STARKVILLE — Senior Day on Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium will involve a special recognition for a fallen teammate.
Mississippi State University announced Monday it will include the late Nick Bell among the 28 seniors it will honor Saturday when MSU takes to the home field for the final time this season against the University of Arkansas (11:21 a.m., WCBI).
“It’ll be a great opportunity to thank Nick’s mom, who’s always with us and continues to support everything we’ve done and say another good bye to him on Saturday,” MSU coach Dan Mullen said Monday in his weekly media conference.
Bell, 20, died Nov. 2, 2010, at University of Alabama-Birmingham Hospital after undergoing emergency surgery when a form of skin cancer metastasized, or spreads from its original location to a non-adjacent organ or body part
“It’s something I don’t think any of our players will ever forget, anybody in our program will ever forget,” Mullen said. “We win a game, we’ve got to go play again next week. We lose a game, we’ve got to go play again next week, but that is probably the most significant thing that’s happened in my coaching career.”
MSU graduate Dr. Allen Sills performed brain surgery on Bell at Vanderbilt University to remove a mass discovered by MSU physicians. The doctors made the discovery after Bell developed headaches and hand weakness. Tests indicated the mass was a form of skin cancer, which is related to a lesion that was removed from his forehead two years earlier.
Bell is survived by his mother, Linda, who lives in Bessemer, Ala.
Bell started two of the four games he played in in 2010, making seven tackles and two for a loss. He finished his career with 22 tackles and four and a half stops for a loss.
Since Bell’s death, MSU has honored him by placing a patch on the football team’s uniforms and by blacking out the 36 yard-line on each side of the Davis Wade Stadium field.
Bell was recruited to MSU out of Jess Lanier High in Bessemer, Ala., by the staff of former MSU coach Sylvester Croom. Bell began his high school career at Adamsville (Ala.) Minor and committed to MSU on November 2007.
Bell is the first MSU football player to pass away since Keffer McGee’s life ended on Aug. 5, 1997, in a drowning accident at a Starkville apartment complex.
MSU nominates Banks for 2012 Conerly Trophy
MSU senior Johnthan Banks received back-to-back Conerly Trophy nominations Monday, as the cornerback was named as the school’s representative.
A MSU player has won the Conerly Trophy, which goes to the best college football player in the state of Mississippi as selected by a panel of voters, two of the past three years.
Banks, a senior from Maben, has four interceptions, six pass breakups, and 51 tackles this season. He was a preseason All-America selection, and is a semifinalist for various national awards. The 6-foot-2 cornerback will play Saturday in his final game at Davis Wade Stadium.
Each school nominates a player for the award. Three finalists will
be selected Nov. 27 in an awards ceremony at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in Jackson. Banks is joined by Alcorn State University offensive lineman Cornelius Brown, Belhaven cornerback Isiah Wiley, Delta State University offensive lineman Kendall Hunter, Jackson State University wide receiver Rico Richardson, Millsaps quarterback Garrett Pinciotti, Mississippi College defensive back Keith Villafranco, Mississippi Valley State University defensive tackle Robert Simpson, University of Mississippi quarterback Bo Wallace, and University of Southern Mississippi linebacker Jamie Collins.
MSU projected to play in 2013 Gator Bowl
According to the major projection websites, MSU (7-3, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) will play Michigan State University in the 2013 Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla.
MSU made its first and only trip to the bowl game two years ago in a 52-14 victory against the University of Michigan on New Year’s Day in front of 68,325 at EverBank Field. CBS Sports, ESPN, and Phil Steele all have MSU projected to make its second trip to the home of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars if it finishes the regular season with victories against Arkansas and the University of Mississippi.
The Spartans, who were ranked in the top 15 in every poll to start the season, are 5-5 and 2-4 and tied for last in the Legends Division of the Big Ten Conference. Michigan State has lost three of its last four games and needs to win one of its final two regular-season games against Northwestern University and the University of Minnesota to become bowl eligible.
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