Southern Miss football wraps up class of 2020 with five more signees
After signing a group of 13 players largely dominated by junior college talent in December, the Southern Miss football program inked five more on Wednesday.
USM landed two new high school signees in 6-5, 245-pound tight end Mitchell Sellers of Paradise, Texas, and 6-foot, 175-pound defensive back Vinson Brown of Manvel, Texas.
Sellers, who committed to USM in July, chose the Golden Eagles over an offer from UTEP. He was also a relatively early pledge to USM, committing in August.
“We had him in camp and we loved him in camp. He has great upside,” USM head coach Jay Hopson told the Sun Herald Wednesday during a Signing Day Social at Mugshots in Biloxi.
Brown picked USM over offers from Army, Abilene Christian, Houston Baptist and Incarnate Word. He had 19 tackles in nine games as a senior.
“Vinson was in our camp in Hattiesburg, and we liked him,” Hopson said. “He’s tall, 6-1, with a 4.4 (40-yard dash). He’s very athletic.
“If I don’t see NFL capability, I promise I won’t sign him at Southern Miss. Do they all make it? No, they don’t. But I’ve got to see that potential. Vinson showed that to me at camp just with his length, size and change of direction.”
Keeping in line with its December haul, Southern Miss added three more transfers in former Arkansas tight end Grayson Gunter, College of Dupage defensive back Cameron Harrell and receiver Da’Quan Bailey-Brown from Dodge City Community College in Kansas.
Gunter is a 6-6, 243-pound Madison Central product who started six games for the Razorbacks in 2019. He had 11 catches for 135 yards and two touchdowns over three seasons at Arkansas.
“We’ve been following him since high school,” Hopson said. “For him to come back home and play his final year here, that was a huge get.
The 5-9, 170-pound Bailey-Brown also had scholarship offers from South Florida, Central Michigan, Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky. Bailey-Brown was a South Florida commit for about five months before he re-opened his recruitment in October, according to 247sports.com.
Bailey-Brown, who was an All-American selection as a sophomore, had 42 catches for 718 yards and eight touchdowns as a senior. He also had one punt return for a TD and had 1,114 all-purpose yards.
“He is an explosive player who has basically the MVP of the Kansas junior college league,” Hopson said.
Harrell began his career at the University of Iowa, signing with the Hawkeyes in February of 2017. He left Iowa in July of 2018.
This story was originally published February 5, 2020 at 4:23 PM.
