Good morning! It’s always neat to see what goes in to the production side of capturing our student-athletes. Check out some pics from behind the lens of Day 1 of Production Day with MSU football.

What else did we throw into the Brew today?

👋 Hello There Mr. Rogers
🏀 That’s A Wrap
🐶 And much, much more!

🎥 HAIL STATE PLUS

Throwing It Back. In this episode of All-Access, get an inside look at what it takes for the Bulldogs to get ready for the regular season with State’s right-side hitter, Amina Shackelford on the mic.

🎥  All-Access: Amina Shackelford Mic’d Up

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

🔼 Hello There Mr. Rogers. The man commanding the offense on the field for the Bulldogs football team, Will Rogers, had his fair share of questions thrown his way during this week’s SEC Media Days.

He talked through growing up in a hurry under Coach Leach, the amount of time it takes to become a Bulldog, and what it means for him to be able to set the standard.

📚 Read more about what he had to say

🎥 Rogers’ pick for a breakout season is in

🔼 That’s A Wrap. The NBA Summer League season has officially come to a close. Seven former Bulldogs saw themselves representing NBA teams, but three in particular shined in under simmering Vegas sun.

Reggie Perry finished his time in the Summer League averaging a double-double with 12.5 points per game and 10.8 rebounds.

Quinndary Weatherspoon put up nearly nine points per game with four rebounds and three assists thanks to his stand out game with the Magic.

Garrison Brooks had an overall positive showing after averaging six points, five rebounds and one-and-a-half assists per contest.

🔼 Here to Stay. Bulldog softball fans can rest easy knowing that coaches Zac Shaw and Alyssa Loza are staying in Starkville. The pair was promoted to full-time positions with the program to help build upon the work they assisted on during the 2023 season.

🔼 For Your Viewing Pleasure. Miss out on something that State football head coach Zach Arnett said during SEC Media Days? No worries, we got you! Catch his whole podium press conference right here.

🔼 Opponent Preview. Today, we’ll be previewing an opponent that has proven to be a formidable SEC foe against the Bulldogs: the Kentucky Wildcats!

Quick Hits

• Finished fourth in the SEC - East division at 7-6.

• Notable wins: @ #12 Florida; @ Missouri

• Before winning seven in a row from ‘09-’15, the series has been back and forth each year.

• Leader of the Wildcat offense last year, Will Levis, headed off to the NFL

• Defense, defense, defense; Kentucky’s head coach Mark Stoops can coach up his defense to win games for them and we have seen him do it before. Expect no different from this year’s team that returns eight defensive starters.

UK Players To Watch

🏈 QB Devin Leary: no matter who it was, Kentucky’s next QB was going to have big shoes to fill with Levis leaving, and Leary is that guy. Coming off of a torn pectoral muscle, Leary is ready to get back at it after his six games played last season.

🏈 RB Ray Davis: the Vanderbilt transfer is coming in off of a career-year. The 1000-yard back led the Commodores last year in rushes, rushing touchdowns and rushing yards and will look to do the same with the Wildcats.

🏈 DT Deone Walker: the 2022 Freshman All-American is the next guy to make some noise for the defense. He ended last season with 40 total tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and is likely to make a big leap in production this season.

🏈 WR Barion Brown : as one of two 2022 Freshman All-American receivers returning to the team, he’s looking to improve on his 50 reception, 628 yard and four touchdown season from a year ago.

What Happened Last Year?

Defense was, and still is, the focal point of this Kentucky team. After the first half was dominated by the defense, the teams went into halftime tied a three apiece.

Despite a pair of record-tying achievements including Will Rogers’ 70th MSU touchdown pass and Emmanuel Forbes’ fifth career pick-six, State fell to the Wildcats in a competitive game on the road.

🤔 BULLDOG TRIVIA

Trial By Fire. Bulldog football coach Mike Leach was known for his unconventional style of coaching, and Will Rogers found that out the hard way: in a hurry. The true-freshman was tossed into the starting role for State during Leach’s first year with the team.

Our question today — do you know how many times Coach Leach started a freshman QB in his many years of coaching?

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: Once!

Will Rogers was the one and only freshman quarterback that Coach Leach threw into the offense to start a game in his entire coaching career. Talk about trusting his guys!

Have a great weekend, y'all.