BULLDOG BITS
Football
LAS VEGAS – Mississippi State linebacker Tyrus Wheat will be representing the Bulldogs in the East-west Shrine Bowl tonight at 7:30 p.m. on NFL Network.
Wheat will be wearing No. 92 and playing for the West Team coached by members of the New England Patriots' staff. The East-west Shine Bowl will be played inside Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Wheat was a three-year starter at MSU after transferring in from Copiah-lincoln Community College, where he began his career as a safety. The now 6-foot-2, 260-pounder wrapped up his career in Maroon and White with 129 tackles, which 27 went for a loss, three interceptions, three forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries.
Wheat's 18.5 career sacks are tied with Titus Brown (2004-07) for the eighth-most in school history.
The Amite, Louisiana native started 12 games during his final season this past fall and tied Nathaniel Watson with a team-leading six sacks and also topped the Bulldogs with eight quarterback hurries. He finished 2022 with 53 tackles, two fumble recoveries, one interception and was second on the team with 10.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage.
Wheat is the 32nd Bulldog player to participate in the East-west Shrine Bowl and first since Tommy Stevens and Darryl Williams did so in 2020. Current Mississippi State wide receivers coach Chad Bumphis also represented the Bulldogs in the East-west Shrine Bowl back in 2013.
Wheat is one of six current players from State selected for postseason all-star games. Center Laquinston Sharp saw action in the Hula Bowl while defensive end Randy Charlton and safeties Collin Duncan and Jalen Green participated in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl last weekend.
Defensive tackle Cameron Young is also set to play in the Senior Bowl on Saturday.
Women’s Basketball
Mississippi State women's basketball great Morgan William has been selected as the Bulldogs' 2023 Southeastern Conference Women's Legend, the league office announced on Wednesday.
Each member of the 2023 class will be recognized during halftime of their team's first game of the SEC Tournament (March 1-5 in Greenville, S.C.), as well as a group introduction at halftime of the second semifinal game on Saturday, March 4.
Morgan William is one of the best point guards in program history and will forever be remembered for one of the most iconic shots in NCAA basketball history when she ended Uconn's 111-game winning streak in the 2017 NCAA Final Four with her pull-up jumper from the elbow in overtime as the buzzer went off.
William, who started in back-to-back NCAA Final Fours, was a two-time AP All-american Honorable Mention, a two-time second team ALL-SEC selection, a member of the 2017 NCAA All-final Four Team and a four-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
She ended her memorable career as the program's alltime leader in total assists (656) and assists per game (4.4). She owns three of the top five single-season assist marks, with her 2016-17 season ranked second all-time with 181 assists. William, known best for her assists, also was a scorer for the Bulldogs. She ended her MSU career ninth on the all-time scoring list with 1,400 career points; in 2023, she ranks 10th. At the free-throw line, William ranked eighth in SEC history, second in MSU history, in career makes with 531. She also ranked seventh in SEC history, first at MSU, in career free-throw percentage, 84.7%.