STARKVILLE — The Mississippi State football team will send three seniors to Southeastern Conference Media Days in Hoover, Alabama, next week.
Linebacker Richie Brown, defensive lineman A.J. Jefferson, and wide receiver Fred Ross will represent MSU on Tuesday when they speak to media members at the Hyatt Regency Birmingham-The Wynfrey Hotel.
Brown led the Bulldogs with 109 tackles (13 for loss) last season. He also recorded six-and-a-half sacks and one interception. Jefferson had 47 tackles (13 1/2 for loss) and five sacks.
Ross led the SEC with 88 receptions for a team-high 1,007 yards and five touchdowns.
Ole Miss, which will take the stage Thursday, will bring senior quarterback Chad Kelly, senior tight end Evan Engram, and senior defensive tackle D.J. Jones.
Reigning NCAA and SEC champion Alabama, which will be featured Wednesday, will bring senior tight end O.J. Howard, senior defensive lineman Jonathan Allen, and senior defensive back Eddie Jackson.
All 14 teams will send their head coach and three players. Highlights include Texas A&M junior defensive lineman Myles Garrett, Tennessee senior quarterback Joshua Dobbs, and LSU junior running back Leonard Fournette.
Commissioner Greg Sankey will speak Monday, while Coordinator of Football Officials Steve Shaw will speak Tuesday.
The event takes place Monday-Thursday.
n In other football news, Bulldog senior center Jamaal Clayborn was named to the 2016 fall watch list for the Remington Trophy.
The award is presented annually to the most outstanding center in college football.
Clayborn, who took a team-high 848 snaps at center last season, took over the position as a junior for Dillon Day. Day was the last Bulldog to be named to the watch list.
n Ole Miss’ Engram, Alabama’s Howard on Mackey Award watch list: At New York, For the third-consecutive season, Ole Miss tight end Evan Engram was named to the preseason watch list for the John Mackey Award, which is given annually to the most outstanding collegiate tight end. The Friends of John Mackey named Engram, Alabama’s O.J. Howard, and 43 other tight ends to the watch list Wednesday.
Howard was a semifinalist for the award a season ago.
Entering his final season as a Rebel, Engram has already etched his name in the Ole Miss Football record book. The Powder Springs, Georgia, native is the program’s all-time leader in receptions (97) and receiving yards (1,394) by a tight end, while ranking fifth among Ole Miss tight ends with seven career touchdown catches. Engram has played in 34 games throughout his first three seasons, including all 26 of the team’s games over the past two years.
Last season, Engram improved his block skills while remaining a major threat in the Ole Miss passing game. The tight end caught 38 passes, tying for second on the team, for 464 yards and a pair of touchdowns. One of four team captains, he helped lead the Rebels to a 10-win season that ended as the 2016 Allstate Sugar Bowl Champions. Along the way, Engram and the Ole Miss offense shattered multiple single-season school records, including total yards, points and touchdowns.
Howard broke out in the final game of the 2015 season, making five catches for a career-high and national championship game high 208 yards and two touchdowns to earn Offensive MVP honors against Clemson in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. All five of his catches converted first downs and went for 15-plus yards, with a career-long 63-yard reception in the fourth quarter. His total receiving yards were an Alabama bowl record by a receiver.
For the season, Howard had 38 catches for 602 yards and a team-high 15.8 yards-per-catch average.
The 2016 Mackey Award recipient will be announced Dec. 7, 2016, and then presented live on Dec. 8, 2016, at The Home Depot College Football Awards Red Carpet Show on ESPNU. The award recipient is selected by vote of the John Mackey Award Selection Committee.
NFL Hall of Fame member John Mackey is considered to be the best to have played the tight end position. A tight end by whom all others are measured, Mackey was a role model on and off the field as demonstrated by his Super Bowl Championship, his commitment to community and his place in history as the first President of the NFLPA.
n Ole Miss has 2,000 tickets left for opener vs. Florida State: At Oxford, Ole Miss has 2,000 tickets left for its football season opener against Florida State in Orlando.
The school received an allotment of 13,400 for the game has only $75 terrace-level seats available. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 5 (ESPN).
The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports Florida State sold its larger allotment of 31,900 in mid-June.
Ole Miss Associate Athletic Director for Ticket Operations Wesley Owen said the university doesn’t expect to get additional tickets once its allotment is gone.
In the only other meeting between the teams, Ole Miss won 33-0 in 1961 in Oxford.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.