Know Your Bulldog: Jake Mangum

by Greg Campbell

If you ask Mississippi State senior Jake Mangum, he will tell you that he is just like any other student on the Starkville campus.

"I'm just a college student trying to get my degree," said Mangum. "I just get to play a little baseball while doing it."

That is probably a bit understated by the three-year starter who enters his senior season on a pace that would make him the all-time hits leader in SEC history. His 275 career hits are just 60 shy of the MSU record, while his career batting average of .356 sits No. 11 all-time at State.

Those numbers are not an accident, though. It comes from an undying competitiveness that was instilled by the members of his family that roamed the college sports landscape before him.

His grandfather, John, starred at Southern Miss in the 1960s, his father, John Jr., was a four-year letter winner at Alabama in the 1980s and his uncle, Kris, was a standout at Ole Miss in the 1990s. All three elevated to the highest level of their respective sport, as well.

"[Competitiveness] kind of runs in the family," Mangum said. "My grandfather played for the Boston Patriots, my uncle played ten years for the Carolina Panthers and my dad played for the Chicago Bears. I grew up around a football mindset and that is something that I bring to the baseball field with me every day."

So how did a kid that grew up around football choose baseball?

"I just loved baseball," said Mangum. "My dad pushed baseball at an early age, because he loves baseball, too. It was something that I picked up easier than other things."

Then, how does that kid translate the mentality of a football player to the baseball diamond?

"I play baseball with a lot of emotion," Mangum admitted. "Some people like it and others don't, but it is who I am. If I don't [play with emotion], I am just not good enough. At the level we play [at Mississippi State], you have to be totally invested or you will get beat."

That mentality is what endears him to the Mississippi State faithful.

Mangum wants to be remembered as the guy who played just as hard in a February mid-week non-conference game as he did in the 100-degree sweltering Mississippi heat in a NCAA Super Regional game.

"When my time [at Mississippi State] is done, I want the fans to remember me as someone who brought it every day, every game," said Mangum. "No matter what the game was, I hope [the fans] remember me as someone who went as hard as he could, because this place holds a special place in my heart."

Mississippi State University Athletics

Know Your Bulldog: Jake Mangum

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