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11/27/02 - Excerpts from coach Sherrill's Tuesday afternoon press conference.

"I think this is a time a lot of people look forward to. Certainly it is a week that a lot of people have a lot of things to say and a lot of interest involved in this game."

ESPN game:
"This game being on Thanksgiving night and being on ESPN has brought (it) a lot of interest. People around the country really don't care what the records are because this game has been a very exciting game. A game two teams have played very hard against each other and played very well."

Injuries:
"The players that are very questionable are Terrell Grindle and I don't know if Rico Bennett will be able to play. Everybody else were on the practice field yesterday and practiced. Even though we have some guys with bumps and bruises that will not be full speed, everybody else should be able to play."

Ole Miss:
"They have been playing a lot of players defensively. They have some players up front who have excellent talent running to the football. Their defensive team relies on quickness. They slant and move a lot. Their linebackers can run and they play different coverages in the secondary. They play five defensive backs all the time instead of four.

"Offensively, you have to, without a doubt, start with Eli (Manning). The first thing that gets your attention (is his) size. He is a true 6-5 and may be taller. He has all the qualities to be a quarterback; height, arm strength, when to get rid of the ball. Hopefully, we will be able to put some pressure on him. We were able to do that last year at the end of the game. That gave us an opportunity to win the game.

"Their kicking game is very good, very solid. They have not had a punt blocked. They are very quick on getting their punts away. They have not had many yards returned against them because he spreads the ball. At first, I thought we would probably put two safeties back to make sure we can field the punt. Their kicker has done a very, very good job and is very consistent. The question I have watching some of their games and listening to some of the comments is their (field's) footing is not very good, especially on certain parts of the field. That effects your field goal team. Hopefully, that has been corrected.

"In this game you don't have much time. You don't have a lot of time to practice. Certainly they have the advantage because there is no school."

11/25/02 - Here are portions of MSU head football coach Jackie Sherrill Monday morning teleconference.

Opening Comments:

"In the Arkansas game we ended up getting kind of beat up. It was a very, very physical game on both sides (of the ball). We have a lot of players, because it is a short week, that it will be difficult to get back. Very questionable is Josh (Morgan) who has a forearm fracture. We want to get Ray Ray (Bivines) and Michael Gholar healthy. Mario (Haggan) should be able to play. Carl Hutchins had an MCL (injury) and will be slowed this week, but should be able to play this week. We are trying to get Justin (Jenkins) back. He has a quad condition. Tommy Kelly and Terrell Grindle are still questionable. Darius Tubbs has an ankle sprain, but hopefully he will be back. Kevin Fant hyper-extended his knee. Rico Bennett is also hurt."

Who did you anticipate starting at quarterback Thursday?
"We may not have a choice because it will depend on who is healthy. We will work with (the quarterbacks) this week to see who is healthy."

This is a different Ole Miss team than in the past, isn't it?
"We are playing a young man (Eli Manning) who has a lot of weapons. He is not your average player. Manning will be playing for years to come on Sunday (in the NFL). I would try to get the ball in his hands and let him win the game as much as I could. One thing that you see in Mississippi that you haven't seen two or three years ago is the speed. Mississippi has tons of speed. Their receivers and running backs have tremendous speed. That showed up against LSU. They also have a lot of speed up front defensively. They aren't overly huge, but they have a lot of quickness and speed. Their linebackers and secondary have speed."

Are you at a point where you can give us an update on Dontae Walker's status?
"I've talked to him and we are going to meet today sometime before practice. Then we will go from there."

11/20/02
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi State Athletic Ticket Office announced Tuesday it will offer a reduced-price ticket to students that are high school age and under for this Saturday's Arkansas football game. The game kicks off at 1:30 p.m. at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field.

The tickets, which will be $10 each, will be on sale for the remainder of the week over the counter at the MSU Athletic Ticket Office in the Bryan Administration Building during normal business hours (8 a.m. ­ 5 p.m.). The tickets will also be available at the Scott Field ticket office Saturday, beginning at 11 a.m.

The Athletic Ticket Office also announced Tuesday that there are tickets available for this Saturday's men's basketball season opener vs. Louisiana-Lafayette. Those tickets will be available only prior to the game at the Humphrey Coliseum Ticket Office beginning at 4 p.m. Saturday. The MSU-ULL game will tipoff at 6 p.m. following the football game.

Source: MSU Media Relations

11/19/02 - According to a source of mine, Omarr Conner and Joey Sanders aren't the only seniors that have showcased their talents this past season. You can add Noxubee's leading tackler Javar Dooley (6-2 225, 4.6) to that list. Here are some facts to back up that statement.

According to my source, Javar had 121 tackles this season. He had a big game against Columbus High School with 16 tackles (10 solos), including 2 sacks. Against West Point he had 16 tackles and 1 sack and 3 tackles for a loss. He also had 17 tackles in the Neshoba Central game and against Louisville he had 18 tackles (3 for a loss).

Although several schools are showing interest including the likes of Southern Mississippi, Ole Miss, Jackson State, East Mississippi Community College, University of Memphis, and Itawamba Community College, my source said that Javar would love to play for Mississippi State.

11/18/02 - A few quotes from coach Sherrill's Monday morning teleconference.

Injury situation:
"Right now, the people who are not on the field are Tommy Kelly, Kevin Fant, Darnell Jones and Elmore Wonsley. Those are the guys who will be out (of practice) today The real big question (for the Arkansas game) is Tommy Kelly. Everybody else should be back."

You've had some close games with Arkansas the past few years.
"We've had close games going all the way back to 1991. It has been a game, whether they are here or we are up there, where it has always been close. We have played them on three or four different occasions where we had a chance to win the West and they kept us from winning the West because we lost the game."

How about giving us a little scouting report on Arkansas.
"They have some guys that have been around a long time. Defensively, they have been playing very, very well. They have probably being playing the most consistent in the league."

You guys had a real good run for a while, then the last two years have been a real struggle. Is there anything you can pinpoint why the program has slipped the last couple of years?
"There are a lot of reasons. South Carolina, last year, was when the bubble popped. When it popped we didn't have the leadership to carry us through that. We've had to fight that. Plus, we've had injuries, especially offensively up front. What really hurt us this year was losing Chris McNeil, a leader up front. He is very, very tough kid and he is an outstanding player. He would have been All-SEC as a freshman and would have probably been a freshman All-American."

How frustrating have the last two years been for you, especially since you have had a lot of success wherever you have been?
"You don't take away what anybody has done. It gets you more determined to make sure things are turned around. You are more determined to make sure this is not your last shot. If you are going to go out, you are going to go out with a good feeling. We are fine as far as having a foundation. We will win. We have 37 freshmen who are not your average players. I don't know if anybody in the league is starting as many freshmen as we are in. Like I said early in the season, we will win a lot of games with this freshman group or somebody else will."

Will Kevin Fant start this week?
"Yes."

How has he done this season?
"He has played up and down. We haven't given him much help by sometimes not catching the football."

Looking at this team, would you call it a bad team, a young team, or an injury-plagued team?
"I would call it a football team that has put itself in a position to win, but didn't make the plays to win. It started with losing players. We couldn't replace a Chris McNeil. That is hard to do."

How big of a loss was losing Derrick Thompson?
"It was huge."

Do you expect him back for the spring?
"We won't know until after this semester. He is (in school at MSU). He has to do well this semester."

11/16/02
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State punter and student-athlete Jared Cook has been named to the 2002 Verizon District VI Football Academic Team, released Thursday by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Cook was a second-team selection to the squad.

Cook, a sophomore, earned his first appointment to the district team in his first year of eligibility for the team. A student in general business, the Columbus, Ga., native carries a 3.56 grade point average.

In addition to his academic success, Cook has started six of his seven games played this season for MSU, averaging 42.5 yards per punt. That currently ranks eighth in the Southeastern Conference and 20th nationally. A starter of 15 MSU games overall during his career, Cook holds a career average of 41.4. He has averaged over 40 yards per punt in 10 of 18 career games (five of seven in 2002). Fifteen of his 94 career punts have landed inside the opponents' 20-yard line.

Source: MSU Media Relations

11/01/02