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....... .......| 1996 | Oct | Nov | Dec | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Jan | Feb | March | April | May | June | July | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 1998 | Jan | Feb | March | April | May | June | July | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 1999 | Jan | Feb | March | April | May | June | July | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2000 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May |
01/23/00 | 2000 Prospects01/23/00 |
1997 Signees | 1998 Signees | 1999 Signees
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6/30/00 - MSU Football signee McKinley Scott was seen running up and down the Mississippi River Levee in Tunica about a week ago. Nice to see that the young man is getting prepared for the upcoming season.
6/29/00 - I drove to Southaven, Mississippi yesterday for the MSU Alumni Association Desoto County Chapter Bulldog Family Celebration dinner. The Desoto chapter appears to be growing at a fast pace as evidenced by the 200+ Bulldog fans in attendance for the dinner. We all ate a great barbecue meal with all the extras and then enjoyed listening to MSU alumni association and athletic department guest speakers.
The first to speak was John Correro. It was noted, prior to John speaking, that he is celebrating his 31st year with the Alumni Association. Following him was Chuck Beddingfield. Both speakers were very positive about the path MSU is now taking. Chuck mentioned several new things that were on the horizon as far as the Bulldog Club is concerned. The Bulldog Club is planning on starting a junior Bulldog Club for the youngsters in the very near future. More on this later. The Bulldog Club is also planning on jump starting the MSU student Bulldog Club program soon. He also mentioned he is hopeful that all of the football season tickets will be sold by the end of July.
MSU football recruiting coordinator/assistant coach David Wilson spoke next. He, as usual, cracked the crowd up with his jokes. After telling a few jokes, he got down to business and talked about how the attitude of the players has slowly changed so that they have the same mentality as the players at Florida State had while he was there. They now go into each game expecting to win. He also mentioned that injured linebacker Barris Grant is now running. In fact, he was running with former offensive lineman Randy Thomas Tuesday.
MSU women's head basketball coach Sharon Fanning was the last MSU guest to speak. She talked about the accomplishments of last year's 24-8 team. She proudly noted that nine of her players were selected to the All-SEC Academic team. She also mentioned that four of her girls were dating MSU football players. One, Barbara Thomas, will marry present football player Edward Yeates early next year. She also noted that she expects all six of her signees to help the team this coming season. A couple of them could even work themselves into a starting roll. Her basketball camps had the largest group of kids since she has been at State. She mentioned that LaToya Thomas helped with the camp. She asked the folks in attendance to come to as many basketball games as possible, including the SEC Tournament which will be held in Memphis this season.
In between and after the guest speakers spoke, door prizes were won by quite a few of those in attendance. Included in the door prizes was a year's subscription to my premium site (Patrick Nelson won it). By the way, I would be more than happy to offer the same to any other alumni chapters that are having MSU alumni events this summer. The only stipulation is the winner must be a Bulldog fan.
Here are links to a few pictures that I took while at the dinner:
Pic 1
Pic 2
Pic 3
Pic 4
Pic 5
Pic 6
Pic 7
6/28/00 - Cleveland High School wide receiver John Eubanks was interviewed on a Greenville television station last night because he won the most valuable receiver and most outstanding camper award this past weekend at Florida's football camp. Anybody know anything about this youngster?
GS: Do you think Dontae being so much better than everybody else in high school may have been a hindrance to him adjusting to college ball to an extent because it came so easy to him in high school?
Coach Davis: Maybe to an extent but he is mature enough to know that he needed a year under his belt. Just the other day he told me he has it in his mind that he wants to have a great year and wants to rush for over a 1,000 yards and wants to carry the football team. He is no different from Justin and Dicenzo. They all want to do the same thing. Dontae needs to trim his weight a little bit, although he is not a fat guy. He is a big, bulky guy who just needs to trim a little. He is more like Ricky Williams, the Texas running back we played against in the Cotton Bowl. Ricky was also a big guy. Hopefully, we will have the same kind of running back in Dontae. Dontae is about 215 now. The thing about him is he is so big from his waist down. And he is pretty strong from the waist up. In fact, he benched 375 pounds, which is excellent for a guy who hasn't been in the program for an entire year.
6/27/00 - Click here to check out the latest football stadium expansion pictures.
6/27/00 - More pictures from the Shira Field House and the running track.
6/26/00 - A correction is in order. I found out last night that Blinn CC's outstanding defensive lineman Paul Broussard's hometown is La Porte, TX, which is just outside of Houston. I mistakenly thought his hometown was just outside of College Station.
6/26/00 - Some things that I discovered while preparing for the radio show last night.
6/25/00 - I received an email from an LSU fan about Blinn CC defensive lineman Paul Broussard. According to him, Paul was signed by LSU out of high school but had to go the juco route because of academics. LSU is still recruiting him as is Texas A&M and Mississippi State. Paul, whose hometown is located just outside of College Station, Texas, could very well be one of the top defensive linemen in the juco ranks this coming season.
6/24/00 - You wanted it; Gene's Page provides it. CLICK HERE to view a picture of the Iron Dawg poster. Thanks to MSU official photographer Darrell McAllister for providing this photo to me. Darrell will be advertising on my site very soon. He will have many MSU items for sale on his site.
6/24/00 - Here is a premium site feature article by Jarrod McDaniel. Just thought I would give you an example of what you are missing by not subscribing to my premium site.
Mississippi State defensive end Dwayne Robertson's season motto could be simple this year. By giving in to a little pain, Robertson hopes to dish out a whole lot more.
Last season, the standout linebacker from Georgia Military College entered the season with an elbow injury that occurred the summer before.
It was at State's infamous summer camp that Robertson landed awkwardly on his left elbow after a block and instantly knew something was wrong. "It was at summer camp last year that I came off of a block and went down to the ground," Robertson said. "When I went down I put my arms down to catch myself and all of my weight went on my arms. That's what hurt my elbow."
It was serious enough that it bothered Robertson even after the season started last fall. He played in the first three games of the year but knew he had to do something.
"It was bothering me so bad that I decided it would be best to go ahead and apply for the medical hardship and get the surgery over with so that I could be full strength for this season," said Robertson. That strategy has paid off in the fact that Robertson has built his strength up and hasn't lost any speed.
And when you're 6-1 and 220, 4.5 speed in the 40-yard dash is attention getting. "I can tell a difference in my strength this year," Robertson said. "I've gotten a lot stronger and my elbow is feeling just fine."
"It was tough coming back at first, because when you redshirt you want to just sit around all the time and get lazy," continued Robertson.
It may be Robertson and the rest of the team's stomachs that are the sorest after this summer, as the team definitely won't be classified as lazy after the summer camp is over. "Coach Grant has got us running so much," Robertson said. "We were out at the sand pit running up and down and I looked over and saw 10 guys throwing up. Coach Grant is going to have us in shape for this year whether we like it or not."
And this year the opponents may be the ones with the weak intestinal fortitude after the Bulldogs leave the field. "I think we are going to be strong this year," Robertson said. "Our defensive line will be in good condition and the rest of the defense will be ready."
Robertson is quick to point out that the offense will be a force to be reckoned with as well. "The skill positions are better and the size and skills of the offensive line are great," Robertson said. "Our running game will be on. In fact, I can see us having two 1,000 yard rushers this season."
That remains to be seen as the season comes along, but what is for certain is if a blitz is called, Robertson will most likely be involved. "I'll be doing a lot of blitzing," Robertson said. "If there's a blitz package, I'll be a safety and go after them. I see myself getting a lot of playing time between Rob Knight and Conner (Stephens) starting at end and Mario Haggan and me backing things up."
And the poor offensive lineman that has to block him? "I'm 220 and can run pretty well," Robertson said. "I should be able to get around him. If I can't get around a 300-pound lineman then I shouldn't be out there."
One thing you can count on is even if Robertson doesn't always get around that 300-pound lineman, he and the rest of the defense won't be afraid to leave their guts out on the field every time they set foot on it.
6/23/00 - Here are a few pictures that I took while visiting the Shira Fieldhouse yesterday.
O-Lineman Courtney Lee.
O-Lineman Donald Tucker.
Dog Safety Pig Prather.
Dog Safety Pig Prather-Pic 2.
D-Lineman Ellis Wyms.
Cornerback Kendall Roberson.
Dog Safety Anthony Bryant.
D-End Nathan Jackson.
6/22/00 - According to a source of mine, MSU football defensive lineman signee Jadice Moore is extremely excited about playing football for MSU this coming season and has really been working hard this summer getting ready for his first season as a Bulldog. My source went on to say that Jadice looked like he had added additional strength and weight.
Another source of mine emailed me to let me know the word out of Moulton, Alabama is MSU football offensive lineman signee David Stewart has met academic eligibility requirements. My source also said he was told by several folks from Moulton that MSU got a great kid who has unlimited talent when they signed Stewart. My source compared him to former Bulldog offensive lineman Brent Smith.
6/21/00 - Click here to check out the latest football stadium expansion pictures.
6/20/00 - The rumor is Fayette, Alabama quarterback Spencer Pennington (6-4, 190) is strongly interested in Mississippi State and Tennessee.
In exhausting its allocation of the discounted season tickets, the department also announced that fewer than 1,000 full-price season tickets remain for the 2000 football season.
A limited number of individual game tickets remain for Bulldog games with Auburn and Arkansas.
Through Mississippi State's June 1 priority deadline, football season tickets were running approximately 40 percent ahead of its pace of one year ago.
Full-price season tickets and remaining individual game tickets will continue on sale at the Bryan Athletic Administration ticket office, 662-325-2600.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department
6/19/00 - If you are hungry to hear about MSU football, Coach Sherrill and other MSU coaches will be at select cities throughout Mississippi during the rest of June and on into late July. To see where they will be, go to my MSU events page by clicking here.
6/18/00 - AL/MS All-Star Football Classic Game Notes (Won by Alabama 16 to 9):
6/17/00 - It is rumored that the Ole Miss coaching staff feels that they are doing very well with Hillcrest Christian School quarterback Seth Smith, a player that MSU is rumored to be recruiting.
6/16/00 - All-Star game notes:
6/15/00 - I have received two additional extremely solid confirmations that Kevin Fant is not transferring and will be playing quarterback at Mississippi State this fall.
6/14/00 - According to a few emails that I have received, there is a rumor going around on one or more Ole Miss message boards that MSU quarterback Kevin Fant is at home in Moss Point and that he is going to transfer to another school. He is at home in Moss Point but, according to Coach Sherrill, who I talked to Tuesday afternoon, the part about Kevin transferring to another school is nothing more than a rumor.
By the way, this rumor has been going around for months. I even asked Kevin about it twice and each time he has said there is nothing to it.
Nothing against Ole Miss fans, but if you are going to visit Ole Miss message boards, please take what they say about MSU with a touch of skepticism. Their knowledge of MSU athletics is suspect at best because, based on my personal observations, I have never seen an Ole Miss fan in the football office, at football practice or in the Shira Field House.
6/13/00 (10:00 p.m.) - Click here to view the football stadium expansion progress since last Friday. I will be doing weekly to bi-weekly progress updates from now on.
6/13/00 - I just received the Phipps SEC Football Preview magazine. If you are looking for a magazine that has a lot of SEC info then this is the magazine for you. Here are a few things that he wrote about MSU.
Phipps also has a complete analysis of each SEC team, a look back at 1999, interviews with coaches, sports writers and sports talk radio commentators about how they feel each team will do this season.
CLICK HERE to go to their website on the internet if you are interested in purchasing this magazine. On the website is a list of bookstores where you can find the magazine if you want to purchase it today.
6/12/00 - Recently, I talked with MSU football recruiting coordinator David Wilson about recruiting. Here is what he said.
GS: What area does each MSU coach recruit?
In Mississippi, Melvin Smith covers the northwest part, which is the Delta, and the area of Memphis, Tennessee. He also goes to Orlando, Florida.
Just below him, which is the section east of Starkville all the way down (it is cut off by I-55), is Glenn Davis' area. This is a huge southwest Mississippi area that covers the cities of Jackson, Vicksburg, and Natchez. Although it is a huge area, he does very well recruiting it.
The southeast section of Mississippi that goes from Hattiesburg on down to the coast areas is covered by Jerry Fremin. He will also go into the New Orleans area and other areas of Louisiana.
I have a section in Mississippi that extends south of Starkville, east of Philadelphia and north of Hattiesburg. It is sort of an east central section of Mississippi. My other area is in North Alabama which extends diagonally from north-northeast from Tuscaloosa down to Opelika. I also cover Fayette, Alabama. Plus, I cover from Mobile on into the panhandle area of Florida, mainly to the Panama City area.
John Hendricks covers the rest of the state of Alabama, including southern Alabama, which mainly includes Montgomery and Mobile. He also handles Miami and Tampa, Florida as well as all of the junior colleges throughout the mid-west. He also covers New Orleans a little bit.
Craig Stump covers the northeast section of Mississippi, which runs north from Columbus and anything else east of I-55. Craig also covers the Texas area for us. We cover Fort Worth, Dallas and a line down to Houston. Mainly he covers east Texas. If there is interest, we will follow-up on anybody in Texas who is interested in us.
Jim Tompkins handles the state of Georgia for us. Jim also recruits Starkville.
GS: What is the best thing or things a high school or junior college player can do that will help them be recruited by a college?
The biggest thing is to make themselves available to the university. Since we can't see them face-to-face, they can take unofficial visits to the university to meet the coaches. They can do this anytime of the year. They can also call us anytime that they want to, although if the coach that they are calling is not in, that coach cannot call them back because of NCAA rules. We try to contact them by letter letting them know that we couldn't call them back because of NCAA rules. That is one reason that each youngster who calls should always leave a name, mailing address and email address if the coach is not in. The NCAA considers an email and a fax the same as sending a letter.
Another thing that they can do is attend camps.
One other thing they can do is work with their high school or junior college coaches. We trust the evaluation and recommendation of the high school and junior college coaches. Working with their coaches is one thing that they definitely need to do.
6/11/00 - Mississippi State's football team, for the ninth straight year, has earned the American Football Coaches Association Honorable Mention Academic Achievement Award. MSU is one of two public universities, with Virginia being the other one, to have won this award for nine straight years. To earn honorable mention, a college has to have graduated at least 70% of its football players based on the AFCA's criteria. Twenty-seven teams were honored with the Academic Achievement Award with Syracuse winning the top award based on their 100% graduation rate. Only one other SEC team, South Carolina, was included in the twenty-seven.
AFCA award article linked here....
6/10/00 - I have just added a page that has links to pictures of the football stadium expansion progress. Click here to see the first signs of the beginning of the stadium expansion.
They had a great number of transfers on campus yesterday and expect a big crowd this weekend. BTW, the new students seems to have a lot of excitement about football. Just thought I would share this info with all of you.
6/09/00 - Here's a little more MSU football camp info. Leflore High School (Mobile, AL) won the top division championship. One of their players, John Beverly, was the championship game's MVP.
6/06/00 - There's a chance that Brookhaven High School's outstanding wide receiver Fred Perkins will be at MSU's July football camp. The rumor is he is now running a 4.5 forty.
6/05/00 - Additional MSU football camp info:
If you know of other teams that had players represented at the camp, please email the info to me. My email address is swindoll@genespage.com.
6/04/00 - Mississippi State had over between 550 and 600 football campers at their camp yesterday. The camp will end today. Although it was impossible for me to identify what schools all the players were from since a lot of the youngsters did not have their school's info on their clothing, here are some of the high school teams that I could identify:
Some of the top players who are at the camp are as follows:
6/01/00 - (From the Natchez Democrat) Marco Minor had one last chance to make an impression on Mississippi State coaches as Bulldog spring football practice concluded with the annual spring game. And did he ever.
Minor intercepted a pass in his own end zone and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown.
"My coach (Melvin Smith) told me it was about time to step up and prove to everyone I could play," Minor said. "I knew I needed to do something."
CLICK HERE to read the entire article.
