OPPORTUNITY

Dozen selection.

Starkville head coach Chris Jones coached Clark for two of his three high school seasons and he remains in regular contact with Clark to this day. Having watched him fight through adversity time and time again and come out on top, he’s proud to see where he is today.

“He’s been through so much, but we all know that in life you have to go through the bad to know what the good feels like,” Jones said of Clark. “Adversity only made him a better person not only on the football field but in life. We’ve got a good relationship even to this day. He’s such a good kid and a good person and he deserves an opportunity to compete at that level because he’s worked so hard.”

Clark didn’t get his opportunity in the Southeastern Conference like he had hoped, but he found a home in Memphis. After rushing 26 times in eight games as a freshman, Clark had 136 carries, 561 yards and two scores last year. He’s rushed 18 times for 146 in just two games this season and has a touchdown and this week he’ll get a chance to prove himself against his hometown team of Mississippi State.

The same can be said for Clemons, who was a Bulldog target early on in his recruitment, but ultimately went to the Tigers. After racking up 180 tackles, 50 tackles for loss and 21 sacks in Starkville as a defensive end, Clemons has disrupted things when he’s been in the game for Memphis as well.

Clemons had 15 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and two sacks as a freshman and in just nine games last year had 19 tackles, three tackles for loss and one sack. This year he’s missed the first two games with a minor injury but returns this weekend just in time. The transition he had from Starkville to Memphis isn’t something that fazed him.

“It wasn’t too hard,” Clemons said. “Starkville is almost like a college preparatory high school. It all fell into place when I got to school. Defense is playing good right now and we have a good scheme so I fell really confident in what we’re doing.

“I’m just locked in. We’re playing a big game against my hometown team. I know that Kam Jones is going to see me. We used to go at each other every day in practice and had some good battles. I’m ready. The crowd is going to be packed and rocking so I’m ready to ball.”

There’s going to be a good bit of Starkville flavor on the field this weekend as MSU’S starting guard Jones might line up a time or two to block Clemons and the Bulldogs’ wide receiver Rufus Harvey and Memphis’ Clark try to make plays on the offensive side of the football.

It’s nothing new for a program that has seemingly bred talented players over the years and seen it escalate in the last decade. For the SHS coach, it’s a result of hard work and he saw it in the Memphis standouts as much as anyone.

“For those guys to be the best players, they were the hardest workers,” Jones said. “That gave them a chance to play on the next level where everybody is talented, but it’s the other stuff that separates you. Nothing surprises me that they’re doing. They’re good kids that play the game the right way and compete at a high level every day.”

The Southeastern Conference portion of the schedule is now set for the defending national champions.

Mississippi State’s 2022 SEC slate was revealed by the league on Wednesday, highlighted by home sets against LSU and Tennessee, as well as road trips to Ole Miss and Arkansas. In all, MSU will face six conference opponents that were 2021 NCAA Tournament participants, including four that reached the super regional round and one that advanced to the College World Series.

The Diamond Dawgs open up SEC play on Friday, March 18, when State heads east to Georgia to start a three-game series. It’ll mark the first meeting between the two sets of Bulldogs since 2019 when MSU swept Georgia in Starkville.

Dudy Noble Field will see its first conference action of the new year on Friday, March 25, as Alabama comes across the state line for three games. The Bulldogs have won their last seven games against the Crimson Tide overall.

A highly anticipated matchup against another SEC Western Division foe is next up as MSU travels to Arkansas to face the Razorbacks from April 1-3. From there, Mississippi State’s next six league contests are at home.

LSU pays a visit to Starkville from April 8-10, then Auburn comes to town for a three-game series on Easter weekend that’ll begin on Thursday, April 14. The Bulldogs went 5-1 combined against the SEC West’s two sets of Tigers a year ago.

The following weekend, MSU’S rivalry with Ole Miss is renewed. The Bulldogs and Rebels are set for a showdown in Oxford from April 22-24. State will be looking for its sixth consecutive series win over its instate foe.

MSU is then back on the road the following weekend at Missouri from April 29-May 1. State will enter the series having won 10 of the 14 all-time meetings between the two schools.

The Diamond Dawgs will get to enjoy The Dude Effect in two of their final three SEC series of the year. MSU will have the homefield advantage against Florida from May 6-8, then following a road trip to Texas A&M from May 13-15, State closes out the regular season by hosting fellow 2021 College World Series participant Tennessee from May 19-21.

Postseason play then gets underway. The SEC Tournament will once again be held in Hoover, Alabama, from May 24-29.

Note that dates for Mississippi State’s league slate are subject to change due to television scheduling. The Diamond Dawgs’ full 2022 schedule, as well as ticket information, will be announced at a later date.

Basketball

The Southeastern Conference Men’s and Women’s Basketball Leadership Council will hold its annual meeting via Zoom today, with Iverson Molinar and Myah Taylor representing Mississippi State.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey introduced new Student-athlete Leadership Councils in 2016 for the sports of men’s and women’s basketball along with football, which, in addition to the conference’s longstanding Student-athlete Advisory Council, provide student-athletes with additional opportunities to engage with campus leaders and conference office staff.

The council consists of one male representative and one female representative from each of the SEC’S 14 institutions. The goal of the Leadership Council is for student-athletes to serve as a conduit of communication from their teams to the conference office on issues related to student-athlete experience, student-athlete wellness, and to provide feedback on proposed rules governing the SEC and NCAA.

Taylor, who also represented Mississippi State at the 2019 leadership council meetings, is coming off her most successful campaign for the Bulldogs in 2020-21. She averaged a career-best 9.9 points per game while dishing out 4.1 assists per contest. The senior has played in 86 career games and has made 52 consecutive starts.

Molinar enters his junior season with 37 starts and 61 career games under his belt. A breakout sophomore campaign saw him more than double his points per game output from 5.9 points to 16.7 points, the fourth-most points per game in the SEC last season. In 30 games last season, Molinar shot 48% from the field, 44% from 3-point range and 80% from the charity stripe.