STARKVILLE — As the pounding tones of Roscoe Dash’s ‘All The Way Turnt Up’ rang across Davis Wade Stadium Saturday afternoon, an unfamiliar Bulldog graced the left side of the Mississippi State kick off formation.
Four players in from the sideline, junior linebacker and Starkville native Willie Gay Jr. bounced to the beat along the 30-yard line as he set foot on the field for the first time this season.
“Willie contributes so much,” junior running back Kylin Hill said. “His energy is stellar, and he is a very energized guy. Everyone just feeds off him.”
Just four weeks into the year, it’s been a winding odyssey for Gay. Initially listed as a non-participant in preseason practices, coach Joe Moorhead repeatedly said he was dealing with a lower body issue. Gay, however, contradicted his head coach’s words when he approached reporters unprompted during fall camp and said he was not injured.
Gay was also suspended the first three games of the season for a violation of team rules. The punishment came down just a little over a week after 10 MSU football players and one men’s basketball player were found guilty of academic misconduct involving a former athletic department tutor.
But regardless of the reasoning behind Gay’s missed time, Saturday was a staunch reminder of what the weak side linebacker brings to the MSU defense.
“I love having him,” junior cornerback Cam Dantzler said. “He’s been taking this whole process very well — other guys probably wouldn’t take it as well as he does. But he still brings the juice, even if he is on scout team in practice.”
Just four plays into the game Saturday, Gay assuredly made his presence known.
Dropping into coverage and crossing the formation from right to left, Gay chased after Kentucky tight end Justin Rigg.
In the pocket, quarterback Sawyer Smith reared back and fired toward Rigg nine yards down field.
With a quick shuffle and a handful of strides, Gay hopped in front of the pass. Snagging the ball and streaking down the MSU sideline, he beat Smith in a foot race to the front left pylon as he soared into the end zone for a touchdown.
“Before the game I told him he would get a pick-six,” Hill said. “And he did.”
An energetic person by nature, Gay was a stalwart along the MSU bench throughout the season’s first three weeks. Alongside Devonta Jason, he jumping up and down incessantly, shaking teammates in excitement and ceaselessly snapped a towel to the tune of whatever music blared over the stadium speakers.
But beyond the energy, he brings an All-SEC pedigree defender to an MSU linebacking corps that has struggled at times this season.
“I call him the ‘Eraser,'” junior linebacker Erroll Thompson said. “If someone isn’t fitting right up front, he’s so fast and so twitchy and just a freak of nature; he just erases the mistakes.”
And for all the success Gay enjoyed Saturday, it was short-lived. After being dinged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty while celebrating his touchdown, he received a second such foul just before halftime as he danced around the Kentucky backfield following a Chauncey Rivers sack — thus disqualifying him from the game.
“The ironic part of it is right before we left the sideline on the defensive huddle I told him that we needed to keep our composure and not respond back to any chippiness or anything like that,” Moorhead recounted. “I kind of saw what happened but unfortunately it’s always not the first guy but it’s the second man in that gets caught.”
It’s fair to assume Gay will miss a handful more games this season and it’s unclear whether he will suit up next week against Auburn. That said, his contagious enthusiasm reverberated through the MSU roster Saturday — whether he was on the field or off it.
“He’s a kid who loves Mississippi State,” Moorhead said. “He loves this football team. I wish I had 100 Willies.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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.