The Gulf Coast region represented strong in the opening weekend of College Football. Both the SEC Offensive and Defensive players of the week are Gulf Coast natives. Mississippi State Running Back Vick Ballard of Pascagoula was named the Offensive Player of the Week rushing for 166 yards on 10 carries and 3 touchdowns. The Pascagoula High School and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College product has been an absolute steal for the Bulldogs, picking up from his 19 touchdown performance in 2010 after only being lightly recruited out of both high school and community college.
New Orleans native Tyrann Mathieu of LSU was named the Defensive Player of the Week in the Tigers
40-27 victory over the Oregon Ducks in Dallas. The 5-9, 175 pound Sophomore Cornerback had a monster game recording 10 tackles, 2 pass break-ups, causing a fumble then returning it for a touchdown. Coming out of St. Augustine High School, Mathieu was more heavily recruited than Ballard. Rivals.com ranked him as the 13th best cornerback in the nation and the ninth best player in the State of Louisiana. However, after also showing great promise as a true Freshman in 2009, I think it would be sufficient to say that, like Ballard, Mathieu has also surpassed his recruiting projections.
Look for our SEC Offensive and Defensive players of the week to become more familiar with each other very soon. In only 9 days, LSU comes to Starkville to take on the Bulldogs in a big Thursday night SEC matchup, and with the physical style of play that both Ballard and Mathieu possess, I'm sure a few
one-on-one full contact introductions will take place.
- Win
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