BULLDOG BITS

DALLAS – One of the nation's best centers added another preseason accolade to his ever-growing resume as Mississippi State senior Darryl Williams was selected to the 2019 Outland Trophy Watch List, the Football Writers Association of America announced Tuesday.

The Outland Trophy presented by the National Foundation of Infectious Diseases honors the top interior lineman in college football. Williams is one of 83 linemen on the award's preseason watch list. The Southeastern Conference and the Big Ten led the way with 13 candidates each. Williams was one of 14 centers represented on the list.

Soccer

Six newcomers have joined James Armstrong's initial signing class at Mississippi State for the 2019 season.

Freshmen Onyi Echegini (London, England), Grace Seymour (Port Neches, Texas) and Sydney Strunk (Montgomery, Ohio) join transfers Gabby English (San Diego State), Niejia Watkins (Nebraska) and Sam Stiglmair (Shaw) to complete the Bulldogs' roster.

Armstrong previously announced six additional freshmen in March and retains four of the five early enrollees that joined the program in January. The 16 total newcomers will join a dozen returning players in Starkville.

Echegini played her club soccer for Arsenal FC where she won the FA Cup in 2019. The forward attended Bexleyheath Academy where her school won the London Borough of Bexley

Williams has racked up multiple preseason honors this summer. Last week, he was picked to the Rimington Trophy Watch

List, which honors Williams the nation's top center. He has also brought home preseason All-southeastern Conference and Allamerica honors.

Williams was chosen offensive team captain following the spring game and moved from left guard to center during spring drills to replace secondround draft pick and Allamerican Elgton Jenkins.

The Bessemer, Alabama, product allowed only one sack, three quarterback hits and five hurries for just nine total pressures in Championship three times and finished third in the London Youth Games.

Seymour, a defender out of Port Neches-groves High School, played with the Houston Dash's Development Academy team and started more than 40 matches. She also played for the Albion Hurricanes of the ECNL where she won the U.S. Soccer National Cup Southeast Regional and played in the 2017 National Championship tournament.

Strunk also played in the ECNL, qualifying for the Champions League National Playoffs in 2017 and 2018 with the Ohio Elite. The defender started all four years at Ursuline Academy and was a fourtime invitee to the U.S. Soccer Training Center.

English will be expected to bring veteran leadership to a young goalkeeping corps. She will be the only keeper on the roster to have played a 2018, according to Pro Football Focus. He was the No. 5 overall graded guard in the SEC by PFF last season (71.1) and had the No. 5 best pass blocking grade (82.9).

Williams enters his senior season with 32 career games played, including 25 starts.

Also announced on Tuesday, Mississippi State's defensive tandem of junior linebacker Erroll Thompson and junior cornerback Cameron Dantzler made the 2019 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List.

The Football Writers Association of America released the list of 92 defensive standouts. The award collegiate match entering the season. The graduate transfer from Winter Park, Florida, closed her San Diego State career among the Aztecs leaders in career saves (second), shutouts (fourth) and goals against average (seventh).

Watkins redshirted her freshman season with the Cornhuskers, but played 15 matches in 2018. In high school, she earned Defensive Most Valuable Player honors three times and was firstteam all-conference as a senior.

In her one season at Division II Shaw Unviersity, Stiglmair scored five times in seven matches, including two game-winners. The Karlshuld, Germany, native played club soccer for FC Ingolstadt 04 where she was selected team Most Valuable Player of the club's top women's team and scored seven goals in 13 matches. Stiglmair's squad placed third in the 2014 International Women's Cup in Barcelona, Spain. goes to the best defensive player in college football.

A smart, instinctive, hard-hitting playmaker, Thompson enters 2019 with 133 total tackles, including 14.5 for loss and six sacks, in 26 games played. He has started 16 straight games, including all 13 last season for the nation's top-ranked defense. The Florence, Alabama, product was voted the defensive team captain for the 2019 season by his teammates. Last season, Thompson ranked second on the team in total tackles (87), tied for third in tackles for loss (nine), added 3.5 sacks and collected a pair of interceptions. He earned secondteam ALL-SEC honors from The Associated Press for his efforts.

Thompson is also a candidate

MSU is coming off its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2018 after finishing with a 9-7-2 record. State opens its 25th season of soccer at home on Aug. 22 at 6 p.m. against Alabama A&M.

Women’s Golf

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – Mississippi State women's golf had five student-athletes chosen All-american Scholars by the Women's Golf Coaches Association.

Rising seniors Ela Grimwood and Clara Moyano along with rising junior Blair Stockett all earned the recognition for the second year in a row, while the freshmen duo of Hannah Levi and Lauren Miller also claimed a spot on the list.

To be selected as an Allamerican Scholar, student-athletes were required to maintain an overall grade point average for the Bednarik and Butkus awards.

A preseason All-american, Dantzler is arguably the top returning SEC cornerback this year. He ranked second in the conference last season among corners with a 41.1 passer rating allowed, according to Pro Football Focus, and was one of only four SEC cornerbacks that did not allow a touchdown (min. 345 coverage snaps played). The Louisiana product also had a pair of interceptions and led the Bulldogs in passes defended (11).

Dantzler, who also is a candidate for the Bednarik and Jim Thorpe awards enters his junior season with 68 career tackles, including four for loss and a sack. He has added three interceptions and 15 passes defended. of 3.50 or higher (on a 4.00 scale), be of high moral character and in good standing at the college making the nomination. The student-athlete must have also played in at least half of the college's regularly scheduled competitive rounds during the season nominated.

Grimwood posted a strong spring with three consecutive top-20 finishes, including a tie for 11th at the Westbrook Invitational after shooting 213 for the event. For the season, she carded a 74.65 stroke average and had six rounds of par or better, which both ranked 13th in program history.

Moyano finished the season with a 75.54 stroke average over 24 rounds. She helped the Bulldogs earn their best finish of the year at second place in the Magnolia Invitational after shooting 147 for the event.

Stockett was one of the most consistent golfers on the team

The Nagurski Trophy winner will be chosen from those five finalists. The FWAA All-america Committee, after voting input from the association's full membership, selects a 26man All-america Team and eventually the Nagurski Trophy finalists.

State opens preseason camp on Aug. 2 in preparation for the Aug. 31 season-opener against Louisiana in New Orleans. Tickets for the 2019 season and opener can be purchased at Hailstate. com/tickets, by calling 1-888-GO-DAWGS or in person at the MSU Athletic Ticket Office on the first floor of the Bryan Athletic Administration Building (288 Lakeview Drive), Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. this past season, highlighted by a tie for sixth place finish at the Magnolia Invitational. The sophomore finished with seven rounds of par or better to rank third on the team. Her 74.37 stroke average for the year ranked 10th all time in program history.

Levi put together one of the strongest freshman seasons ever at Mississippi State, recording two top-five finishes for the year. Her 73.96 stroke average was the second lowest ever by a freshman and ranked seventh for a single season at MSU. She also cracked the top 10 with nine rounds of par or better to rank eighth.

Miller recorded three top-20 finishes while posting a 75.00 stroke average during her freshman campaign. Her five rounds of par or better ranked 14th for a single season at State. She tied for 10th place at the Magnolia Invitational after carding a 1-under par 143.