STARKVILLE – Gabe Myles was the butt of many jokes by his teammates last season.
The Mississippi State wide receiver had several chances to score a touchdown, but always seemed to come up short, whether it be the 1- or 2-yard line. MSU coach Dan Mullen even joked that he has the “career record for being tackled on the 1-yard line without scoring touchdowns.” The former Starkville High School standout finished his redshirt freshman season with 22 catches for 178 yards.
In the first two games of this season, Myles had one catch for six yards and no touchdowns. That all changed Saturday as he caught and rushed for a touchdown in the Bulldogs’ 62-13 victory over Northwestern State.
“It felt really good just to finally get in there,” Myles said. “The jokes will stop with me.”
MSU quarterback Dak Prescott hit 10 different receivers for touchdowns during the 2014 season, but It just never worked out for Myles. Backup Damian Williams threw one to Jamoral Graham and Prescott caught one from wide receiver Jameon Lewis.
One of Prescott’s biggest goals last season was getting Myles into the end zone and the duo talked about it a lot. There wasn’t much talk about it during spring practice and training camp earlier this year, but Myles said they talked about it last week.
“My thing is, when you get me the ball, I’m going to make sure I catch it and we’re going to get in there,” Myles said.
Prescott got Myles’ first touchdown out the way pretty early, as he hit him for a 49-yard score with 13 minutes, 21 seconds remaining in the contest. It was just the fifth play from scrimmage for the Bulldogs (2-1).
Myles had a feeling the ball was coming to him when he got behind the secondary, and Prescott was just hoping he made it all the way into the end zone.
“It was good to see him get in the end zone. There was nobody close to him,” Prescott said. “He did stumble and I got a little nervous that he was going to fall.”
Myles caught the Prescott pass in stride and raced into the end zone. He was greeted by a rambunctious student section in the north end zone.
When Myles got back to the sideline, the joking from his teammates stopped and the congratulations and celebrations started. Prescott met Myles with a big “congratulations” after the catch.
“The hugs and slaps on the head would not stop,” Myles said with a big grin. “It just felt really good.”
Myles finished the game with two catches for 58 yards and the lone touchdown. He rushed for 15 yards on two carries and a 6-yard score. The rushing score came midway through the second quarter to increase the MSU lead to 27-3.
The sophomore played quarterback for the SHS Jackets and led his team to a Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A State championship as a senior during the 2012 season.
He began his career at MSU as a defensive back, but made the transition to wide receiver before his redshirt freshman season began.
“That’s the young development of a player,” Mullen said. “He moves to receiver and learns the position. You just see a steady improvement of being a guy that we can really count on, being a playmaker for us.”
Myles was also back at punt returner, but always signaled for a fair catch. He had one kickoff return for 38 yards.
He has been working at kick returns for awhile now, so it was nothing new to him and he felt comfortable.
“God is not going to put you in a position where you’re going to fail,” Myles said. “All you’ve got to do is trust in Him and go for it. I was back there in practice and I know I can do it in a game.”
Myles wasn’t the only Golden Triangle high school football stud to score his first touchdown. Redshirt freshman Aeris Williams, who played at West Point High School, scored a 1-yard touchdown late in the first quarter to push MSU’s lead to 20-0.
Williams rushed for 37 yards on seven carries after having minus-3 yards on two carries entering the game.
The Bulldogs broke the single-game school record with 647 total yards of offense, surpassing the 645 yards tallied at Memphis in the 2011 opener. The Demons (0-3) had just 257 yards of total offense, but the possessed the ball for nearly 40 minutes.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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