STARKVILLE — Mississippi State University head coach Dan Mullen will never be confused with Tyler Russell’s publicist.
When asked Monday in his weekly media conference if Russell needs to start receiving more attention for his performance through the first five games of the year, MSU’s fourth-year head coach simply shook his head.
“Not yet,” Mullen said quickly. “Let’s win some more games, and maybe then. It’s still so early in the season. I don’t know if anybody deserves a lot of attention yet. We’ve taken care of business. We’ve played well (and) we’ve won games. That’s great, but we’re still in the early parts of the season.”
Russell is one of seven Football Bowl Subdivision quarterbacks this season with more than 10 passing touchdowns and less than two interceptions. The only quarterbacks in the country with more touchdowns than Russell on that list is University of West Virginia’s Geno Smith, Louisiana Tech University’s Colby Cameron, University of Alabama’s A.J. McCarron and University of Texas’ David Ash. Russell is on pace to break the school single-season record in completions, attempts, passing yardage, and touchdowns. He is also one of just three Southeastern Conference quarterbacks to throw for three touchdowns in a league game this season.
“He’s done a pretty good job and I see him continuing to develop and getting more and more confident to be one of those better quarterbacks in the league,” Mullen said.
Russell left Commonwealth Stadium Saturday still confused as to how he misfired on some of the easier throws that were open and connecting on several attempts that needed precise timing and accuracy on the ball.
“When you miss the little (throws) they kind of get under your skin, and you’re like, ‘man, I’m too good of a quarterback, and our team is too good, to miss those little throws like that’,” Russell said Saturday.
What really impressed his teammates Saturday were the several occasions Russell was knocked down after throws and the junior from Meridian continued to get back up and into the MSU huddle after every collision.
“It shows a lot about him and how tough he is,” MSU senior wide receiver Chad Bumphis said. “You kind of expect it because if you watch him in the offseason and see how much he puts into it then he’s going to go out there and fight with everything he has.”
Mullen tried to downplay the contact Russell received in the No. 19 Bulldogs (5-0, 2-0 in SEC) win over the University of Kentucky Saturday saying the former Parade All-America selection has learned to receive contact without getting hurt but not receive the full blunt force of the hit from the defender as well.
“He got hit, maybe, really a little less than I felt on the field when you watch the film,” Mullen said.
It’s also safe to assume Russell is getting overshadowed by the opposing quarterback coming to Starkville Saturday (8 p.m., ESPN2) as MSU hosts the University of Tennessee (3-2, 0-2). Volunteers junior quarterback Tyler Bray, who is being projected as a first round draft pick in the National Football League, averages 8.2 yards per completion and leads an offense that has put up 2,533 total yards – which is the most by any Tennessee offense through five games in school history.
“When you look at Tennessee the first thing that jumps out to you is the explosiveness of their offense,” Mullen said. “They have NFL-type players at every position. Their receivers, their quarterback, talented running backs, and an experienced offensive line. They can put up a lot of points and they have put up a lot of points a bunch of points. I think they played Florida and Georgia in the SEC so far and put up a bunch of points on both teams, so they obviously can score a lot.”
Wilson still not satisfied with MSU’s pass rush after 3 sacks at Kentucky
The objective of the MSU pass rush was to confuse pair of freshmen quarterback Kentucky rolled out with in the 27-14 victory for the Bulldogs.
What MSU defensive coordinator Chris Wilson found out early and often Saturday was he could get pressure with just three down lineman and didn’t use many blitz packages to get the three sacks throughout the day.
“I’m never satisfied but I was happier, I’ll say that,” Wilson said with a laugh. “I felt like I guess we were long overdue in that department.”
The drought in the sacks department is one thing that has bothered MSU’s defense throughout their first five wins as they rank next to last in the SEC in that statistical category. MSU has just eight sacks through five games and will face Tennessee’s offensive system Saturday that has allowed just a league-best three sacks this season.
“The challenge is this is a team that leads the league in least number of sacks given up,” Mullen said. “It’s certainly a challenge for us to get pressure on them this week, but when you get pressure with your down guys, that’s a real positive.”
What Mullen and the MSU coaching staff is starting to see on film over the last month is the newcomers such as East Mississippi Community College transfer Denico Autry start to find their roles in the defensive front. Autry got his first sack on Kentucky signal caller Patrick Towles and injured the quarterback’s ankle on the play forcing him to miss the entire second half Saturday.
“You look at a Denico Autry, who’s got talent, is really now starting to get used to what SEC games are about, and that transition of what the speed is on the field,” Mullen said. “When you look across the
D-line, there are some younger guys out there playing. Kaleb Eulls is a sophomore, and this is his second year, you’re starting to see him become more productive. The other guys are starting to come along and starting to make some more plays.”
CBS’ six-day option delays broadcast announcement of Middle Tennessee Homecoming game.
CBS Sports has decided to use a six-day option for its broadcast of its SEC football game on Oct. 20 at 2:30 p.m.
The six-day option allowed the league to announce the Homecoming game against Middle Tennessee State will kickoff at 6 p.m., but will be broadcasted on three possible networks (ESPN2, ESPN or Fox Sports Net).
CBS will decide from a trio of games: (South Carolina at Florida, Alabama at Tennessee or LSU at Texas A&M) following the result of this week’s games.
ESPN will televise the two games not selected by CBS Sports for slots at 11 a.m. and primetime (between 6 – 6:45 p.m. CT). The Georgia at Kentucky game and Middle Tennessee at Mississippi State games will be at the same time and will air on either ESPN2, ESPNU or FSN.
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