Murray State University Athletics
Mississippi Yearning: 15 Racers return home for first game of 2005
8/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
A total of 15 players on the Murray State roster hail from the state of Mississippi, and the buzz about the Racers' opening game at Mississippi State on Sept. 3 has not only spread around the local media, but the media from Mississippi as well.
Today, two writers from The Tupelo Daily Journal newspaper came to Murray to watch practice and to cover five Racers who have roots to the Journal's coverage area: senior Nick Turner (played for Mississippi State from 2002-03), senior Bo Baxter (Tupelo), junior Ken Topps (Shannon; signed with Mississippi State originally out of high school), junior Linzy Patterson (Amory; signed with Mississippi State out of high school), and sophomore Ben Rush (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."
Most of the focus was on Turner, who in 2003 was an All-Southeastern Conference Second Team selection from Mississippi State. That season, Turner rushed 123 times for 696 yards (5.7 yards per rush) and seven touchdowns, while also leading the team in all-purpose yards with 1,664.
The other 11 Racers who are from Mississippi besides Baxter, Topps, Patterson and Rush include senior Dione Davis (Meridian), junior Sederick Eichelberger (Noxapater), junior Jonathan Eiland (Hattiesburg), junior Matt Garrett (Dundee), freshman Quinton Hankins (Batesville), junior Akeem Lofton (Waynesboro), junior Nate Moore (Drew), junior Damius Robinson (Shaw), senior Adam Speeg (Loyd Star), freshman Dominic Spinks (Meridian) and junior Tim Wright (Bay St. Louis).
CAMP NOTES: Today, the Racers focused on special teams by working on field goals as well as kickoff coverage and kickoff returns. Pannunzio called the practice today a "technique practice" and had several contact drills because "today is the last hard-hitting practice day until the Mississippi State game."
INJURY REPORT: There was only one injury today at practice, that being Rush's ankle is still tender. The injury is considered day-to-day and a return is imminent. "We are finally overcoming all our little bumps and bruises," Pannunzio said.
KIDS CLINIC SATURDAY: The Racers will hold their last scrimmage on Saturday at 2 p.m. Afterwards, a free Kids Clinic will be held around 3:15 p.m. at the practice football field for all elementary age boys and girls. "The kids can come out and have fun after the scrimmage and run around with the players," Pannunzio said. "It's always a lot of fun not only for the kids, but for the players as well."
FOOTBALL KICKOFF DINNER UPDATE: More than 100 tickets were sold today alone for the Racer Football Kickoff Dinner fundraiser, set for 6 p.m. Friday at the Murray Country Club. Less than 20 tickets still remain, and anyone interested in this offer should call the MSU ticket office at (270) 762-4895. The cost of the event is $100 per ticket, which includes dinner for two, dancing, live entertainment, several prizes and a chance to win a $10,000 grand prize that evening. The MSU ticket office accepts Visa, MasterCard and Discover.
