STARKVILLE
There’s been a lot of talk about Mississippi State’s freshman football class, and rightfully so. They’ve been outstanding and are a key part of the team this year.
But the senior class deserves some love, too.
Mississippi State hosts Auburn on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. on the SEC Network. Before that game kicks off, the Bulldogs will honor their seniors with Senior Night festivities. What those festivities will look like with COVID-19 protocols is unknown, but it’s always a nice gesture.
Mississippi State has 20 seniors on its current roster, and all of those players have the chance to return next year with the NCAA rules granting everybody an extra year of eligibility.
There are some Bulldogs seniors, however, who have made massive impacts on the MSU program and are likely not to return.
Those include linebacker Erroll Thompson, defensive linemen Kobe Jones and Marquiss Spencer, offensive linemen Greg Eiland and Dareuan Parker, receiver Osirus Mitchell and kicker Jace Christmann among others.
Whether or not those guys will have a long career at the professional level or not, they have been special players at Mississippi State.
Thompson, for example, has played in 47 total games and recorded 291 tackles. He needs nine more tackles to become the first Bulldog since 2000 to record 300 career tackles. He’s one of the team captains this year.
When asked about the Senior Night festivities, Thompson said it will be special because Mississippi State means everything to him.
“It changed my life as a young man and a football player,” Thompson said. “I met a lot of great people here from coaches to players and made a lot of great friendships. It means literally everything.”
Another team captain, Kobe Jones, is one of the biggest leaders and a fan favorite on the team. Jones went to Starkville HS and decided to stay home for college. He’s also played in 47 career games and recorded 93 tackles and seven sacks.
Jones, however, has done as much off the field as he has on the field. He’s been named to numerous academic honor roll teams, named to community service watchlists, and he’s been a strong leader for the football team.
Earlier this year, he led the team on a walk through the park when the team skipped practice to protest racial inequality. He’s gotten a lot of praise from head coach Mike Leach as well. Leach has constantly talked about how good of a leader he is, and said if every player on the team was like Jones, he’d have one heckuva team.
I focused on those two primarily in this column because they are the two biggest names out of the senior class and are the most distinguished players out of the group.
And while I know a lot of people have given up on this year’s team and are looking towards the future because of the excellent play from the freshmen, don’t forget about this senior class.
They have been critical pieces of MSU’s program, both on and off the field, and deserve all the love they will get on Saturday and in their future endeavors.
December 10, 2020 at 01:00PM
https://www.djournal.com/sports/college/dalton-middleton-dont-forget-about-the-seniors/article_8e7c6072-99b7-5552-ba42-a1078bb01371.html
DALTON MIDDLETON: Don't forget about the seniors - Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal
https://news.google.com/search?q=forget&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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