Five Golden Eagles Earn Preseason League Honors; Southern Miss Picked First in East
July 24, 2007 HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Five Southern Miss players were chosen to the preseason Conference USA coaches' team, and the Golden Eagles were tabbed to win the East Division crown in an announcement made by the league office, Tuesday, in Irving, Texas. Last year's freshman All-American Damion Fletcher (Biloxi, Miss.) headlines the list of preseason team members, after putting together the most-ever yards rushing for a freshman at the school and second-most yards on the ground in the school's history with 1,388. Joining Fletcher on the offensive side of the ball is senior offensive lineman Chris Clark (New Orleans, La.), who was a first-team all-league performer last season and returns as the most experienced player on the offensive line. Junior tight end Shawn Nelson (Gonzales, La.), who was named to the John Mackey Award Watch List for the nation's top tight end, earned a nod on the offensive team, after collecting team highs for catches (36) and yards receiving (506) in 2006. Senior defensive back Brandon Sumrall (Beaumont, Miss.) highlights the other side of the ball for the Golden Eagles, along with junior defensive end Martavius Prince (Ft. Pierce, Fla.). Sumrall recorded the second-most number of tackles for Southern Miss in 2006 with 80, to go along with 3.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and a pair of interceptions. Prince collected 54 stops, including being nationally ranked in tackles for loss (No. 54) with 15.0. The 2006 Conference USA Football Championship game featured the Golden Eagles and Houston battling for the league title and the two squads are favored once again for a title shot in 2007, according to the league's 12 head coaches. The Golden Eagles were picked to win the East Division crown, garnering 69 of a possible 72 points. Following the Golden Eagles in the East were East Carolina (48 points), UCF (47), Marshall (39), Memphis (30) and UAB (19). The Cougars were picked to win the West, earning 63 points to edge 2005 champion Tulsa (62) by one point. SMU (48) was picked third in the division, followed by UTEP (37), Rice (30) and Tulane (12). Southern Miss was picked to finish second in the East Division in last year's poll, but the Golden Eagles finished the year 6-2 in the league and advanced to the second annual C-USA Football Championship game. USM fell 34-20 to Houston, but rolled to a 28-7 win over Ohio in the GMAC Bowl. The bowl win was the team's third-straight, and Southern Miss closed out its 13th-straight winning season with a 9-5 record, the school's fourth nine-win season since 1997. Junior wide receiver Jarett Dillard of Rice was chosen as the league's preseason Offensive Player of the Year after establishing Rice's single-season receiving records last season. Dillard caught 91 passed for 1,274 yards and 21 touchdowns in 2006. The 21 TD catches also set a C-USA record, and he enters the 2007 season with an overall streak of 15 consecutive games with a TD catch, just three off the record of 18. Reigning C-USA Defensive Player of the Year Albert McClellan of Marshall was picked as the preseason favorite to repeat as the conference's top defensive player. He led C-USA in sacks (11) and tackles for loss (19), while registering 77 total tackles in 2006. UCF cornerback Joe Burnett was tabbed as preseason Special Teams Player of the Year. Burnett had 11 punt returns for 132 yards, good for a 12.0 per return average and was named first team punt returner by the C-USA coaches in 2006. The 2007 C-USA Football season kicks off on Thursday, August 30, when Tulsa travels to Louisiana-Monroe in a game that will be televised by ESPN2 at 6 p.m. CT. Nine more games will take place on Saturday, September 1, with five of the contests set to air on national television. SMU will take on Texas Tech on Monday, September 3, on ESPN to round out the full slate of opening weekend games. 2007 C-USA FOOTBALL COACHES PRESEASON POLL
2007 C-USA FOOTBALL COACHES PRESEASON AWARDS Offensive Player of the Year Jarret Dillard, WR, Rice (91 catches, 1,247 yds., 13.7 avg., 21 TD) Defensive Player of the Year Albert McClellan, DE, Marshall (77 tackles, 19.0 TFLs, 11.5 sacks) Special Teams Player of the Year Joe Burnett, PR, UCF (11 returns, 132 yds., 12.0 avg.) First Team Offense QB Paul Smith, Sr., Tulsa RB Damion Fletcher, So., Southern Miss RB Kevin Smith, Jr., UCF OL Doug Legursky, Sr., Marshall OL Jeff Akeroyd, Sr., Houston OL Chris Clark, Sr., Southern Miss OL Brandon Pearce, Jr., Memphis OL Robby Heos, Sr., Rice WR Jarett Dillard, Jr., Rice WR Emmanuel Sanders, So., SMU WR Donnie Avery, Sr., Houston TE Shawn Nelson, Jr., Southern Miss First Team Defense DL Albert McClellan, Jr., Marshall DL Martavius Prince, Sr., Southern Miss DL Marcus Hands, Jr., East Carolina DL Philip Hunt, Jr., Houston LB Joe Henderson, Jr., UAB LB Brian Raines, Jr., Rice LB Nelson Coleman, Sr., Tulsa DB Quintin Demps, Sr., UTEP DB Brandon Sumrall, Sr., Southern Miss DB Will Dunbar, Sr., UAB DB Kenneth Fontenette, Jr., Houston First Team Special Teams K Ben Bell, Jr., Houston P Thomas Morstead, Jr., SMU KR Chris Johnson, Sr., East Carolina PR Joe Burnett, Jr., UCF
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