MSU Football Moves Up Start Of Spring Practice To Tuesday

STARKVILLE, Miss. (MSU Athletics) – Nearly three months removed from one of the most memorable seasons in school history, Mississippi State football returns to the field with the start of spring practice at 3:20 p.m. Tuesday at the Leo Seal Jr. Football Complex.

Inclement weather is in the forecast for Wednesday, therefore the start of spring ball was moved up a day to accommodate clear conditions. All outdoor spring practices are open to the public. A complete spring schedule is below and times are subject to change. In the event of inclement weather, MSU will practice indoors at the Palmeiro Center and those workouts will be closed to the public.

NCAA rules permit teams to go through 15 spring practice sessions. The Bulldogs will scrimmage twice (April 3 and 11) as part of the spring workouts. It then culminates with the Maroon and White Spring Game on Saturday, April 18 as part of Super Bulldog Weekend presented by Regions. Kickoff for the free admission contest is 11 a.m. in Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field.

The Bulldogs are coming off a 10-win 2014 campaign and the program’s highest finish since 1940 with a No. 11 Associated Press ranking. Eight starters and 45 lettermen – 22 offense, 20 defense, three specialists — return from a squad that reached No. 1 for the first time and earned a berth in the Orange Bowl.

Head coach Dan Mullen, who accepted the Maxwell National Collegiate Coach of the Year Award last weekend in Atlantic City, N.J., begins his seventh season at the helm. Mullen owns a 46-31 record and has guided MSU to a school-record five straight bowl appearances. He’s the only coach in Bulldog football history to receive a National Coach of the Year award.

New defensive coordinator Manny Diaz will go through his first practice with the Bulldogs since the 2010 season. Diaz returns to MSU after spearheading a Louisiana Tech defensive unit that led the nation with 40 turnovers gained in 2014.

Quarterback Dak Prescott begins his senior year after breaking 12 individual school records as a junior. Prescott, who finished eighth in the Heisman voting, owns a 14-6 career record as a starter.

MSU had six newcomers enroll at the start of the semester, representing the most early enrollees in school history. Those six – Jonathan Calvin, Malik Dear, Donald Gray, Martinas Rankin, Michael Story and Deddrick Thomas – will all take the field for the first time in maroon and white. Gray and Rankin were both junior college All-Americans a year ago.