Mississippi State has 49 players on its roster who grew up in the Magnolia State, and Friday’s Egg Bowl at Ole Miss is a big deal for all of them. But it’s particularly personal for sophomore safety Isaac Smith, whose father, Reggie, was a defensive lineman for the Rebels.
Reggie Smith grew up in Amory, winning two state championships in high school, then played at Ole Miss in 1996 and 1997. Isaac’s mother, Krystal Smith, also attended Ole Miss, so he and his older brother and younger sister were all big Rebels fans growing up in Fulton.
“We were always visiting friends or going to games, baseball and football games, in Oxford,” Reggie said. “They always had Ole Miss gear.”
In November 2020, when Isaac was a sophomore at Itawamba Agricultural High School, Ole Miss gave him his first college offer, with the Bulldogs following suit in January 2021. But while Isaac attended a football camp in Oxford, he never made an official visit there as offers from top programs around the country began pouring in.
By his senior year, Isaac had offers from nine Southeastern Conference schools, as well as the likes of Michigan, USC and Notre Dame.
“(MSU) recruited me a lot better than Ole Miss did,” Isaac said Monday. “I love Starkville. The people here are awesome, and that’s what drew me here. I wouldn’t change that for the world.”
Isaac was the fourth-ranked player in Mississippi and the No. 10 safety nationally for the class of 2022, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. He became close with former Bulldogs head coach Mike Leach during the recruiting process, and made an official visit to MSU just 10 days before Leach passed away due to complications from a heart condition.
LSU made a late push for Isaac, but he committed to the Bulldogs on Dec. 20, 2022 — just more than a week after Leach’s passing. He signed his letter of intent with MSU the next day and enrolled the following January.
“He and Coach Leach, they had a real relationship. They talked all the time,” Reggie said. “It never grew to anything at Ole Miss. It was his first offer, but we really didn’t talk to them until right before signing day, and it was a little bit too late then.”
The top defensive player in the Bulldogs’ recruiting class that year, Isaac played in all 12 games as a true freshman but dealt with an injury in the preseason and was a reserve throughout the season.
This year, he has been the best player on MSU’s much-maligned defense, shifting to a hybrid linebacker/defensive back spot and leading the SEC with 115 total tackles. He is the Bulldogs’ nominee for the C Spire Conerly Trophy, awarded annually to the best college football player in the state of Mississippi. And his feelings about the school some 100 miles to the northwest have changed considerably.
“I grew up loving Ole Miss, and now it’s blood in the water,” he said. “I don’t like them anymore. I bleed maroon and white from the bottom of my feet to the top of my head. It’s definitely a big week for me, with my dad playing there and my mom going there. It means a lot to me to play against those guys and go against that school.”
Reggie has learned to love the school and colors he had once been taught to hate as his son began playing in Starkville. Isaac did not make a tackle during last year’s 17-7 Egg Bowl loss to the Rebels at Davis Wade Stadium, but he is now the defensive focal point for MSU.
Friday will be Reggie’s first time wearing Bulldogs gear to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. He and Krystal are planning to meet with a few of Reggie’s former teammates in the morning before the game, and they asked him about his game day outfit. Reggie said he may have some red and blue on, but everything showing will be maroon and white with Isaac’s No. 2 on it.
“Last year, his freshman year, it was really strange,” Reggie said. “But we’re two years into it now, so it’s normal. I run into people all the time, and they say they never thought they would see me with a cowbell in my hand. It’s quite normal now. We’re used to it. But it’s going to be weird to be in Oxford in maroon.”
It has been a bittersweet fall for Isaac, who is having a breakout year despite MSU’s 2-9 record. The Bulldogs need a victory Friday to avoid its first winless SEC season since 2002, and Isaac has so many tackles in part because of their shortcomings on the defensive line.
A win over the Rebels, as unlikely as it seems, would not only provide MSU with some positive energy heading into a critical offseason, but would also mean as much to Isaac as to any of his teammates.
“This game means more to me than any other game I’ve ever played in my life up to this point,” Isaac said. “(My dad) loves me to death, and at the end of the day, I’m his son and this is where I chose to come to school. He’s going to support me and the team throughout anything.”
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