STARKVILLE – All Auburn needed was a yard. Will Redmond wasn’t going to let that happen.
With No. 3 Mississippi State leading No. 2 Auburn 38-20 and the game still hanging in the balance Saturday afternoon, the Tigers turned to tailback Cameron-Artis Payne in an attempt to convert a crucial third-and-1 situation late in the fourth quarter.
Redmond was having none of it. Redmond, MSU’s junior cornerback, knifed through the Auburn offensive line and dropped Artis-Payne for a two-yard loss, forcing Auburn to settle for a field goal in the eventual 38-23 loss.
As soon as Artis-Payne hit the ground, Redmond bounced to his feet and let out a celebratory scream, a show of emotion rarely seen from a player who has developed into one of MSU’s steadiest defenders.
“When you get out there and that game starts flowing through you, sometimes the emotion comes out,” said Redmond on Wednesday. “We needed a big play. When we got it, I just yelled. It felt great.”
Redmond has been feeling great a lot lately. After shuffling in and out of MSU’s lineup early in the season, the Memphis East product has taken his game to new heights lately, heights that included a team-best 10 tackles against Auburn. Throw in a dominating performance against Texas A&M, and the result is the emergence of a player fulfilling the promise of when he was recruited as a four-star athlete three years ago.
“He’s a great player fr us,” said MSU defensive coordinator Geoff Collins. “Arguably, he could have been our defensive MVP two weeks in a row, both against Auburn and A&M. You look at Richie Brown, he had three interceptions so it’s hard not to give him that award but watching the film, you could have had a debate that Will Redmond was the best player on the field. With the talent we have on the field, that’s saying something.”
It has been a long road for Redmond, the talented recruit forced to sit out the first 18 games of his career as a result for receiving impermissible benefits during his recruitment.
To his teammates, that tribulation has turned Redmond into a defensive force this season.
“He was hungry,” said sophomore linebacker Beniquez Brown of Redmond. “He didn’t play for a while, now he has that chance. Everything he does, his practice, his film study, you can tell he’s using all of that to become the best player he can be. He’s a great player.”
Redmond is proving to be just that. The Memphis native is second on the team with two interceptions this season and ranks third in tackles with 29. That included a 10-tackle performance against Texas A&M that helped the Bulldogs neutralize Aggies’ QB Kenny Hill and an offense that had averaged 551 yards per game prior to its visit to Starkville.
“He’s such a competitor,” said Collins. “When you combine that with his skill, with his technique…He’s the total package.”
Redmond has been a key cog to an MSU pass defense that has been pivotal in three consecutive wins over top 10 teams, a first in school history. Redmond had an interception at No. 8 LSU, and combined for 16 tackles in wins over No. 6 Texas A&M and No. 2 Auburn.
The MSU pass defense, which ranks 14th in the SEC in yards allowed, has been quietly dominant since a week 2 performance against UAB, a showing that featured 435 yards allowed and three touchdowns of more than 75 yards. Despite the one bad outing, the Bulldogs’ pass defense ranks fourth in the country in opponents’ completion percentage; ranks second in the Southeastern Conference with 11 interceptions; and is part of an overall defense that leads the country in redzone scoring percentage.
“We gave up six big plays, that’s hurt our numbers,” said Collins of his defensive backs. “But if you look at everything else, things like completion percentage, interceptions…Our guys are absolutely making plays.”
For Redmond, quiet on and off the field save the celebration against Auburn, being part of an under-appreciated defensive backfield is just fine.
“We actually like it,” said Redmond. “We gave up a few big plays early on. But we like the fact that we are underdogs now. If you don’t play with a chip on your shoulder, you don’t have an edge. That’s our chip.”
It has worked out well for Redmond, who has emerged as one of the league’s best cover corners. Against Auburn, he led the Bulldogs by breaking up a team-high four passes.
“The UAB game gave people a bad perception of our DBs,” said Beniquez Brown. “Those guys are great. They come to work every day and work to get better. That’s Will. He’s not worried about perception, he’s about working to be the best.”
Blazing a trail
So far, so good for Redmond and the MSU defense. Teams are struggling to score points in the redzone against the Bulldogs and through six games, MSU in unblemished and ranked No. 1 in the nation for the first time in school history.
For Redmond, it’s the fruition of a vision three years in the making.
“I signed here for one reason,” said Redmond. “I didn’t want to join the bandwagon of other teams. I wanted to go somewhere that I could work and help build something. That’s what we are doing.”
So have fans seen the best of the Bulldogs, and specifically the best of Redmond?
“Not even close,” said Redmond. “Our coaches keep saying that we will play our best football at the end of the season. Come back and ask me then, that’s when I’ll be playing my best.”
Follow sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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