Saturday will be the first time in almost a year that Mississippi State football team will be able to line up against anyone other than themselves.
They might not grasp the full effect of that change, however, given the large number of familiar faces that dot Murray State’s lineup.
Along with former Mississippi high school coach Bobby Hall -now the Racers’ receivers coach -15 players on Murray State’s roster come from Mississippi, including five with regional ties to Starkville.
“It’s got to be exciting for those guys to go back home and play,” Racer head coach Joe Pannunzio said. “Most of them probably grew up big Mississippi State fans.”
MSU head coach Sylvester Croom took a more business-like approach to the meeting.
“They’ve got good football players; I really don’t care where they come from,” Croom said. “That’s not going to make any difference Saturday night. We’ve got to block them and tackle them, and try to keep them out of the endzone and hope we can get (our players) into the end zone. That’s what it’s going to come down to.”
Most notable among the homecoming players are former Bulldogs Ken Topps and Nick Turner.
As a high school quarterback at Shannon, Topps was a Clarion-Ledger Dandy Dozen pick, passing for 8,571 yards in his career. He signed with MSU out of high school and was redshirted his freshman year, but later transferred.
Turner, a Parade all-American running back from Atlanta, signed with MSU in the spring of 2002. After a successful start to the season, Turner began a downward spiral by being arrested at Remington’s Hunt Club on Miss. US Highway 12 for passing several counterfeit $100 bills. The arrest led to Turner’s subsequent suspension from the football team, though he was later reinstated.
After the hiring of current head football coach Sylvester Croom, Turner continued to be a discipline problem, rebelling against stricter attendance and academic policies. His disregard for Croom’s rules became a distraction for the team, forcing the coach to revoke Turner’s spot on the roster.
“I have dismissed Nick Turner from the Mississippi State University football team, effective immediately,” Croom stated in a Feb. 18 media release.
“It is my intention for Nick to remain on scholarship through the end of this spring semester to remain in good standing with the university,” Croom continued. “But Nick has not met the expectation level we have for a Mississippi State football-playing student-athlete. I wish him the best in the future, and I will assist him in any way I can.”
That was the last time most Bulldog fans and some players heard the name Nick Turner. He fell far from relevance until it was announced that MSU would meet Murray State in this season’s opening game. A quick review of the opponent’s roster revealed Turner’s name, opening the floodgates for a myriad of emotions.
“It’s special,” MSU quarterback Omarr Conner said. “Nick was part of us. What he’s doing at Murray State, he did at Mississippi State: making plays. I haven’t seen him since he left, so I’m just looking forward to seeing him and playing against him and Ken Topps both.”
There is always an element of revenge involved when a major talent like Turner leaves his teammates.
The team is downplaying that emotion, though, choosing instead to treat this as just another game.
“Their team is coming down here trying to beat us, and we’re trying to beat them,” said senior running back Jerious Norwood, who was close to Turner while the two were used interchangeably in Jackie Sherrill’s final year. “It’s going to be exciting to play against him, but other than that it’s (nothing unusual).”
Norwood says that he and Turner still maintain contact, and that their relationship is still friendly, despite being on opposing teams.
“We talk on occasion,” Norwood said. “Every now and then I call him or he calls me. That’s my partner, we’re good friends.”
Under different circumstances, most Bulldog players seem to genuinely wish Turner the best in his career and in life, so long as it does not interfere with State starting off its 2005 campaign with a win.
“Everybody still likes Nick around here,” junior Brian Anderson said. “We just want to go out there, and we just want to win, nothing against him.”
Murray State’s head coach refused to allow the media to speak with Turner.