STARKVILLE — On Tuesday, the Southeastern Conference announced that the Mike Slive era, which began when Slive became the league commissioner in 2002, will end next summer.
Slive, 74, will retire effective July 31, 2015, as he prepares to begin treatment for a recurrence of prostate cancer. His prognosis is good.
Under Slive’s leadership, the SEC won eight national championships in football, including seven in a row from 2006 until 2013. In July, the league launched the SEC Network, which reaches 90 million home across the country.
Mississippi State football coach Dan Mullen, who entered the SEC as Florida’s offensive coordinator in 2005, reacted to Slive’s announcement.
“He’s done so much for this league,” Mullen said. “Ten years ago, there was such balance across college football, and in the last 10 years, there’s been such dominance by the SEC. A lot of that has to do with Mike’s leadership.
“He’s helped me out an awful lot over the years, sometimes putting me in my place when I needed to be put in my place. He’s also congratulated me and patted me on the back when I’ve done something well as a coach.”
Harris out for the season
MSU’s 38-23 victory against No. 2 Auburn wasn’t without cost. In the first half, redshirt freshman Dez Harris injured his knee covering a punt and had to leave the game. On Tuesday night, Mullen confirmed Harris will miss the rest of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
Harris, a reserve linebacker and a standout on special teams, had 10 tackles this season.
“Special teams, that’s where it really hurts,” Mullen said. “We have to look at it, see if we want one of these freshman linebackers to take that spot.”
Mullen didn’t name names when discussing which freshman could possibly step up for Harris, but none of MSU’s freshman linebackers, including highly recruited Gerri Green and former Clarksdale product JT Gray, have played this season.
“It’s getting to that time of year where I don’t like to take a redshirt off, but we’ve got guys that if they can play, they could possibly play,” Mullen said.
Harris, a former quarterback from McAdory High in McCalla, Alabama, also tore an ACL during his senior season of high school. Mullen said the injury sustained Saturday was on the opposite leg from the one injured in high school.
Bulldogs’ 2015 football schedule released
With MSU halfway through its 2014 schedule, the Southeastern Conference released all 14 team schedules for its member institutions late Tuesday afternoon.
For MSU, that meant the release of a slate that includes seven home games for the third-straight season, a group that includes home conference games against SEC Western Division foes LSU, Alabama, and Ole Miss. MSU also will play host to Kentucky.
MSU will open the season at Southern Mississippi. The game will complete a two-year, home-and-home series. MSU defeated Southern Miss 49-0 in the season opener earlier this year. MSU also will play host to Louisiana Tech, Northwestern State, and Troy. The road schedule features back-to-back visits to Auburn and Texas A&M and trips to Missouri and Arkansas. The game against Missouri is slated for Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015.
Bulldogs get four-star pledge for 2016
Good news keeps rolling in for the Bulldogs on the recruiting front.
MSU has 30 commitments for the class of 2015, a group ranked No. 10 in the country by recruiting service 247sports.com. On Tuesday night, the Bulldogs received a verbal commitment from Tre Turner, of Holy Cross in New Orleans. Turner is one of the country’s top running backs for the class of 2016.
Turner, a 5-foot-10, 193-pounder, also is expected to play baseball at MSU. He is a four-star prospect by 247sports.com. He is the country’s No. 11 tailback prospect among juniors.
Turner is the fifth verbal commitment to MSU’s class.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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