickoffs last season, will step into the role as Southern Miss placekicker, replacing four-year starter Darren McCaleb. He finished the season with 68 kickoffs for 4,257 yards, an average of 62.6 yards per kick. He punted for 1,863 yards, averaging 38.0 yards per punt and a long of 55 yards.
Richmond, a senior free safety, finished seventh on the team in tackles (54) and recorded two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and four interceptions. One of his biggest plays of the year came against Tulane, when he recovered a Green Wave fumble and returned it 50 yards for a Golden Eagle touchdown. The Southern Miss coaching staff named him defensive player of the week twice, one for his performance against Tulane and the other for his performance in the victory over Marshall.
