Mississippi State football: Tulu Griffin makes Paul Hornung award watch list

As Mississippi State football’s electric all-purpose weapon, Lideatrick “Tulu” Griffin is getting recognized by the Paul Hornung Award watch list.

Lideatrick “Tulu” Griffin is one of the most dynamic athletes in the country. And because of how dangerous he can be in the open field (and how talented of a kick returner that he is), Griffin is getting plenty of consideration from the Paul Hornung Award going into the 2023 Mississippi State football season.

Griffin has received several preseason accolades as MSU enters into the 2023 college football season and he’s sure to get plenty of attention once the season actually gets started.

Mississippi State has had plenty of depth in the wide receiver corps (which is great for a team with an Air Raid offense that emphasizes spreading the ball around rather than focusing in on feeding one specific player the ball as many times as possible).

Heading into this season, with less depth ahead of him at wide receiver and a notably different offense, there’s a chance that Griffin will get plenty of opportunities to make some impressive plays happen this season.

Expect to see him involved in the passing game, obviously, but given Griffin’s athleticism, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him incorporated into some trick plays here and there.

Mississippi State football: Tulu Griffin included in 2023 preseason Paul Hornung Award watch list

So, if there’s a sweep here and there, there’s a good chance that Griffin will be involved. And of course, that’s without even considering his involvement in special teams play. Mississippi State football fans have seen plenty of explosive returns where Griffin was involved and it stands to reason that Griffin will have more opportunities again this season.

Griffin led the Bulldogs with 613 kickoff return yards last season (he had a grand total of 144 return yards and a kick returned for a touchdown in that frustrating game against the Auburn Tigers in 2022). Throughout his career, Griffin has racked up 1,333 total kick return yards.

So yeah, he’s a versatile athlete. And the Paul Hornung Award is presented to the most versatile player in the country. If everything goes as expected, then Griffin’s name should be in consideration here late in the season.