STARKVILLE — Football fans in the state of Mississippi may have forgotten about Jason McNair’s ability to run the football.
McNair re-introduced himself as a member of the Tennessee-Martin backfield on Saturday, rushing for a game-high 122 yards on 27 carries in the University of Tennessee-Martin’s 55-17 loss to Mississippi State at Davis Wade Stadium.
The former first-team All-State selection as a senior at Mount Olive High School averaged 4.5 yards per carry and had 82 of his yards in the first half in front of three generations of family members in the crowd.
“Playing in an SEC environment was a great experience,” McNair said. “Our offensive line played great, and we ran the ball straight at them better than I thought we would early.”
McNair, the nephew of the late NFL star Steve McNair, set the Mississippi high school career record for most touchdowns with 120 two years ago as he rushed for 7, 871 career yards.
“The McNair kid did a great job of hitting the holes immediately and getting to our second level, especially on that first drive,” MSU defensive coordinator Chris Wilson said.
McNair eclipsed 100 rushing yards for the fourth time this season. The junior leads the Skyhawks in rushing with 737 yards this season.
Whitley suspended for game
MSU sophomore safety Nickoe Whitley was suspended for the game for what MSU officials called “disciplinary
reasons.”
The suspension marked the first game the 6-foot-1 defensive back has missed since arriving in Starkville two years ago from Provine High in Jackson.
Entering the game, Whitley was seventh on the team in tackles with 34, and one of two players (Johnthan Banks) with multiple interceptions this season.
Jay Hughes and Darius Slay played in place of Whitley.
New players in the game
Redshirt freshman tailback Nick Griffin and quarterback Dylan Favre scored their first touchdowns in back-to-back possessions Saturday night.
Griffin, who finished with a career-high 80 yards on 10 carries, plowed in from 5 yards out in the fourth quarter to give MSU a 49-10 lead. He made his collegiate debut last month after recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament injury in the spring.
On the game’s final drive of the contest, Favre, who also is a redshirt freshman, scored on a 12-yard option run. Favre, who hadn’t seen any action since a loss at the University of Georgia on Oct. 1, joked after the game he’d probably get teased this week for dropping the snap on his touchdown run.
“Any time you get in the end zone it’s a great feeling,” Favre said.
Favre, the 2009 Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Mississippi, shattered most state passing records two years ago while leading St. Stanislaus to a Class 4A state football title.
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