MSU News & Notes | Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Despite it being a Monday there was plenty going on around the world of MSU sports, namely MSU football, yesterday. Let's dive right in to today's MSU News and Notes:

• Yesterday was weekly Dan Mullen press conference day, and coach Mullen was definitely in high spirits following State's 6-0 start. Here's the full video, as always via HailState.com, of Mullen's chat with the local media:

• If you don't have interest in watching the entire video, here are some highlights from his chat yesterday:

Opening Statement

"This week is a homecoming game, an evening game and a big game for us. I loved this past week. I think our team played with a lot of intensity, and a lot of that has to do with our fan base. They did a lot for us. I know it was an SEC game. Going back to our last game a couple of weeks ago, which was not an SEC game; at home...we just really need that home field advantage. With South Alabama coming out in the second half, we came out slow, and the stadium was slow. We can't play that way as a team. We need our fan base to have the same energy that we have and to give us that advantage. [...] For a lot the younger guys, this is their first time in a situation where we're dealing with adversity of success. But a lot of the older guys have been in similar situations, so we need their leadership to come through and continue to have the maturity to focus through a long football season [...]"

On Tobias Smith's offensive momentum

"I think that he just brings some leadership into that huddle. He has a very different demeanor. When you watch the film, you don't point your finger and say 'boy it was the right guard that helped move the ball in these series.' There are several different factors involved in it. [...] He didn't go through spring and minimally he was held out of winter conditioning. Minimally summer training and was still voted as captain by his teammates. It shows the kind of respect he has with him team. I think in the huddle he uplifts the play of everybody around him."

On Jonathan Banks being a program-builder

"[...] This year, I think the mindset that he came back with was that, "I want to be a great player and I want to lead this team and do great things for this program-not just for me as an individual player." That's where he really stepped it up, and he backs it up. He backs it up with his performance in practice. He backs it up with how he carries himself and his work ethic in the weight room and training. He backs it up with his performance on game day."

• You can get an even better and more in-depth review and recap of the press conference from the guys who were there at Brandon Marcello and Bob Carskadon's recap posts.
• Some awards were dolled out yesterday, as senior cornerback Johnthan Banks was named to the Paul Hornung Award Weekly Honor roll Monday for the second time this season. Remember how Malcolm Johnson was a preseason Mackey Award candidate? Well, a different MSU TE is on the list award watch list at the season's midpoint. 6th year senior TE Marcus Green was named to the Mackey Award midseason watch list, one of just 26 TE's to make the cut at the midway point.
• Tobias Smith was named a co-offensive lineman of the week in the SEC yesterday for his performance against Tennessee Saturday night. Tobias, despite missing a good chunk of the game with an injury, registered an astounding 12 knockdown (pancake) blocks in the short time that he was on the field. Definitely a well earned award for a player who has struggled mightily with injuries, yet excels greatly when he does get a chance to be on the field.
• Missed this from Sunday, but Dan Mullen confirms what we all were thinking: there was no way he was going to kick a field goal there at the end of the game and have to kick off to Cordarrelle Patterson one more time. Good insight here on the thoughts behind that gutsy call.
• Here's your information bit of the day - Tobias Smith told the media yesterday that the better the offensive line plays, the more the dessert they get. STEP ASIDE, Mike Riley of Oregon State, your In-N-Out reward program has just been surpassed. The only thing now is the question of what kind of dessert? Are we talking brownies, ice cream, cookies, cake? The possibilities are endless. No matter what it is, the big guys deserve it for their hard work Saturday night against UT.

The better MSU offensive linemen play, the more dessert they get on Sunday, OG Tobias Smith tells us.

— Bob Carskadon (@bobcarskadon) October 15, 2012

• Mississippi State and Alabama will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. and be televised on ESPN when the two square off on October 27, the SEC announced yesterday.
• Middle Tennessee State will come into Starkville Saturday without its leading rusher and the nation's 13th leading rushing, senior Benny Cunningham. Cunningham sustained a knee injury in last weekend's 34-30 Blue Raider win over Florida International. The Blue Raiders now turn to freshman Jordan Parker, their second leading rusher on the year so far.
• Here's some video we were sent via twitter yesterday from The Basketball Diary featuring MSU PG commit I.J. Ready. Ready is #23 in white on both videos:

1 | Arkansas Hawks (Fayetteville) Vs Sports University Elite / Team Izod (New Jersey) (via TheBasketballDiary)

1 | Arkansas Hawks (Fayetteville) Vs PHPS Play Hard Play Smart (Sacramento) | 2012 Reebok Showdown (via TheBasketballDiary)

That's all for today's news and notes. Have a great Tuesday!