Good morning! If we all had a Dominick Walker in our lives, there wouldn’t be a day that went by that we weren’t motivated. The Bulldogs’ men’s basketball strength and conditioning coach is mic’d up and making sure his guys are putting in that hard work this summer.

What else did we throw into the Brew today?

⚾️ Mid-Summer Check In
🏈 It’s Been A While
🐶 And much, much more!

🎥 HAIL STATE PLUS

Wealth of Knowledge. In this episode of Dear Ol’ State, hear from MSU’s new assistant athletic director for women’s basketball, Michelle Clark-Heard. Bringing years of coaching experience to the program, she sits down to discuss her role with the team.

🎥  Dear Ol’ State: Michelle Clark-Heard Proud To Join Dawgs

🟢 Listen on Spotify

🍎 Listen on Apple Podcasts

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

🔼 NBA Summer League. Our guys have been stepping up their games as the NBA Summer League season keeps on chugging along. The latest player to put up some big numbers was Quinndary Weatherspoon who filled the stat sheet with 17 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals as a member of the Orlando Magic. All we know is that’s just Q doing Q things.

🔼 Mid-Summer Check In. It’s been a big week for Mississippi State baseball with three Bulldogs being selected in the MLB Draft and one Bulldog shining during the MLB’s All-Star Game. But let’s not forget about our Diamond Dawgs who have been putting in work this offseason across the country with their summer teams.

💪 Evan Siary pitched five scoreless innings with five strikeouts in his most recent outing with the Amsterdam Mohawks. He currently has a record at 4-0 with a 0.94 ERA through six starts.

💥 Hunter Hines is still going strong as the home run leader of the Cape Cod League with nine thus far. He’s also brought in 30 runners and is batting .282 at the plate.

⚾️ Nate Chester has been having a solid outing with the Danville Dans, and has accumulated 12 RBIs on 23 hits so far this summer.

🔼 Blast Off! Bulldog alum and Oklahoma City Spark power-hitter Fa Leilua has been setting the league on fire with her production as of late. Through 17 games this season, she leads the WPF (Women’s Professional Fastpitch) in both home runs and RBIs. She also ranks third in walks in the league and is tied for fourth in on-base percentage.

🔼 Opponent Preview. Yesterday, we walked you through what to expect against the Bulldogs first SEC opponent on the schedule: LSU. Today, we continue to break down teams in the SEC with a team out in the East division.

Next up, South Carolina!

Quick Hits

• Finished third in the SEC East division with an 8-5 record in 2022

• Lost to Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl, 45-38

• Notable wins: #5 Tennessee at home, #7 Clemson on the road

• The last time the Bulldogs played the Gamecocks was in 2016.

• This is a pass first team; had nearly double the amount of passing yards than rushing yards last season. They reloaded this year at wide receiver and added some explosive new talent

USC Players to Watch

🏈 QB Spencer Rattler: his first season with SC was viewed as a success after joining the team from Oklahoma; finished with over 3,000 yards passing, but needed nearly 400 attempts to get there.

🏈 DL Tonka Hemingway: this fourth year starter is preparing to enter the spotlight on the defensive line after SC lost some of its talent to the NFL; had four sacks and 33 tackles in nine games started.

🏈 WR Antwane Wells Jr.: the 2022 First-Team All-SEC receiver and USC’s leading receiver returns after his 928 yard, six touchdown season.

What Does This All Mean?

It’s hard to believe it will have been seven years since the Bulldogs and Gamecocks met on the gridiron before their bout in Columbia, South Carolina takes place on Sept. 23rd.

After losing two of their first three games in 2022, the Gamecocks turned things around to finish the season on a hot streak that included two top-10 upsets. Quarterback Spencer Rattler returns as the head of the offense, but the real question for them is defense.

SC allowed more yards, plays, points and first downs to their counterparts than they had on their own.

🤔 BULLDOG TRIVIA

Been A While. MSU has not seen any action from South Carolina football in seven years, but the last meeting was a memorable one for one of our former players.

Our question today — do you remember which record was set by a former Bulldog the last time these two teams met?

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

📬 STICK WITH US

Did someone send you the Bulldog Brew? Well, the first thing you should do is thank them. The next thing you should do is subscribe here and get it in your inbox every weekday morning just in time for your first cup of coffee!

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: Nick Fitzgerald - rushing yards by a quarterback!

In that game, he tallied 373 total yards of offense including 195 yards on the ground, a school-record for rushing yards in a game by a quarterback. When all was said and done, the Bulldogs pulled out the victory for their first win of the season.

Have a great weekend, y'all.