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11/30/01 - Here is a very small excerpt from my interview with Mike Tyler, Justin Tyler's dad.

Justin Tyler is a 6-4, 215-pound quarterback from Jones County High School in Gray, Georgia. Justin, who is an excellent student, is also considered a top baseball prospect. Several publications list him among the top 25 quarterbacks in the south. He is also listed as the 214th best baseball prospect in the country according to Prospects Plus, a publication put out by Baseball America and Perfect Game USA. Justin was out when I called last night but his dad, Mike Tyler, was kind enough to tell me about Justin and how his recruitment is going.

I have heard various rumors about which schools he is most interested in and will visit. How about telling me which schools he will visit.
Mike Tyler: "Right now, he has told Mississippi State that he will be there on January 11th for an official visit. He is supposed to go to South Carolina on December 14th, I believe, for an official visit. I think he is going to take an official (visit) to Central Florida the weekend before he goes to Mississippi State. The other two officials are up in the air."

11/28/01 - Excerpts from Coach Sherrill's BYU press conference.

JACKIE SHERRILL QUOTES:

About BYU:
"It seems like a long time ago when I was talking about them. I pulled out my notes and noticed that it was their fourth game and our second game. Even back then they had played a lot of games.

"One thing you notice about them is their age. They have some kids that are 26 years old and a bunch that are 24. They will average 23 (years old) on both sides of the football. It makes a big difference when you line up against someone who is 25 like their quarterback.

"They are very physical up front. Last year we didn't control or knock their inside people off the ball. They are not real fancy, defensively. They just line up in a straight defense. They will slant their inside guys but they aren't going to do a lot of blitzing. They just line up and, physically, try to take care of their gap responsibility.

"Their quarterback (Brandon Dorman) has been very efficient. That is probably the biggest difference in their football team compared to last year. He has done a tremendous job running the option and throwing the football.

"Their kicking game is very good. They allow very few returns. Their punter does a very good job of keeping the ball away from returners. He will directional kick it right or left trying to keep it away from the returner.

"It looks like they are healthy. Usually when you go through a season where you have the ability to win you usually keep everybody healthy.

"The weather will be a plus for them. Right now, it is snowing (in Utah) so the cold and rain won't bother them."

Talk about BYU halfback Luke Staley.
"He is a very good running back. He is 6-foot-1 and 222. He is a very talented player. He can catch and he can do the things that you are looking for in a running back. He is not going to run a 4.4 but I haven't seen a lot of people catch him. They have done a very good job of getting the ball to him outside on the option game. They'll run the zone, the sweep and the option. They run a lot of running plays inside and out."

Are they similar to any team that Mississippi State has played this year?
"Their offense is very similar to Kentucky except they can run the football. They can spread you out and throw like Kentucky. They will go three wide and four wideouts. At times, they have gone with no backs. Defensively, we haven't played anybody as physical as they are up front. You could match them with LSU as far as defense goes."

MSU injuries:
"I think that everybody that played Saturday will be back. We will get Dorsett (Davis) back. Eugene Liger, Milas Randle, Walter Burdett and Robert Spivey will not play."

Talk about Kevin Fant.
"He did a great job of putting us in the right checks. We gave him a lot of checks at the line of scrimmage. He had one throw that he threw high. We still had the opportunity to catch it but it would have been a tough catch. That was the only pass that was not catchable. He throws catchable balls. He was very steady from beginning to end."

How is Wayne Madkin's recovery coming along?
"(Dr. Linton) will probably begin letting him do something in three to four weeks. I had someone email me who thought we ought to start Wayne (Madkin) and let him take the first snap and let Kevin (Fant) come in. It is kind of tough when you have a boot cast on your leg. I guess we could put him in a shotgun and let him hand it off. (However), if something happened with the snap we would be in trouble."

11/27/01
REDUCED PRICE MSU-BYU TICKETS AVAILABLE

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- A limited number of discounted tickets for Mississippi State's home game with Brigham Young, Saturday, Dec. 1, are on sale at the Bryan Athletic Administration Building ticket office.

Seats in the new east side upper deck will be available to high school aged students and younger at $5 apiece for the season-ending game with the undefeated and nationally top-10 ranked Cougars. The game will kick off at 7 p.m. at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field.

Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (CT) and the office telephone number is 662-325-2600 or 1-888-GO-DAWGS.

STARKVILLE, Miss. ­ Mississippi State junior cornerback Korey Banks has been named the Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday.

Banks, a 5-11, 172-pounder from Boynton Beach, Fla., intercepted two passes in the Bulldogs' 36-28 win over Mississippi Thanksgiving night. The two, fourth-quarter picks directly led to a pair of MSU touchdowns that extended the lead to 36-21 at the time. Banks also had a game-best four pass deflections and tallied a pair of tackles in the game.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Media Relations Department

11/23/01 - MSU-UM post-game quotes:

Behind the outstanding performance of sophomore quarterback Kevin Fant (14-of-21, 263 yards, 1 TD) Mississippi State (3-7, 2-6 SEC) defeated Mississippi (6-4, 3-4 SEC) on Thanksgiving night to claim the Golden Egg Bowl trophy and state bragging rights for the next 365 days.

Game story...

Game stats...

"We could have been coming in here (to the press room) 8-2 or 7-3. I am really proud of the players and coaches. We are getting better and better. We just haven't been able to hold on to the last minute games. The players kept playing. This game was a character game, a pride game. This was for all the marbles, for 365 days if you live in this state."

Who played well for MSU?
"Number 2 (Korey Banks) played very well tonight. Number 33 Darnell (Jones) played every (offensive) snap. He did a great job of blocking their linebackers on the sweeps and on isolation on the lead play. Certainly 12 (Dicenzo Miller) and 3 (Dontae Walker) played very well. They were determined not to come down. There is no question that Kevin (Fant) put everybody in the right place and made the right checks. He played very, very steady. You really saw two good quarterbacks. Fortunately, Kevin came out and made the big plays. The offensive line did a good job. Defensively, our guys up front played well. I didn't think Mississippi could beat us running the football. Because of that, I thought they would have to throw the ball. I thought our front guys started to put some pressure on them, but they have the tools to do a lot of things if they can protect (their quarterback)."

What does this do for your team?
"It heals a lot of things. But we would have liked to have played like this all the way back to the beginning."

Were you surprised by Kevin's performance?
"No. Kevin is a young man who has a lot of stuff to him. He has a lot of toughness. He is a young man who doesn't care who gets the credit. He is going to go out and do whatever you ask him to do. There is no question that he played very, very well."

Eli came into this game having thrown just three interceptions. He threw three in the second half. Was there something special you were doing to cause that?
"No, we put some pressure on him. But you have to give Korey Banks credit because he made some big plays. I thought we were going to have two more, especially when we sacked him and he threw a dying duck in the air. They went and got it and we didn't."

About Eli:
"He has a lot of talent. Mechanically, he is very good. This is the first time that he has played against Kevin and Kevin is one-up on him."

Did it look like you had him rattled in the second half?
"We were getting some pressure on him. Anytime you put some pressure on a quarterback, sometimes they are going to get the ball out of their hands quick. I would say this is the most he has been hit the entire year."

About injured players:
"We had a lot of players who were injured. We had three guys in the secondary who didn't play. We had a linebacker who didn't play. We also had Dorsett Davis who didn't play." [Dorsett Davis played a couple of plays. - Gene]

Talk about Justin Jenkins play.
"I was really happy for Justin Jenkins. He is a class young man. A lot of times when things go like they did for him early in the year, a lot of players would have mentally shut it down. He didn't. He fought back and made some plays for us."

Does beating Ole Miss make anything any better?
"In the state of Mississippi so much is riding on this game. I'm talking about feelings and emotions. And I'm not talking about the players. I'm talking about the people in the state of Mississippi. Even last year when we had a good season, that game stayed with us the entire year. This game will stay with the Mississippi people 365 days."

"I don't feel like this is a time for me to get philosophical. We just got whipped tonight. We showed flashes in all phases of the game, but we have to get better on offense, defense, and in the kicking game. We just have to get better to win."

About your team's play:
"I did not think we played very well in the first half. In the third quarter things just got worse and that is my responsibility. We just have to get better."

About your team's effort:
"I was pleased with the effort. We played hard, fought hard. We just have to execute better. We fought back after we were down late. If we had played better in the third quarter and the early fourth quarter I think we would have been in a better position to win at the end of the game."

About Kevin Fant:
"Kevin Fant is a good football player. We knew that coming into the game. They have a lot of good football players on their team."

About Eli Manning:
"I thought Eli played well in the first half. He could have played better in the second half just like the rest of the team. He is no different from the other guys, he has some things that he needs to improve on."

What needs to be done to stop the losing by your team?
"I wish I knew exactly what we need to do to fix everything. Right now we are just not a very good football team. I am glad that we have one more game to try and turn things around. As a competitor, you always want to have more games. The thing is there is not a whole lot more time to get better."

11/19/01 - MSU-UM Game Notes:

MSU RETURNS TO DAVIS WADE STADIUM AT SCOTT FIELD
Mississippi State returns to Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field for the remainder of the 2001 football season, beginning with a Thanksgiving night edition of the "Battle For The Golden Egg" against Mississippi. The 98th renewal of the in-state rivalry will kick off at 6:30 p.m. and will be televised nationally by ESPN. The Bulldogs finish the 2001 season by entertaining BYU.

MSU BACK ON ESPN THURSDAY NIGHT
The Mississippi State-Mississippi game marks the Bulldogs' second appearance this season on ESPN's Thursday night college football package. State dropped a 16-14 decision to South Carolina earlier this year. Overall, MSU is 9-8 on the national cable network, but the Bulldogs have won six of their last eight games on ESPN. MSU has been a regular participant on the network's Thursday night package, having posted a 6-2 record on the weekday prime time game.

TV APPEARANCE 73RD UNDER SHERRILL
When ESPN airs the Mississippi State-Mississippi game, it will be the 73rd time in Jackie Sherrillšs 127 games (.575) as head of the football program that the school has appeared on live television.

MSU EYES SERIES GAIN UNDER SHERRILL
Mississippi State has won six of the 10 games played between these two long-time rivals since Jackie Sherrill became the Bulldogs' head coach in 1991.

EGG BOWL IS USA'S 16TH OLDEST RIVALRY
Mississippi State and Mississippi meet for the 98th time Thanksgiving night, tying for the 16th-longest rivalry among Division I-A institutions. Michigan and Ohio State meet this Saturday for the 98th time, and North Carolina-Wake Forest have also played 98 times. In the SEC, only Auburn-Georgia is a longer running rivalry (105 games).

BULLDOG 5-YEAR MARK BEST IN THE WEST
Mississippi State has posted a 34-20 regular-season record (.630) in its last 54 games, dating back to the final contest of the 1996 campaign. Over that time span, no team in the Southeastern Conferencešs Western Division has produced a better record. Statešs 34-20 mark is one game better than Arkansas, Auburn and Mississippi (33-21), and also ranks ahead of LSU (29-25) and Alabama (28-26). MSUšs record in the most recent 54 games trails only Tennessee (47-7), Florida (46-8) and Georgia (38-16) in the league as a whole. Statešs mark has surpassed Kentucky (22-32), South Carolina (20-34) and Vanderbilt (15-39) in the Eastern Division.

MISSISSIPPI STATE-UM TICKET UPDATE
With tickets available for the first time in the east side upper deck expansion at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field, the largest crowd ever to see the "Battle For The Golden Egg" in Starkville is nearly a certainty. In fact, the largest campus crowd ever in the series is a possibility. An announced crowd of 50,412 saw the 1998 "Egg Bowl" in Oxford, the largest on-campus attendance for this rivalry. The Mississippi State athletic ticket office has a limited number of tickets remaining in that upper level for the Mississippi game. Contact the Bryan Athletic Administration ticket office, 662-325-2600 or 1-888-GO-DAWGS, for details. MSU sold every available reserved season ticket for its home schedule by the first week in July, a total that will number approximately 36,000 season tickets.

134 MISSISSIPPIANS WILL BE ON DISPLAY
A total of 134 student-athletes with backgrounds in the state of Mississippi will take part in the 98th renewal of the "Battle For The Golden Egg." The University of Mississippi shows 72 players from the Magnolia State out of the 119 listed in the Rebel media guide (60.5 percent of its roster). Mississippi State has 62 of 99 (62.6 percent) players on its season-opening roster from the state of Mississippi. Obviously, there are numerous player connections on the respective rosters.

DUNN, SMITH COACHED AT MISSISSIPPI
Mississippi State defensive coordinator Joe Lee Dunn and Bulldog defensive backfield coach Melvin Smith each coached at the University of Mississippi during their coaching careers. Dunn served as defensive coordinator for the Rebels in 1992 and 1993 and was named interim head coach for the 1994 season. Smith was tight ends and then wide receivers coach during the same three-year span in Oxford.

UM'S ROPER SERVED ON STATE STAFF
Mississippi quarterback coach Kurt Roper worked as a graduate assistant on the staff of head football coach Jackie Sherrill at Mississippi State in 1995.

FOOT SURGERY ENDS MADKIN'S CAREER
MSU senior quarterback Wayne Madkin has concluded his career at or near the top of all of State's passing categories. Madkin completed 462-of-887 passes (.521) for 6,336 yards, 34 touchdowns and 35 interceptions as the Bulldogs' signal-caller. He stands atop the MSU all-time list in passing yardage, pass completions and pass attempts. He also stands second all-time in touchdown passes, trailing only Derrick Taite (38; 1993-96). His career came to a close when he suffered a broken bone under his big toe against Alabama and underwent surgery Friday, Nov. 17.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU media relations department

11/18/01
- Arkansas (7-3, 4-3) defeated Mississippi State (2-7, 1-6) 24-21 Saturday afternoon at Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Game story...

Game stats...

11/14/01 - Jackie Sherrill press conference.

JACKIE SHERRILL QUOTES:

Injury situation:
"We have three players that will be difficult to play this weekend due to injuries. (Kenric) Fairchild has an ankle injury that he has been nursing all year. Hopefully, we can get him ready to play. I'm not sure if he will be ready this week but certainly next week. (Wayne) Madkin has a turf toe and will probably not be on the practice field all week. (Robert) Spivey has an MCL injury and will not be on the practice field this week. And of course we have the normal number of players who will have limited practice time this week."

Who will start if Fairchild can't?
"(Redshirt freshman) David Stewart will start in his place if he can't go. Are you asking me if he will make a mistake during the game? He is a freshman so that means he probably will. He will play very hard and give you everything that he has. David is very athletic and can run. You would like to have all your offensive linemen run as well as David can."

When did Wayne suffer his turf toe?
"Probably right before we took him out. We didn't know it and he probably didn't know it until it started swelling up. They are x-raying it (Tuesday) morning to see if it is broken."

About Arkansas:
"They started the season slow. The first game against UNLV they played four quarterbacks. They lost the next three, then settled on two quarterbacks. They have won five in a row since that time. They are probably the most improved football team (in the SEC).

"They have some very good players. They run the option with the freshman quarterback (Matt Jones) and they have excellent running backs in (Fred) Talley and (Cedric) Cobbs. Defensively, they have a team that will move anywhere. When you play them the most important thing that you need to do is put your hats on the right people.

Preparing for the option:
"We prepared for the option last week. They run four or five different options. They run out of the shotgun. Their offensive coach was at Rice so he is very familiar with the option game."

About the importance of the Arkansas game during the past few years:
"Going back to 1998, this game put us in the (SEC) championship (game). In 1999, we did not play well. Last year, we had a chance to win it (at home) and we didn't. This game is very similar to the Alabama game over a course of time. It is a game that hasn't been one-sided either way."

About their quarterbacks:
"Matt Jones is very lanky and tall. When he gets started, he is difficult to catch because he has 4.5 speed. When you watch him on film he does run away from people. With Zak Clark, they throw the football more. They run more play-action with him because he is a better thrower. The freshman (Jones) threw more late in the game against Mississippi and he made the right throws."

On playing at Arkansas:
"Arkansas is a very difficult place to play. They've had some success at home, and they have had the same success at home as some of the top teams in the country. Their fans are very vocal, and they just recently expanded their stadium to 72,000. They've won their last five games, and right now they have a lot of momentum and excitement."

Who will back up Kevin Fant?
"We have the freshman (Kyle) York. Hopefully, we will have Wayne (Madkin) for the game. If we have to use (Wayne), we will use him in the shotgun and do some other things with him. If he can't go, then we will back Kevin up with Kyle York."

About Kevin Fant getting his first start:
"Kevin will be ready with whatever you did with him. Kevin has some very good qualities. He is a very tough kid. He started in high school and won the state championship as a sophomore."

About how to handle quarterbacks:
"You don't throw a quarterback in there and say ok if you make a mistake you are going to be standing on the sideline. That is not how a quarterback can operate. Quarterbacks are going to make mistakes. There is not a quarterback in the game who doesn't make mistakes."

How would you use Wayne Madkin in the next three games if he is available?
"We can use him in a lot of different ways. He hasn't cut his feet and his arms off. He can still throw and run. You can't speculate on what situations you will use him. That is just a feeling that you have."

Are you pleased with the way Wayne has handled the situation his senior year?
"I am in very much in awe of Wayne and the way he has handled the situation. It is not easy for anyone, especially a young kid, to read and hear bad things about himself. How he has handled it shows me that Wayne will be successful (during his life). Football teaches you a lot about life."

How have the junior college transfers done so far this season?
"Quite a few of them have adjusted and played well. We started the season playing two groups (of defensive linemen). If we had been able to continue doing that, then they would have been further along than they are at this time. The three secondary guys (Banks, Ball and Wright) have played well. (Walter) Burdett has played well on special teams. We redshirted Corey Brown but he is going to be a good player."

Will (juco transfer) Dannie Snyder be redshirted?
"No, we will play him if he is medically able. If he doesn't play, then we will try to get a medical redshirt for him."

11/14/01 - Here is an update on several injured Bulldog players.
QB Wayne Madkin - Wayne has a turf toe and will probably not be on the practice field all week. I was told that there is a possibility that he actually has a broken toe. He will have an x-ray taken to see if it is broken. He was limping around with what looked like a small cast on his foot during practice yesterday.
DE Robert Spivey - Robert has a minor MCL injury and will not be on the practice field this week. Robert told me that he didn't believe he would be able to play this weekend.
OT Kenric Fairchild - According to Coach Sherrill, it will be very difficult for Kenric to play this Saturday. He has an ankle injury. Coach Sherrill is hopeful that he will ready to play against Ole Miss.

11/05/01 (4:30 p.m.)
NO TELEVISION FOR MSU-ARKANSAS FOOTBALL GAME
STARKVILLE, Miss. ­ The Southeastern Conference has announced that Mississippi State's game at Arkansas, Saturday, Nov. 17, will not be televised. Game time in Fayetteville, Ark., will be 1 p.m. CT.

PRATHER NAMED SEMIFINALIST FOR THORPE AWARD
STARKVILLE, Miss. ­ The Jim Thorpe Association announced Monday that Mississippi State Dog safety Pig Prather had been named one of 12 semi-finalists for the 2001 Jim Thorpe Award.

The winner of the award, given annually to the nation's top defensive back, will be announced during ESPN's College Football Awards Show, Thursday, Dec. 6, and will be formally presented in Oklahoma City on February 11, 2002.

Prather, a senior from Falkner, Miss., is one of just two Southeastern Conference players on the Thorpe semifinalist list. Former Bulldog Fred Smoot was a finalist for the award last year and earned the trip to Orlando, Fla., for the ESPN show.

UPPER LEVEL TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR FINAL TWO GAMES
STARKVILLE, Miss. ­ The Mississippi State athletic ticket office is now taking orders for reserved seat tickets for State's final two home football games this season in the newly completed east side upper deck at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field.

Tickets for the MSU-Mississippi game ($30 apiece) and the Bulldog-BYU game ($26 each) are now on sale over the counter at the Bryan Athletic Administration ticket office or via telephone (662-325-2600 or 1-888-GO-DAWGS [1-888-46-32947).

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Media Relations Department