NCAA Football Southern Miss

Hours after Southern Miss coach Larry Fedora released a statement mourning the death of punter Peter Wilkes, the school said that Wilkes is not dead. But Wilkes is reportedly in grave condition after a gun accident in his home on Thursday night.

College Football Talk reports that "Wilkes suffered an irrecoverable injury Thursday night." The Associated Press retracted a story saying Wilkes was dead, adding, "Southern Miss officials and police now say Wilkes is alive." The AP says a new story about Wilkes will be published soon.

UPDATE: Hours after releasing a statement saying punter Peter Wilkes had died, Southern Miss said Wilkes was alive but in grave condition. The following story appears as it was originally published.

Southern Miss punter Peter Wilkes died Friday morning after an accident with a gun in his home on Thursday, the school announced today.

Less than a month after firing a handgun outside a Hattiesburg apartment, Southern Miss tailback Damion Fletcher has plead guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge. He faces six months probation plus community service but no jail time.

It is unclear what his status with the team will be after the conviction. Fletcher starred as a freshman in 2006 rushing for 1,388 yards and 11 touchdowns and hasn't let up since. If permitted to play, he'll enter his senior season with 4,287 yards and 36 career touchdowns. We last saw him rushing for 78 yards and a touchdown in a 30-27 victory over Troy in the New Orleans Bowl.

Southern Miss' super freshman wide receiver DeAndre Brown had a very impressive debut season -- but it ended on Sunday night in about the worst way possible. While running a deep route to the end zone in the New Orleans Bowl, Brown stumbled and his left leg gave out on him, apparently snapping about halfway down the shin.

Brown immediately grabbed for his leg and began writhing on the ground. Southern Miss' trainers raced out to him and eventually put his leg into a giant air cast and carted him off the field.

As Brown sat up on the cart, the New Orleans Bowl crowd started chanting "DeAndre! DeAndre!" which Brown responded to by flapping his arms like a bird for the Eagles faithful.

The 6-foot-6 receiver was expected to be a top pro prospect down the road. Brown was a highly-touted recruit for Southern Miss, and proved why in 2008 -- he chalked up 66 catches for 1,108 yards and 12 touchdowns during the regular season, including a 221-yard, four-TD explosion versus Rice.

Video of the injury is after the jump, but be warned that it's very graphic.

Turkey Legs to Go is FanHouse's complete travel guide for all of the 2008-2009 college bowl games. Here, we cover the New Orleans Bowl (New Orleans, Louisiana), which pits Troy against Southern Miss.

Overview / Matchup: Southern Mississippi, Brett Favre's alma mater, will have a short drive to the game; Troy, which won the Sun Belt with a win over Arkansas State in the league's championship game, won't have much further to go from in its campus in southern Alabama. The two teams meet down in the Byaou on Christmas Eve.

Hotels: The stadium is close enough to the center of New Orleans that you could stay anywhere in the French Quarter or central downtown and only be a short cab ride away. The Omni Royal Orleans Hotel features a rooftop pool that's open year round. Even if you're not much of a swimmer, the views are worth a trip topside. The Hilton New Orleans Riverside is located just across from the Harrah's and the Riverwalk Festival Marketplace. It offers the best all around value for bowl travelers. Budget-minded fans should consider the Chateau Dupre French Quarter. The Chateau has nice accommodations for the price and is adjacent to the House of Blues.

Restaurants: Our only advice about visiting New Orleans... eat, eat and eat some more. New Orleans is one of the only cities in America with a truly unique blend of cultures and cuisines you can't find anywhere else in the world. Bon Ton Café serves great Creole food, specifically crab, crawfish, redfish and bread pudding.