Officially, there are six Mississippi State football players listed in the NCAA's Transfer Portal since the beginning of preseason camp for the Southeastern Conference in late August.
Taury Dixon, Javorrius Selmon, Garrett Shrader, Nicholas Pendley, Jalen Mayden and Tremayne Lawson all entered into the Portal between Aug. 24 and Oct. 29. Wide receiver Tyrell Shavers, as well as defensive ends Tre Lawson and Jamari Stewart all left the program in late October, though the trio has not yet appeared in the NCAA Transfer Portal.
Additionally, Kylin Hill, a pre-season All-SEC tailback selection, was suspended for a game and later left the team to focus on preparing for the 2021 NFL Draft.
First-year Bulldogs coach Mike Leach, candid in his assessment of the departures throughout the fall, would not speculate that perhaps his Mississippi State roster has stabilized.
“I don't know if it is or it isn't,” Leach said when asked if his program's turnover might have stabilized. “I'm not too concerned with it. I think that at least in our case there will be definitely be some roster changes.”
Struggling through a season of unprecedented offensive ineptitude, Leach similarly to lack candor when asked what he needed to see from the Bulldogs' receiving corps.
“They need to play hard,” Leach said of the group. “I think that would be a huge starting point, yeah. Unfortunate part of this is just the experience level. We don't have too many guys that have played too many (key roles) this year.”
Mississippi State has scored just 30 total points amidst its current four-game losing streak after carving up defending champion LSU with 44 points in the season-opener for both teams on Sept. 26. The Bulldogs host Vanderbilt Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (SEC Network).