| 1996 | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Jan | Feb | Mar | April |
05/30/97 - Thanks to an excellent source of mine, I now know the academic situation of MSU's football signees.
All of the other signees have qualified, according to a source I trust completely.
05/30/97 - James "Blue" Jones, the Juco WR signee who was arrested, along with former QB Derrick Taite, has transferred to Murray State.
05/29/97 - Fromer Bulldog player Scott Gumina is trying out for the NFL and has been scouted by several teams, including the New Orleans Saints, Minnesota Vikings and the Dallas Cowboys. He is hoping to get a chance to play as a safety this time around. If he is not picked up by an NFL team, he may play in the CFL. Good luck Scott, we are all pulling for you!
05/27/97 - MSU juco signee Craig Moore needs 3 hours of summer school to graduate from Junior College. I was told this by someone who talked to Craig recently. With the addition of Craig to our offensive line, it will be unbelievable the talent and depth we will have on this upcoming season's offensive line.
05/26/97 - Although I don't know what his GPA is, I do know MSU signee Dorsett Davis, a defensive tackle from Cleveland East Side, made 16 on his last ACT test. If he has a 2.5 GPA in his core curriculum he only needs a 17 on his ACT, which he has one more chance to take, June 14th. I do know Dorsett will graduate with the rest of his class in May.
05/25/97 - Miss State is looking at Plano, Texas running back David Hall. He also has a teammate by the name of Michael Brown, a 6-3, 245-lb. tight end, who is the son of a former baseball player at Miss State. Schools that are looking at him are Stanford, Missouri, Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Rice. So far, Miss State has shown very little interest. Michael will be a two-year starter for Plano HS, which is very unusual because they are such a big school and have so many talented players. At Plano you usually have to wait until you are a senior before you become a starter. BTW, he has a 32 on his ACT. I was told he is leaning to Rice at the moment.
05/25/97 - I have been told that Miss State, along with every other college in Miss, is interested in Magee running back Justin Griffith.
05/24/97 - A Miss State coach was seen in Natchez recently checking out prospects. It appears our coaches are making the rounds during the all-important May evaluation period.
05/22/97 - I was informed Wednesday, former MSU punter Andy Russ has been invited to the New England Patriots mini-camp. If things go well, he will be invited to their preseason camp and will play in two exhibition games. If he performs well, he has a shot at making the taxi-squad. He reports a week from Monday. There are two other kickers who are competing for this spot. If any of you know Andy, tell him we all wish him the best of luck.
05/22/97 - Ole Miss isn't the only Mississippi team checking out the players in Mississippi. One of Miss State's coaches was spotted in Falkner recently.
05/22/97 - As of today, I have heard nothing about the academic status of any of Miss State's high school signees. If you want my gut feeling, I only expect one of our high school signees not to qualify. Sorry to say, but that one will probably be Dorsett Davis.
05/21/97 - Football notes from a well connected source:
05/17/97 - Look for Miss State to recruit Falkner's outstanding running back Edward Prather. I have heard a lot of great things about this kid. He is a nice size RB with very good speed.
05/15/97 - Although I never thought Derrick Taite was a great quarterback, I think some things should be cleared up about him and Eric Moulds. According to a former MSU offensive coach, sometimes people believed Derrick was throwing poor passes when, in fact, Eric Moulds was running poor routes. And in some instances, wrong routes. He did this quite a bit during the Peach Bowl. To his credit, Derrick never mentioned this to the press, nor did he ever complain, publicly, about it. I normally don't say anything negative about a player, but I felt like you should know the facts as I was told them.
05/14/97 - According to someone who saw most of the spring football practices, Matt Wyatt was impressive throughout the Spring and will be solid this Fall. The two O-linemen that impressed him most were Brad Elmore and Randy Thomas, although he really was impressed with the strength and depth of the entire O-line.
05/14/97 - There is no substance to the rumor that Derrick Taite and Eric Moulds had a problem during the 1993 Peach Bowl, causing Derrick to not throw the ball Eric's way. According to my source, who has talked to someone who was on the team at the time, Derrick wanted to win and would never do anything to intentional hurt MSU's chances.
05/12/97 - Skyboxes at Scott Field? That's what I read in The Clarion-Ledger Sunday. No additional details were given because MSU Athletic Director Larry Templeton is not at the point where he can release all the details. As I stated earlier, there will also be a 24-by-27 foot video screen added to Scott Field's scoreboard. According to Templeton, MSU will "show instant replays from our game and highlights from other games around the country" on the video screen. It was also revealed that Dudy Noble Field and Humphrey Coliseum will be expanded. As I see or hear additional info, I will pass it on to all of you.
05/07/97 - Found this in The Clarion-Ledger. It is a little info on two players who will play in the Miss/Ala. All-Star Football Game: Dorsett Davis of Cleveland East Side and Kenny Smith of Meridian were considered two of the nation's best defensive line prospects when they signed with Mississippi State and Alabama, respectively. Coach Willie Collins of Provine, Mississippi's defensive line coach, is a believer after watching Davis and Smith practice.
"I was in awe," Collins said. "We're going to line them up side by side, so if they double-team one they'll have to let the other one go. If they live up to their potential, they'll be pretty hard to contain."
05/04/97 - Ole Miss head coach Tommy Tuberville was very complimentary of most of Miss State's Juco recruits on the Jack Cristil show when he was on it a little over three weeks ago. He said most of MSU's Juco signees are really good and were placed in Jucos by the likes of Florida State and Miami. He also said he considers Miss State to be the darkhorse in the SEC West race.
05/02/97 - According to the latest info, Keffer McGee is now 70% recovered.