Bulldogs hold final bowl practice in Starkville
Football players are usually associated with adjectives like big, strong and tough.
For a few moments on Tuesday afternoon though, a few Mississippi State players let down their guard.
The Bulldogs held their final practice of the season in Starkville on Tuesday ahead of the upcoming TaxSlayer Bowl, and it gave MSU the opportunity to conduct its annual Senior Tackle festivities, which allows each senior a chance to say goodbye to the program and their teammates. For some, it was tough to hold in their feelings.
“That's a special moment,” Mississippi State interim head coach Greg Knox said of Senior Tackle. “We allow the seniors to stand up. They basically address their teammates and tell everyone how thankful they are and how much they've appreciated everything and each other and being part of the group. It's an emotional deal where some of them shed some tears.”
Mississippi State's senior class has been one of the most successful groups in the program's history. They are just the ninth MSU senior class ever to reach the 30-win mark. The group currently sits at 33 wins.
With a victory in the TaxSlayer Bowl, MSU's seniors would tie the 1942 and 2015 senior classes as the winningest classes ever to come through Mississippi State.
It'd be a fitting way for the group to close out their MSU careers.
“They love this program and they've given a lot to it,” Knox said. “This program is where it's at today because of those guys and we thank them.”
Knox said Tuesday that senior linebacker Dez Harris and sophomore wide receiver Keith Mixon have done a “little bit” at practice as the injured duo tries to get ready to play in the upcoming bowl game. Most of the work by Harris and Mixon has been done with trainers instead of position groups though.
Harris missed the regular season's last two games with a groin injury. Mixon missed four games this season with an ankle ailment.
“We've kept them out,” Knox said of Harris and Mixon. “We want to wait until we get to the bowl site to see where they are, but they've done just enough where we can say, ‘OK, that's enough. Let's put them on the burner, get them to Jacksonville and see how they work down there.'”
Also on the injury front, wide receiver Gabe Myles, who missed seven games this year with a foot injury, will be fine to play in the TaxSlayer Bowl. Myles saw some action in the regular season finale against Ole Miss.
There are three Bulldogs who won't play in the bowl game. Those include quarterback Nick Fitzgerald (broken ankle), wide receiver Donald Gray (sports hernia) and wide receiver Malik Dear (missed all season recovering from torn ACL).
When asked what redshirted players have been standing out in MSU's bowl practices the last couple of weeks, Knox singled out a trio of MSU defensive performers.
Defensive linemen Chauncey Rivers and Aaron Odom, as well as defensive back Tyler Williams were three guys who all have impressed Knox as they prepare to make their on-field debuts for the Bulldogs come next season.
“Those guys have done tremendous jobs,” Knox said of Rivers, Odom and Williams. “They're going to be special players. It's a special group coming back next year. It's a very talented group.”