STARKVILLE — Every time Darcel McBath hears about a latest accolade for his star cornerback, he shoots junior Emmanuel Forbes a text.
“This means nothing to me,” the Mississippi State cornerbacks coach reminds his young player. “Reset, reload, let’s get on to the next week.”
Those messages might no longer be necessary.
“He doesn’t even need that text anymore. He might have as a freshman, but now he doesn’t,” McBath said Wednesday.
The awards keep coming, as do McBath’s attempts to keep Forbes humble, but Forbes appears to have things under control himself.
McBath said no amount of individual success has disrupted Forbes’ team-first attitude.
“He looks forward to getting a W more than anything,” McBath said.
Forbes is tied for the national lead in interceptions with five, and McBath — a former NFL defensive back himself — said the Grenada native’s physical traits make him a professional prospect.
But while Forbes’ ball skills, length and athleticism are impressive, McBath said Forbes’ intelligence stands out. The Bulldogs corner, for example, can draw on things he learned weeks prior and apply them immediately in a game to great effect.
“I think that’s what’s going to separate him,” McBath said.
Inside receivers coach Drew Hollingshead gets a front-row seat to Forbes every day, calling the junior Mississippi State’s “best practice player” for the energy and talent he brings.
“He’s long. He’s athletic. He’s skillful. Can’t say enough good things about him,” Hollingshead said. “He’s a tough, willing tackler. He’ll mix it up.
“He deserves all the accolades he’s getting, and I’m glad he’s on our team, that’s for sure.”
Hollingshead praises response to Westmoreland’s death
Mississippi State freshman walk-on offensive lineman Sam Westmoreland was found dead in Starkville on Oct. 19.
Hollingshead said he was glad to see the Bulldogs rally together in the face of the tragedy rather than “go into a shell” and struggle to process their emotions alone.
“I’m glad we have the group we have, because with something really tough like that, to have a resilient team like we do fight through it and still be able to hold their head above water, that was uplifting for me and kind of shows you where we’re at as a program,” he said. “I’m proud of our guys for that, no doubt.”
Hollingshead dealt with a similar situation when he worked under Mike Leach at Washington State. Quarterback Tyler Hilinski died by suicide in January 2018 at age 21.
That, of course, was during the offseason, making the circumstances much different this time around. MSU had to play at No. 6 Alabama three days after learning of the loss of a teammate.
“We weren’t worried about a season at that time and especially not having to go against an opponent like ’Bama,” Hollingshead said. “All of that pales in comparison to just the rest of our team and Sam’s family and all that stuff. It was a lot bigger than football at that point.”
Hollingshead said “there’s no playbook for” something like Westmoreland’s death.
He said it was difficult keeping the Bulldogs’ focus on football in the aftermath of the news.
“It was really tough losing a brother,” linebacker Nathaniel Watson said Tuesday. “Losing a family member, it hit us deep.”
Bigsby presents big challenge for Bulldogs
In a 43-34 Mississippi State win last year at Jordan-Hare Stadium, the Bulldogs limited Auburn running back Tank Bigsby to just 41 rushing yards on 16 carries.
Bigsby might not be so easily bottled up this time around.
MSU’s rushing defense has taken a step back, and Bigsby has only gotten better for the Tigers.
After averaging 4.8 yards per carry and totaling 1,099 yards last season, Bigsby is up to 5.3 yards per rushing attempt in 2022.
“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” Mississippi State defensive line coach Jeff Phelps said. “It’s one of those deals where you can’t stop him, but you hope that you can slow him down just enough.”
Watson said he looks forward to competing with Bigsby on Saturday.
But the competition won’t be easy against such a talented player.
“He can make you miss, he can run through you, all those good things,” Phelps said. “He’s just a great-quality back.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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