STARKVILLE — The Mississippi State University football program has made a scholarship offer to East Mississippi Community College quarterback Bo Wallace.
Wallace, who would be able to sign as a member of the 2012 recruiting class and enroll early to compete in spring practices, led EMCC to a 55-47 El Toro Bowl victory against previously unbeaten Arizona Western College in the NJCAA Football Championship Game on Dec. 3 in Yuma, Ariz. He set NJCAA single-season records for passing yards (4,604), total yards of offense (4,810), and touchdowns (53) in a season.
“You get an offer to play QB in the SEC, that’s a game-changer,” Wallace said in a phone interview with The Dispatch. “If I come to MSU, I’m coming in to compete for the starting QB job.”
Wallace received the scholarship offer Tuesday afternoon from MSU coach Dan Mullen. He also was invited to visit the campus as late as Jan. 10. Classes begin Monday at MSU, and Wallace, a who started his college football career at Arkansas State, has graduated from EMCC, which means he would be eligible to participate in spring practice. The 6-foot-4 quarterback has visits scheduled at the University of Indiana and Baylor University this week, but he told The Dispatch he may reconsider going on those trips.
“I’ve got to sit down with my family and talk about this,” Wallace said. “Those (visits) could change.”
Wallace also has received scholarship offers from Indiana, Baylor, the University of Central Florida, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Memphis.
Wallace, who redshirted at Arkansas State a year ago, paid immediate dividends during his transfer season for EMCC coach Buddy Stephens. As a first-team NJCAA All-American, Wallace completed 336 of 502 passes (67 percent) with only 14 interceptions. The Pulaski, Tenn., native also rushed for 206 yards and five touchdowns on 61 carries to lead the Lions to the school’s first national football title. He is only the second player in NJCAA history to surpass the 4,000-yard mark passing, and he is the first freshman to win the NJCAA Player of the Year offensive award since 2004.
“He’s the best quarterback I’ve seen in this league,” Stephens said. “If a player like Bo can’t make it at the next level then we probably need to stop playing junior college football in the state of Mississippi. Bo’s a winner, and that’s defined by the fact he’s won 28 straight games dating back to high school.”
Stephens had told The Dispatch last month Mullen had contacted him to notify him that the Bulldogs weren’t interested in extending Wallace a scholarship offer. However, the transfer of redshirt freshman Dylan Favre leaves MSU with two scholarship quarterbacks (redshirt sophomore Tyler Russell and freshman Dak Prescott) on the roster, which forced the MSU coaches to re-evaluate the program’s options.
When asked if guaranteed playing time would be an option in his decision to accept the offer from MSU, Wallace said that wouldn’t be part of his thinking.
“No. I think it will be a competition at any level just like it was at the beginning here at EMCC,” Wallace said. “Tyler is a solid player, but I’m sure we’d get the same reps this spring and, quite frankly, I’ve played more college football games this year than him in a similar system.”
A three-time NJCAA Offensive Player of the Week this season, Wallace was the NJCAA Region 23 Most Valuable Player and the Offensive Back MVP of the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior College’s (MACJC) North Division.
If he accepts MSU’s scholarship offer, Wallace would join EMCC defensive end teammate Denico Autry, who signed last month to play at MSU. Autry and Wallace were named to the 2011 NJCAA Football All-America First Team. Autry had 81 tackles, including a team-high 11 sacks.
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