MSU family assists in aftermath of Hurricane Harvey

STARKVILLE — Hunters Creek Village, Texas, was one of the lucky ones.

On the western outskirts of Houston, the village had recently installed new drainage systems, as reported by The Houston Chronicle, and appeared to be positioned well geographically to avoid the effects of Hurricane Harvey.

Edwards, Starkville look to rebound

STARKVILLE — Zach Edwards doesn’t review himself like a person playing a key role in one of the state’s top Class 6A defenses.

Six tackles for a loss and three sacks through three games is enough to earn recognition for most, but that isn’t the case for Edwards or any member of the Starkville High School football team after a 28-3 loss to West Point last week.

Mullen wants MSU to use depth on defense to keep attacking

STARKVILLE — Dan Mullen keeps going back to the Charles Mitchell example.

Mullen wants to use it to change how his Mississippi State football program uses its defensive backs and learns from what Mitchell did on Nov. 20, 2010.

MSU’s Adegoke making impression on, off field

STARKVILLE — Pete Smith has been teaching long enough to know one college students generally don’t make unprompted visits to their professors unless they have a question about the class.

Smith quickly discovered Stephen Adegoke was different.

MSU’s offensive line set for experienced opponent

STARKVILLE — The Louisiana Tech football team’s 2016 defense ranked 25th in the nation in tackles for a loss against Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams and seventh among Group of 5 conference teams in averaging 6.46 per game.

Thompson makes debut at Mississippi State

STARKVILLE — Keytaon Thompson was putting on a show in New Orleans’ Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Dec. 10, winning a state championship for Landry-Walker High School; just days later he was part of a bowl practice for his next school, Mississippi State.

MSU receivers offer production, show potential behind Gray

STARKVILLE — All indications pointed to Donald Gray being the Mississippi State football team’s feature wide receiver this season.

Last season, Gray was MSU’s second option behind Fred Ross, who is now with the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. The 5-foot-10, 200-pounder from Memphis, Tennessee, was second on the team with 41 catches for 709 yards and five touchdowns.

The only question entering the 2017 season was who would emerge as MSU’s No. 2 and No. 3 receivers.

Bulldogs deliver dominating defense against Buccaneers

STARKVILLE — The film on the Charleston Southern football team made the job of the Mississippi State defensive line simple.

“With them being not so big and not as physical as us, our job was to come into the game and knock them off the ball,” MSU sophomore defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons said. “If we get penetration in the backfield, we’ll win the game.”

Williams enjoys watching Hill make MSU debut

STARKVILLE — Aeris Williams watched from the sidelines as Mississippi State freshman running back Kylin Hill began his college career.

Jones: Humble pie good for Starkville after loss to West Point

WEST POINT — The Starkville High School football team already was planning to bounce back as the final minutes of its first loss of the season ticked off the clock.

Merritt impresses in debut at EMCC

SCOOBA — Kirk Merritt arrived at East Mississippi Community College in May from Texas A&M.

It didn’t take EMCC football coach Buddy Stephens long to see what he had to do.

MSU hopes Jenkins can make move to center

STARKVILLE — Elgton Jenkins has experienced plenty of change as an offensive lineman.

In middle school, Jenkins played center. In his first two seasons at Mississippi State, he has played every line position.

Grantham will have first chance to deliver pre-game talk at MSU

STARKVILLE — Matthew DeGenova knows when it is Todd Grantham’s time to shine.

In two years as a linebacker at Georgia, DeGenova had an opportunity to see Grantham deliver 27 pre-game speeches to the Bulldogs.

“Those were something to look forward to,” he said.

MSU defense preparing for Charleston Southern’s triple option

STARKVILLE — Mississippi State defensive coordinator Todd Grantham coached against Georgia Tech’s triple-option attack four times while he held the same position at Georgia.

MSU saw the attack in the 2014 Orange Bowl.

Family bragging rights on line in Starkville-West Point game

STARKVILLE — The Starkville High School football team’s visit to West Point on Friday night could be the state of Mississippi’s marquee game of the week.

Walk-on Wednesday: Armour juggles demands of ROTC, MSU football team

STARKVILLE — Brett Armour’s first choice was the United States Naval Academy, but the Naval Academy ritually admits less than 10 percent of its applicants. When he got word he wasn’t accepted, the Brighton, Tennessee, native went searching for a ROTC program he could find a spot in.

Notebook: MSU scouting data limited on Charleston Southern

STARKVILLE — The file on Mark Tucker is nonexistent. This week, that is Mississippi State’s problem.

MSU’s Gray will have more field to cover at safety

STARKVILLE — J.T. Gray has a lot more opportunities to make impact plays in his new position.

Such is the reality of a linebacker-turned-safety in the Mississippi State football team’s new defense under coordinator Todd Grantham, one in which a nickel player like Gray is expected to play a vital role in every aspect.

Mullen juggles coaching, family time to stay informed to vote in poll

STARKVILLE — College football players waiting for an evening kickoff have creative lists of things to do while they wait.

Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen watches college football.

Myles looking forward to playing bigger role in MSU offense

STARKVILLE — Gabe Myles can look back on the first four years of his Mississippi State football career and recognize players aren’t immune to outside noise.