Good morning! The Women’s World Cup is just days away, and one of our newest Bulldogs will be playing on the sport’s biggest stage. Ruthny Mathurin will lace them up for the Haitian national team as she heads over to New Zealand to compete among the world’s best.

What else did we throw into the Brew today?

👍 Good Work
🏈 The Start of SEC Previews
🐶 And much, much more!

🎥 HAIL STATE PLUS

Best of State. In this HailState+ special, meet four Diamond Dawgs fans that are members of the Left Field Lounge and Left Field Lofts. Each fan explains how they came to be lounge box or loft owners and why home weekends in their spaces are filled with family, fellowship, and fun.

🎥  Family, Fellowship, and Fun: The Left Field Lounge and Left Field Lofts

With HailState+ you get to watch wherever you want to watch. Web, mobile, and (later this year) all major OTT streaming apps like AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, Roku, and Android. We got it all.

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Good Work. State’s own Jett Johnson has been nominated for the 2023 Allstate American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team. Nomination is considered for those who make an impact on the field and off the field through community service and in the classroom.

Johnson, a Tupelo, Mississippi native, has visited schools in his hometown to participate in school district events. He also used the NIL money from his own campaign with Java Juice to give back to the Tupelo Police Athletic League. On top of all of this, Johnson is an active member of a number of MSU Student-Athlete Development service events.

🔼 A Night To Remember. Former Diamond Dawg Brent Rooker did something very few ball players get to do: play in an MLB All-Star Game.

Rooker, an outfielder/designated hitter, was the sole all-star from the Oakland A’s that got the opportunity to run out on the red carpet and represent the American League for his team. Although he was not a starter, Rooker made some noise during the game in his first at-bat with a ground-rule double over the right field fence.

🔼 Baller, Shot Caller. MSU men’s basketball product and Warriors’ summer leaguer Reggie Perry is making sure his name is known around the organization. Yesterday he put up big numbers including 20 points and 17 rebounds, as well as a trio of assists and a block.

🔼 Opponent Previews. Yesterday, we walked you through what to expect against the Wildcats of Arizona. Today, we begin to look ahead at the Bulldogs’ SEC opponents. First up, LSU!

Quick Hits

• Represented the SEC West division in last year’s SEC Championship game

• Finished 10-4 last season

• Beat Purdue in the Citrus Bowl to cap off the season with a 63-7 win

• Notable wins: #6 Alabama at home; #7 Ole Miss at home

• Offense runs through the quarterback; last year’s QB accounted for 4,022 of 6,344 yards of total offense both through the air and on the ground

LSU Players to Watch

🏈 QB Jayden Daniels: keep an eye on this Tiger; Daniels threw for 3000+ yards and ran for nearly 1000 more

🏈 LB Harold Perkins Jr.: keep the other eye on this guy; LSU’s best returning defender finished last year with 13 TFLs, one interception, 72 total tackles, and 7.5 sacks

🏈 WR Malik Nabers: by far the leading receiver of last year’s team, Nabers makes his return as WR1 after grabbing 72 passes for over 1000 yards last season

🏈 OL Will Campbell: it’s hard to measure the impact he has on the field, but the 2022 Freshman All-American is one of the most reliable big-men in the SEC to help keep the Tigers’ backfield safe

What Does This All Mean?

This game will serve as the litmus test for how the rest of SEC West division play will shape out for the Bulldogs. Corralling LSU’s quarterback goes a long way to earning a victory in this one, but as all SEC games are, it’s certainly going to be one hard-fought battle.

🤔 BULLDOG TRIVIA

Laid Out. Last season, the Bulldog defense was not messing around. The defensive unit finished the season with 952 total tackles, but one stood out among the rest.

Our question today — do you know who led the Bulldogs last season in total tackles?

Think you know the answer? Scroll on down to the bottom to find out.

📬 STICK WITH US

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🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: Jett Johnson!

The 2023 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team nominee finished the season with 115 total tackles including 48 solo tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and two fumble recoveries. He really is one of those guys that can do it all on the defensive side.

Have a great Thursday, y'all.