Byrne: MSU have discussed contract extension with Mullen

Mississippi State athletic director Greg Byrne

Associated Press - Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen hoists the Egg Bowl trophy while players celebrate

Mississippi State athletic director Greg Byrne confirmed Tuesday that he has had discussions about an extension of the contract for head football coach Dan Mullen.
“The talks have been very positive and both sides are very interested in getting this done,” Byrne said.
Byrne did not wish to speculate on a possible date that an announcement could be made on a final deal but was very encouraged about the news possibly coming very soon. Any contract extension must be approved by the MSU Board of Trustees before it can be made official.
Mullen currently has three years left on a deal that pays him $1.2 million annually.
Byrne and Mullen met last week for what both parties have described as a season-ending wrap up discussion that involved all aspects moving forward with the program. Byrne said Tuesday he has come away feeling positive that a deal can be finalized to keep Mullen under contract in Starkville until 2013 would happen ‘in short order’.
Other issues that were discussed in that meeting last week was future recruiting and preliminary talks about renovating Davis-Wade Stadium in the hopes of adding more seats possibly on the west side of the stadium in the end zone opposite where the giant video board is located.
Mississippi State’s  season attendance total of 376,574 broke the school record of 306,545 set in 2004 by nearly 70,000. The Bulldogs athletic department is trying to use the momentum off a season where they also produced a per-game average of 53,792 which was also the best in school history.
State of Mississippi laws require a maximum contract length of four years so Mullen would only be able to agree to add one additional year to the terms he signed last year when MSU hired him as their head coach.
Mullen is currently out of town on recruiting trips and did not respond when attempts to contact him were made.
“In terms of recruiting, it is very important that Dan be able to look every young man in the eye and say Mississippi State is committed to having him here for the entire time that recruit will be here,” Byrne said.
Shortly after being named head coach at Mississippi State, Mullen acquired an agent for future contract negotiations. Sources have told the SDN Bulldog Blog, Mullen is represented by with Rick Diamond out of Evolution Media Talent based in New York. Diamond,who has a law degree from Temple University, was a co-founder of the talent management group after being vice president of SFX Media Group and has 14 years of experience representing athletes and television personalities.
Mullen finished his first ever season as a head coach by taking the Bulldogs to a 5-7 record with the nation’s toughest schedule that included home losses to Alabama, Florida, Houston and L.S.U.
Due to the excitement Mullen brought to the program in his first year that concluded with a 41-27 win over Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl and with speculation already occurring in an Associated Press report naming the MSU head coach as a candidate elsewhere, Byrne addressed the issue of keeping Mullen at Mississippi State for many years to come even if other schools come calling for his services.
“We obviously want stability with Dan as our coach and we will use all the resources and anything this university has to stay competitive with our coaching staffs,” Byrne said. “Keeping Dan here is something that would be of high priority for us.”

.All of the SDN Bulldog Blog readers: feel free to follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/matthewcstevens for up-to-date Mississippi State coverage.

Stansbury will not trade jabs with Southern Miss; not likely to schedule them soon either

Rick Stansbury

Jarvis Varnado

Mississippi State head coach Rick Stansbury was asked about Southern Miss head coach Larry Eustachy’s comments that the Bulldogs will not schedule USM during its non-conference slate.

After last weekend’s last second loss at Ole Miss, Eustachy came out with this verbal gem before he left the post-game media room.

““If we could get Mississippi State to do it in basketball than that would be great. But (Ole Miss head coach) Andy (Kennedy) seems to be a little more comfortable in himself than ol’ what’s-his-name.”

Instead of mixing it up in the press, Stansbury took the high road approach but left no doubt as to whether or not the challenge from Eustachy would change his scheduling philosophy.

“That’s fine, I can’t control that,” Stansbury said. “I don’t know Larry but I’m always going to make decisions on scheduling what’s best for us.”

So don’t look for Southern Miss on future MSU schedules anytime soon.

Varnado sees specialist Monday for hand; will practice all week

Mississippi State senior forward Jarvis Varnado will practice all week after re-injuring the pinky finger on his left hand this weekend.
Varnado, the Bulldogs’ Wooden Award nominee, did not participate in practice all last week after dislocating the finger on his non-shooting hand during MSU’s two-game trip to South Padre Island over Thanksgiving weekend.
“Last week was a big concern because we ran him to death and he may just decide this week is better to practice than to run the whole time on the side,” Stansbury said.
Varnado had to come out of Saturday’s 105-53 victory over St. Bonaventure after the pinky dislocated again after he completed a two-handed dunk. Before suffering the injury again, Varnado had 14 points and eight rebounds in only 21 minutes against the Bonnies while holding St. Bonaventure sophomore post player Andrew Nicholson to only four first-half points.
After seeing an orthopedic specialist Monday morning, the 6-foot-9 forward was wearing a plastic form-fitting brace for the finger that Varnado said he’ll wear around campus when he’s not on the court. Varnado will continue to buddy-tape connect the ring finger and pinky on the hand in order to reduce the likelihood of the injury occurring again.
“It shouldn’t be popping out of place anytime soon anymore,” Varnado said.
Stansbury was unsure what the status was on the school’s all-time leader in block shots but knows he’ll need the senior’s presence on both ends of the floor to beat DePaul and UCLA away from home
“It’s something that going to bother him probably,” Stansbury said. “If he’s able to go (Monday in practice) then good we’ll need him.”

All of the SDN Bulldog Blog readers: feel free to follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/matthewcstevens for up-to-date Mississippi State coverage.

USM coach calls out Mississippi State for a future basketball series

Larry Eustachy

Rick Stansbury

After Southern Miss lost on a last-second dunk at Ole Miss Saturday, USM coach Larry Eustachy thanked Rebels head coach Andy Kennedy for agreeing to do the basketball series and said he wished Mississippi State would do the same.

Eustachy, in the classic Egg Bowl style manner of MSU head football coach Dan Mullen, wasn’t going to leave the post-game podium without taking a jab at Mississippi State without saying Rick Stansbury’s name.

“If we could get Mississippi State to do it in basketball than that would be great. But Andy seems to be a little more comfortable in himself than ol’ what’s-his-name.”

Eustachy was referring to the football home-and-home series both USM and MSU agreed to earlier this year for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. Mississippi State head coach Rick Stansbury, that’s S-T-A-N-S-B-U-R-Y, meets with the media Monday afternoon and we’ll see if he has a response.

WGRZ-TV in Buffalo reporting Kansas interviewing Turner Gill

NBC-TV in Buffalo reporting University of Buffalo head coach Turner Gill and not MSU head coach Dan Mullen will be interviewing at Kansas

According to the NBC-affiliate station in Buffalo, N.Y., Kansas University will interview Buffalo head coach Turner Gill for its open head coaching position.

Gill has a daughter who is currently a student at Kansas and sources are saying there is reason to believe the meeting could have taken place in New York City, where Perkins will attend an awards ceremony with Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing Tuesday.

Associated Press reporter Doug Tucker suggested Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen could be a candidate to replace Mark Mangino at Kansas. Mangino resigned during a  university investigation that probed the now-former Jayhawks coach on alleged verbal and emotional abuse of players. In the last few days, many former players described insensitive, humiliating remarks they claim he made to them in the heat of games or practice, often in front of others.

Friday afternoon Mississippi State athletic director Greg Byrne sent a text message reply to the SDN Bulldog Blog that ‘nobody has contacted us for permission’ to talk to Mullen.

There has been no comment coming from Gill, the University of Buffalo or Kansas about the coaching search. The only public comment has been Gill saying earlier there were a ‘few’ teams he would be interested in talking to if contacted.

Final at the Hump: MSU 105-53 win, improves to 5-2

105

53

By MATTHEW STEVENS

sdnsports@bellsouth.net

Mississippi State apparently decided to schedule an afternoon shoot-around.

The opponent in colored jerseys were inconsequential as the Bulldogs treated 3,344 fans to a shooting exhibition that ended in a 105-53 blowout of St. Bonaventure.

“By the time we knew it, we were down by 20 and the game was over,” Bonnies head coach Mark Schmidt said. “When they shoot the ball the way they did today and with Varnado inside, they’re tough to beat.”

Mississippi State (5-2) shot an astounding 59 percent from the floor. The 52-point margin was the largest under a Rick Stansbury coached team. Stansbury commented he thought this was easily the best MSU has looked all season.

“It’s not even close,” Stansbury said. “When you make shots, it makes the world go round and we made shots.”

Freshman forward Wendell Lewis layup while being fouled with 3:27 left marked the first time they have eclipsed the century mark in over a year.

Mississippi State defeated North Alabama 102-61 on Nov. 19, 2008.

“When you do all those little things and then make shots, you’re pretty good,” Stansbury said.

After the 12-minute media timeout of the second half, Stansbury was able to have four starters rest on the bench next to him for the duration of the game. With Mississippi State embarking on a cross-country trip where they’ll play in Tampa, Fla., and Anaheim, Calif., over a 48-hour stretch, the MSU head coach said the conversation of minutes for his key players was crucial.

“I thought for the first time our bench added to,” Stansbury said. “It didn’t just play some minutes to rest some people. It played some minutes and was productive tonight.”

Halftime at the Hump; Game 7 vs. St. Bonaventure

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22

Where has this Bulldogs team been?

Where to begin?

If you’re not at Humphrey Coliseum, and judging by the empty seats on Saturday afternoon you’re not, you’re missing MSU play its best 20 minutes of the 2009-10 season.

Mississippi State already has three players in double figures (Johnson 13, Augustus and Varnado with 10).

MSU is shooting 9-for-15 from beyond the three-point arc and seemingly every one of the attempts have been wide-open looks.

Thee Bulldogs transition game has resulted in highlight reel worthy dunks by Ravern Johnson and Kodi Augustus that have gotten the crowd and excited.

Nation’s best shooting team ice cold from the field

St. Bonaventure brought to Starkville the best shooting team in the country. It’s safe to say they will not return to upstate New York with that mark.

The Bonnies (4-2) have only made 11 of their 35 shot attempts in the first 20 minutes of play leading to a frustrating 56-22 halftime score for the road team.

MSU’s Varnado vs. SBU’s Nicholson: Edge so far: Varnado, big.

The Bulldogs senior post player and Wooden Award candidate is dominating the matchup in the paint throughout the first half. While becoming the 31st player in MSU history to score 1,000 career points, Varnado currently is on his way to another double-double with 10 points and 5 rebounds in the first half.

On the flip side, St. Bonaventure’s sophomore from Canada Andrew Nicholson is on pace for another disappointing effort. Coming of his worst game of the 2009 season where he only had 2 points and 3 rebounds in 15 minutes in a loss at Illinois State, the 6-foot-9 forward has only  points on 2-for-11 shooting tonight. Nicholson came into the contest shooting almost 70 percent from the field and had his only success during the period Stansbury took Varnado out of the game for a breather.

BREAKING NEWS: AP suggests Dan Mullen a candidate for Kansas opening

Associated Press - Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen hoists the Egg Bowl trophy while players celebrate

According to Associated Press reporter Doug Tucker, Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen was named as a candidate to replace Mark Mangino at Kansas. Mangino resigned during the Kansas University investigation that probed the now-former Jayhawks coach on alleged verbal and emotional abuse of players. In the last few days, many former players described insensitive, humiliating remarks they claim he made to them in the heat of games or practice, often in front of others.

In the eighth paragraph of the AP story detailing Mangino’s resignation, Tucker writes: Possible candidates include Texas A&M offensive coordinator Nolan Cromwell, a great wishbone quarterback at Kansas in the mid-70s, Houston coach Kevin Sumlin and Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen.

Mullen finished his first ever season as a head coach by taking the Bulldogs to a 5-7 record with the nation’s toughest schedule that included home losses to Alabama, Florida, Houston and L.S.U.

Mullen and MSU athletic director Greg Byrne had a scheduled meeting today but Byrne texted the SDN Bulldog Blog to confirm nothing new came from the season-ending meeting. Byrne then according to his Twitter page, had dinner at Mullen’s house along with the 15 seniors on the MSU football team.

‘Just finished dinner @coachdanmullen house w/seniors. Great to see everyone. They helped lay the foundation.’ was Byrne’s tweet Thursday night.

Updated at 1:51 p.m.

Mississippi State athletic director Greg Byrne sent a text message reply to the SDN Bulldog Blog that ‘nobody has contacted us for permission’ to talk to Bulldogs head coach Dan Mullen.

All of the SDN Bulldog Blog readers: feel free to follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/matthewcstevens for up-to-date Mississippi State coverage.

MSU basketball injury updates, recap of South Padre Invite

Jarvis Varnado

Varnado hasn’t practice since injuring finger

Mississippi State head coach Rick Stansbury said senior forward Jarvis Varnado will play Saturday afternoon against St. Bonaventure but how effective the Bulldogs’ shot-blocking force in the paint is a major question mark.

Varnado dislocated the pinky finger of his left hand during MSU’s win over Old Dominion in South Padre Island, Texas last weekend. Varnado came into the interview room Thursday with the ring finger and pinky on his non-shooting hand what MSU spokesman called ‘buddy-taped’ which looks like a protective sleeve he will wear in games while the injury heals.

“I blocked a shot and I guess my pinky hit the ball and dislocated it,” Varnado said. “So they had to pop it back into place. It’s all right, no biggee.”

MSU may need Varnado at his best heading into what Stansbury calls a quality opponent with an NBA-level big man in 6-foot-9 forward Andrew Nicholson. The sophomore is shooting an impressive 70-percent from the field this season with getting 16.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.

Stewart wearing protective wrap on shooting hand

Adding to the injury woes, senior guard Barry Stewart was wearing a black brace on his right wrist similar to what you’d see issued to a carpal tunnel patient. Stewart says the sprain occurred in an earlier home game in November and possibly could’ve been something he’s been dealing with since the exhibition season.

“It’s just a sprain,” Stewart said looking at his wrist. “I’ll be fine.”

What MSU learned while at South Padre Island?

Other than Invitational champion Richmond possibly being pretty good and the bitter feeling of giving a basketball game away – not much.

“We got into a position to win the game against Richmond and didn’t win it,” Stansbury said. “We’re not good enough to give games away.”

Ackerman High practicing Thursday at Mississippi State

Ackerman head coach Adam Dillinger confirmed to The Starkville Daily News that his undefeated football team will be practicing Thursday at Mississippi State University. The team workout and walk-through session Thursday will be in order to prepare the Indians for the large 60,492-seat stadium venue of Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson.

“We’ve talked about that with the kids and that’s why we’re going over to Mississippi State tomorrow to get a feel for what that’s like,” Dillinger said. “You never know how your kids will react to that until you face it but it’ll be the biggest place Bassville will see too.”

The SDN Prep Sports Blog was still waiting from MSU spokesmen on whether Ackerman will be allowed to use Scott Field or the Bulldogs football practice facility.

Ackerman (15-0) will play Bassfield (13-2) for the Class 2A state championship at 3 p.m. Friday.

Dixon wins Conerly Trophy

Dixon named best college football player in Mississippi

By CHRIS TALBOTT
The Associated Press

JACKSON — Anthony Dixon capped his college career with another score.
The Mississippi State running back won the Conerly Trophy given to the state’s top college football player Tuesday night in a ceremony at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. He beat out nine other nominees from Mississippi’s football-playing colleges, including 2008 winner Damion Fletcher of Southern Miss.
“I used to watch it on TV, being from around here, so I’ve seen dudes before me win this,” the Terry native said. “I’d see this on TV and I’d be like, ‘One day I want to be this person. Mama, one day I want to be in this spotlight.’”
Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen thinks the Conerly should be the first of many trophies Dixon receives in the next few weeks after a brilliant, record-breaking senior season that left him with every significant Bulldogs rushing mark and as the school’s leading scorer.
Mullen even mentioned the Heisman Trophy, comparing Dixon’s season with that of Alabama running back Mark Ingram after Dixon capped his career by breaking the school’s single-season rushing record in a 41-27 upset of Mississippi in the Egg Bowl. He finished with 1,391 yards in just 11 games.
“Here’s a guy playing the toughest schedule in the country and he led the Southeastern Conference in rushing,” Mullen said. “Now a lot of people promote Mark Ingram for (the Heisman), but he’s got more rushing yards per game and just as many touchdowns in one less game than (Ingram) does. So if you look at it in those terms, it’s kind of a shame that he isn’t mentioned in those award circles.”
The 6-foot-1, 235-pound senior was sixth in the nation with an average of 126.5 yards rushing per game. He finished with 3,994 yards rushing and holds the records for career and single-season yards rushing, attempts, total and rushing touchdowns, career 100-yard games, points and all-purpose yards. And his 133 yards against the Rebels pushed him to eight 100-yard games this season, another record.
“I guess dreams come true,” Dixon said. “This is like my whole senior season has been. All the things I’d think I want to be when I was a kid are all coming true.”
Organziers expanded the field for the trophy from three to 10 this year to include every college that plays football. Ole Miss running back Dexter McCluster and Mississippi College quarterback Adam Shaffer joined Dixon as semifinalists.
The other nominees were Fletcher, Alcorn State quarterback Tim Buckley, Belhaven wide receiver Cordario Calvin, Delta State wide receiver Trevar Deed, Jackson State defensive back Malcolm Palmer, Milsaps quarterback Chris Graves and Mississippi Valley State defensive lineman Jared Green.
The trophy is named for the Ole Miss and New York Giants great Charlie Conerly and sponsored by Cellular South. The winner is picked by a panel of 53 sports writers.