Todd Monken and his coaching staff at Southern Miss have delivered on the recruiting front given the circumstances they inherited.
When Monken and company arrived in Hattiesburg, the football team was coming off an 0-12 campaign under former head coach Ellis Johnson. The pitch to prospects revolved mostly around being part of the group that resurrected the Golden Eagles.
It worked. The squad reversed field, achieving a Conference USA West Division championship, a 9-4 overall record and an invitation to the Heart of Dallas Bowl. Nine players lured to Southern Miss by Monken and his assistants at one point or another in their first three seasons earned league superlatives in some shape or form (first team, second team, honorable mention, all-freshman) earlier this month.