STARKVILLE – Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby gave a positive injury update on running back Fluff Bothwell on Tuesday.
“We got, we feel, good news back on Fluff,” Lebby said. “As we move forward, there’s not a hard timeline for us right now, but the pictures came back and they were positive, so I feel really good about that.”
Bothwell leads the Bulldogs in rushing with 465 yards and six touchdowns through six games, averaging 5.5 yards per carry. After exiting on a cart late in a 31-9 loss at Texas A&M on Saturday, Bothwell was taken in for X-rays. Given the nature of the response on the field, the fear was that he would miss the remainder of the 2025 season.
While avoiding major injury, there is no clear timeline for Bothwell’s return yet.
“We’ll continue to evaluate,” Lebby added. “That’s going to be a day-to-day deal, but really fortunate that the images came back the way they did.”
With Bothwell potentially out for the coming matchups against Florida and Texas, the rest of the room has to step up. Veteran Davon Booth has been a strong complementary runner in the backfield, and sophomore Xavier Gayten has offered explosive speed in his limited gametime as well.
“We feel good about that room,” he said of the running back depth. “We’ve talked a ton about the depth in that room. We’re going to need some guys to step up, obviously, and that’s going to be important. I think the stress and the strain becomes a little bit more on teams as (Gayten) has the ability to make more of an impact. He’s been a core four guy for the first six weeks.”
“I think the running back room will be just fine, with or without Fluff,” receiver Brenen Thompson said. “Obviously losing him hurts, but there’s multiple guys, whether that’s X, Booth, that’s going to make us right.”
A question was raised about the decision to keep the starters on the field with the game out of reach in the fourth quarter, but Lebby didn’t shy away from his decision to make every snap count against the Aggies.
“We’re trying to go finish the right way, that’s why,” Lebby said when asked why Fluff was still in the game late. “You get minimal opportunities to go play this game, and we’re trying to finish the right way. We’re still, as a program, incredibly green and incredibly young. As we’re sitting here six games into year two, it’s still about how we do what we do, and finishing is going to be a huge point of emphasis.”
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