Mississippi
Mississippi State football spring game: Top three things to watch
STARKVILLE — More college football teams are opting out of hosting traditional spring games, but Mississippi State isn’t.
“Our guys need to play,” second-year coach Jeff Lebby said at the start of MSU’s spring practices. “We’ve got such a new roster and different roster. There’s been so much turnover. Our guys need to be in competitive situations and go play and be put in positions to make the play or guys not make the play. We need to be able to evaluate that for 15 true practices. The more game-type situations I think we can be in, the better for us.”
Kickoff is scheduled for noon on April 19 at Davis Wade Stadium. The Bulldogs haven’t announced the exact format for the game, but it won’t be televised.
Here are three things fans can track as Mississippi State strives to improve from its 2-10 record.
Would it be good if Mississippi State’s defense dominates the offense?
The Bulldogs fielded the worst defense in the SEC last season. And it wasn’t particularly close. They allowed 34.1 points per game, nearly 10 points more than the next-worst team.
The entire defensive coaching staff was retained, including coordinator Coleman Hutzler. Vincent Dancy was hired as the defensive ends and outside linebackers coach, while Mike MacIntyre and Paul Rhoads were hired as senior defensive analysts. But for the most part, MSU is relying on new defensive players to be the fix.
The defensive line has been a focal point after Mississippi State managed only 10 sacks last season, the second fewest in the country.
So if Mississippi State’s defense dominates the offense in the spring game, would that be a bad thing?
Lebby probably deserves the benefit of the doubt based on how his offenses have performed, especially in his time as an assistant coach before Mississippi State. The MSU offense was still productive last season after starting quarterback Blake Shapen’s season-ending injury in Week 4. Shapen is back, and there aren’t as many concerns with this season’s offense.
A strong showing by the defense could be the indicator of an improved team.
What is Mississippi State’s depth chart at running back?
Mississippi State’s running backs appear to be a strength of the team.
Leading rusher Davon Booth is back and so is second-leading rusher Johnnie Daniels. MSU also added South Alabama transfer Fluff Bothwell, who was an All-Sun Belt second team selection as a freshman last season. Seth Davis is returning after missing all of 2024 with an injury, and MSU also has underclassmen Xavier Gayten and Kolin Wilson.
That’s a lot of talent for only one football. Booth, Daniels and Bothwell are likely the frontrunners to share carries, but there should be a clearer picture in the spring game.
Will Mississippi State football lose players to transfer portal before spring game?
Tennessee’s spring game was filled with drama after quarterback Nico Iamaleava didn’t show up to practice the day before because of an NIL dispute. Iamaleava is no longer at Tennessee.
The timing of the spring transfer portal makes it tricky. The spring transfer window is already open, meaning players can leave their teams before spring practices end. It’s a big reason why many teams have scaled back their spring games or aren’t televising them at all.
Saturday’s MSU spring game can be an attendance of sorts for who has and hasn’t entered the transfer portal.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
Mississippi
11 indicted in $12.3 million Mississippi Medicaid fraud scheme, AG says
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Eleven people have been indicted in connection with an alleged Medicaid fraud scheme involving more than $12.3 million.
This according to Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, who said the indictments involve allegations of fraudulent billing, wire fraud, and/or false documentation seeking to defraud the government.
All 11 charged include:
- Isluv Robertson, 36, of Jackson
- Shawncee Vassar-Cunningham, 51, of Olive Branch
- Katricia Smith, 47, of Olive Branch
- Sheila Boney Collins, 53, of Hollandale
- Ahyana Nicole Crosby, 34, of Laurel
- Angela Nannette Crosby, 51, of Laurel
- Yolanda Evette Blackman, 54, of Hattiesburg
- Linda Jenkins, 46, of Hermanville
- Deja Almore, 30, of Yazoo City
- Curtis Moore, 51, of Gulfport
- Taylor Christian Rushing, 34, of Gautier
Officials said the defendants are accused of participating in health care fraud schemes involving more than $6.5 billion in intended loss.
“These indictments are just the latest efforts we are taking to fight waste, fraud, and corruption,” said Attorney General Lynn Fitch. “I am proud to partner with President Trump to protect taxpayer dollars and ensure that money meant to help those in need is not stolen from safety net programs. I will remain laser-focused on rooting out fraud, recovering money wrongfully stolen from hard-working taxpayers, and holding fraudsters accountable.”
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Copyright 2026 WLBT. All rights reserved.
Mississippi
Governor: At least 47 homes, 50 roads damaged by Mississippi storms, flooding – SuperTalk Mississippi
Gov. Tate Reeves has released updated damage assessments following the severe weather and flooding that inundated parts of southern Mississippi last week.
According to Reeves, assessments through the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency are ongoing, and disaster aid is still being distributed through a mix of federal, state, and local agencies, along with nonprofits. But numbers as of Monday morning showed dozens of homes and businesses damaged and even more public roads affected.

Among the counties with significant impacts are Covington, Forrest, George, Greene, Hancock, Jackson, Pearl River, Perry and Stone. Across those counties and others, at least 47 homes were affected, seven of which were completely destroyed. Nine businesses sustained damaged, six of which are considered major. One farm sustained major damage.
50 public roadways were affected, including four that are considered major and four that were completely destroyed. Two bridges sustained major damage, while two public buildings sustained minor damage.
Reeves said two rivers are in the moderate flood stage – Leaf River near McClain and the Pascagoula River at Graham Ferry.
15 other waterways are in the minor flood stage: Big Black River near Bentonia, Biloxi River near Lyman, Chickasawhay River at Enterprise, Chickasawhay River at Leakesville, East Hobolochitto Creek near Caesar, Pascagoula River at Merrill, Pearl River at Jackson, Pearl River near Pearl River, Pearl River near Philadelphia, Pearl River at Rockport, Strong River at D’Lo, Tallahala Creek at Laurel, Tuscolameta Creek at Laurel, West Hobolochitto Creek near McNeill, and Wolf River around Gulfport.


Damage reports could have worsened on Monday with additional rounds of severe weather in some parts of the state. The worst of the storms and floods came with the remnants of what was Tropical Storm Arthur late last week and into the weekend.
Mississippi
Family of 1-year-old killed by police at a Walmart in Mississippi wants video released
(AP) – A Mississippi family whose 1-year-old child was killed when police fired into a moving vehicle said Monday they want authorities to release video showing whether officers were in danger of being struck when one of them opened fire.
The shooting has sparked outrage in the small city of Senatobia, where some say it’s the latest in a series of troubling encounters between police and Black residents.
Kohen Wiley was riding with his mother and another woman in a Walmart parking lot on June 14 when police responded to a shoplifting call. The family says they were driving away, while the officers say the car was heading toward them.
“I watched my baby take his first breath, and I watched my baby take his last breath,” Vellesiya Wiley said at a news conference Monday.
The other woman in the car, whose name has not been released, suffered “critical injuries,” according to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, which is handling the inquiry.
Standing alongside Kohen’s parents and grandparents at a local church, civil rights attorney Ben Crump told reporters Monday that the best way to determine whether the officers were at risk is to publicly release any body camera, dash camera or Walmart security camera video.
“If that is the truth, then show us that,” Crump said. “The longer you delay releasing the video, the more distrustful we become.”
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation declined to comment on what videos investigators have or whether they would be released, agency spokesperson Bailey Martin said Monday.
“This case has been made a top priority,” Martin said in an emailed statement, “and we currently have multiple agents working tirelessly to ensure every aspect of the investigation is thoroughly examined.”
The agency says the officers weren’t hurt. Senatobia Police Chief Harold Vanderford did not return a phone message seeking comment Monday.
State investigators gave an initial account of the shooting last week, saying that when Senatobia police arrived at the Walmart, they found two women and a child getting into a car and driving away.
“Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one. An officer then discharged their weapon and the vehicle fled the scene,” the agency statement said.
Kohen’s mother has said the shoplifting call was over a box of diapers that her friend was carrying — and that she believes her friend had paid for the diapers. State investigators declined to comment on those details.
Crump questioned why police didn’t let the car go and take down the license plate number.
“They were called over a box of diapers and a family now has to bury their baby,” Crump said Monday. “You cannot put those two things next to each other and call it reasonable policing.”
Crump also said an independent autopsy would be performed.
While there’s no question the child was shot by police, he said, details about the angles at which any bullets struck the child could yield clues as to whether the officer fired from in front of the car or off to the side — and therefore whether that officer was in any danger.
Policing expert Ian Adams, who teaches criminal justice at the University of South Carolina, told The Associated Press last week that police should know that “shooting into a moving vehicle is a very bad idea and one to be avoided at almost all costs,” noting the danger to passengers and other bystanders.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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