STARKVILLE — After a lot of turnover in the offseason, 18 players made their debuts Saturday in the Mississippi State football team’s season-opening 21-20 loss to South Alabama at Davis Wade Stadium.
Redshirt freshman linebacker Leo Lewis was one of those players who saw his first playing time. He led MSU with nine tackles (two for loss).
“We get a lot of young players out there playing and they’ve got to learn to step up and make plays to win,” MSU coach Dan Mullen said.
The loss snapped a 17-game winning streak for Mullen in non-conference games at home.
The Bulldogs used several young wide receivers. Redshirt freshman wide receiver Deddrick Thomas had two catches for 15 yards. He caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Damian Williams in the first quarter.
Redshirt freshman wide receiver Keith Mixon had two catches for 4 yards and 17 yards rushing on two carries. Freshman Jamal Couch had one catch for 6 yards.
“We had to get those guys into the game,” Mullen said. “We’re really, really, really young at that position. It was good to see them go out there. To see those guys go and get catches early in the game is a real positive for them.”
Three suspended
Three Bulldog players were suspended for the game.
Senior defensive lineman Nick James and sophomore wide receiver Malik Dear were suspended due to a violation of team rules. Freshman defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons, who pled no contest to simple assault and was found guilty of malicious mischief, served his one-game suspension. The former Noxubee County High School standout came under fire after a video surfaced showing him striking a woman.
James, who was supposed to be the starting nose tackle, was arrested for driving under the influence and disturbing the peace last weekend. However, Starkville declined to prosecute him.
Mullen said he was disappointed in James and Dear.
“They’ve got to make better decisions,” Mullen said. “Guys make decisions, it doesn’t just affect them, it affects everybody.”
Mullen said Simmons will have a chance to play Saturday against South Carolina if he performs well in practice.
SEC Nation coming
The Junction, MSU’s tailgating site outside of Davis Wade Stadium, will be the site of SEC Network’s SEC Nation next week.
MSU will play host to South Carolina 6 p.m. Saturday (ESPN or ESPN2).
SEC Nation is SEC Network’s pregame show. It features host Maria Taylor and analysts Paul Finebaum, Tim Tebow, and Marcus Spears. The show begins at 9 a.m.
MSU has served as the host for the show, which is its third year, twice. In 2014, SEC Nation was on hand when MSU beat Texas A&M 48-31. Last season, the show was part of MSU’s 31-6 loss to Alabama.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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