HOOVER Ala. – Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen and his three players had a clear message to the media at 2014 Southeastern Conference Media Days – their team has talent, and they’re ready to compete for a conference title.
Mullen and his players spoke Tuesday in preparation for their upcoming 2014 season. The Bulldogs are coming off an up-and-down 2013 campaign in which they won their last three games of the season to finish 7-6.
“I’m excited about getting into this season with our team,” Mullen said. “We finished last year with three straight wins, which is the first time that’s happened in a long time at Mississippi State. Gave us a lot of momentum into this offseason.”
MSU’s most impressive victory came at the end of the regular season when they beat rival Ole Miss 17-10 in overtime. Mullen wasted no time talking about his dominance of the Rebels, mentioning his 4-1 record against them in the first minute.
The most talked about player for MSU is junior quarterback Dak Prescott. The Sulphur, LA., native replaced Tyler Russell early last season, and his speed and athleticism helped the Bulldogs turn their season around and reach a bowl game.
There is no doubt in Prescott’s running ability – he ranked 1st in rushing touchdowns and 2nd in rushing yards among SEC quarterbacks in 2013. But Prescott said the important thing moving forward is his progression as a passer and proving he is not one-dimensional.
“I have high expectations for myself,” Prescott said. “I’m going to continue to do what I do, work hard, get better and try to be the best quarterback that I can.”
MSU brings back a host of great players on defense, including sophomore lineman Chris Jones, junior linebacker Bernadick McKinney and Senior Safety Jay Hughes. Hughes, who was injured early last season said he is ready to come back and that the defense brings a “Psycho” mentality in which it is playing fast and always attacking the ball.
Mullen said with the way last season ended there are high expectations laid out for this season, and his players seem to be behind him.
“The leadership got together. It was all 11 of us,” McKinney said. “We talked and said we need to do extra work if we want to compete with big teams and go to Atlanta. Dak and I got the offense and the defense together and said we are going to put a little more work in.”