Good morning! State Soccer Scoop is back with the first episode of season three as the Bulldogs kick off the 2023 season. Coach James Armstrong recaps his summer, the squad’s preseason, and of course, gives us some inside scoop.

🎥 Catch the entire episode on HailState+

What else did we throw into the Brew today?

🏈 PFF’s Picks
🥎 Best Week Yet
🐶 And much, much more!

🎥 HAIL STATE PLUS

Exciting Times. Join Neil Price for episode one of Dawg Days as he catches up with some of the fan favorite State football players. He sits down with them and gets all of their insights on the first few days of Bulldog Football Training Camp

🎥 Dawg Days: Training Camp with Bulldog Football

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

🔼 PFF’s Picks. Mississippi State football had two more players add to their list of preseason accolades in the midst of preseason camp.

🏈 Tulu Griffin tacked on his fourth preseason All-SEC selection of the year after being named to PFF’s Preseason All-SEC Team. The electric return specialist will look to add to his 1,333 kickoff return yards and two touchdowns during the 2023 college football season.

🏈 Nathaniel Watson was also named to PFF’s Preseason All-SEC Team after a career year that saw him finish second in the conference with 113 total tackles. With his third preseason All-SEC honors of 2023, Watson will again look to be one of the anchors of the Bulldog defense.

🔼 Best Week Yet. Mia Davidson-Smith is having a moment in the AU Pro Softball league ladies and gentlemen. She was named MVP in two of three games during Week 2 of AU play and collected a career-high weekly total of 514 total points.

She now has the second-highest point total of any player in the league with 828 total this season, and sits just 22 points back of the top spot. Davidson-Smith leads the league with three home runs, seven RBIs, 15 total bases and an .833 slugging percentage. As captain of her own team, Team Davidson, a.k.a. Team Orange, will open up Week 3 of action tomorrow afternoon at 3:30pm CT.

🔼 Basketball in Gotham. In one of the best-named games of the season, Bulldog men’s basketball will play in the Gotham Classic in a marquee SEC-Big Ten matchup against Rutgers. The game, to be played on December 23rd, is the latest addition to State’s non-conference schedule.

🔼 Leader In Every Way. Linebacker Jett Johnson has emerged as one of State’s leaders on the football field, and for good reason.

🗣️ “I think on the football field, you’ve got to lead by example…by eradicating bad thoughts and just pushing through. The young guys look up to you as an older guy who’s been though it. So, make sure you give them something good to look at.” - Jett Johnson

Heading into his final collegiate season, Johnson keeps on setting the standard for everyone out on the field. The SEC’s leading tackler last season with 115 total tackles knows what kind of effort it takes to succeed on the field, and he isn’t afraid to put in the work.

📚 Read more about Jett Johnson and his drive to make himself, as well as his teammates, better.

🤔 BULLDOG TRIVIA

Mystery Matchup. Bulldog men’s basketball has a rich history against many teams across the country, but this season, they will face some not-so-familiar faces.

Our question today — do you know how many times Bulldog men’s basketball has faced off against Rutgers?

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

📬 STICK WITH US

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🐶 DAWG DAILY

Today’s Dawg Daily: Neil has another camp notebook from Monday’s practice. Plus, a piece of the State men’s basketball schedule has been announced.

🟢 Listen on Spotify

🍎 Listen on Apple Podcasts

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: Once!

The Bulldogs and Scarlett Knights have faced off just once before during the 1999-2000 season where Rutgers pulled out a narrow victory. State will look to even the series at one a piece later this year.

Have a great Tuesday, y'all.