STARKVILLE — Taveze Calhoun and Will Redmond enter their senior years at Mississippi State as two of the football team’s most experienced players.
The cornerbacks have been on the field at the same time for the past two seasons and have developed a chemistry that has solidified the back of MSU’s defense.
“Me and Taveze have been playing together for four years now,” Redmond said. “We’ve got a good chemistry and brotherhood. We’re real tight.”
Calhoun redshirted in his first season at MSU in 2011. Redmond arrived in Starkville in 2012, but he didn’t see playing time until midway through his sophomore season due to an NCAA investigation that found violations involved with his recruiting.
MSU cornerbacks coach Deshea Townsend is starting his third year with the Bulldogs, He has seen the bond between Calhoun and Redmond get stronger in the past two seasons.
“They’ve been around each other so long,” Townsend said. “Those guys are so close. They are two of the best corners in the SEC. They’ve played a lot of snaps. Both of them have had production each year they’ve been here.”
Redmond and Calhoun try to push each other every day to be the best they can be. Redmond likes the competition and feels it also benefits the defense and the team.
“We’re always coming to compete,” Redmond said. “He always try to get me better, I’m always trying to get him better. Even if we’re working out, we’re racing to see which one of us is going to win. It’s good competition.”
Calhoun played in all 13 games a redshirt freshman. He cracked the starting lineup as a sophomore and started 12 games. He started all 13 games last season.
Calhoun had three interceptions as a sophomore and one as a junior. He has 122 tackles (5.5 for loss) and 13 pass breakups in his three-year career.
“I think I’ve always been a leader in our secondary and on our team,” Calhoun said.
An injury sidelined Calhoun in the spring, but he is 100 percent healthy.
Redmond played eight games as a sophomore and had 23 tackles and two pass breakups. He played in 12 games last season and had 51 tackles, three interceptions (two that sealed victories), and five pass breakups.
Redmond hasn’t started a game, but he will be opposite Calhoun when MSU plays Southern Mississippi in the season opener at 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, in Hattiesburg.
Calhoun and Redmond will be looked to lead a lot as the season wears on.
“The great thing is they both have experience,” MSU coach Dan Mullen said. “Will is not officially a returning starter even though he has made a lot of plays. We expect a lot out of those guys. I feel pretty good about those guys. I think we expect big things out of both of them.”
Many experts have Redmond and Calhoun as two of the top cornerbacks for the 2016 NFL draft. Townsend played at Alabama after a great career at South Panola High. He went on to play 13 seasons in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals, so he knows what it takes to get to the next level. That’s why Townsend has been stressing the little things to Redmond and Calhoun.
“I really want them to really start perfecting their craft,” Townsend said. “This is the foundation of what typically happens during the season, and you want those guys to really pay attention to little things, not get bored with the small (things). You don’t get bored with doing the little things well.
“That’s the things great corners do, you never get tired making sure your footwork is right and making sure your eyes are in the right place. Those things can get kind of boring sometimes when you’ve been practicing against the same guys for four or five years.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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