Freshman receiver Chad Bumphis was considered one of the jewels of Dan Mullen’s first recruiting class when he came to Mississippi State. The 5’10”, 195 pound Tupelo native was ranked the No. 16 receiver in the nation by Rivals.com. In his career at Tupelo High School, Bumphis racked up 2,034 receiving yards, 1,348 rushing yards and 568 yards passing. He also accrued 1,429 yards on kickoff and punt returns. All told, Bumphis accounted for 23 touchdowns in his high school career.
However, Bumphis almost did not even come to MSU. He said Starkville started looking better after Sylvester Croom was fired and Mullen was hired.
“I was about to be headed to Florida,” he said. “Then coach Mullen came and I saw that as a chance to come in and play. They were rebuilding so I figured I could come in and play pretty soon.”
Bumphis said Croom’s West Coast offense was a important factor in his early decision-making process.
“This was really the only place I felt comfortable,” Bumphis said. “But, I just didn’t know about the offense. That was the main problem for me. I mean, everything else I liked. I really feel at home here.”
It seems Bumphis made the right choice in believing he would be able to thrive in Mullen’s offense. Bumphis is the team leader in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns with 23 catches for 267 yards and three touchdowns, one of those touchdowns a Bulldog season-high 69 yard reception against Georgia Tech.
On five kick returns, Bumphis has another 127 yards and on two running plays, he has another 10 yards and one touchdown.
Expectations were high coming to Starkville, but did Bumphis even think he would be this effective so soon?
“Not really,” he said. “I mean, I hoped I would be, but I didn’t really expect it.”
While acknowledging his talent, Bumphis said he has benefitted from other players taking away the attention.
“Nobody knows me yet,” Bumphis said. “They’re trying to take all the other big people away like [Brandon] McRae and [Anthony] Dixon, and Leon [Berry] on special teams. So they’re trying to take them away and forgetting about me. I’m the one that’s getting one-on-ones.”
Senior quarterback Tyson Lee said those one-on-ones are what the offense is made for, and Bumphis is a perfect fit.
“He’s a playmaker,” Lee said. “I enjoy getting the ball in his hands because you never know what he can do after the catch. In an offense like this, when you can get the ball in your playmakers’ hands, especially in one-on-one matchups, you can see what they can do.”
Mullen said after the Georgia Tech game he was very impressed with Bumphis’ improvement in all facets of the game.
“You saw some things that he did much better,” Mullen said. “He still has a long way to go and has a lot of improvements to make. He made some big plays, but he also was much better fundamentally. In route running, some mistakes he made in prior weeks he corrected and ran better routes.”
Bumphis is clearly a talented receiver, and someone the quarterbacks like throwing to, but despite his ability Lee said he is hesitant to call him a go-to receiver.
“Anytime you get a playmaker on the field, especially in an offense like this, you want him,” Lee said. “As far as a go-to guy, I don’t always look at it like that. I guess whatever the defense gives is what you try to do. Last week (against Houston) they gave us a few opportunities to get Chad the ball, and he was able to do good things with it.”
The athleticism making Bumphis such a playmaker has not always been limited to just the football field.
Bumphis said it was a different sport he loved the most when he was younger.
“In high school I also played baseball, basketball and I ran track,” he said. “My favorite sport was always baseball. When I was in eighth grade I played for the high school team, but then I quit my ninth grade year.”
Now that he plays solely on the football field, Bumphis said he is not concerned with his personal stats. He just wants to win games.
“The main thing is I’m just ready to get back to winning,” he said. “We want to go to a bowl game every year. That’s the main thing. I haven’t really thought about anything for me, yet.”