2007 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team

Pre-season

At the 2007 SEC Football Media Days in Hoover, Alabama, Mississippi State was predicted to finish 6th in the SEC Western Division, based on a poll of SEC coaches.

2006 season in review

The Bulldogs finished the 2006 college football season with a dismal 3–9 record (1–7 conference). MSU's only wins came over UAB (16–10, overtime) of Conference USA in Birmingham and DI-AA/FCS opponent Jacksonville State (35–3), with the Bulldogs' lone conference victory coming over Alabama in Tuscaloosa, a game in which MSU was a 14-point underdog, by a 24–16 margin, snapping a streak of 23 consecutive conference road losses for MSU.

Despite their poor record, Croom's squad showed signs of improvement in 2006: they were outgained by just 51.9 yards per game, fewer than conference foes Ole Miss and Kentucky, who won the 2006 Music City Bowl; in their 24–27 loss at Georgia, they reached UGA's 31-yard line but lost a fumble with 0:03 remaining in the game; they outgained Arkansas, the 2006 SEC West Champs, by 99 yards in a 14–28 loss; and the Bulldogs also lost close games to Tulane (29–32), Kentucky (31–34) and rival Ole Miss in the 2006 Battle for the Golden Egg (17–20).

With 17 returning starters (10 offense, 5 defense, Kicker, Punter) in 2007, the Bulldogs will expect to see statistical improvement paying off in the Win/Loss column in "Sly" Croom's contract year.

Players departing

Seven starters departed from States' 2006 squad. All of them were seniors whose eligibility expired:

Also departed are Seniors Omar Conner, who completed 76 of 135 passes (56.3%) for 943 yards and three touchdowns (three interceptions), rushed 37 times for 101 yards (2.7 average) and two touchdowns, and caught eight passes for 70 yards while splitting time at WR and QB, WR Will Prosser (11 receptions, 135 yards) and DT Antonio Johnson (21 tackles, 4 TFLs), who was selected by the Tennessee Titans with the 152nd pick of the 2007 NFL Draft.

Players returning

Despite the loss of several standout veteran players from the Bulldogs' 2006 squad, the 2007 Bulldogs boast an experienced lineup, including 17 returning starters.

Offense

State's offense in 2007 includes ten returning starters from 2006 (in bold).

Under center, Junior Michael Henig will get the first look at QB for the 'Dogs' after starting six games and completing 74 of 169 pass attempts (43.8%) for 1201 yards and seven touchdowns (nine interceptions) as a Sophomore in 2006. He will be challenged by Sophomores Ty Evans and Zack Harrington as well as incoming JUCO transfer Josh Riddell.

The Bulldogs will get back their top five pass receivers from 2006: Tony Burks (35 catches, 850 yards, 5 touchdowns, led SEC with 24.3 yards per reception), Jamayel Smith (20 receptions, 335 yards, 2 touchdowns), TE Eric Butler (13 receptions, 210 yards, 1 touchdown), Lance Long (25 receptions, 177 yards, 1 touchdown) and Aubrey Bell (8 receptions, 151 yards). Also returning are backup TEs Dezmond Sherrod (just 7 career receptions, but a solid blocking TE) and Jason Husband (9 receptions, 89 yards, 1 touchdown in 2006).

Sophomore RB Anthony Dixon emereged as a star in his 2006 true-Freshman season, rushing 169 times for 668 yards (4 yards per carry) and 9 touchdowns. He looks to handle the 'Dogs' starting RB duties again in 2007. Backups Arnil Stallworth, Justin Williams and Christian Ducré all return, as well. Juniors Eric Hoskins, who redshirted in 2006 after transferring from Holmes, and Brandon Hart, a converted RB, will share the FB duties.

The Bulldogs have the makings of a solid group of linemen up front, where C Royce Blacledge returns to anchor the unit in his Senior season after starting every game there as a Junior in 2006; Sophomore Craig Jenkins, who started every game at RT in 2006, moves to RG; Juniors Anthony Strauder and Michael Gates, who split time at LG both return, as do talented Junior Michael Brown, who transferred to State after redshirting at Florida, and Senior swing G/T J.D. Hamilton, both of whom split time at LT last season.

Defense

Despite the loss of six starters from 2006, Mississippi State returns five proven, veteran starters (in bold) and a strong group of young players who will attempt to replace last year's Seniors.

Up front, Senior LDE Titus Brown (38 tackles, 7 TFLs, 7.5 sacks, 1 pass defended in 2006), a 2006 Second-Team All-SEC selection, is the only returning starter, but with 18 career starts under his belt, he has the experience to be a disruptive force for the Bulldogs and to help develop his younger teammates. Senior Avery Hannibal looks to fill the other DE spot, after recording eight tackles, one TFL and one sack in spot-relief of departed Senior Michael Heard in 2006. RS Freshman Brandon Cooper and Juniors Charles Burns and Tim Bailey, a former JUCO star and Army National Guard veteran, can also be expected to compete for time at DE, as well as JUCO newcomer Jimmie Holmes. With all three players who split time at DT in 2006 gone, competition for both starting jobs looks to be wide open. Freshman Reggie Odom, Sophomores Quinton Wesley and Kyle Love (7 tackles in 2006) and Junior Cortez McCraney (10 tackles, 1.5 TFL in 2005) will all have chances to earn the vacant spots, but they will be challenged by newcomers like JUCO transfer Jessie Bowman and true-Freshman LaMarcus Williams.

At LB, Senior Gabe O'Neal (40 tackles, 3 TFL in 2006) and Junior Jamar Chaney (66 tackles, 5 TFL, 2.5 sacks) seem to have what it takes to maintain the respective starting SLB and MLB spots that they occupied in 2006. Sophomore Jamon Hughes (17 tackles) and Junior Anthony Littlejohn (12 tackles, 1 pass defended) look to be the top contenders to earn the final WLB spot, along with JUCO transfer Dominic Douglas.

In the secondary, Mississippi State returns two Junior defensive stars in SS Keith Fitzhugh (59 tackles, .5 TFL, 3 passes defended, 1 INT in 2006) and 2006 Second-Team All-SEC selection Derek Pegues (32 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 5 passes defended, 4 INTs), who will move from CB to FS. Sophomores Anthony Johnson (12 tackles, 1 pass defended) and Marcus Washington (6 tackles) will compete for the vacated CB spots, along with Juniors Demario Bobo (65 tackles, 2 TFLs, 2 FFs, 2 passes defended from 2004–2005) and Keon Humphries, a converted WR, and JUCO transfers Jasper O'Quinn and Chris Nance.

Special teams

Mississippi State returns virtually all of its key players in the kicking game (returning staters in bold).

Junior K Adam Carlson (8 of 16 career FGs, 58 career points, 47 career long) is back after his first full season as a starter. Carlson will also handle kickoff duties for the second straight year. In 2006, he kicked-off 31 times for an average of 54.2 yards. Also, returning is Junior P Blake McAdams, who averaged 38.2 yards per kick and landed 15 of his 68 punts inside opponents' 20. Derek Pegues will again handle punt and kick returning duties after returning 25 punts an average of 14 yards with one touchdown and taking back 29 kickoffs an average of 23.7 yards in 2006.

Newcomers: 2007 signing class

MSU signed a total of 34 players to letters of intent, comprising the Bulldogs' 2007 signing class. The class was headlined by a large number of top in-state high school recruits including RB/S Marcus Green (Meridian), DT Quentin Saulsberry (Independence), OT Derek Sherrod (Caledonia) and highly touted RB Robert Elliot (Okolona), who chose the Bulldogs on National Signing Day following a heated recruiting battle between MSU, Ole Miss and Florida State. The Bulldogs capped off a solid 2007 high school class with several top junior college signees, such as DT Jessie Bowman (Brookhaven/Co-Lin) and WR Co-Eric Riley (Lucedale/Gulf Coast). Additionally, MSU signed several strong out-of-State players including high school DT LaMarcus Williams (Bastrop, Louisiana) and JUCO QB Josh Riddell (Salem, Oregon/Foothill). Rivals.com ranked State's 2007 class 39th in the Nation, while Scout.com had the Bulldogs' class at 27th. With a strong, consensus top-40 class, the Bulldogs will expect and need some newcomers to make an immediate impact on the field.

Schedule

Analyst Phil Steele ranked MSU's 2007 schedule strength 29th in the Nation in his 2007 preview magazine.

Roster