STARKVILLE — Davon Booth had assumed the 2024 Egg Bowl would be his final game as a college football player.
Originally from the Las Vegas area, the running back won a California state championship at El Monte High School near Los Angeles, then played two seasons at nearby Cerritos College. He had a strong junior year in 2023 at Utah State before transferring to Mississippi State, where he totaled 1,231 all-purpose yards and nine touchdowns.
As a senior in 2024, Booth — and everyone around him — believed that was it. On Dec. 5, he announced that he would be entering the NFL Draft and began training for professional football. But less than two weeks later, a federal judge in Tennessee granted an injunction allowing Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia to pursue another year of eligibility.
Pavia’s lawsuit claimed that the NCAA counting junior college seasons toward NCAA eligibility was a violation of antitrust law, unfairly limiting his ability to earn money from his name, image and likeness. That opened the door for Booth and other former junior college players to seek additional eligibility, and on Jan. 7, Booth announced his return to MSU for the 2025 season.
“It was crazy. When I got the news, it was a no-brainer. I love being at State, so I’m glad to be back,” Booth said. “I was training for the NFL, and then I saw the whole thing with (Pavia). The next day, the coaches called me.”
Running behind an entirely new Bulldogs offensive line, Booth started slow last year but was arguably MSU’s best player over the second half of the season. He had a receiving touchdown in three straight games in October, then rushed for a season-high 125 yards on 20 carries at Tennessee on Nov. 9. Two weeks later against Missouri, he had 124 rushing yards on just 12 carries.
The Bulldogs’ 2-10 record and winless mark in Southeastern Conference play left a bitter taste in his mouth, though, and he eagerly signed up for another year in Starkville.
“I feel really good about the (running backs) room,” MSU head coach Jeff Lebby said. “We have to do a great job of keeping those guys healthy and giving them a bunch of reps, but that room today, we’ve completely flipped it in a calendar year. There’s incredible depth. I’m excited about that room. Great competition.”
Johnnie Daniels, a junior-college transfer last year, is back after rushing for 540 yards and four touchdowns last fall. Rising sophomore Xavier Gayten flashed some explosiveness as a freshman, and the Bulldogs brought in South Alabama transfer Fluff Bothwell, who had 834 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns in his freshman year with the Jaguars.
Jacoby Jackson and Albert Reese IV are the only returning starters on the offensive line, but MSU added four transfers over the winter in that group with Jesse Ramil (James Madison), Koby Keenum (Kentucky), Carson Lee (Eastern Michigan) and Trevor Mayberry (Stanford).
“They’re looking good, and I think we’re getting more this upcoming summer, so I’m excited for them,” Booth said. “I have to trust my guys up front, making blocks, and the rest does it by itself.”
Booth changed his number this year from 21 to 6, which he wore in high school, at Cerritos and at Utah State. His son was born on Aug. 6, 2022, and he said he found out he was having a child on Dec. 6 the previous year.
Of course, the number six has its own significance in football — the number of points a touchdown is worth, making it an especially good choice for a running back.
“We have some great playmakers in the backfield,” Jackson said. “It makes you feel a lot better. If we just do our jobs, we can open up these creases and open up the space for them to run, it’s going to be a lot of touchdowns and a lot of big games.”
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