We’re remembering Mississippi State football legends with “Mount Rushmores” of Bulldog greats. First we compiled our Mount Rushmore of Mississippi State quarterbacks. Now we go to a position that’s best amongst the most successful in Starkville: running back.
We have a lot of great options, which means some tough decisions had to be made. But here’s the Mount Rushmore of Mississippi State running backs…
One of the most beloved Bulldogs ever, Anthony “Boobie” Dixon is an all-time great in Starkville. Boobie is the all-time career rushing leader at Mississippi State with 3,994 yards, the 10th most rushing yards in SEC history. He’s second in career rush TDs at MSU with 42.
Boobie had respectable numbers through his first three years playing on struggling State offenses, but when Dan Mullen took over for his senior year in 2009, he flourished. In 11 games, Dixon ran for a school record 1,391 yards and 12 TDs, highlighted by a 252-yard performance against Kentucky.
He’d close out his career with a strong performance in a major upset over rival Ole Miss before having a nice run in the NFL.
Considered by many State fans to be the best RB to ever come through the program, J.J. Johnson was the face of the Bulldogs in 1997 and 1998. A transfer from East Mississippi C.C., Johnson proved to be the spark MSU needed on offense to bounce back from consecutive losing seasons.
In 1997, Johnson ran for 1,069 yards and 12 TDs on the way to a seven-win season for MSU. In 1998, he’d go for 1,383 yards and another 12 scores, leading the Dawgs to their first and only SEC West title. And had J.J. been healthy for that SEC Championship Game, it’s not out of the question that State could’ve sprung the upset over eventual national champ Tennessee.
It’s a true shame Jerious Norwood played in the years that he did at MSU. Because had he been apart of more competent offenses (and teams for that matter), he might be remembered as an all-time great SEC RB.
A 99 overall 5-star as a recruit, Norwood never got to experience a winning season in Starkville. He was stuck playing in some pretty horrific offenses. Yet he still managed back to back 1000-yard seasons as a junior and senior. In his final game, he ran for 204 yards and four TDs in a 35-14 win over Ole Miss.
I could really go a lot of different ways here given how many outstanding RBs have come through Mississippi State. Do you go with Vick Ballard given the incredible TD numbers in such a short time? Or does 2014 alone put Josh Robinson on Mount Rushmore? It’s a tough call, but I’ll show some love to the 80s with Michael Haddix.
Haddix was a consistently strong Wishbone tailback for State, finishing his career with 2,558 yards and 20 TDs over four years. He averaged a fantastic 6.0 yards per carry during that time, which ties a career record at MSU. Haddix was a 1st Round pick in the 1983 NFL Draft and spent eight years in the league.
