Feb. 1, 2006

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- -

2006 Southern Miss Football Recruiting Class

Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Hometown/HS/JC
Roshaad Byrd	DE	6-3	210	Meridian, Miss./Meridian HS
Brandon Davis	LB	6-2	190	Meridian, Miss./Meridian HS
Nick Dean	OL	6-3	281	Shannon, Miss./Itawamba CC
Ryan Ellis	WR	6-2	190	Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla./Allen D. Nease HS
Damion Fletcher	ATH	5-10	175	Biloxi, Miss./Biloxi HS
Tory Harrison	RB	6-1	185	Leesburg, Fla./Leesburg HS
Domonic Hopson	LB	6-2	232	Pascagoula, Miss./Pascagoula HS
Faron Hornes	WR	5-7	160	Bradenton, Fla./Southeast Bradenton HS
Chris Johnson	DT	6-1	285	East Brewton, Ala./Itawamba CC
Michael McGee	DB	5-10	175	Magee, Miss./Magee HS
Sean Merrill	DL	6-4	290	D'Iberville, Miss./Mississippi Gulf Coast CC
Alex Michael	OL	6-4	300	Meridian, Miss./Southeast Lauderdale HS
Tyler Unsworth	OL	6-6	292	Slidell, La./Northshore HS
Justin Wilson	DB	6-1	180	Taylorsville, Miss./Taylorsville HS

Roshaad Byrd 6-3, 210, DE Meridian HS/Meridian, Miss.

A three-year starter for Coach Ed Stanley at Meridian ... Finished with 189 tackles (96 solo, 93 assists) ... Also had four tackles for loss, three interceptions, one pass breakup, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries, both of which were returned for touchdowns ... On offense, had 12 receptions for 400 yards and four touchdowns as a tight end ... A First-Team All-State selection by The Clarion Ledger ... All-Region 3-5A ... Team finished 11-4 and won the South State title as a senior ... Team also had a combined record of 17-7-1 during his sophomore and junior seasons, advancing to the second round of the playoffs both years ... A three-star rating by both rivals.com and Scout.com ... All-Southeast Region by PrepStar ... Rated a 3 by The Forrest Davis Recruiting Annual ... Named to the Mississippi Top 25 by rivals.com and the Mississippi Hot 35 by Scout.com ... Chose Southern Miss over Alabama, Memphis, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Texas A&M.

Brandon Davis 6-2, 190, LB Meridian HS/Meridian, Miss.

A three-year starter for Coach Ed Stanley at Meridian ... Finished with 96 tackles (52 solo, 44 assists) ... Also had 11 tackles for loss, five sacks, 10 pass breakups, three quarterback knockdowns, four forced fumbles and one fumble recoveries, which was returned for a touchdown ... Second Team All-State by The Clarion Ledger ... All-Region 3-5A ... Team finished 11-4 and won the South State title as a senior ... Team also had a combined record of 17-7-1 during his sophomore and junior seasons, advancing to the second round of the playoffs both years ... A two-star rating by rivals.com ... All-Southeast Region by PrepStar ... Named to the Mississippi Top 30 preseason by rivals.com ... Chose Southern Miss over Jackson State and Mississippi State.

Nick Dean 6-3, 281, OL Itawamba CC/Shannon, Miss.

Played for Coach Jeff Terrill ... Helped protect the No. 7 quarterback in the nation, Thomas Kirksey, as the team finished with 182 passing yards per game and was ranked No. 2 in passing efficiency by the NJCAA ... Named First Team All-State and All-Region 23 as a freshman and sophomore ... Team had a 6-2 record and advanced to the state playoffs as a sophomore ... Team finished 5-5 and lost in the state playoffs to eventual national champion Pearl River CC as a freshman ... Becomes fourth offensive lineman to sign with a Division I school from Itawamba... High School: Played at Shannon High School in Tupelo, Miss. ... Named all-area and all-county, as well as to the Super 24 ... A two-star rating by rivals.com.

Ryan Ellis 6-2, 190, WR Allen D. Nease HS/Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

A three-year starter for Coach Craig Howard ... Led the state of Florida in receiving for two-straight seasons ... Finished with 103 receptions for 1,790 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior ... Had 74 receptions for 1,600 yards and 16 touchdowns as a junior ... Set the Northeast Florida receiving yardage record ... A two-time selection to the Florida Times Union All-First Coast team and the St. Augustine Record All-County Team ... Named to the Super 24 team by the Florida Times Union ... A two-time First-Team All-State selection by the Florida Sports Writers Association ... Named to the St. Augustine Record's Preseason All-County team ... Team finished with a 13-2 record and won the state championship as a senior ... As a junior, the team was 11-2, advancing to the regional finals ... Team finished 5-5 his sophomore season ... Also lettered in track and was a regional champion in the hurdles ... A two-star rating by rivals.com ... Rated a 3 by The Forrest Davis Recruiting Annual ... Ranked in the Top 5 wide receivers for Florida by rivals.com ... Chose Southern Miss over Florida International, Kansas State, Kentucky and N.C. State.

Damion Fletcher 5-10, 175, ATH Biloxi HS/Biloxi, Miss.

Played for Coach David Russell ... Finished with 952 yards and 13 touchdowns as a senior ... Had 1,750 yards and 26 touchdowns as a junior ... An all-district selection for two years ... Was the Region 4-5A Offensive Player of the Year ... Named to the Sun Herald's All-Coast team twice ... Second team All-State by The Clarion Ledger ... Team Most Valuable Player and team captain ... State runner-up in the high jump ... A two-star rating by rivals.com ... All-Southeast Region by PrepStar ... Chose Southern Miss over Arkansas State and Nicholls State.

Tory Harrison 6-1, 185, RB Leesburg HS/Leesburg, Fla.

A four-year letterwinner for Coach Charles Nassar ... Finished with 1,869 yards and 15 touchdowns on 196 carries as a senior ... Had a combined total of 858 yards and 10 touchdowns his previous three seasons ... A First-Team All-State selection by the Florida Sports Writers Association ... First-team all-city ... All-Central Florida by The Orlando Sentinel ... Named to the Sentinel's Top 100 ... Also lettered in basketball (four years), weight lifting (three years) and track (three years) ... Holds a 3.6 GPA ... An Honor Roll student ... Team advanced to the playoffs as a senior ... A two-star rating by rivals.com ... Chose Southern Miss over Bowling Green and Cincinnati.

Domonic Hopson 6-2, 232, LB Pascagoula HS/Pascagoula, Miss.

Played for Coach Dan Bland ... Finished senior season with 143 total tackles, seven sacks, five forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries ... As a junior, posted 115 tackles, three sacks and one interception ... Missed three games with an injury in his junior season ... Finished with 114 tackles as a sophomore ... Second team all-state by The Clarion Ledger as a senior ... First-team all-district as a senior and junior ... Named Most Valuable Defensive Player by the Biloxi-Sun Herald as a senior ... Named to the Clarion Ledger's "Best of the Rest" ... Also lettered in basketball ... Won the Ed and Eddie Langford Award as a junior, given to the player that shows the most desire and determination ... A three-star rating by rivals.com ... All-Southeast Region by PrepStar ... Two-star rating by Scout.com ... Named to the Mississippi Hot 35 by Scout.com ... Chose Southern Miss over Clemson, Mississippi State, Rice and Vanderbilt.

Faron Hornes 5-7, 160, WR Southeast Bradenton HS/Bradenton, Fla.

Played for Coach Paul Maechtle ... Had 1,486 all-purpose yards, with an average of 135.1 yards per game, during his senior year ... Had 39 attempts for 315 yards with three rushing touchdowns ... Caught 27 passes for 568 receiving yards at 21.0 yards per catch and six receiving touchdowns ... Had 22 punt returns for 301 yards, a 13.6 return average and two touchdowns ... Had 12 kickoffs returned for 302 yards for a 27.2 return average ... Had 780 all-purpose yards during his junior year ... Had 41 rushing attempts for 129 yards ... Had 30 receptions for 428 yards and seven touchdowns ... Returned 10 punts for 223 yards and two touchdowns ... As a senior, named first team all-state, First Team All-Sarosata by the Herald Tribune and first-team Mantechie County ... Named third-team all-state as a junior ... MVP of the Police Athletic League All-Star Game as the quarterback, totaling 320 all-purpose yards (185 rushing yards, 135 passing yards) ... Helped team post a 8-3 record in 2005, and a 9-2 record in 2004, making playoff appearances in both seasons ... A two-star rating by Rivals.com ... Also recruited by Missouri and UNLV.

Chris Johnson 6-1, 285, DT Itawamba CC/East Brewton, Ala.

Played for Coach Jeff Terrill at Itawamba CC ... Finished with 53 tackles, eight sacks (fourth in the state), 9.5 tackles for loss, 14 quarterback pressures, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble ... A second-team all-state selection ... High School: Played high school football for West Neal High School in Alabama ... An all-state, all-region and all-county selection ... A three-sport letterwinner including football, basketball and track ... A three-star rating by rivals.com ... Chose Southern Miss over Troy.

Michael McGee 5-10, 175, DB Magee HS/Magee, Miss.

A three-year letterwinner for Coach Jimmy Mangum ... Finished with 110 rushes for 792 yards and 13 touchdowns as a senior ... Added 24 receptions for 274 yards and a touchdown, while adding 382 total yards in kick and punt return yards ... On defense, finished with 42 solo tackles and 11 interceptions ... As a junior, had 150 rushes for 1,031 yards and 11 receptions for 142 yards, to go along with 308 yards in returns ... The District 8-3A Defensive Player of the Year ... District MVP as a running back and corner back ... Named to the all-area team ... Also lettered in baseball ... Team had records of 8-3, 9-4, and 8-4 over his senior, junior and sophomore years, respectively ... Team advanced to the second round of the playoffs each season ... A two-star rating by rivals.com ... Chose Southern Miss over Arkansas State.

Sean Merrill 6-4, 290, DL Mississippi Gulf Coast CC/D'Iberville, Miss.

Originally signed with LSU, redshirting in 2003, before transferring to MGCCC following the 2004 season ... Juco: Started the 2005 season at MGCCC for Head Coach Steve Campbell ... Named Defensive MVP in the Dalton Defenders Bowl in Kansas ... Named MVP defensive lineman in the South Division by the MACJC ... Named first team All State and All-Conference in 2005 ... Prep: Played for Coach Louis Smith at D'Iberville HS ... Finished with 93 tackles and 19 sacks as a senior, earning MPSA 4-A Defensive MVP honors and First Team 4-A All-State honors ... Added five forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and seven pass deflections, helping D'Iberville to a 13-1 mark and the 4-A state title as a senior ... Added 85 tackles and 14 sacks as a junior and 75 tackles and 12 sacks as a sophomore ... Finished his career with 46 sacks ... Two-time first team All-State and three-time first team All-Gulf Coast ... Ranked as the No. 6 defensive tackle by ESPN.com and ranked as the No. 24 defensive lineman by collegefootballnews.com ... Member of the Rivals 100, Orlando Sentinel All-Southern Team and Fox Sports Net South's Countdown to Signing Day "All-South" Second Team.

Alex Michael 6-4, 300, OL Southeast Lauderdale HS/Meridian, Miss.

Played for Coach Ty Trahan, a former Southern Miss standout linebacker from 1996-1999 ... 2005 Offensive Lineman of the Year ... 2005 Best Defensive Player ... 2005 All-Division 5-3A First Team ... All-Southeast Region by PrepStar ... Mississippi Top 125 prospect for 2006 ... 2004 Honorable Mention All-District Best Offensive Lineman ... All-American Scholar ... National Beta Club ... Who's Who Among High School Students in America ... Southeast 21 Club (Students making 21 or better on ACT) ... Holds a 3.70 G.P.A ... Lettered four years in basketball and three in track and field ... Threw the shot putt in track ... Chose Southern Miss over Alabama, Mississippi State and Washington.

Tyler Unsworth 6-6, 292, OL Northshore HS/Slidell, La.

Played for Coach Frank Jabbia ... As a senior, graded 91 percent for the season with 30 pancake blocks, and helped pave the way for an offense that gained 200 yards rushing per game ... Team finished 1-5 on the year, playing a shortened season because of Hurricane Katrina ... Named to the Times Picayune "Best of the Rest" ... An all-district selection ... Also lettered in track and basketball ... A three-star rating by rivals.com ... All-Southeast Region by PrepStar ... Chose Southern Miss over Louisiana-Lafayette, LSU, Memphis, Ole Miss and Texas A&M.

Justin Wilson 6-1, 180, DB Taylorsville HS/Taylorsville, Miss.

A four-year letterwinner for Coach Shannon White ... Finished with 32 catches for 620 yards and eight touchdowns ... Added 61 carries for 340 yards and five touchdowns ... Had five interceptions on defense ... Named to the WDAM All-Area team ... The team's most valuable receiver ... All-district ... Named to The Clarion Ledger Top 40 ... Second-team All-State selection by the Mississippi Association of Coaches ... Also lettered in basketball and baseball ... Team had an 11-11 record over the last two seasons ... Team made playoffs every year and won the state championship during his freshman season ... A two-star rating by rivals.com ... Chose Southern Miss over Louisville and Mississippi State.