Four years ago freshman wide receiver Ray Ray Bivines stood on the sideline of Scott Field, watching Mississippi State pummel No. 3 Florida 47-35.
Bivines was red-shirted that year, but he knew that in another four years the Gators would make their return trip to Scott Field and he would be in the heart of the battle instead of the sidelines.
He was wrong. Bivines had to watch again from the sideline, as the 2004 Bulldogs upset No. 20 Florida 38-31.
A hamstring injury that he suffered at the end of last season has sidelined him for his entire senior year.
“It’s been hard the whole season,” said Bivines, who hasn’t played a game since his injury last season during the Bulldogs’ loss at Tennessee.
“I was thinking I was going to play this year, but unfortunately I couldn’t due to my hamstring. It’s kind of hard not playing your last senior game here,” he said.
But Bivines hasn’t given up. He said that he doesn’t want to give up on his team. He says he feels like an assistant coach motivating fellow players and encouraging them to play better and never quit.
“The guy comes out there every day and basically he knows now that what little hope there was of playing has been exhausted, but he has not missed any rehab session and has not missed any practice session,” said head coach Sylvester Croom. “He’s totally dedicated to this university and to playing the game as well as he possibly can.”
There are 15 other seniors that will be playing their final game at Scott Field Saturday afternoon. These seniors have experienced a lot in their years at State. Like Bivines, most of them were red-shirted, meaning they have spent five years on the MSU football team. That’s five years of drastic ups and downs.
When they come thundering out of the inflatable helmet Saturday afternoon, their eyes will be bouncing around Davis Wade Stadium and landing on things that will take them back in time.
When they step onto the grass of Scott Field they might remember the many times their helmets were pressed up against it when they were under a dogpile. Or they may remember when that grass turned into a muddy lake during the Bulldogs 21-9 loss to Troy State in 2001.
When they glance at the student section it may take them back to the Egg Bowl of 2001 when, on Thanksgiving night, Mississippi State upset a heavily favored Mississippi team 36-28 and chants of “Eli Who” came bellowing from the overloaded student section.
“The thing that stands out about this group of seniors is perseverance more than anything else. They don’t quit,” Croom said. “They’ve been through a lot of tough times in the four years they have been here, and the fact that they weathered the storm and are still showing up every day says a lot for them as people individually.”
When they look up at the goal posts they might reflect on this year’s Florida game when the north uprights were uprooted and carried out of Davis Wade Stadium in the wake of a 38-31 upset victory.
Or they may remember Keith Andrews’ first career field goal attempt that sailed wide left costing the Bulldogs a win against Division 1-AA Maine earlier this year.
Regardless of where they look, emotions will be running high at Scott Field, a place that after Saturday’s game they will never play again.
“It’s going to be very emotional for all the seniors,” Darnell Jones said. “It’s our last time playing at Scott Field. It’s a great motivational tool to get you ready for a game.”
Jones said that Croom has not talked to the seniors as a whole about Saturday’s game, but Jones did say Croom has occasionally dropped a few words to him when he walks by, reminding the senior fullback that this game will be his last dressed in solid maroon.
Some seniors already have plans after they graduate.
Bivines wants to be a football coach and wide receiver. McKinley Scott has made plans to interview at a couple of banks. Jones has mapped out a strength and conditioning program to get him ready for the NFL draft.
NFL scouts are looking closely at offensive tackle David Stewart and defensive tackle Ronald Fields. Croom says he would be surprised if both players are not drafted during the first day of the draft.
“He is a pro already, because he does things in a professional manner,” Croom said about the 6-foot-6, 317-pound Stewart. “There’s no question to me that he will be an excellent player at the next level, not only because of his physical ability, but because of the professional demeanor that he has.”
And about the 6-foot-2, 306-pound Fields: “Contrary to information I had prior to my arrival, he has not been a problem for us at all this year,” Croom said. “He has been a stabilizing force on our defense. And I think he has represented this program very well through the course of the season.”
Whatever these seniors go on to do, they will never forget how much their lives have been changed in their four or five years here.
Bivines put it best when he said, “It was a fun place for me. It really brought a lot to my life just being here.”