STARKVILLE — It’s possible to reverse history and imagine Tyler Russell on the opposite sideline Saturday for the Mississippi State football team’s game against the University of Alabama.
Three years ago, the Parade All-American quarterback’s college decision was down to a pair of schools less than 85 miles apart on Highway 82.
MSU is glad the Meridian High School standout chose to come to Starkville. On Saturday, he likely will start for MSU (5-4, 1-4 Southeastern Conference) when it plays host to the No. 4 University of Alabama at 6:45 p.m. (ESPN) at Davis Wade Stadium.
“You got to treat them just like any other team,” Russell said. “It’s not about them and it’s about what we can do. Last year, we didn’t play nearly as good against them.”
The day before MSU defeated the University of Kentucky 28-16 victory, Russell met with MSU offensive coordinator Les Koenning on the plane ride. Koenning admits the conversation wasn’t G-rated.
“I pressed the issue with him saying, ‘Hey we’re going need you’, and I think I cleaned up the language a lot,” Koenning said. “I can promise you he knew where to go with the football on every play call after our talk and was much more decisive on the field.”
MSU coach Dan Mullen hopes Russell can play with that decisiveness and shake off the inconsistency that showed last week in the second half of a 55-17 victory against the University of Tennessee-Martin.
“Every Friday we have a meeting just going over the mistakes we had in practice and (that Friday before Kentucky) I didn’t do as well as I should have and he let me know,” Russell said.
Russell went 6 of 7 for 172 yards in the first quarter against UTM, but then couldn’t find open receivers and had several three-and-out drives.
“I told Tyler we work a scramble drill every week so you got to pick up your feet and move,” Koenning said. “You’re the quarterback, so you got to make up for a missed assignment whether it’s up front on a receiver running the wrong route.”
Mullen suggested Monday that Russell’s second-half struggles against UTM were due to his desire to attempt long passes against an outmanned defense that weren’t conducive to passing efficiency.
“We’re up, you’re kind of looking at, ‘Hey, can I make a big play? What home-run shot can I hit?’ ” Mullen said. “When you’re in the heat of the game, if that’s a really tight game, you’re looking at checking the ball down, taking a nice and lazy throw, get yourself back into rhythm. I think at times he’s looking and saying, ‘Hey, we’ve got a lead here, I’m going to take some chances’, (but) that’s not a great recipe for getting yourself back in rhythm.”
Russell was 4 of 7 for 80 yards with a touchdown and an interception last year in a 30-10 loss at Alabama on Nov. 12. With 8 minutes, 8 seconds to play, Russell found Chad Bumphis for a 28-yard touchdown for the game’s final score of the game.
“I think he came in and had a couple nice throws,” Mullen said. “He had a couple of drops in the game. He ended up throwing an interception where the receiver fell down. We had a guy open and they fell down, so I think our guys look at it and know we have to play well. If we don’t we’ll be in trouble because they don’t make mistakes. Tyler has been on the field, he has played against them.”
Banks nominated for 2011 Conerly Trophy
Junior cornerback Johnthan Banks is MSU’s nominee for the 2011 Conerly Trophy.
Banks, a native of Maben, was one of 10 finalists for the award given by the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in Jackson to the best player in the state as voted on by the media. The past two winners have been MSU middle linebacker Chris White, who was drafted and is playing for the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, and tailback Anthony Dixon, now of the San Francisco 49ers.
Banks is a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, which is given annually to the nation’s top defensive back. He is tied for fourth nationally with five interceptions, and tied for eighth with 13 passes defended. He is one of two players in the country to return a punt and an interception for a touchdown.
“We’re a solid football team from top to bottom and there’s probably a couple of guys we could have put up for it,” Mullen said. “Hopefully, no pressure on Banks, he can have a couple good games here at the end and keep the streak alive.”
MSU has had four winners of the award (White, Dixon, Jerious Norwood in 2005, and James Johnson in 1998) since the inception of the honor in 1996.
The other finalists are Southern Miss senior quarterback Austin Davis, Delta State senior quarterback Micah Davis, Jackson State quarterback Casey Therriault, Ole Miss sophomore defensive back Charles Sawyer, Alcorn State punt returner/wide receiver Terrence Lewis, Belhaven running back Justin Gaines, Millsaps wide receiver Jason O’Rear, Mississippi College defensive back Jarrad Craine, and Mississippi Valley State wide receiver Paul Cox.
The award will be handed out Nov. 29 in Jackson at the Hall of Fame Museum.
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