‘Football at the Fair’ draws big crowd

‘Football at the Fair’ draws big crowd

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Head football coaches from Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Southern Mississippi took time to update fans about their teams’ upcoming seasons last week at The Neshoba County Fair.

The “Football at the Fair” gathering was a first for the Fair as a big crowd turned out at the Pavilion in Founders Square. For Lane Kiffin of Ole Miss and Mike Leach of Mississippi State, this was their first visit to the Fair. Southern Mississippi’s Will Hall grew up in Mississippi and was familiar with it.

At the time, with little more than a week away from the start of fall practice, all briefly discussed their programs and answered questions.

All looked back at the 2020 season, which was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and talked about what their programs were doing to combat the dread disease this year. Getting all of their players vaccinated was a key concern.

“We are looking forward to having a normal season with our fans back in the stands,” said Kiffin, whose Rebels finished 5-5 and defeated Indiana 26-20 in the Outback Bowl. “We are starting the season with a National TV game and we are all excited about that.”

Ole Miss opens Monday, Sept. 6,  against Louisville in a game that will be played in Atlanta. Kiffin said a focus will be on improving the Ole Miss defense which gave up some big points last year, especially in a 63-48 loss to Alabama.

Moderator Sid Salter said the Rebels gave the Tide their toughest test last year. Kiffin said the offense scored enough points to win. 

“We hope to make people punt more this year,” Kiffin said.

Hall’s Golden Eagles are opening the season Sept. 4 at South Alabama. Hall took over the program that finished 3-7 last year. He talked about bringing back old traditions from Southern Miss’s football past.

“It is a thrill for me to be back in this state,” Hall said. “We have a lot to be proud of at Southern Miss. I think the big thing for us is getting back to who we were under former coaches like Bobby Collins, Jim Carmody, Thad “Pie” Vann, Jeff Bower and Larry Fedora.

“We have to get back to recruiting Mississippi, lower Alabama, the Florida panhandle and southeast Louisiana as hard as we can. We need to be finding those kids who can play and help our program and building those relationships. We have tradition. Good facilities, people being drafted into the NFL. We have a lot to be proud of, and we want to sell that.”

Leach is leading the Bulldogs toward their season opener at home against Louisiana Tech, also on Sept. 4.

The Bulldogs compiled a 3–7 record in a 10-game all-SEC schedule but were competitive, never knowing who was going to be available for the next game. They ended the season on a high note by taking a 28-26 win over Tulsa in the Armed Services Bowl.

“We had a great season,” said Leach as he looks forward to his second season in Starkville. “We are excited to start practice and see where our players are. Ready to get to work and get started.”

Leach was asked if he agreed that the SEC West Division was college football’s toughest.

“I think that is pretty accurate, that it is the toughest division,” Leach said. “That goes around some, but right now, it is.”

When asked about the SEC’s expansion, adding Texas and Oklahoma, both Leach and Kiffin seemed neutral, declining to say much about things they don’t control.

Both Kiffin and Leach, who are relatively new to Mississippi, agreed the people were friendly and the food is great.






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