Mississippi State Football: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

​Hello State fans, I hope you all had a great Christmas and are looking forward to the Music City Bowl against the Louisville Cardinals. I'm pretty confident that the Bulldogs will put up some impressive numbers in Nashville against a Cardinals team that was just flat out destroyed by Kentucky. I see Kylin Hill rushing for well over 100 yards in this contest, and it would not surprise me to see Nick Gibson get close to that mark as well. I will not mention the quarterback situation just yet and will address that down in the GBU section.

How about Ole Miss hiring another coach in Lane Kiffin? You would have thought that after the controversy that surrounded their program for so many years that this might not have even been an option. Let’s face it, rumors are just that, and truth is hard to find. However, if any of the rumors that surround Kiffin are true, and there are many, this was a bad hire for TSUN. Just think, they thought what Freeze did was bad... man to be a fly on the wall during that hiring process.

For everyone heading north to the big little city of Nashville, please try to spend a little time seeing the city. Nashville is a great place to visit, and you can pretty much see everything on foot because downtown is not that big. If you don’t mind a small trip, head to the zoo just north of the city because it’s great. Last, please don’t forget that cowbells are not allowed in the stadium, so ring the hell out of them outside, Just kidding, Wink-Wink.

So, let’s talk hail state football... the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Bowl week.

The GOOD:

To start, let’s talk about this year’s recruiting class. I think any year that you are in the top 25 for recruiting is a great year. It is even better when a good portion of that class will be able to contribute next season. I give Coach Joe props on going after all the JUCO talent and getting them on the roster during the early signing period.

The 2020 class has the top JUCO defensive end in the country in Jordan Davis, the top JUCO inside linebacker in the country in Tyrus Wheat, and the number 2 JUCO wide receiver in Malik Heath. All three will see the field in 2020. However, this class was more than just JUCO players with a total of five four stars with a couple that could have been five star athletes. This is one of the best recruiting classes I have seen coming to State outside of the 2015 class that included Jeffery Simmons.

The BAD:

I have to say, watching Ole Miss wide receiver, Elijah Moore, acting like a dog peeing with his leg up in the end zone got me a little wound up. However, athe penalty and then the missed field goal due to the additional yardage was bitter sweet. I mean the win was great, but the way we won was epic. Nothing says stupid better that an Ole Piss football player acting like a dog peeing in an end zone. I mean this program is out of control and has been for several years with the way players act on and off the field. It makes me wonder how much of this behavior stems from the behavior of the coaching staff starting with Freeze and moving forward to Matt Luke. Either way, it is Kiffin’s problem to deal with now. I just wonder what rumors we will hear about over the next year or two.

The UGLY:

As most of you already know, Garrett Shrader will not play in the Music City Bowl due to an altercation with linebacker, Willie Gay. I must admit I was warming up to the idea of Moorhead coming back next season and really wanted to head into the 2020 season with a positive attitude. After I heard about this several days ago though, I just have to ask who is running this team and where the hell the rest of the coaching staff is.

First, let’s address the quarterback situation. We have Shrader who is a true freshman and a very talented athlete headed into next season as the starting quarterback. Then, we have Tommy Stevens who has a great arm and plenty of talent as well but is made of glass. I don’t mean sliding door glass, I mean like light bulb type glass. If there is no pressure, this guy could be a college Tom Brady. When he is under pressure it just a matter of time before... well, you know. That is why I ask why Shrader was around any type of contact. Last thing I remember was he was injured prior to the Ole Piss game.

Second, how did any form of altercation escalate to the point of punches being thrown and Shrader being severely injured? I must admit things can move fast but where were the coaches, staff and fellow players? It seems to me this is a culture issue on this team that if it’s not fixed, will only get worse.

Will I blame this totally on Coach Moorhead? No way. He can’t be everywhere, but he should be close to the quarterbacks for the most part in these situations. What I will say is this: I don’t know who started it, but taking no action is the wrong answer and just screams I am scared to hold anyone accountable. I will leave you with this quote as food for thought.

“The effectiveness of a leader is best judged by the actions of those he guides”

​​​​​​​​​​Bill Courtney​​

HAIL STATE AND GO DAWGS.