Greg Knox preparing for second stint as Mississippi State interim
Greg Knox is undefeated as the head coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs – fact. Greg Knox has only coached one game at Mississippi State – fact, again.
However, in that game, Knox , the Bulldog defense and backup quarterback and future college football phenom Keytaon Thompson led the Bulldogs to a bowl victory over the Heisman winner in Lamar Jackson in the 2017 TaxSlayer Bowl. Now, Knox and Mississippi State find themselves in a bit deeper water than in that game.
Greg Knox the coach
Mississippi State is in a fight for bowl eligibility with four wins to their name and two games left on the slate – one of which is the biggest of the year, the Egg Bowl. Knox will be charged with finding a way to get some production out of a team that has scored 33 points over the course of its last four games. To him, though, the answer is simple. Just be Greg Knox.
“I’m going to be me,” said Knox in a Monday press conference. “I can’t be anyone else, so I have to be the person that I am. Energy, effort, attitude, demanding attention to details, those are the things that I’m going to continue to do, and continue to be me. Like I said before, the last time I was here, I can’t be Dan (Mullen), I can’t be Zach Arnett, I’m going to be me.”
Greg Knox the recruiter
With the head coaching position in a state of uncertainty, it is imperative for any school to reach out to recruits, and Mississippi State is no different. When Knox was asked about his message to recruits, he said that he and the staff are encouraging them to stay the course.
“Well, we’re going to be calling every recruit that’s on our board that’s committed to us,” said Knox, “and just reaffirming their commitment to just hold tight, and let the process play out.”
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The staff of Maroon and White Daily have been in contact with a large portion of the recruiting class already and have asked them their feelings and commitment status. Those responses can be found here.
Greg Knox the motivator
Despite the dismal stretch the team has been through the past four games, MSU still has a shot at bowl eligibility. All it has to do is beat Southern Mississippi this Saturday and then, on short rest, find a way to win the Egg Bowl. Two wins in 10 days gets MSU to the postseason and keeps the 13-year bowl streak alive, and Knox knows that.
“The one thing that I’ve been privileged to do in my life is make an impact on young men,” said Knox, “and that’s what we’re going to do here in the next 10 days. We have two games coming up in 10 days, and we’re going to try and win the state title.”
Knox was the coach for one of the finest hours of MSU athletics in recent memory in that bowl victory and helped ease the Bulldogs towards a top-20 ranking to finish the season in 2017. Rankings may be out of the question this go-around, but one thing is for certain. If Knox can remain undefeated through this tenure as Mississippi State’s interim, it might just save a program and its recruiting class.
