Mississippi State Bulldogs--Quick Look from ESPN
The following article was published on ESPN by Chris Low.
Today, we take a look at what should be the strongest and weakest positions for Mississippi State entering the 2010 season:
Strongest position: Defensive line
Key returnees: Pernell McPhee, Fletcher Cox, Josh Boyd, Nick Bell, Devin Jones
Key departures: Kyle Love
The skinny: It’s always nice to have a stud in your defensive line, a player the other team has to plan around, and that’s where McPhee comes in this season. He was very good as a junior after coming over from junior college and led the Bulldogs with 12 tackles for loss. But with this being his second year in the league, he has everything it takes to be the best defensive end in the league.
Cox and Boyd both played last season as true freshmen, and both are listed as starters this spring at tackle. Even though they play inside, both are extremely athletic. The newcomer to watch inside is 6-foot-7, 345-pound James Carmon, who played at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College last year. There’s a lot of promising young talent up front defensively for the Bulldogs. In addition to Cox and Boyd, Bell, Jones and Shane McCardell are three other sophomores who’ve played.
Weakest position: Running back
Key returnees: Robert Elliott
Key departures: Anthony Dixon, Christian Ducre, Arnil Stallworth
The skinny: Take away a player as productive as Dixon from any offense, and there are going to be obvious questions. He led the SEC in rushing last season with an average of 126.5 yards per game, and the Bulldogs leaned on him every step of the way. There are some talented guys eager to replace him, but very little experience. Juniors Robert Elliott and Vick Ballard are listed atop the depth chart this spring at running back.
Mississippi State fans have been waiting for Elliott to break out. Maybe this is his year after playing in Dixon’s shadow and being slowed by injuries. Ballard put up gaudy numbers in junior college last season, while 225-pound redshirt freshman Montrell Conner will also get a long look. All three will be running behind an experienced offensive line. Four of the five starters from a year ago are back up front.
SEC Sports Report is sponsored by Jay Holgate's Talking SEC Football.
More from Mississippi State Bulldogs
Through the end of July, here are the verbal commits for 2012:
1) LSU Tigers 18
2) Alabama Crimson Tide 14
3) Miss State Bulldogs 14
4) Auburn Tigers 13
5) Arkansas Razorbacks 12
6) Ole Miss Rebels 8
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ESPN
ALABAMA
Ha’Sean Clinton-Dix, S: Alabama boasts one of the best safety tandems in the league in Mark Barron and Robert Lester, but the 6-foot-1, 203-pound Clinton-Dix has the size and skill set to come in and make the Crimson Tide even stronger on the back end of their defense.
Cyrus Kouandjio, OT: One of the top offensive tackle prospects in the country last year, Kouandjio could provide some immediate depth. The Tide were already looking at moving All-SEC guard Barrett Jones to left tackle.
LSU
Jarvis Landry, WR: If the Tigers are going to make a run at a national championship in 2011, they’re going to need a lot more production from their passing game than they got a year ago. Landry is dynamic in the open field and should complement Rueben Randle and Russell Shepard nicely.
RIVALS- Coach Mullen picks up his 2nd commit for the week in Nelson Adams from Brandon, Mississippi. 6'5" 240 lbs and plays defensive end.
No other offers yet.
BIRMINGHAM NEWS- Miss State Coach Dan Mullen thinks trying to keep Mississippi State fans from ringing illegal noisemakers during a football game is an insult on par with trying to poison the Toomer's Corner trees in Auburn.
AJC- the cowbells, one of the SEC’s more controversial traditions, got a reprieve Friday when the conference presidents approved a one-year extension of an exception for MSU to the rule that bans artificial noisemakers in conference stadiums.
The Other Bulldogs can keep their cowbells, but the league will come down harder on them if they don’t confine their ringing to between plays. Last year, the school was fined $5,000 for one infraction and an additional $25,000 when the MSU fans did it again. This year, if they clang during play it’s going to cost Mississippi State $50,000 per infraction
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