STARKVILLE — Everybody around the Mississippi State football facility is trying to rally around sophomore quarterback Tyler Russell.
Less than an hour after a 44-17 loss to then-No. 6 University of Arkansas, MSU coach Dan Mullen made a proclamation he hoped would help him avoid media questions about who would be his team’s starting quarterback for its regular-season finale at 6 p.m. Saturday (ESPNU) against the University of Mississippi.
“Tyler Russell, before you even ask, will be the starting quarterback for us next week,” Mullen said Saturday. “I expect Chris (Relf) to play next week (and) maybe Dylan (Favre) as well. We’ll see how that goes in practice.”
The game against Ole Miss will be Russell’s first playing time in the annual rivalry contest. Normally, Mullen’s message has been the performance that week in practice would dictate the starter at quarterback. However, he has maintained Russell will get the start even after a less than sparkling performance in Little Rock, Ark.
“He was a little off and he knows that,” Mullen said. “He knows we have confidence in him coming in, and I think reps in practice might determine how much everybody plays as we go through the week. I have a lot of faith in Tyler, and the team has a lot of faith in Tyler to get the job done.”
Russell had his worst yardage output of any of his starts against the Razorbacks, finishing 7 of 15 for 55 yards.
This season, Russell has completed 53.5 percent of his passes for 1,034 yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions.
“I don’t think it’s going to be any different from last year knowing we got to go in and have to beat this team,” Russell said. “It’s just another team and we have to get the win.”
After not seeing action Saturday due to concussion-like symptoms he suffered in a home loss to the University of Alabama, Relf will get practice reps and most likely work in Mullen’s red zone package.
The MSU medical staff didn’t clear Relf to practice the first two days of the week. Mullen insisted his quarterback would be evaluated on a day-by-day basis.
“He came in Wednesday and Chris was certainly in the plan to play today,” Mullen said. “At the end, I want to make sure he’s 100 percent healthy for next week,” Mullen said.
Wilson will be honored in Senior Day celebration
MSU linebacker Brandon Wilson said Monday he will participate in the Senior Day pre-game celebration despite having an extra year of eligibility left in his college football career.
Wilson had until Sunday to decide if he would be honored before the contest as one of the 17 seniors who will play his final game at Davis Wade Stadium.
The starting linebacker, who is up for the Burlsworth Trophy, which is presented annually to nation’s most outstanding former or current walk-on, is second on the team in tackles with 89.
Wilson, a fourth-year player from Tuscaloosa, Ala., said Monday he would need a “change of heart” to decide to return for his fifth year of eligibility and is considering at least two job opportunities after he graduates this May.
“This was the best decision career wise to what I wanted to do, but if I have a change of heart they’ve told me I would be welcomed back if I decided to do so,” Wilson said.
Mullen said Monday he was very much open to having his starting middle linebacker back for the 2012 season, but he said Wilson’s situation is more complicated than a normal college football player.
“That’s what you want out of our young men. He’s graduating and has a great future in front of him,” Mullen said. “I left it up to him that if he knows he’s coming back then don’t go through Senior Day, but if he’s not sure then go through it. We’ve told him we’d love to have him back and he’s done everything the right way.”
Wilson and junior Cam Lawrence could become the first duo to post 100 or more tackles in the same season since Dereck Rush (108) and Barrin Simpson (104) accomplishing the feat in 1997.
Bulldogs biggest Vegas favorite in Egg Bowl history
MSU opened a 17.5-point favorite against Ole Miss in most Las Vegas casinos. That line is the largest for the Bulldogs in the history of the rivalry.
MSU (5-6, 1-6 Southeastern Conference) is trying to win the Egg Bowl for the third straight time for the first time since World War II.
Mullen is 2-0 against Ole Miss, or as he’ll call the school over and over and over again ‘The School Up North’ since taking the job at MSU. However, the uncertainty about MSU’s ability to become bowl eligible has been an issue that is new to the game this season. That isn’t what is important this week to Mullen.
“I know how important this game is to me in our first year when we went in with no bowl hopes. We still found a way to win,” Mullen said. “Last year, we were already bowl eligible and it may mean that now, and that’s fine, but that will not affect how we approach this game. This game leaves a good or a bad taste in your mouth in the state of Mississippi for the next nine months.”
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