STAND UP and CHEER

The football season is ready to explode with all the thrills and letdowns that each year always brings. There will be many activities before the game as old friends and new friends meet up and talk about the past and present. There is an excitement in the air that will soon fall upon us and consume us. If only for a few hours we can let the daily grind wait over in the corner while we share the passion of Mississippi State Football together.

There is a fantastic group of young men and women that have been working really hard to prepare for all the festivities that lead up to that first whistle and to all the excitement that follows. Our cheerleaders do a superb job of keeping each of us focused on the game and cheering for our beloved DAWGS.

Karley Smith is a veteran member of the coed cheer squad. We introduced her to all of you last year but in case you have forgotten we will do it again before we tell you about her new partner. Karley was born in Brookhaven, MS twenty-one years ago. In fact she celebrated her birthday a few days ago (8/18). She graduated from West Lincoln High School then attended Co-Lin JC before coming to Starkville. She is about to get her degree in Social Work then hopes to begin working with the elderly in some capacity, caring for their many needs and sharing memories both ways.

Karley played softball and basketball as well as cheered during her years in junior and high school. Karley could fill it up from the right wing. Karley also cheered for ten years at The Mississippi Gym of Dreams. She credits her coach there, Duane Meilstrup with pushing her to develop her skills to the point that she now can say she was a SEC Cheerleader at the best school in the conference. Karley credits her family and her deep personal relationship with God as being the source of encouragement and motivation as she goes through each day and prepares for the rest of her life after this, her senior year is done.

Karley, like other veteran cheerleaders, says that her favorite memory of cheering at State so far was being out in front of “The DAWG Family” in Oxford last year when TSUN and Elvis left the house as State blew them out and she got the thrill of celebrating the SMACK DOWN on their field with the team, band, fans and friends.

Karley invites you to follow her at Instagram: Karley_alayne

Karley’s coed partner (at least for now) is Jsean Nance. Jsean comes to State from Huntsville, AL and Sparkman High School. That is a large 7A school in downtown Huntsville. He is a “newbie” freshman beginning the path to a degree in engineering. Jsean only cheered for one year in high school before being in the right place at the right time to land a spot on the coed squad at State this year.

Being a newcomer Jsean hasn’t built the memories all of us have yet so he says just meeting the rest of the squad and getting to practice with them IS his memory so far. Hey Jsean that will change Thursday night at Cowbell ringing practice. He says the biggest influence on his life has benn his mom who worked and sacrificed so much for him.

You can follow Jsean at:

Twitter: brevdwinnerr or Instagram: brevdwinnerr

Please support and follow both of these leaders every time you attend games and other activities. We are lucky to have them leading us. Get ready to STAND UP and CHEER with Jsean and Karley.

Oh be sure to wave at Karley and tell her how much she means to us. Just stand up and holler “ Hey SQUISHY, We LOVE YA”! She’ll know what you mean :)

GGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOO DAWGS GO!