Hey all, you know that four-star Cam Sparks is a massive Bulldogs target, but check out this post (there's a few more action ones) from our friend Sam Spiegelman, who was at his practice yesterday.
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Hey y'all, I just caught up with Pace (Fla.) tight end Joseph Skipworth, who's been committed to Kansas since June. He took an official visit to Mississippi State this past weekend for the Texas A&M game.
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First off, Skipworth told me, "I’m still good with them, still committed of course" when I asked about Kansas. But literally the next sentence, he told me, "Just talking with my family and friends, I’m just gonna see where it goes in a couple of weeks." Skipworth did clarify, to say there's no timeline on any final decision. But it sounds like the Bulldogs made some excellent progress here after the visit.

I can't make the FutureCast, because he's still committed to Kansas. But if I could, I'd flip it to Mississippi State. This was only Skipworth's second time at State, after he visited for a spring practice. But he told me, "I think they’re a good school honestly. They’ve got great stuff going on, on a true upward trajectory. That’s the main thing right now." Assistant coach Jon Cooper has been the main one recruiting here and it sounds like there's a good bond there. I think it went up after the visit, too.

Skipworth told me there's no one else involved right now, though someone else certainly could kick the tires any time. I know the offer from the Bulldogs was made back in June, but I think he's waiting for the staff to say 'Yes, we want you. Come on." And I don't think that's directly happened, which is why he said "a couple of weeks." IF State wants him, I think it has him. So, that's the main thing to watch right now moving forward. If not, then Skipworth seems perfectly content with Kansas.

Full story coming.

This is gonna keep happening in the middle of struggles on the field and transitioning of the program. State still in great shape with plenty of others, but another departure here, with three-star LB Austin Howard.
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Pretty cool honor for the former Bulldog great. Here's the release from State:

A Mississippi State legend and Super Bowl Champion, Fletcher Cox, has been selected as Mississippi State's 2024 SEC Football Legend, the league office announced on Tuesday.

The 2024 Football Legends class includes 16 former stars who excelled on the gridiron and helped write the sport's rich history at their respective institutions. It is the first to include representatives from new members Oklahoma and Texas.

The class will be honored at the 2024 SEC Football "Weekend of Champions" December 6-7 in Atlanta, Ga, highlighted by the annual SEC Legends Celebration presented by T-Mobile on Friday, December 6, at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. The group will also be recognized prior to the SEC Football Championship Game, which will be held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, December 7.

Cox, a native of Yazoo City, Miss., was a three-year letter winner at Mississippi State from 2009-11. He was a dominant force on the Bulldog's defensive line, earning All-America honors during his junior season in 2011 while also earning First Team All-SEC honors by the Associated Press and Second Team honors by the league's coaches and in 2009, he was named to the SEC All-Freshman team. Cox helped lead the Bulldogs to Egg Bowl victories in each of his three seasons and victories in the 2011 Gator Bowl and the 2012 Music City Bowl.

While wearing the Maroon & White, Cox played in 36 career games, making 27 starts. He tallied 114 total tackles, 24.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks and a school-record five blocked kicks, and he was a four-time SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week. During his All-American season in 2011, Cox registered 56 tackles, 14.5 TFLs and five sacks.

After declaring for the 2012 NFL Draft at the conclusion of his junior season, Cox was selected with the 12th overall pick by the Philadelphia Eagles. He played 12 seasons for the Eagles, playing in a pair of Super Bowls and helping lead Philly to their first-ever Super Bowl Championship in 2018.

While staring for the Eagles, Cox started 182 of the 188 career games he played. He totaled 519 tackles, 88 tackles for loss and 70 sacks. He also earned 16 pass deflections, forced 16 fumbles and recovered 14 fumbles. He was a six-time Pro Bowler, which is tied for the most selections with Darius Slay by any Mississippi State player and a Philadelphia franchise record as of the writing of this release. He was a four-time AP All-Pro selection and was named, by the players, as one of the NFL's Top 100 players six times, earning a career-high ranking of 28th in 2019. That same season, Cox was also named to the 2010's NFL All-Decade Team.

Cox joins an incredibly talented list of SEC Legends from Mississippi State: Johnny Baker (1994), Jimmy Webb (1995), Hunter Corhern (1996), Steve Freeman (1997), Johnie Cooks (1998), D.D. Lewis (1999), Kent Hull (2000), Rockey Felker (2001), Harper Davis (2002), Tyrone Keys (2003), Art Davis (2004), Joe Fortunato (2005), Wayne Harris (2006), Billy Jackson (2007), Tom Goode (2008), Billy Stacy (2009), Eric Moulds (2010), Tom Neville (2011), Walt Harris (2012), Glen Collins (2013), Fred Smoot (2014), Mario Haggan (2015), Randy Thomas (2016), Floyd Womack (2017), Mardye McDole (2018), Barrin Simpson (2019), K.J. Wright (2022), Reggie Kelly (2023).

2024 SEC Football Legends
Alabama – Barrett Jones, Offensive Lineman, 2009-12
Arkansas – Ken Hamlin, Free Safety, 2000-02
Auburn – Marcus McNeill, Offensive Tackle, 2002-2005
Florida – Rex Grossman, Quarterback, 2000-02
Georgia – Terrence Edwards, Receiver, 1999-2002
Kentucky – Dicky Lyons Sr., Tailback/Receiver/All-Purpose, 1966-68
LSU – Andrew Whitworth, Offensive Tackle, 2002-05
Ole Miss – Dexter McCluster, Running Back, 2006-09
Mississippi State – Fletcher Cox, Defensive Lineman, 2009-11
Missouri – Chase Daniel, Quarterback, 2005-08
Oklahoma – Barry Switzer, Head Coach, 1973-88
South Carolina – Corey Miller, Defensive End, 1987-90
Tennessee – Eric Berry, Defensive Back, 2007-09
Texas – Vince Young, Quarterback, 2002-05
Texas A&M – Luke Joeckel, Offensive Tackle, 2010-12
Vanderbilt – Ricky Anderson, Punter/Kicker, 1981-84

Guys, Seydou Traore, Stone Blanton, Nic Mitchell and Kyle Ferrie were made available to media today. Full videos below:

Full press conference video from Lebby's time today at the podium:

Hey guys, one final look back at State's loss against Texas A&M. Here's how the Bulldogs graded individually:

Full post game video from coach Jeff Lebby:

Bulldogs had some fight in em today and kept this one interesting, but couldn't close late:

As per usual with State home games, we're compiling a list of the visitors confirmed for the game. This will be updated regularly, even after the game, when we usually confirm more attendees:

2025
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I was told Alabama four-star WR commit Caleb Cunningham from down the road at Ackerman (Miss.) Choctaw County will visit Starkville this weekend for the Texas A&M game.

Q&A with our friend Mark Passwaters of AggieYell.com:

Good read here from our friend Sam Spiegelman. Bulldogs haven't quit on in-state four-star Tyler Miller:

Not sure if you saw, but State is now No. 11 nationally for the 2025 class after Davis-Fleming's commit:

BIG commit in many ways for Chris Jans on the basketball side. In-state kid, but one who also seems to be making a ton of progress:

Kevin Coleman, Davon Booth, Jacoby Jackson and Brice Pollock today:

This one really wasn't a surprise, after he visited USC this past weekend for its game against Penn State:

This one stings, but Bama came calling with more money from NIL. Plus, it's a tough situation with the transition to Jeff Lebby still ongoing. Mississippi State will still finish with a good class, but there will be some lumps like this one:

Van Buren completed 20 of 37 passes for 306 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in the Bulldogs' 41-31 loss at Georgia:
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Post game press conference for Lebby after the game today:

The Bulldogs are hanging tough. Another loss, but they looked good at times this afternoon:

Release from State. Decent schedule this season for the Bulldogs:

Mississippi State men's basketball announced a majority of its 2024-25 tip times on Thursday.

In only 25 days, the Bulldogs will face West Georgia (Nov. 4 – 6:30 p.m. – SEC Network+) during their 2024-25 season opener at Humphrey Coliseum and officially embark on the program's third season under Chris Jans, who has guided State to consecutive NCAA Tournament trips. The Maroon and White are looking to secure three straight NCAA Tournament bids for the third time in program history.

State welcomes Pittsburgh (Dec. 4 – 8:15 p.m. – SEC Network) to Humphrey Coliseum for the SEC/ACC Challenge. The Bulldogs also travel to SMU (Nov. 22 – 7:30 p.m. – ACC Network+) and Memphis (Dec. 21) to begin a pair of home-and-home series that feature return games to Humphrey Coliseum in 2025-26. The American Athletic Conference will announce a tip time between State and Memphis at a later date.

The Bulldogs will play a trio of non-conference neutral site games across the Magnolia State versus Utah (Nov. 17 – 3 p.m. – ESPN2) from the Big 12 Conference at Landers Center in Southaven, against fellow 2024 NCAA Tournament participant McNeese (Dec. 14 – 5 p.m. – ESPNU) at Cadence Bank Arena in Tupelo and versus Central Michigan (Dec. 17 – 6:30 p.m. – SEC Network+) at Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson.

State will be joined by Butler, Northwestern and UNLV (Nov. 28 – 8:30 p.m. CT – CBS Sports Network) at the Arizona Tipoff looking to capture the program's third consecutive multi-team tournament title under Jans. State defeated Marquette and Utah to claim the 2022 Fort Myers Tipoff in Florida before knocking off Washington State and Northwestern en route to the 2023 Hall of Fame Classic in Connecticut.

Additional non-conference home games for the Maroon and White include Georgia State (Nov. 8 – 6:30 p.m. – SEC Network+), Southeastern Louisiana (Nov. 12 – 6:30 p.m. – SEC Network+), Prairie View A&M (Dec. 8 – 3 p.m. – SEC Network+) and Bethune-Cookman (Dec. 30 – 8 p.m. – SEC Network).

State will begin SEC action versus South Carolina (Jan. 4 – 1 p.m. – SEC Network) for the second straight season. The matchup with the Gamecocks starts a run of three consecutive Saturday home dates which include tilts with Kentucky (Jan. 11 – 7:30 p.m. – SEC Network) and Ole Miss (Jan. 18 – TBD – ESPN or ESPN2 or ESPNU) at Humphrey Coliseum.

State concludes its January slate at Alabama (Jan. 29 – 8 p.m. – SEC Network), who made a run to the 2024 NCAA Final Four. The Bulldogs also will make first-half SEC road stops at Vanderbilt (Jan. 7 – 8 p.m. – ESPN 2 or ESPNU), 2024 SEC Tournament champion Auburn (Jan. 14 – 6 p.m. – SEC Network), 2024 SEC regular season champion Tennessee (Jan. 21 – 6 p.m. CT – ESPN 2 or ESPNU) and play a return game at South Carolina (Jan. 25 – 12 p.m. CT – SEC Network).

After taking on Missouri (Feb. 1 – 12 p.m. – SEC Network) at Humphrey Coliseum, the Bulldogs will play four of their next six on the road during February. State will host Florida (Feb. 11 – 6 p.m. – ESPN2 or ESPNU) and Texas A&M (Feb. 18 – 6 p.m. – SEC Network) in midweek meetings sandwiched between road games at Georgia (Feb. 8 – 5 p.m. CT – SEC Network), Ole Miss (Feb. 15 – 5 p.m. – ESPN or ESPN2), Oklahoma (Feb. 22 – 12 p.m. – SEC Network) and Alabama (Feb. 25 – 8 p.m. – ESPN2 or ESPNU).

State heads into March facing off with LSU (March 1 – 2:30 p.m. – SEC Network) and Texas (March 4 – 7 p.m. – SEC Network) at Humphrey Coliseum before finishing up the regular season at Arkansas (March 8 – 11 a.m. – ESPN or SEC Network).

The SEC Tournament will be held at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville from March 12-16 where the Bulldogs made the semifinals at last year's event.

Weekly Q&A we do, this time with Anthony Dasher at UGASports.com:

On the podium today for Mississippi State were Albert Reese IV, Ty Cooper, Justin Ball and Isaac Smith:

In Sam Spiegelman's look around the southeast, he sheds some light on where State is currently with Sparks: