| Thursday, May 14, 2015 |
| OUR OPINION: Mississippi State steps into brighter spotlight | |
 | The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal editorializes: "Mississippi State University's selection as the lead-university Center of Excellence for Unmanned Aircraft Systems in the nation is powerful affirmation of MSU's sophistication and quality in engineering and the flight sciences for unmanned craft... The designation places MSU on the international leading edge of research and development... Mississippi State, because of its record of work, has become a world leader overnight in expanding and perfecting new commercial applications and safe technology for the systems." |
| WLOX Editorial: Mississippi State leading the way in developing UAS use | |
 | WLOX-TV editorializes: "Mississippi State will lead the way in developing rules for commercial use of unmanned aerial systems in the United States. This is a tribute to the ongoing work of Mississippi's flagship research university. State is well suited to handle the robust research needed to develop standards for safe integration of unmanned systems into the nation's airspace. The numerous applications include; natural disaster response, humanitarian relief efforts, precision agriculture research and the list goes on. As much of the aerial testing will be at John C. Stennis Space Center, over the Gulf of Mexico, in the Mississippi Delta and around the research lab in Starkville, we are proud that our state will be in the lead for this cutting edge technology." |
| Starkville School District, EMCC officials at a standstill on campus lease | |
 | Starkville School District and East Mississippi Community College have yet to reach terms on a deal that would allow the college to operate a satellite facility within Oktibbeha County. Negotiations have hit a snag, SSD Superintendent Lewis Holloway said Tuesday, after EMCC officials asked to use West Oktibbeha High School, a Maben campus that will close after July 1's state-mandated consolidation, without paying for property insurance or major repairs. The Starkville School District Board of Trustees took no formal action on the matter Tuesday. Instead, the five-member board directed Holloway to continue discussions with EMCC officials. |
| Leaders stress 'moving forward together' at 2015 State of Our Coast address in Biloxi | |
 | Scientists, state leaders and state Department of Marine Resources officials gathered at the Golden Nugget Casino in Biloxi Wednesday morning for this year's State of Our Coast address. "This isn't about Hurricane Katrina or the oil spill," DMR Executive Director Jamie Miller said. "This is about the successes we've had and our glorious future." Miller said this year's theme was for the Coast to move forward together. Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann talked about projects for the barrier islands and noted revenue numbers tourism brings the Coast. "The Gulf Coast sees 5,000,000 visitors every year," he said. "That equates to about $1.8 billion spent for the local business." Hosemann said his goal is to keep each visitor one more day. |
| U.S. Consumers Stick to Cautious Track | |
 | U.S. consumers are proving to be reluctant spenders despite steady job creation and cheaper gasoline, another drag on a sharply slowing economy. In the latest sign of consumer caution, U.S. retail sales barely budged in April and are now down or flat in four of the five past months. "The disappearance of consumer spending in early 2015 has now become even more mysterious, as some of the excuses shopped around earlier, like bad weather, are looking more stretched with the passage of time," said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics. Retail sales figures are a key barometer for overall consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of economic output in the U.S. |
| Down to two: Zinn, Kelly to stay on message in 1st District runoff | |
| As the dust settles from a frantic two-month-long campaign, two candidates hope to keep their momentum moving forward in the race for Mississippi's 1st Congressional District seat. Walter Howard Zinn Jr. and Trent Kelly topped the 13-candidate field Tuesday night and forced a runoff in the special election to fill the seat formerly occupied by Congressman Alan Nunnelee, who died in February following a battle with brain cancer. Zinn, the lone Democrat in the race, was the surprise front-runner in the first leg of the election. The Pontotoc attorney had a strong showing in many of the 22 counties in the majority Republican district, earning 15,261 votes, or 17 percent. But Kelly of Saltillo, district attorney for the 1st Circuit Judicial District, was close behind, receiving 14,348 votes, or 16 percent. |
| Democrats celebrate U.S. House, Biloxi mayoral results | |
 | Mississippi Democratic leaders are celebrating a Tuesday-night victory by Walter Zinn Jr. in the first round of the north Mississippi U.S. House race, in a district considered staunchly Republican. They were also celebrating results of the Biloxi special mayoral runoff, where a former longtime Democrat – now Republican -- beat out a candidate who had the backing of the state's GOP leadership, including Gov. Phil Bryant. "That's the funniest thing in the world to me, how people who are consistently wrong in their predictions, keep on making predictions," said Democratic Party Chairman Rickey Cole. "...With the miniscule resources he had, Walter did a wonderful job in turning out his voters. Republicans did a poor job of turnout yesterday ...I believe the election on June 2 will be right down to the wire." |
| State Senate: Armour pulls back from challenge of Collins in District 6 | |
| Mike Armour, director of the Mississippi office of the Appalachian Regional Commission, confirmed Wednesday he is withdrawing from the state Senate District 6 contest. Armour, a Tupelo Republican, had qualified for the contest after state Sen. District 6 incumbent Nancy Collins, R-Tupelo, entered the special election for the 1st District U.S. House seat. Collins, one of four candidates in the special election also on the ballot for re-election to their current office in the Aug. 4 Republican primary, placed 10th on Tuesday in the 13-candidate congressional special election. The day after Collins' loss, Armour said he was withdrawing from the state Senate race to focus on economic development opportunities in the ARC region in coordination with Glenn McCullough, the former ARC director, Tupelo mayor and TVA chairman recently selected by Gov. Phil Bryant to head the Mississippi Development Authority. |
| Amtrak Crash Puts Spotlight on Washington | |
 | The Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia Tuesday that killed at least seven people and injured hundreds quickly rippled back to Washington, where lawmakers and regulators have been trying to find the right response to a spate of rail accidents in recent years and House appropriators were slated Wednesday to set spending levels for transportation, including Amtrak. The crash comes as many lawmakers in Congress have raised concerns over passenger and freight rail safety. A recent string of derailments of trains carrying crude oil from North Dakota have resulted in fiery explosions across the country, leading many to call for federal agencies to bolster standards for tank cars carrying the product. But several deadly passenger rail accidents have prompted questions about whether Washington is doing as much as it should. |
| U.S. House Approves Bill to Curb NSA Powers | |
| The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a measure Wednesday to curb the National Security Agency's ability to collect the telephone records of millions of Americans, intensifying a showdown with Senate Republican leaders who oppose the limitations. The impasse has raised the possibility that lawmakers will pursue a short-term extension of the current bulk collection program, which will expire June 1 if Congress doesn't act. But congressional aides said it was unclear whether there are enough votes to temporarily extend the controversial program, which was first exposed in 2013 by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. |
| Survey: More than 40 percent of bee hives died in past year | |
 | More than two out of five American honeybee colonies died in the past year, and surprisingly the worst die-off was in the summer, according to a federal survey. Since April 2014, beekeepers lost 42.1 percent of their colonies, the second highest loss rate in nine years, according to an annual survey conducted by a bee partnership that includes the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "What we're seeing with this bee problem is just a loud signal that there's some bad things happening with our agro-ecosystems," said study co-author Keith Delaplane at the University of Georgia. "We just happen to notice it with the honeybee because they are so easy to count." But it's not quite as dire as it sounds. |
| East Mississippi Community College hosts Industry Appreciation Day | |
 | Yokohama plant president Tadaharu Yamamoto joked about his English with the audience at East Mississippi Community College during the school's Industry Appreciation Day Wednesday. However, the numbers he shared about the company and its market share were no laughing matter. For instance, he says the manufacturer has already hired 180 employees out of the 500 to come. Many of those same employees were hired through East Mississippi Community College training programs, which Yamamoto says have been of great value. "Our whole mission has been to serve our community, and to do that, we have to provide training and educational opportunities for our citizens so that they can take advantage of these good jobs," said East Mississippi President Dr. Rick Young. |
| Meridian Community College to graduate 470 Friday | |
 | Some 470 students have applied to graduate from Meridian Community College for the spring term. They will receive their degrees and certificates during two commencement services at Evangel Temple Friday, according to Soraya Welden, MCC dean of student services. The college's nursing graduates will receive their degrees in the first program at 1:30 p.m., while the general commencement program will be held at 6 p.m. Nursing pinning ceremonies will be held earlier in the day for both the Practical Nursing and Associate Degree (RN) programs. MCC President Dr. Scott Elliott, completing his 18th year as the college's CEO, said he was pleased to see a goodly number of graduates, especially at a time when community college enrollments across the state have marginally declined mostly due to an improving economy. |
| Thousands of LSU students could make history as one of school's largest graduation classes | |
 | About 4,000 LSU students are expected to graduate this week in what could be one of the largest graduating classes in the university's history. The main commencement ceremony, featuring a keynote address from LSU alumnus and Whole Foods Market Chairman John Elstrott, will take place Thursday at 6:45 p.m. in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. LSU President and Chancellor F. King Alexander will preside over the ceremony, LSU Board of Supervisors member Scott Ballard will confer degrees and LSU Faculty Senate President and Professor of English Kevin Cope will serve as mace bearer. Individual diploma ceremonies, divided by college, will be held Friday at various locations across campus. |
| Seven from LSU named NSF Graduate Fellows | |
| Seven students or former students from LSU have been named National Science Foundation Graduate Fellows this year. The NSF program recognizes students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields who are pursuing research-based advanced degrees. Each will receive a three-year stipend of $32,000, along with $12,000 allowance for tuition and fees, research efforts and development opportunities. |
| Report: Louisiana leads nation in per-college student funding cuts | |
 | As Louisiana lawmakers work to avert further cuts in funding for state colleges, a new report offers a bleak assessment of recent trends: Louisiana has reduced per-student funding on an inflation adjusted basis more than any other state since 2008, according to a report issued Wednesday by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. According to the report, Louisiana trimmed per-student funding since the 2008 recession by $4,941 per student. On a percentage basis, Louisiana ranks 2nd to Arizona in inflation adjusted cuts since 2008, the center said. Louisiana's percentage drop is 42 percent, compared to 47 percent in Arizona, reflecting different starting points in funding for the two states. |
| As state cuts funds, growth in grad rates at Kentucky's colleges declines sharply | |
 | After the 1997 Higher Education Reform Act, Kentucky's colleges and universities saw big gains in funding, and enrolled and graduated many more students. But after years of funding cuts, those improvements are slowing dramatically. From 2000 to 2009, Kentucky ranked first in the nation for the pace of growth in four-year graduation rates, second for associate degree attainment rates and third for three-year graduation rates from community colleges, according to an analysis by the state Council on Postsecondary Education and the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems. Six years and cuts of $178 million later, Kentucky's pace of improvement fell to 41st, 24th and 44th, respectively, in those same three categories. People who want Kentucky's economy to improve should be worried, said Robert King, president of the Council on Postsecondary Education. |
| Mother, son share journey to U. of Tennessee graduations | |
 | As Jeanne Prince received her diploma from the University of Tennessee at Martin earlier this month, she recalls she couldn't help but notice "that look of pride" on her son's face. Days later, it was her turn to show that pride as her son Richard Cody Prince graduated at UT's flagship campus in Knoxville. The mother and son, both of Huntingdon, Tenn., are members of the UT class of 2015. For her, it's a degree in nursing. For him, it's a degree from the College Scholars program with an emphasis in science policy and administration and a second major in physics with an academic focus. Mother and son each said they are proud of the other and agree they were essential to each other's success. But they couldn't resist some playful teasing. |
| U. of South Carolina med school students working on memory-prompting technology | |
 | What if you could catch Alzheimer's patients early in their slide into dementia, capture their fond memories in visual forms and then show them those memories months or years later? Two University of South Carolina School of Medicine students think they have the format to do just that. Now come the more important questions: Could it keep the memories alive longer? Could it help stimulate other associated memories? Or might it just invoke a few smiles in an extremely difficult stage of life? These are the things Sean Christensen and Rob Gereige think about when they're not studying for exams during their second year of medical school. |
| Texas A&M experts dig into reducing food waste | |
 | Finding a sustainable way to secure the world's food supply is a daunting undertaking, but Texas A&M University College of Agriculture and Life Science has stepped up to take the challenge head-on. Some of the college's top researchers and educators gathered Wednesday morning for the 2015 Grand Challenge Mini-Symposium at the AgriLife Center to develop a plan for the college to reduce food waste in the U.S. and abroad. Speakers said 30 percent of all food is discarded as waste in the developed and developing worlds, but that if their practices are implemented, more food can reach those who need it most. |
| Teachers to be paid in full as lawsuit against U. of Missouri closes | |
 | Twenty-one former teachers who were part of a K-12 instructional program at the University of Missouri in 2009 and were fired before the end of their contracts will be paid in full as part of an agreement. Boone County Circuit Judge Jodie Asel ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, the teachers, in an August breach-of-contract suit, which left only the amount the university owed each instructor unresolved. On Monday, Asel dismissed the case with prejudice at the plaintiffs' request. The teachers' contracts began in August 2009, but the state cut funding for the program soon afterward, and some people were unemployed by the end of the calendar year. |
| Free testing for sexually transmitted infections to be reduced at U. of Missouri | |
 | Tucked behind a block of meeting rooms on the top floor of the University of Missouri Student Center is a suite of offices where students can get free, confidential screenings for sexually transmitted infections. The confidential part is obvious. Dozens of orange Post-its cover the windows around the testing area. Students come in and out without appointments, spending 3o to 45 minutes voluntarily being tested for HIV, chlamydia and gonorrhea. The Get Yourself Tested program has provided free screenings to students at the student center since 2010. Testing was initially offered once a semester, but since last fall, students have been able to get tested twice a month as part of a temporary increase in services. Next fall, the free testing is likely to be offered just once a month due to budget constraints, said Ryan Hobart, communications director for the state Department of Health and Senior Services. |
| Who Will Hire a Petroleum Engineer Now? | |
| Walt Baker graduated from the Colorado School of Mines on Friday with a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering---but without an oil-industry job. His employment offers disappeared in December, following a monthslong plunge in oil prices. That is a big disappointment for Mr. Baker and his fellow students, who started their studies amid a drilling boom that provided newly minted engineers with six-figure salaries and signing bonuses. Jobs are scarce for the nearly 1,800 students in the U.S. expected to graduate this year with a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering. Those finding jobs are being offered lower salaries and taking nonengineering positions to get a foot in the door, several professors and counselors said. |
| Rates on U.S. Student Loans to Fall | |
| Interest rates will be lower on federal student loans given out for the upcoming academic year, cutting costs for millions of college students and their families. The rate on federal Stafford loans for undergraduates will be 4.29% for the 2015-16 year, down from 4.66% on loans given out during the 2014-15 school year. On graduate Stafford loans, the interest rate will be 5.84%, down from 6.21%. On Plus loans, taken out by many parents of undergraduates as well as graduate students, the interest rate will be 6.84%, down from 7.21%. The new interest rates go into effect for loans disbursed beginning on July 1 for the upcoming school year. Another federal subsidized loan, the Perkins loan, remains fixed at 5% indefinitely. |
| Why the news on high college costs is starting to get (a little) better | |
 | After years of attention to spiraling and out-of-control college costs, some of the more recent news shows movement in the other direction. State cuts to higher education have largely bottomed out, and some states are starting to restore funding they had previously cut. Nationally, tuition to public higher-education institutions rose only 1.2 percent in the past year after accounting for inflation -- a far cry from the steep rises right after the 2008 recession. A number of factors have contributed to the fact that tuition has been steadily rising two or three times the rate of inflation, analysts say. But in the past decade, state budget pressures -- resulting in big cuts in higher education -- has been the major driver. |
| Incoming U. of Texas president declines $1M salary | |
| Emails show the incoming president of the University of Texas at Austin declined a $1 million salary offer because he was concerned it could upset students and faculty at the school that has been stretched for funds in recent years. "With many issues and concerns about administrative costs, affordability and tuition, such a salary will affect the ability of the president to work with the Texas Legislature on matters important to the university," Gregory Fenves said in an email to Pedro Reyes, the UT System's executive vice chancellor for academic affairs. Fenves warned that the proposed paycheck would draw "widespread negative attention from students and faculty because of budget constraints seen in the last five years." His email was obtained by the Austin American-Statesman through an open records request. |
| Improved economy leads to enrollment dips among two-year and for-profit colleges | |
 | College enrollment numbers tend to be cyclical. A poor economy forces many adult learners into the classroom to retrain or hone their skills, but when it improves, enrollments decrease as they return to the workforce. That's the current state of affairs for community colleges and for-profit institutions across the country according to new data released by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. The report reveals that 2015 totals are down 1.9 percent -- to fewer than 18.6 million students -- compared to spring 2014. Most of that decline is due to students who are 24 and older. That group declined by 3.6 percent, to about 7 million. The majority of that decline occurred at two-year public colleges -- which were down 3.9 percent -- and at four-year for-profit institutions, which had a drop of 4.9 percent compared to last spring. |
| BILL CRAWFORD (OPINION): Why did the Legislature make job of new Mississippi DOC commissioner so hard? | |
| Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford of Meridian writes: "Following the indictment and resignation of the former commissioner, Gov. Phil Bryant in December appointed the formidable Marshall Fisher to head up the Mississippi Department of Corrections. 'His first mission will be to detect and eliminate any criminal activity that occurs within our correctional facilities,' said Bryant. ...To get anywhere with his transformation plan, Fisher said pay for correctional, probation and parole officers must be increased across the board. Also, because of the increased number of parolees resulting from passage of House Bill 585 last year, MDOC needs more parole officers. Fisher took his transformation plan and salary realignment request to the Legislature, asking that his appropriation be increased by $11 million. What did they do? They cut his appropriation by $12 million." |
| BOBBY HARRISON (OPINION): Term limits effort looks shaky before its start | |
| The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal's Bobby Harrison writes: "Tea Party-related groups looking to place a term limits proposal on the election ballot will be fighting against historical trends in the state. First of all, it is difficult to garner the signatures needed to place a citizen-sponsored initiative on the ballot. Of the first 48 initiatives introduced, only six have made the ballot. And secondly, voters have not looked favorably on limiting the terms of Mississippi politicians. ...If the past is an indicator, Mississippians like their politicians conservative but not term limited." |
| BRIAN PERRY (OPINION): With first campaign finance reports filed, statewide candidates raise $2.3M | |
 | Jackson-based consultant and columnist Brian Perry writes: "The first campaign finance reports of the 2015 election were filed last week covering all funds raised and spent from the beginning of the year through the end of April. The reports give an early indication of the seriousness of a campaign and according to the Secretary of State are mandatory for all candidates (statewide, district wide, legislative and county) even if no money is raised or spent. County candidates file their reports with their local circuit clerk; all others file with the Secretary of State who makes them available online for anyone to review." |
| SID SALTER (OPINION): Reactions to officers' slayings illuminating | |
| Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: "In Mississippi, the brutal slayings of two Hattiesburg policemen -- one white and one African American -- has been illuminating. The overwhelming reaction in Mississippi and across the country has been one of profound sorrow and shock. The vast majority of Mississippians have come together to mourn and to praise and recognize the sacrifices of those who 'protect and serve' like Hattiesburg policemen Benjamin Deen, 34, and Liquori Tate, 25. The officers were gunned down in the line of duty during a routine traffic stop Saturday night. ...And despite almost universal grief and dismay over the shootings of the two policemen, there was also a very different reaction from sandwich shop employee Sierra 'C-Babi' McCurdy of Laurel, Mississippi." |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State hosts SEC Track and Field meet with two top 20 teams | |
| Mississippi State's campus houses athletes like Dak Prescott and Victoria Vivians. Throughout the year the Heisman Trophy contender and USA Basketball invitee garner most of the spotlight and deservedly so. This weekend, MSU houses even better pure athletes as it hosts the Southeastern Conference Track and Field championships for the first time since 2002. "It's the root of all sports," MSU track and field coach Steve Dudley said. "Running, jumping throwing. And you're going to get to see the best of it." Mississippi State's men's team ranks 18th, while the women are slotted 19th. |
| SEC track and field: Bulldogs hope for success at home | |
| Mississippi State is hosting the SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships for the first time since 2002 at the Mike Sanders Track Complex. The Bulldogs' 18th-ranked men's team and 19th-ranked women's team hope that the familiar confines just might give them the edge they need in an event featuring 18 teams ranked in the Top 25 nationally. "If you practice at the same place all the time, there's got to be some advantage to that," said MSU track coach Steve Dudley. "But ultimately everybody's got to run the same distance and jump the same height or distance and throw. I think there might be a slight (home) advantage but I don't think it's huge." The SEC Outdoor Championships get underway at 11 a.m. today. |
| Mississippi State's Bougard targets SEC title | |
| Funny how greatness can sometimes come from just a small idea. That's what happened with Mississippi State track and field standout Erica Bougard. As a sophomore six years ago at Byhalia High School, a Class 1A program in north Mississippi, Bougard had shown promise on the basketball court for the Indians. One day, though, she was inspired to try another sport. "I did track because it got me out of class," Bougard said with a smile. "I really didn't plan for it to go anywhere. I just knew that with practice and meets and stuff, I could get out of class more often. That was appealing to me. But it turned into the biggest decision of my life." Math's loss has turned into track's gain because Bougard was right at home the moment she set foot on the track. As she approaches the end of one of the most decorated careers in school history, Bougard, a senior, hopes to be one of MSU's most reliable performers at this weekend's Southeastern Conference Track and Field Championships. |
| Mississippi State competing for its postseason life at Tennessee | |
| John Cohen listed the 20 most important aspects within a baseball game during a Mississippi State team meeting on Monday. The seventh-year coach told his team it accomplished 19 of the 20 last Saturday against Ole Miss. Though, the one flaw was also the biggest. "The other 19 things, we did a phenomenal job on. But they don't matter if you can't do No. 1," Cohen said. "No. 1 is the first commandment of baseball, you have to throw it in the strike zone." Mississippi State walked three and hit another in a ninth-inning meltdown against Ole Miss last weekend. The Rebels' five-run ninth and one-run 10th handed the Bulldogs its 15th loss in 18 games. It also placed MSU on the outside of the Southeastern Conference Tournament. Mississippi State can still qualify but it needs to win two more games than Georgia this weekend. |
| Win or go home for Bulldogs | |
| A once promising season for Mississippi State could come to a close by Saturday. The Bulldogs began the year 13-0 and were ranked as high as No. 7 nationally have gone on a downward spiral since and are at risk of missing the SEC Tournament for the first time since 2010. To qualify for the 12th and final spot in Hoover, MSU must win at least two games at Tennessee this weekend and have Arkansas win its series at Georgia. "We're excited that we still have a chance to continue playing," said infielder Seth Heck. "At this point in the season, that's all you can ask for. We'll just take it one game at a time and know that if we take care of business we have a shot." |
| Vols need help to continue baseball season | |
| The 2015 Tennessee baseball team's days are coming to an end. This Vols' series against Mississippi State, which begins Thursday at 6 p.m., will be the last this edition of the Vols plays at Lindsay Nelson Stadium. Tennessee (21-25, 8-18 SEC) needs wins against the Bulldogs (24-27, 8-19) and some help from Arkansas against Georgia or Vanderbilt against Alabama for its season to survive past Saturday. Even if it grabs one of the last two seeds in the 12-team SEC tournament, it will need a sizable upset to get past the first day and a miracle run to continue past Memorial Day. With that in mind, Tennessee coach Dave Serrano said he wants his team to play with the understanding that its time together is short. |
| Mississippi State softball hopes it will be able to keep hitting at Lafayette Regional | |
| Southeastern Conference Network analyst Maria Taylor asked Mississippi State softball coach Vann Stuedeman a question hoping to elicit a long answer. Instead, Stuedeman took the simple approach to explain her team's offensive resurgence. "It's the Ricketts effect," Stuedeman said. Mississippi State (35-19) hopes the efforts of first-year hitting coach Samantha Ricketts will pay off at 5:30 p.m. Friday when it faces Baylor (38-15) in the first game of the NCAA tournament's Lafayette Regional. Host Louisiana-Lafayette (39-9) will play host to Weber State (38-17) at 8 p.m. Friday in the nightcap of the first day of the double-elimination event at Lamson Park. MSU will match a school record by playing in its fourth-straight regional. |
| Mississippi State's Mullen talks about developing talent for NFL | |
| Preston Smith is a Washington Redskin. Benardrick McKinney is a member of the Houston Texans. Josh Robinson is settling in with the Indianapolis Colts. Malcolm Johnson recently signed a contract with the Cleveland Browns. The coach who found them, Mississippi State's Dan Mullen, is looking forward to the next crop of undiscovered gems that can become standouts in Starkville. Mullen, fresh off seeing five players get drafted, including the aforementioned four players who were three-star recruits or less, appeared Tuesday on the Southeastern Conference's post-spring teleconference ready to discuss the recent NFL draftees and his propensity for developing lightly recruited players into future professionals. "It doesn't matter if they're a four-star, five-star or in our program as a two or three-star," Mullen said. "Those guys are still going to get the opportunities to go on to the NFL. That's such a huge deal for us for young people around Mississippi to get to see that." |
| Mississippi State's Vivians set to compete with nation's best | |
| Victoria Vivians no longer is a freshman. The end of classes for the 2014-15 school year means a player who had one of the biggest impacts on her women's basketball team this past season is a sophomore. Judging from the Vivians' comments Tuesday, she is ready to take on an even bigger leadership role as she prepares for the 2015-16 season. The first step in that preparation will come later this week, when Vivians participates in the USA Basketball Women's Pan American Games and World University Team Trials. |
| Mississippi State's Victoria Vivians preparing for trials with USA Basketball | |
| Victoria Vivians becomes a leader next year. Whether the Mississippi State sophomore is ready for it or not, her women's basketball team needs it. The Bulldogs lost three key contributors in Martha Alwal, Jerica James and Kendra Grant due to graduation. The loss of the three seniors makes a team built on youth even younger. "Every team needs a leader. The coaches are always talking about we need a leader, someone to help you and guide you," Vivian said. "I"m just trying to help everybody." Vivians led MSU in scoring and earned AP All-American honor mention in her freshman season. Her skills should improve heading into her sophomore season. |
| Mississippi State's Vivians honored by Team USA tryout | |
| Last year, Victoria Vivians was a nationally recruited standout for Scott Central but decided to stay in her home state to play for Mississippi State. Following a fantastic freshman campaign for the Bulldogs, Vivians now has the opportunity to represent her country for Team USA. The 6-foot-1 wing is one of 54 players from around the nation invited to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., for the trials. "I'm honored because not many people get to do this," Vivians said earlier this week. "This wouldn't be possible without my teammates and coaches so I'm going to represent them and Mississippi State and my country." |
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