Mississippi
Mississippi State’s Hunter Washington ready to put topsy-turvy 2023 behind him
STARKVILLE — Hunter Washington found himself on plenty of highlight tape last season, and not in a good way.
When LSU visited Davis Wade Stadium on Sept. 16, Washington was frequently matched up against Malik Nabers, one of the top three wide receivers in all of college football. Tigers quarterback and eventual Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels spotted the mismatch and went to work, firing two long touchdown passes to Nabers, who beat Washington in coverage both times. Nabers finished the day with 239 receiving yards in a 41-14 LSU romp.
Washington, now entering his third year at Mississippi State after starting his college career at Florida State, started the Bulldogs’ first four games but gave way to Corey Ellington on the safety depth chart, then missed the last five games of 2023 with an injury.
There is a path for Washington to return to a starting role this fall — Ellington and Isaac Smith are near locks to start at safety, but the third spot is up for grabs, with Washington battling junior college transfer Brylan Lanier.
“I’m just glad to be back,” Washington said Wednesday. “Just doing my job and doing what I’m supposed to do. My job is to play for the team and do what the coaches ask me to do.”
As a true freshman with the Seminoles, Washington appeared in just one game, keeping his redshirt status intact, but was named Florida State’s special teams scout player of the year. He played in nine games in his first year at MSU but had just three tackles, then broke into the starting lineup at the beginning of last season.
Now a redshirt junior, Washington is one of the leaders in a young safeties room under new position coach Matt Barnes.
“Hunter’s going to come down and hit you. He’s a strong guy,” linebacker Stone Blanton said. “He’s vocal. He’s always calling out plays and helping us get aligned. That’s what you want from a safety, a guy coming down behind you. He’s big enough to come hit a running back. He’s a great leader.”
Miner ready to experience non-conference games from the other side
Ethan Miner, the Bulldogs’ projected starter at center, is playing in a so-called high-major conference for the first time after spending four years at Arkansas State and one season at North Texas.
But he has plenty of experience playing in big stadiums against the big boys of the sport. His first collegiate start came in 2020, when the Red Wolves upset Kansas State on the road, and he was Arkansas State’s starting center for trips to Washington and Ohio State in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
“I’m just looking forward to having a home crowd that’s going to be the way it is (in Starkville),” Miner said. “I’ve heard about the cowbells, the fans are crazy. Coming from (the Group of 5), these were the games where I have to lock in, the crowd’s going to play a factor in the game. It’s just nice that this is our home and we have an advantage with it.”
MSU hosts Eastern Kentucky on Aug. 31 in the season opener and later plays Toledo and Massachusetts at home in non-conference play. All three teams will undoubtedly be fired up to play in a Southeastern Conference venue, while teams from the power conferences sometimes sleepwalk through “buy games” or are caught looking ahead.
The Colonels may be an FCS team, but they gave Kentucky a battle in Week 2 last year, leading for almost the entire first half and again early in the second half before losing 28-17.
“When I was at Arkansas State and UNT, these games would come up and this was the game I had to show up,” Miner said. “We’re playing in a lower level conference; scouts are going to see how you play against this competition. The worst thing we can do is underestimate (Eastern Kentucky), say, ‘Oh, they’re an FCS team.’ That’s how you get into situations like Kentucky did last year.”
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Mississippi
Thompson defeats Turnage to highlight U.S. House primaries in Mississippi – SuperTalk Mississippi
Political newcomer and Capitol Hill attorney Evan Turnage proved no match for longtime U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, who defeated him and one other challenger to earn the Democratic nomination for Mississippi’s 2nd Congressional District on Tuesday.
Some politicos thought Turnage – who went to Yale and later worked for some of Thompson’s Democratic colleagues, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) – wouldn’t necessarily win but could make waves as one of the more viable candidates to challenge Thompson in recent years. However, that wasn’t the case as Thompson garnered approximately 85% of the vote when the race was called.
Thompson, 78, is seeking an 18th term. The civil rights leader who chaired the Jan. 6 Committee was first elected in 1993 and serves as a ranking member on the House Homeland Security Committee. He will face either Ron Eller or Kevin Wilson on the Republican side, a race yet to be called as of late Tuesday night, and independent Bennie Foster in November’s general.
All of Mississippi’s U.S. House seats are up for grabs this year.
In the 1st Congressional District, Republican Rep. Trent Kelly ran unopposed, while civil rights attorney and University of Mississippi School of Law professor Cliff Johnson beat former state lawmaker Kelvin Buck in the Democratic primary. Libertarian challenger Johnny Baucom awaits Kelly and Johnson in the general.
In the 3rd Congressional District, both Republican Rep. Michael Guest and Democrat Michael Chiaradio ran unopposed. They will meet Libertarian Erik Kiehle in the general.
In the 4th Congressional District, Republican Rep. Mike Ezell had over 80% of the vote when his race was called against former Mississippi Department of Marine Resources officer and political staffer Sawyer Walters. State Rep. Jeffrey Hulum easily won the Democratic nomination over Paul Blackman and D. Ryan Grover. Ezell and Hulum will face independent Carl Boyanton in the general.
Arguably the most watched races of the night occurred in the state’s lone U.S. Senate seat in this year’s cycle. Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith had no problem with Ocean Springs doctor Sarah Adlakha, seeing her name bolded around 30 minutes after the polls closed. It wasn’t long after that when Lowndes County District Attorney Scott Colom was announced the winner of the Democratic primary over Priscilla Till and Albert Littell. Independent Ty Pinkins will meet Hyde-Smith and Colom in the general on Nov. 3.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Mississippi
Mississippi First Congressional District Primary 2026: Live Election Results, Buck vs. Johnson
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Staff
Sunday, March 15, 2026
1. (tie) “The Irish Goodbye,” Beth Ann Fennelly, Norton; and “Vigil,” George Saunders, Random House
2. “Theo of Golden,” Allen Levi, Atria Books
3. “The Widow,” John Grisham, Doubleday
4. “The Correspondent,” Virginia Evans, Random House
5. “When It’s Darkness on the Delta,” W. Ralph Eubanks, Beacon Press
6. “Eradication,” Jonathan Miles, Doubleday
7. “Neptune’s Fortune,” Julian Sancton, Random House
8. “The Dean,” Sparky Reardon, The Nautilus Publishing Company
9. “Kin,” Tayari Jones, Random House
10. “Brawler,” Lauren Groff, Riverhead
Children and young adults
1. “The Bear and the Hair and the Fair,” Em Lynas, Little Brown
2. “The Hybrid Prince,” Tui T. Sutherland, Scholastic Press
3. “One Mississippi,” Steve Azar,Sarah Frances Hardy (Illustrator), The Nautilus Publishing
4. “If You Make a Call on a Banana Phone,” Gideon Sterer, HarperCollins
5. (tie) “Fancy Nancy: Besties for Eternity,” Jane O’Connor and Robin Preiss Glasser (Illustrator), HarperCollins; and “The Dark is For,” Jane Kohuth, Simon and Schuster
Adult events (Sunday, March 15–Saturday, March 21)
Amy McDowell in conversation with Jodi Skipper for “Whispers in the Pews,” 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Off Square Books, 129 Courthouse Square, Oxford, 662-236-2262
Tayari Jones on Thacker Mountain Radio Hour for “Kin,” 6 p.m. Thursday, Off Square Books, 129 Courthouse Square, Oxford, 662-236-2262
Children’s events (Sunday, March 15–Saturday, March 21)
No Cap Book Club (kids 10-13) will be reading “A Kid’s Book About…,” 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, Square Books Jr., 111 Courthouse Square, Oxford, 662-236-2207
Storytime, “Clifford: Dream Big,” 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, Square Books Jr., 111 Courthouse Square, Oxford, 662-236-2207
Chapter Captains Book Club (kids 6-9) will be reading “Princess in Black: Bathtime Battle,” 6:00 p.m. Thursday, Square Books Jr., 111 Courthouse Square, Oxford, 662-236-2207
Storytime, “What a Small Cat Needs,” 10:00 a.m. Saturday, Square Books Jr., 111 Courthouse Square, Oxford, 662-236-2207
Story Time, “Very Hungry Caterpillar” Day! 10 a.m. Saturday, Lemuria Books, 202 Banner Hall, 4465 I-55 North, Jackson, 601-366-7619
— Sales and/or Events Reported by Lemuria Books (Jackson); Lorelei Books (Vicksburg); Square Books (Oxford).
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