STARKVILLE — Entering the Mississippi State football team’s game against Southern Mississippi, Brandon Holloway and Gabe Myles made a bold prediction.
“We were looking good on kick return,” said Holloway, a junior running back. “We talked the whole week we were going to return (one) for a touchdown. It was going to be the first.”
The duo saw their prediction come true when Holloway returned a kickoff 100 yards for the Bulldogs’ first score of the season. It was the team’s first kick return for a touchdown since Christian Holmes returned an onside kick 61 yards last year in a 45-31 win at Kentucky. Before that, Jameon Lewis returned a kick 100 yards against Ole Miss in the 2012 Egg Bowl.
Holloway was one of three Division I players with 100-yard kickoff returns in the first week of the season. Kansas State’s Morgan Burns and Western Michigan’s Darius Phillips were the other two.
After falling behind on a Stephen Brauchle 31-yard field goal, Holloway return with 5 minutes, 26 seconds left in the opening quarter shifted the momentum.
“I think that’s what we needed at the moment,” Holloway said. “That was a great job by our kick return team.”
Holloway caught the football about 2 yards deep into the end zone and immediately brought it out. He went straight up the middle and was never touched on his way to the end zone.
“Once I saw (senior tight end Darrion Hutcherson) Hutch hit the kicker, at that point I pretty much knew,” Holloway said. “It kind of just opened up a little bit and I got a good vision, a good read out there and I knew at that point I was gone.”
The Golden Eagles took back the lead on the next possession, but MSU scored a touchdown later in the quarter to take the lead for good.
In addition to the kick return, Holloway, who is listed at 5-foot-8, 160 pounds, showed he is ready to be a factor at running back. Holloway led MSU’s running backs with 51 rushing yards on seven carries for 7.3 yards a touch. His longest rush was a 35-yard carry in the first quarter. Junior Ashton Shumpert, who is listed at 6-2, 218 pounds, started at running back and rushed for 38 yards on eight carries.
Last season, Holloway was third on the team with 294 rushing yards last season. Josh Robinson had a team-high 1,203 rushing yards, but he passed up his senior season and entered the NFL draft. The Indianapolis Colts used the 205th overall pick (sixth round) to add him to their organization. Indianapolis will open the season Sunday at Buffalo.
“You run the same play and it’s two different plays,” MSU seventh-year head coach Dan Mullen said. “One guy’s going to power and pound you and the other guy’s going to all of a sudden hit a crack and be gone in the open field. They complement each other really well.”
Redshirt freshmen Dontavian Lee and Aeris Williams, a former West Point High School standout, made their Bulldog debuts late in the fourth quarter when the game was well in hand.
Holloway and Shumpert are eager to see how their contrasting styles work against LSU at 8:15 p.m. Saturday (ESPN) in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
“I like it,” Holloway said. “He comes in and bruises people. I can come in and change up the speed. I think it works really well.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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