Southern Miss' Mike Thomas named to NFLPA Collegiate Bowl

SUN HERALD

Southern Miss wide receiver Mike Thomas becomes the second Golden Eagle to earn an invitation to next month's NFLPA Collegiate Bowl after defensive back Kalan Reed announced his commitment earlier in December.

Thomas collected 62 catches in his second season with the Golden Eagles this fall and tallied a school single-season record 1,201 receiving yards, while also tallying 12 touchdown catches in the process. His touchdown total ranks tied for second on the Southern Miss single-season chart as he has caught a scoring pass in each of his last nine games.

The second-team All-Conference USA selection tallied seven 100-yard receiving games, including a career-best 162 at Louisiana Tech in the final regular season contest to help the Golden Eagles capture the C-USA West Division crown.

Mike Martz will attempt to defend his 2015 National Team title against Mike Holmgren's American Team on Jan. 23, 2016, at StubHub Center on the campus of California State University Dominguez Hills. In the rematch, participating players will benefit from instruction by some of the best to ever play and coach the sport.

The fifth-annual NFLPA Collegiate Bowl -- the only game for the players, by the players -- is scheduled for a 4 p.m. CT kickoff and will air nationally on ESPN2. In addition, American and National Team practices on January 20 and 21 will be televised live on ESPNU. The game and practices will also be available via WatchESPN.

Thomas and Reed become the fourth and fifth Golden Eagles to earn an invitation to this event, joining offensive lineman Darius Barnes (2012), defensive lineman Khyri Thornton (2014) and defensive back Emmanuel Johnson (2015).

This story was originally published December 12, 2015 at 5:46 PM with the headline "Southern Miss' Mike Thomas named to NFLPA Collegiate Bowl ."