Preseason opinions of Mississippi State football for 2025 are, understandably, low. The Bulldogs were picked last in the SEC in the league's preseason media poll, and after last season, you can't argue against that. As a result of that low perception, only one Bulldog found himself named to any of the SEC's three preseason All-Conference teams.
Hybrid safety Isaac Smith was named to the 3rd Team Defense, and while that seems a bit low for the SEC's leading tackler, it's not necessarily unfair. We do have to acknowledge that at least some of Smith's production is due to no one else around him on the MSU defense being capable of making stops. And the safeties selected ahead of Smith are genuinely good players who did make more "big plays" with more tackles for loss, turnovers, and pass deflections.
I won't get up in arms over him being 3rd Team. What I will rant about, however, is the omission of Bulldog running back Davon Booth from any of the three preseason All-SEC teams.
Booth got off to a slow start for MSU last season, but by the end of the year, he was playing as well as almost any RB in the SEC. His overall rushing numbers of 759 yards and five TDs don't jump off the page, but he had some big games for the Bulldogs in 2024.
Booth averaged better than 78 rushing yards per game in SEC matchups and averaged over 90 yards rushing per game in November. He was dangerous as a receiver, catching four TDs out of the backfield. Plus he made plays in the return game, averaging nearly 26 yards per kick return.
When it was all said and done, Davon Booth was one of just four SEC players to average better than 100 all-purpose yards per game, and he's the only one returning for 2025. His nine TDs scored last year are the third-most of any player returning to the league.
Now, raw stats aren't everything, and I'll acknowledge the RBs selected to the preseason teams are all fair choices. They aren't all clearly ahead of Booth, but I can't raise too much fuss.
Davon Booth deserved preseason All-SEC honors as an All-Purpose player
Where I have to raise a fuss is over the SEC media's selections for All-Purpose players. Georgia's Zachariah Branch (USC transfer) was 1st Team, LSU's Zavion Thomas was 2nd Team, and Florida's Eugene Wilson III and Jadan Baugh tied for 3rd Team.
Literally none of those players were more impressive than Davon Booth last season. Branch is a big name who burst onto the scene in his first few games as a true freshman in 2023 that's been mediocre since. Many believe the potential is there for him to be a star, but do we really think Mike Bobo is going to use him better than Lincoln Riley?
Zavion Thomas left Starkville for the greener pastures of Baton Rouge to get 2.5 offense touches per game and be their return man, a job he's now sharing with transfer Barion Brown. If the guy only touches the field to return kicks and get an occasional jet sweep or screen, he's not an All-SEC player.
Wilson III is coming off of injury and getting love based on an impressive freshman season in 2023. But he also wasn't some All-Purpose terror that year, being a far better receiver than anything else. Jadan Baugh had a nice year for the Gators as a true freshman, but it wasn't as nice as Booth's, and despite being the Gator's lead kick returner, he didn't exactly prove himself as an All-Purpose star. He's simply a good RB.
I'll acknowledge there's some talent and potential amongst these choices, but you know what's better than potential? Proven production, something Davon Booth literally has! It's why the SEC's coaches voted him 2nd Team All-SEC as an All-Purpose player last season!
But we all know what the problem is. Davon Booth plays for Mississippi State. No one was watching Mississippi State last season, and no one is planning to watch them this fall. When everyone, fairly, assumes your team will be terrible, they're probably not going to give you individual recognition whether you deserve it or not.
Davon Booth is flying heavily under the radar entering 2025. Many outside of Starkville don't even realize he's the team's starting RB. They assume South Alabama transfer Fluff Bothwell will take over that role because, unlike Booth, they actually know who he is.
And it's a shame that Booth is unknown nationally because he's a really fun player to watch that's due for a massive season with Mississippi State this fall. Hopefully the Bulldogs can be improved enough as a team to garner more attention so Booth gets the recognition he deserves.