Damion Fletcher (born July 1, 1987) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

High school career

Fletcher attended

Biloxi High School Biloxi High School is the only public high school located in the city of Biloxi, Mississippi. It has approximately 1,650 students and 150 faculty. History The original Biloxi High School was built in 1912 on Howard Avenue. A “new” Biloxi Hi ...

. He had 1,750 yards and 26

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s as a

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

when he led them to a 7-4 record. They lost to Meridian Wildcats in the first round of the playoffs. He finished his career with 952 yards and 13 touchdowns as a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

. He was also an All-District selection for two years, as well as a Region 4-5A Offensive Player of the Year, two-time ''

Sun Herald The ''Sun Herald'' is a U.S. newspaper based in Biloxi, Mississippi, that serves readers along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The paper's current executive editor and general manager is Blake Kaplan and its headquarters is in the city of Gulfport ...

s All-Coast team twice, Second-team All-State by ''

The Clarion-Ledger ''The Clarion Ledger'' is an American daily newspaper in Jackson, Mississippi. It is the second-oldest company in the state of Mississippi, and is one of the few newspapers in the nation that continues to circulate statewide. It is an operating d ...

''. He was also his team's

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

and team captain. He was also a state 5A winner of the

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

. A two-star rating by ''

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''. He was also named All-Southeast Region by ''PrepStar''.

College career

In the 2006 season, he ran for the 13th most yards by a freshman in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

history. He set school and

conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

freshman rushing records with 1,388 yards on 276 carries (5.0 yards-per-carry) and 11 touchdowns. He also ranked 11th in the nation in rushing, the first among true freshmen running backs, 25th in all-purpose yards, second in conference rushing, seventh in all-purpose yards and eight in touchdowns scoring. He is also the school's first 1,000-yard rusher since 2002 and the second ranked single-season rusher. He helped the offense finish with over 2,000 yards rushing for the first time since 1987. He was named the team's offensive Player of the Week following his performances against

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, UCF, and

Tulane Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...

. Also in 2006, he was named a Freshman All-American by The ''

Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

''. During his sophomore season, he rushed for 1,586 yards on 295 carries (5.4 yards-per-carry) and 15 touchdowns. He also had 29 receptions with 227 yards (7.8 yards-per-carry). He was awarded the Most Valuable Player award following the 2007 GMAC Bowl. He was a finalist for the

Conerly Trophy The C Spire Conerly Trophy is an award given annually to the best college football player in the state of Mississippi by the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. Voting Sixty media representatives from across Mississippi determine the Trophy recipie ...

in 2006 and won the award in 2007. Also in 2007, he was named Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year by ''CollegeFootballNews.com''. He is a Second-team All-American by ''Athlon Sports''. Honored as the toughest running back to bring down by ''

Lindy's Lindy's was two different deli and restaurant chains in Manhattan, New York City. The first chain, founded by Leo "Lindy" Lindemann, operated from 1921 to 1969.("Opening date was Aug. 20, 1921.") In 1979, the Riese Organization determined that ...

''. Named #46 on Top 67 running backs in the nation by ''

Phil Steele's Phil Steele (c. 1960) is an American sportswriter and analyst who focuses exclusively on college and professional football. He is considered a "highly respected prognosticator" within the sports media. His company, Phil Steele Publications, prod ...

''. In 2008, Fletcher saw his numbers hit a slight decline as he ran for 1,313 (6.0 yards-per-carry) on 219 carries, and 10 rushing touchdowns, both the lowest he has had in his three-year career as a Golden Eagle. He recorded 33 receptions with 248 yards and 1 touchdown. He ran for 1,015 yards in the 2009 season, including 78 yards in a season-ending loss in 2009 New Orleans Bowl versus the

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders are the men's and women's athletic teams at Middle Tennessee State University, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. MT athletic teams participate in NCAA Division I ( Bowl Subdivision in football) in Conference USA. MT ...

. He became only the ninth player in

FBS (Division I-A) history to reach 1,000 yards in all four seasons, finishing his college career with 5,302 yards. Fletcher passed

Herschel Walker Herschel Junior Walker (born March 3, 1962) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He was also the Republican nominee in the 2022 United States Senate election in Georgia. ...

(5,259) and

LaDainian Tomlinson LaDainian Tarshane Tomlinson (born June 23, 1979) is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. After a successful college career with the TCU Horned Frogs, the San Diego Chargers se ...

(5,263) for eighth on the NCAA's career rushing list.

College statistics

References

External links

Southern Miss profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fletcher, Damion 1987 births Living people American football running backs Southern Miss Golden Eagles football players Sportspeople from Biloxi, Mississippi Players of American football from Mississippi