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.”

College football football MSU

Joshua Zimmerman, 30, had escaped from the DeSoto County courthouse in northwest Mississippi on June 14, the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office said.

A man wanted on murder and armed robbery charges was taken into custody Wednesday morning after an over 15-hour standoff with police at a Chicago restaurant, authorities said.

Joshua Zimmerman, 30, had escaped from the DeSoto County courthouse in northwest Mississippi, where he was scheduled for a hearing on June 14, according to the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office. At the time, Zimmerman was being held on charges of attempted murder and armed robbery, the U.S. Marshals Service said.

Zimmerman was also awaiting extradition back to Houston for a murder charge, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. After more than two months on the run, the U.S. Marshals Service located Zimmerman at a west Chicago restaurant.

Justin Smith, chief deputy with the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office, said at a news conference Tuesday that Zimmerman was barricaded inside the restaurant and was surrounded by the Chicago SWAT team. He was taken into custody by Chicago police at about 7:20 a.m. Wednesday.

Zimmerman had no hostages and was taken into custody without incident, authorities said.

DeSoto County Sheriff Thomas E. Tuggle thanked the community for its support during the search for Zimmerman and praised the departments that assisted in his arrest.

“Our team is already on the ground in Chicago, fully prepared to commence the next phase of our investigation,” Tuggle said in a statement Wednesday. “I cannot emphasize the importance of the strong law enforcement partnerships and networking alliances we have cultivated with agencies nationwide, which played a crucial role in Zimmerman’s apprehension.”

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Authorities believe Joshua Zimmerman worked at Chicago restaurant

Zimmerman was an inmate at the DeSoto County Adult Detention Center when he escaped from the county’s courthouse on June 14. He was scheduled for a hearing over an attempted murder charge, among other charges.

Authorities said Zimmerman simply walked out of the building and with the help of a “good Samaritan,” received a ride to Memphis, where he disappeared for a time, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, part of the USA TODAY Network. The U.S. Marshals Service described Zimmerman as “armed and dangerous.”

The U.S. Marshals Service, along with the DeSoto County District Attorney’s Office, offered a reward of up to $20,000 for information that would lead to Zimmerman’s arrest.

On Tuesday, investigators with the U.S. Marshals Service located Zimmerman at a seafood restaurant in west Chicago. Authorities believe Zimmerman had been working at the restaurant.

During the arrest attempt, Zimmerman “retreated into the ceiling and barricaded himself,” according to the U.S. Marshals Service.

Chicago police said Zimmerman is scheduled to be in court Thursday after he was charged with two counts of fleeing from law enforcement to avoid arrest or prosecution, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Court records show multiple felonies

Prior to Zimmerman’s escape in June, he was arrested and charged by the Southaven Police Department with multiple felonies. DeSoto County court records show Zimmerman was arrested for armed robbery and attempted murder, among other charges, on Sept. 29, 2023, in Southaven, Mississippi.

According to the DeSoto County District Attorney’s Office, Zimmerman is also wanted for homicide in Texas and absconding in Connecticut.

The Houston Police Department charged Zimmerman with murder last October, KRIV reported. Police accused Zimmerman of fatally shooting shooting 23-year-old Keyanna Mercer on Sept. 2, 2023, inside a Houston motel room.

An investigation revealed that Mercer and Zimmerman, using the name Vincent Guerino Juliano, had rented the room, according to KTRK-TV. Witnesses told police they heard screaming from the room before hearing a gunshot.

Zimmerman was later seen leaving alone, KRIV and KTRK-TV reported. Authorities said Zimmerman was supposed to be extradited to Harris County, Texas, after he was arrested in Mississippi for separate felony charges.

Contributing: Jacob Wilt, Memphis Commercial Appeal