A Glimpse Of The Future
September 13, 2025 | Football
STARKVILLE – There was a lot to love about Mississippi State during its dominant 63-0 victory over Alcorn State.
The Bulldogs amassed 514 yards on offense and shut out an opponent for the first time since 2017. But perhaps one of the most fascinating facets of the game was getting a glimpse into the future with so many MSU youngsters having success on Saturday.
"I've seen all the young guys come in, develop and get better since fall camp," said cornerback DeAgo Brumfield. "For most of them to be in their first college game, it's tremendous to see them out there playing. I think the program has got something to look forward to."
Of the nine touchdowns the Bulldogs scored, an underclassman had a hand in six of those. Fluff Bothwell reached the end zone twice on runs of 3 and 25 yards while fellow sophomore running backs Xavier Gayten and Seth Davis scored on runs of 25 and 23 yards, respectively.
Sophomore quarterback Luke Kromenhoek also recorded his first career rushing score on a 3-yard scamper while freshman signal caller Kamario Taylor tossed his first collegiate touchdown in the opening quarter, a 42-yard strike to a streaking Brenen Thompson.
"Our guys played fast, they played with an edge and they had fun playing," said head coach Jeff Lebby. "I love having the ability to reward those guys as we are in the middle of it right now."
Bothwell led all rushers with 93 yards on a dozen attempts while Davis (15.5), Taylor (13.3) and Gayten (12.5) all averaged over 10 yards per carry. Nine different players ran the ball for the Bulldogs and eight different receivers caught passes.
"We wanted to do that," Lebby said. "We wanted to spread the carries. We wanted our guys to touch the football on the perimeter. That was a good thing. We're going to need great depth. I think we understand what's coming down the pipe here."
Offense wasn't the only place that young pups made an impact. Redshirt sophomore linebacker Derion Gullette led Mississippi State with five tackles, three of which were solos. Another redshirt sophomore – defensive lineman DJ Reed – provided the only sack of the game as well.
"It felt good to go out and see the young guys execute," said defensive tackle Kedrick Bingley-Jones. "Because we'd talked about it all week that it didn't matter who was in the game, the expectation was to execute. So, it felt good to see those guys like Corey Clark, Ray Thomas and Terrance Hibbler Jr. go in there and still uphold the standard."
In all, a total of 16 players (nine offense, five defense, two special teams) made their debut with the Bulldogs on Saturday. Of that group, 10 were true freshmen who got their first taste of college football.
"They've earned the right to go out there and play in this environment," said wide receiver Anthony Evans III. "It was fun being out there and cheering the boys on."
