STARKVILLE — Former Starkville High School standout and Mississippi State product Willie Gay Jr. was the first Bulldog off the board in this weekend’s NFL Draft.
Gay was taken with No. 63 overall pick in the second round by the Kansas City Chiefs.
A dynamic athlete in the middle of the defense, he played just five games in 2019 due to his role in the academic misconduct scandal that left 10 MSU football players and one men’s basketball player suspended for allowing a tutor to complete coursework for them.
That said, Gay was a force in his limited time on the field. His 93.9 Pro Football Focus coverage grade over the past three seasons was the best among draft-eligible linebackers this year.
Prior to MSU, Gay notched 83 tackles — nine of which were for a loss — as a senior at Starkville High School. A four-star prospect, he played in the 2017 U.S. Army All-American Bowl and was a 2016 member of the Clarion-Ledger’s Dandy Dozen in 2016.
“I started playing the game when I was six and I was always the fastest guy on the field,” Gay said in his introductory press conference Friday night after he was drafted. “But when I got to high school, I was able to compete with guys that were just as good as me, it made me fall in love with competing. When I can hit a guy and he gets up, he hits me, I get up, just the rough part of the game is what I love and the brotherhood. It makes you a better man outside of football. It teaches you life lessons that you never thought football could teach you.”
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 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.