Jan. 3, 2007

MOBILE, Ala. - The Southern Miss football team completed a two-hour practice, today, at Murphy High School in preparation for Sunday's GMAC Bowl game against Ohio University at 7 p.m., on ESPN.

"It was a good practice today," Southern Miss Head Football Coach Jeff Bower said. "We need to finish up strong over the next couple of days for a very good Ohio team. We need to really concentrate and get a little sharper. Ohio is a very physical team that had a very good season and will be ready for the game. We need to take care of the ball and be mentally prepared."

Southern Miss spent the first half of a spirited practice sharpening their fundamental skills going through various individual drills, which included tackling, blocking and timing. The second half of practice was spent in team periods with the full offense working against the defense. The Golden Eagles then spent a lengthy period of conditioning before the end of practice.

The Golden Eagles will have a bowling extravaganza tonight as part of the bowl activities and then tour the USS Alabama Battleship tomorrow. Southern Miss will practice tomorrow afternoon at Ladd-Peebles Stadium at 3:30 p.m.

It also was announced that senior kicker Darren McCaleb was selected to play in the Inta Juice North-South All-Star Game on Saturday, Jan. 13, at Galena Park ISD Stadium in Houston, Texas. Senior offensive lineman George Batiste was selected earlier to play in the All-American Classic in Las Vegas, Nev., on Monday, Jan. 15 at 3 p.m., CT.