Mississippi State Football

One week into the 2020 season, it looked like Mike Leach's first season at Mississippi State would shock the nation. Two straight losses later, the coach appears ready to cut bait with some players. 

"We're going to have to check some of our group and figure out who really wants to play here, because any malcontents, we're going to have to purge a couple of those," Leach told reporters after Saturday's 24-2 loss to Kentucky.

The Bulldogs threw six interceptions in the loss, setting up Kentucky with consistently excellent field position, and got their only score of the game on a safety. The team has 10 turnovers in the last two weeks.

Mississippi State has made a bowl game the last 10 seasons, so Leach is not taking over some woebegone program.

Dan Mullen kept the team competitive for nine seasons from 2009-2017, and Joe Moorhead went 14-12 after replacing Mullen. While the talent cupboard isn't stocked after Moorhead's two seasons with the program, Leach has a habit of shifting tone and deflecting blame.

Leach called out his own players as "fat, dumb, happy and entitled" at Washington State last season. The Cougars entered last season expected to compete for a Pac-12 championship after a successful 2018 but instead finished 6-7 as one of the nation's biggest disappointments.

At some point, it may be on Leach to acknowledge that maybe it's not always the players who are at fault—especially when shifting entire time zones and taking over a whole new roster.

The Mississippi Senate approved a resolution that laid the groundwork for the state to remove the Confederate emblem from its flag, per Giacomo Bologna and Luke Ramseth of the Mississippi Clarion Ledger.

Mississippi State running back Kylin Hill, who said he would leave the team if the Confederate symbol was not changed, offered his response to Saturday's news:

Hill was born and raised in Columbus, Mississippi, and played high school ball for Columbus as well.

Kay Jones, James Froio and Kelly Mena of CNN.com offered specifics on the state government's decision and what lies ahead:

"The newly passed resolution suspends the rules so that lawmakers can consider a bill that would change or remove the flag. First, the Mississippi House of Representatives passed the measure in a vote of 85-34 amid loud cheers in the chamber, followed by the Senate in a vote of 36-14.

"The passage of the measure in both chambers now leads the way for a bill to be proposed and passed to allow for the change of the state flag. The bill is expected to be taken up on Sunday afternoon, when both the House and Senate go back into session."

Hill played an instrumental role in the likely change and kept the momentum going when he made these statements Monday:

Collegiate sports teams in the state soon got behind Hill's efforts, to the point where head coaches (including Mississippi State football head coach Mike Leach) lobbied lawmakers to make the change:

Coaches, players and the SEC all protested against the state flag, and Stewart Mandel of The Athletic provided a timeline of events that included Hill's tweet:

Now the change appears to be on the way.

Hill dominated on the gridiron for the Bulldogs last year, rushing for 1,350 yards and 10 touchdowns on 242 carries (5.6 yards per carry). He added 18 receptions for 180 yards and one more score.

Mississippi State coach Mike Leach told reporters Thursday that the state of Mississippi should change its flag because it does not "unify" its citizens.

The Mississippi State flag features the Confederate flag in its upper left-hand corner and is one of seven state flags that feature symbols or connections of the flags of the Confederacy, which fought for the continued enslavement of Black people.

The Confederate flag is racist symbol, and the NCAA recently announced the state of Mississippi will be barred from holding any championship events until the flag is changed.

Leach and Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin were among a contingent of representatives who met with legislators Thursday in an attempt to change the flag. Mississippi State running back Kylin Hill said this week he will not play until the state changes its flag. 

"We removed the flag from our campus five years ago, so we've made it clear that it doesn't represent who we are at Ole Miss," Kiffin told ESPN's Chris Low. "Today is another big step in doing our part to move the state forward and ensure a more welcoming environment for everyone. This is extremely important to me and to our players. Time to change!"

Mississippi has also seen pressure from companies like Walmart, which has ceased displaying the state flag at stores.

Mississippi State and Ole Miss have already stopped flying the flag on their respective campuses. Gov. Tate Reeves has maintained it is not his decision whether to change the flag, saying it would have to be up to a public vote.

Mississippi State running back Kylin Hill won't play for the team next season if the Confederate battle emblem remains part of the official state flag. 

Hill shared his position on Twitter:

Hill also wrote in response to a Twitter follower, "Unlike rest I was born in this state...and I know what the flag mean."

There has been a growing push to get the state of Mississippi to change the flag, but Gov. Tate Reeves tweeted Saturday that one proposal to create a second flag "does not meet the threshold" and "would actually accomplish the exact opposite of our stated goal—it would actually divide our state more."

Per Adam Ganucheau and Kayleigh Skinner of MississippiToday.org, many cities, colleges and businesses in the state have either taken down the flag or called for the state to change the flag. 

The NCAA announced last week it expanded its Confederate flag policy to ban all championship events from states that use the symbol. 

Mississippi is the only state that still has a Confederate symbol as part of its official state flag design.

Hill was born and raised in Columbus, Mississippi. He played football at Columbus High School from 2013 to 2016 before starting his college career at Mississippi State in 2017.

Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach surprised Henderson Ward Stewart Elementary School teachers by hopping into their Zooom call during a faculty meeting. 

"I seriously think my jaw just dropped," music teacher Amber Sims told Tyler Horka of the Mississippi Clarion Ledger. "I was like, 'What? Oh my goodness. Mike Leach is on our Zoom call.'"

Leach was there in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week (May 4-8). One of the school's teachers is married to Ben Rodriguez, who works in the Mississippi State athletic department and arranged the Zoom cameo. The Bulldogs head coach said that teaching was "one of the most commendable professions that exists, if not the most commendable."

He also recounted memories of his childhood teachers.

"I have a number of teachers that I remember," he said. "I have one or two that I'd like to forget, but for the most part I had fantastic teachers, I had great teachers. Teachers were those that first gave me the confidence to do things when I wasn't sure I could do them." 

Leach, a former substitute and junior college teacher himself, was announced as the Bulldogs' new head coach on January 9 after spending eight seasons at the helm for Washington State.

Mississippi State defensive tackle Fabien Lovett announced Friday he's entered the NCAA transfer portal after criticizing a lynching-related meme posted by Bulldogs head coach Mike Leach.

ESPN's Mark Schlabach reported Leach posted a picture of a woman knitting a noose for her husband amid widespread "stay at home" orders because of COVID-19 and Lovett responded with "wtf."

Leach, who was hired by the school in January, later removed the meme and posted an apology on Twitter.

"I sincerely regret if my choice of images in my tweets were found offensive," he wrote. "I had no intention of offending anyone."

MSU professor Margaret Hagerman was among those to criticize Leach's social-media post, saying "lynching 'jokes' are incredibly offensive anywhere" and "especially in Mississippi," per Tyler Horka of the Mississippi Clarion Ledger. She also said the coach should learn more about "this brutal history."

Lovett joined the Bulldogs as a 3-star prospect in the 2018 recruiting class under previous head coach Joe Moorhead. After sitting out his first season in Starkville, he recorded 19 total tackles and a sack as a redshirt freshman in 2019.

The Mississippi native will have three years of eligibility remaining after completing his transfer.

The body of former Mississippi State football player Philemon Jones, 27, was found in a lake Monday, according to the Clarion-Ledger's Rashad Milligan.

The coroner in Lee County, Mississippi, confirmed Jones' identity. Authorities don't suspect foul play, though the cause of death hasn't been finalized.

Jones spent four years at Mississippi State, appearing in 45 games for the Bulldogs between 2011-2014. He finished with 81 combined tackles and two sacks and was a senior when the team climbed to No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

Police in Tupelo declared Jones to be missing last Friday after his family had been unable to contact him for the past month.

Former Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello announced his decision to transfer to Mississippi State on Monday.

The announcement accompanied a lengthy message thanking his teammates and coaches while describing how it was his dream to play for Stanford:

247Sports' Dean Straka reported Dec. 18 that Costello had entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal, seeking a grad transfer for his final year of eligibility.

Costello only played five games in 2019. He suffered a concussion in the season-opening 17-7 win over Northwestern and missed Stanford's Pac-12 opener against USC the following week. The California native injured his thumb against Oregon on Sept. 21 and remained out until Oct. 26. He last played Nov. 9 against Colorado.

Overall, Costello posted 1,028  passing yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions on 61.1 completion percentage. His best season as a Cardinal came in 2018, when he tossed for 3,540 yards, 29 touchdowns and 11 picks on 65.1 percent completion while Stanford went 9-4.

Stanford head coach David Shaw commended Costello following the team's final game of the season, a 45-24 loss to Notre Dame, per Stanford Daily's Daniel Martinez-Krams:

"K.J. and I had a conversation yesterday, and I just told him that I love him. I felt for him. The aspirations that he had, difficult when you can't attain those. Didn't even have an opportunity to go after those.

[...]

"K.J. was hoping for a bowl game and just trying to hopefully get a chance to go back in and play because at the end of the day he just wants to play football. I commend him and his family on how he's handled this very, very difficult situation."

Davis Mills stepped in for the injured Costello in 2019 and will likely assume Stanford's full-time starting position as a redshirt junior in 2020.

At Mississippi State, Costello will have the chance to compete for the starting job under head coach Mike Leach, who is known for his offensive prowess and ability to lead high-powered offenses. 

The graduate transfer is joining what Tyler Horka of the Mississippi Clarion Ledger called a "somewhat crowded quarterback room" that includes sophomore Garrett Shrader, who "looked to be the future of the program." True freshman Will Rogers, redshirt junior Keytaon Thompson and redshirt sophomore Jalen Mayden are also on the roster.

If Costello wins the job, he is sure to throw early and often considering Horka noted a Leach-coached quarterback has led the nation in passing attempts in four of the last five seasons.

Former Mississippi State Bulldogs wide receiver De'Runnya Wilson died at the age of 25 in an apparent homicide.

As Tyler Horka of the Mississippi Clarion Ledger (h/t USA Today) noted, Sgt. Johnny Williams of the Birmingham Police Department explained in a police video that investigators "received information from a relative that the victim was unresponsive inside the home. Once arriving, our officers discovered information that led them to investigate this as a homicide."

Williams went on to say there are "limited details on the investigation."

Wilson, who also played basketball for Mississippi State during the 2013-14 campaign, laced it up for the Bulldogs from 2013 through 2015.

Mississippi State offered its condolences following the news:

He finished his career with 132 catches for 1,936 yards and 22 touchdowns, and Horka noted he and Dak Prescott connected for a school-record 19 touchdowns as a tandem.

The duo led the Bulldogs to the Orange Bowl during the 2014 campaign after ascending to No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll earlier in the season.

Wilson was also briefly a member of the Albany Empire in the Arena Football League after he finished his collegiate career.

Mike Leach's introductory press conference at Mississippi State on Friday was everything fans would expect from the outspoken head coach.

One of the most notable things Leach addressed with the media was his decision to take over the Bulldogs after spending the past eight seasons at Washington State. 

"You're always really conflicted. .. But then, the other side of it is, you're gonna be dead in 100 years anyway, so you want to try to have as many experiences as you can," he told reporters. 

Leach wrapped up his press conference with an attempt to ingratiate himself to fans in Starkville by ringing a cowbell:

The 58-year-old had a successful run at Washington State from 2012-19. He took over the program coming off eight straight losing seasons.

After a 12-25 start with the Cougars, Leach won at least eight games in four straight seasons from 2015-18. Their 11 wins during the 2018 campaign set a new school record and marked their first year with double-digit victories since 2003. 

Mississippi State will be hoping Leach's fast-paced offensive style can lead to more consistent success. Joe Moorhead's tenure as head coach of the Bulldogs came to an end in December after just two seasons amid a number of off-field issues with his players. 

This will be Leach's first stint as a head coach in the SEC. He previously worked in the conference at the University of Kentucky as an offensive coordinator on Hal Humme's staff from 1997-98.