100 Day Bulldog Countdown: 24 Days - RB Keyvone Lee and CB Elijah Cannon
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 couple of players on each side of the ball.
100 Day Bulldog Countdown: 24 Days
No. 24, Sr. RB Keyvone Lee
The senior running back has had a lot of ups and downs in his career but is on the verge of capping it off this season with the Bulldogs.
A native of St. Petersburg, Fla., Lee was recruited by most of the country out of high school at American Collegiate Academy. By his freshman year, Lee was starting to turn heads after rushing for 1,200 yards and 22 touchdowns. He followed that up with another 1,000 yards and 18 scores as a sophomore and had 960 yards and 10 scores as a junior.
Just as he did early in his high school career, Lee would make an impression early. His freshman year in 2020 saw the talented runner lead the Nittany Lions in rushing with 89 carries for 438 yards and four touchdowns with 12 catches for 66 yards.
He started in four games as a sophomore with 108 carries for 530 yards and two touchdowns while hauling in 15 passes for 130 yards. Lee had an injury impact his third year at PSU as he played in just five games and had just 25 carries for 94 yards.
After that frustrating season, Lee decided to transfer and MSU was one of the first schools to call. Lee landed with the Bulldogs to play in Kevin Barbay’s offense and only got 12 carries for 75 yards in eight games played.
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The new staff and new offense have provided new opportunities for Lee this time around. Lebby has talked well of Lee over the course of the spring and summer, and he is contending for top reps on the team with Devon Booth. It could be Lee’s best year as he finishes out a solid career.
No. 24, Fr. CB Elijah Cannon
A late addition in the class, Cannon came on to the scene for the Bulldogs after Lebby was hired. The Pompano Beach, Fla. native was originally committed to Corey Bell at Florida Atlantic. When Bell left FAU for Starkville to join Lebby, Cannon was ready to follow.
Cannon had 14 tackles his senior season with six pass deflections and three interceptions. With his play on the field came offers and schools like Oregon State, Temple, Florida International and others came through with offers.
The 6’0, 180-pound corner was ranked as a three-star recruit and the No. 111 corner in the country while coming in as No. 142 in the state of Florida overall. Cannon has some potential to be a good defender for State in time, but he will likely learn under others in year one.
The offers rolled in from Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Georgia Tech, LSU, Tennessee and many others, but Lee would decide to go north and sign with Penn State.
