2017 MSU Sports Hall of Fame Class: Mario Haggan Honored

By: Bob Carskadon, HailStateBEAT

Note: Every day this week, we will recognize a member of the 2017 Mississippi State Sports Hall of Fame Class. The class will be formally inducted at a gala Friday night at the Palmeiro Center's Bryce Griffis Boardroom and recognized at halftime of the MSU-UMass game Saturday in Davis Wade Stadium. Festivities get underway at 5:30 p.m. Friday and will include a cocktail reception, private autograph signing, seated dinner and awards ceremony. Tickets are available for purchase at msumclub.org for $100 per person. Proceeds benefit the MSU M-Club Alumni Association.

Some people just have it from the start, their star ascending early and never falling until the day they decide to be done. By the virtues of hard work, natural gifts and good timing, those who are among the best at their craft quickly rise to the top and make name's for themselves that will not soon be forgotten.

For over 20 years, the name Mario Haggan has commanded respect at every level of football, from high school to college to the NFL. The star from Clarksdale, Mississippi spent the better part of two decades dominating on the defensive side of the ball for every team lucky enough to have him. His induction into the MSU Sports Hall of Fame may come with fanfare, but there is zero surprise associated with his honor.

"Mario Haggan was one of those names that you always just knew," M-Club President Tyson Lee said. "A Mississippi State guy."

In fact, Haggan is more than just a Mississippi State guy. He's a bit of an everything guy. His induction this week in 2017 to MSU's Hall of Fame actually comes two years after he was named an SEC Legend by the conference in 2015. A look at Haggan's list of accomplishments shows why the linebacker and defensive end is so legendary to so many.

The defensive star was a four-year letterman for Jackie Sherrill from 1999-2002, helping lead the Bulldogs to three-straight bowls in his time on campus. Haggan led the team in tackles for three consecutive years from his sophomore to senior campaigns, and for his efforts, he was named All-SEC following each of those seasons. By the time his career in Maroon and White finished, Haggan had been voted an All-American, had helped make program history, and had become the eighth-leading tackler in MSU history, racking up a total of 359 stops.

And all of that fails to mention that he started his football career as an All-American at Clarksdale High School, then continued it by playing 10-straight seasons in the NFL after being drafted by the Buffalo Bills after his senior year at MSU. Haggan spent five seasons in Buffalo before signing a contract with the Denver Broncos where he was named a team captain and starred at linebacker for four seasons. Haggan finished his pro career in St. Louis with the Rams, the same season it just so happened that Lee was working with the organization as a scout.

Lee was honored to meet him that year, and he will be even more honored to see the Bulldog legend inducted into the MSU Sports hall of Fame this weekend.

"When you talk about a guy on defense who led the team in tackles for three years in a row, that alone is saying something," Lee said. "But then you look at what he did when he left here, as well. He played in the league for a long time, and you see that guys don't tend to stay in the league for that long."

Of course, what Haggan means to his alma mater is more than just tackles and a long NFL career. The name Mario Haggan is one that represents one of the greatest eras of football MSU has ever seen, the teams that were called "Best in the West" and defenses that scared every quarterback the country had for years on end.

Haggan's first year on campus was 1998, the year MSU won its first and only SEC West Championship. Haggan's stellar 1999 debut was the year Joe Lee Dunn and the Bulldogs had the No. 1 defense in the country. Haggan was a standout in some of the most historic games in the program's history, from the 1999 Egg Bowl to legendary wins over Florida and Auburn in 2000, and of course, one of the most iconic games in school history, the 2000 "Snow Bowl" in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Haggan will be inducted alongside fellow Bulldog great Walt Harris, a star cornerback from 1992-95, and together, Haggan and Harris serve as bookends, of a sort, stars of Sherrill Era who helped lay the foundation and then helped the program reach its greatest heights. Many other stars played alongside and between them, but certainly, this week's honors showcase the greatest run MSU has football has ever seen, the winningest coach in program history, and the teams whose heroes became legends in the minds of all who cheer for the Maroon and White.

"Both of them were just staple Mississippi State guys," Lee said. "What they did on the field here production-wise, recognition not just by Mississippi State but by the SEC and nationally, I think those two things put both of them on the map."

Haggan will have an introduction when he is recognized at halftime of Saturday's MSU football game, but for most of the State fans who will be watching, he doesn't need one.

"I know the legacy that he left at Mississippi State," MSU Athletic Director John Cohen said. "He was one of the great players on some truly great defenses."

Mississippi State University Athletics

2017 MSU Sports Hall of Fame Class: Mario Haggan Honored

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