100 Day Bulldog Countdown: 36 Days – No. 36, So. LB Donterry Russell
Jeff Lebby’s era of Mississippi State football has arrived.
The Bulldogs are on their third coach in as many years as Mike Leach’s tragic passing opened the door for defensive coordinator Zach Arnett’s debut as head coach last year. That experiment failed before the year even ended for State and now it’s Lebby’s turn to take the wheel.
While there is always a risk in hiring first time head coaches, Lebby brings to Starkville an exciting offensive scheme that has been productive everywhere he’s been. The coach has also brought with him some swagger that has the fanbase ready to see what’s next.
Over the course of the next 100 days, we will take a look at Lebby’s roster and even some fun historical rewinds that will bring back memories for Dawg fans of all ages.
Today, we look at a rising pass rusher for the Bulldog defense.
100 Day Bulldog Countdown: 36 Days – No. 36, So. LB Donterry Russell
In a season where the Bulldogs are desperate for a player to get after the quarterback, Russell could be one that makes a jump.
Coleman Hutzler doesn’t have a whole lot of proven players that can rush the passer, but neither did last year’s staff. That’s when Arnett and defensive coordinator Matt Brock decided to take the training wheels off of the redshirt freshman and throw him into the fire midseason.
Russell’s welcome-to-college-football moment came against mighty Alabama a season ago. He earned his first-career start against the Crimson Tide and would have a career day with five tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. While Russell never replicated that moment, he still had a solid first year of full-time action as he made 19 tackles in eight games, had 4.0 TFL and 1.5 sacks.
Prior to that, Russell played in a three games as a true freshman in 2022 as he redshirted.
The younger brother to senior defensive end De’Monte, Donterry brings a more lean body type than his older brother and has more speed to boot. The Bulldogs will likely use him on the edge as a LB under Hutzler’s watch and he should be a weapon for the Bulldogs in year three.
At 6’4, 225 pounds, Russell comes from the Capitol City of Jackson where he played for the Provine Rams in high school. He was rated as the No.14 player in the state his senior year and the No. 43 EDGE rusher nationally for the class of 2022.
There was never much mystique in Russell’s recruitment because of his brother’s affiliation with the Bulldogs and he would pick State over Arizona State in the summer of his senior season.
That came after a long year away from the game for Russell. After making 46 tackles, 11.5 TFL and 7.0 sack as a sophomore for the Rams, his team wasn’t even permitted to play football his junior season. The Jackson Public Schools cancelled football for the COVID-19 season of 2020 and it left Russell searching for fulfillment.
He got a chance to unleash that as a senior as the Clarion Ledger Dandy Dozen member had 45 tackles with 14.5 TFL, 6.0 sacks, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble.
Russell now hopes to have his best season yet as a sophomore for the Bulldogs on a defense that is searching for some help. He’ll have his chance this fall to show what he has as he gets a new start with Hutzler.
