STARKVILLE — Kody Schexnayder’s first love was baseball.
He loved the sport so much that he was planning to continue his career at a junior college. The River Ridge, Louisiana, native had interests from local junior colleges like Delgado Community College and Baton Rouge Community College, but then things changed when football programs began to take notice of him.
A punter in high school, Schexnayder got some interest from some Division I schools that wanted him to walk on and help their special teams. After talks with the Mississippi State football team, he decided to put baseball aside and pursue a childhood dream and play football in the Southeastern Conference. Schexnayder and MSU (5-7) play Miami (Ohio) University (6-6) 10 a.m. Monday, Dec. 26 (ESPN), in the St. Petersburg Bowl at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
“Every kid dreams about playing SEC football and once I got the call, I was ecstatic about it,” Schexnayder said. “I was like, ‘Baseball can hold out for a little while and I’m going to follow my dreams and go play SEC football,’ because not many kids get that opportunity.”
MSU special teams quality control staff member Chris Boniol first reached out to Schexnayder and asked if he wanted to punt for the Bulldogs. Schexnayder had the same type of interest from Washington State and Oklahoma State.
But instead of playing in the Pac-12 or the Big 12, Schexnayder decided to go to MSU and be an SEC student-athlete.
“I’d knew I’d fit right in at Mississippi State once I got to meet the coaches,” Schexnayder said. “My mind was made up whenever I met with coach (Dan) Mullen because it’s everywhere you want to be.”
Schexnayder remembers John Curtis Christian defensive coordinator Johnny Curtis, who also served as the baseball coach, approach him about punting when he was a freshman. He told Curtis, who played at MSU under coach Jackie Sherrill from 1991-93 and is currently a linebackers coach at Ball State, he could punt.
During his freshman and sophomore year he learned from Calvin Linden, who is now at Louisiana-Lafayette, before he took over the starting role as a junior and senior.
But as the 5-foot-10, 185-pound freshman learned quickly, punting at this level is different than in high school.
“Of course the stage’s a little bigger and you’ve got a lot more people in the stands, but other than that there is no other difference. Guys are a little bigger, but other than that not much different than high school,” Schexnayder said.
Schexnayder knew when he arrived at MSU that junior Logan Cooke was the primary starter. His goal was to be the backup punter, something he achieved.
But Cooke suffered an injury in the first half against Texas A&M on Nov. 5 and Schexnayder had to come in and punt in the second half. He had four punts for an average of 41.0 yards against the Aggies. He had a long of 52 yards and hit one inside the 20 yard line.
But he averaged 30.0 yards and 37.7 yards against Alabama and Arkansas, respectively, in the next two games.
“To get thrown into the Texas A&M game, I had no nerves going in,” Schexnayder said. “I was a little shaky the next two games, but then I came back strong for the Ole Miss game. Coach Mullen just kind of told me, ‘Relax, you’ve got it,’ so that’s what I did for the Ole Miss game — I had no nerves. I just went back out there and played like I did in high school and really enjoyed it.”
In a 55-20 win over in-state rival Ole Miss in the Battle for the Golden Egg, Schexnayder averaged 46.6 yards on three punts. He had a long of 50 yards and put one inside the 20 yard line.
He gave a lot of credit to Boniol for keeping his confidence up and giving him the support he needed to push through the bad two games. After a season of practicing on his craft every day, Schexnayder feels much better about his game.
“I have developed a lot better, very well,” Schexnayder said. “I felt more comfortable as the season’s gone along. I just got back to my old self where I’m just going out and playing and not worrying about anything.”
Although he chose football, Schexnayder still thinks about baseball a lot. There have been times after football practice where he throws around a baseball with some of his teammates.
As he thinks back on his decision, he knows he made the right one because of where he is and what league he’s playing in.
“To have the opportunity to come play SEC football is fantastic and it’s everything I’ve ever wanted. I’m thankful for the opportunity,” Schexnayder said.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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