The Mississippi State Bulldogs (5-7) face the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (8-4) in the Duke's Mayo Bowl Friday night. As is always the case now with bowl games, both squads will be without key players thanks to opt-outs and the Transfer Portal.
Mississippi State Bulldogs Mayo Bowl opt-outs and injury report
Mississippi State will be without one of its best defenders, as S Isaac Smith will miss the Mayo Bowl due to offseason surgery. How the Bulldogs choose to handle his "box safety/hybrid linebacker" role will be interesting, as Smith's backup, Tony Mitchell, has entered the Transfer Portal.
Co-starting RB Davon Booth has opted-out of the bowl game for NFL Draft preparation, though the Bulldogs should be fine in the backfield with fellow starter Fluff Bothwell and experienced backup Xavier Gayten both ready to go. QB Blake Shapen's time with the program has come to an end, though he had already been supplanted as the starter with freshman KaMario Taylor taking over in the Egg Bowl.
OL Jimothy Lewis Jr. made starts for MSU this season at right tackle, though he was not atop the depth chart. WR Jordan Mosley and TEs Cam Ball and Max Reese were rotation players for State. Here's a look at the full availability report...
Injuries
S Isaac Smith
NFL Draft Opt-Outs
QB Blake Shapen
RB Davon Booth
Transfer Portal Entrants
CB Dwight Lewis III
DL Terrance Hibbler Jr.
DL Corey Clark
DL Joseph Head Jr.
DL Ashun Shepphard
OL Jimothy Lewis Jr.
OL Jaekwon Bouldin
OL Brennan Smith
RB Johnnie Daniels
S Tony Mitchell
S Stonka Burnside
S Tyler Woodard
S Lo'Kavion Jackson
TE Emeka Iloh
TE Cam Ball
TE Max Reese
WR Jordan Mosley
WR Cam Thompson
WR AJ Lewis
WR Jaron Glover
WR Markus Allen
WR Ferzell Shepard
WR Davian Jackson
Wake Forest Demon Deacons Mayo Bowl opt-outs and injury report
Wake Forest's best offensive player and arguably best player overall will not take the field Friday night. RB Demond Claiborne (907 yards, 10 TDs) has opted-out in preparation for the NFL Draft. It appears that the Demon Deacons will also be without starting tackle Fa'alili Fa'amoe for the same reason.
In the Transfer Portal, Wake Forest leading receiver Chris Barnes as well as top backup Micah Mays Jr. are leaving the program. The Deacs' will be a bit short-handed offensively overall. However on defense, Wake Forest should be in great shape, as the lone contributor out will be DT Mateen Ibirogba. Here's the full availability report...
Injuries
None known
NFL Draft Opt-Outs
RB Demond Claiborne
OL Fa'alili Fa'amoe
Transfer Portal Entrants
CB Juju Tackie
CB Jaxon Mull
DL Mateen Ibirogba
DL Ka'Shawn Thomas
DL Kendal Howard
LB Darius Jones
OL Nathan Pahanich
OL Derrell Johnson II
QB Elijah Oehlke
RB Tate Carney
RB Drew Pickett
S Jacob Cosby-Mosley
S William Wiebush
TE Harry Lodge
TE Dominic Deluca
WR Chris Barnes
WR Micah Mays Jr.
WR Ben Grice
WR EJ Reid
WR RJ Vick
WR Zeek Jackson