Do The Duck(ing)
September 28, 2022 | Football, Joel Coleman
Caleb Ducking has his teammates waddling with joy.
STARKVILLE – Have you ever seen Dawgs turn into ducks? Mississippi State fans sure have – five times already in fact.
MSU's Caleb Ducking has made duck waddling the latest dance craze in Starkville with a touchdown celebration no one can seem to get enough of.
But how did it all start? Who was the brains behind it? Turns out, it began as a simple suggestion that has since exploded.
"One of my friends back home was telling me to do it just because of my last name," Ducking recalled. "So, the week before we played Memphis in the first game of the season, me and a couple of guys were out at practice doing it. We just said we'd do it for every touchdown."
And so, they have. Some teammates knew Ducking's dance was coming. Some didn't. By now though, everyone is hooked.
"After his first touchdown this year, he just starting doing it," fellow receiver Jaden Walley said. "I just saw it, so I went and joined him."
Walley has been a fast learner. In fact, Ducking places Walley at the top of the Duck dance rankings.
"I got Jaden Walley, then I've got to go Jamire Calvin after that," Ducking said. "And I'll go with Will Rogers, too. He's been working on it."
Ducking has been giving plenty of opportunities for Rogers and the rest to sharpen their waddling ways. Ducking has found the end zone five times this season, scoring at least once in three of State's four games and notching a pair of touchdown grabs against both Arizona and Bowling Green.
Ducking is one of only two Southeastern Conference players to have multiple touchdown catches in two or more contests this year.
If you ask Ducking's position coach, Steve Spurrier, Jr., that's the most exciting thing – not the dance itself, but the production that's let it become a thing.
"I like when I see it, that's the best thing about it, and we've seen it a lot early this year," Spurrier said. "The more you see it, the better it gets. But you've got to make sure you do it once or twice per game. You can't do it every third game and expect people to appreciate it."
Spurrier hasn't quite yet joined in on the waddling.
"All the coaches say they're going to hit it with me if I can keep on scoring," Ducking insists.
Now, touchdown celebration aficionados might note, Ducking isn't the only football player these days making waves for waddling. Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle has also popularized the move in the NFL.
So, the question is, who did it first? Ducking insists it's himself.
"Some people say [Waddle] has been doing it, but I didn't see it until I did it," Ducking claims. "So yeah, he stole it from me."
Ducking even has backup.
"I think [Ducking] did it first," Walley said. "I'm going to give it to him. It's his Duck dance."
Therein lies the deciding factor perhaps. While video evidence does give the debut waddle to Waddle (he was using the celebration with Miami last season), the Dolphins use penguin emojis on social media when referencing the act.
Sure seems like that leaves Duck dancing to be all Ducking's.
"It's independently his," Spurrier said. "I told him, if he can get about 12 or 13 more of those in, he'll have the whole crowd doing it."
