Ray Costict Was a Legend in Maroon and White

Ray Costict was one of the greatest football players in Mississippi State history. His 467 tackles still stand as the most all-time by a Bulldog. Sadly, Costict passed away last Tuesday at the age of 56.

Costict was a 6′-0″, 217 pound linebacker (and fullback his freshman year – averaged 4.8 yards per carry) who played for MSU from 1973-1976. He was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, 2nd team All-American and 1st team All-SEC pick in 1976. He went on to play three years in the NFL with the New England Patriots.

If you look at the record books, the teams Ray Costict played on only managed a mediocre 15-28-2 record. But in reality, those teams were some of the best in MSU history going 28-14-3; however, nearly all the wins from the 1975 and ’76 season were forfeited because a football player received a discount at a bookstore (even though all other students were allowed the same discount). The harsh penalty by the NCAA wiped out a 6-4-1 and 9-2 season in ’75 and ’76 respectively.

Ray Costict will always be remembered by MSU fans as a tackling machine, and a ferocious linebacker who had tremendous strength. He was a part of some very good defenses which included many players from his hometown of Moss Point, MS. Bob Tyler, MSU’s head coach during Costict’s time at State, said, “I coached 34 or 35 years … and Ray Costict could close on the ball faster than any linebacker I’ve ever seen”.