100 Day Bulldog Countdown: 11 Days: No. 11, WR Jaden Walley and LB Ty Cooper

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 experienced players hoping to have a big year for State.  

100 Day Bulldog Countdown: 11 Days

No. 11, Sr. WR Jaden Walley   

It’s been a long career filled with ups and downs for Walley, but he hasn’t given up on himself or on State.

One of the top athletes in the southeast out of high school, Walley is a former quarterback at D’Iberville who Leach felt he could turn into a star receiver. He had 12 catches for 389 yards and two touchdowns and 646 rushing yards with six touchdowns his senior year. He would turn down Auburn and other schools as he chose to stay in state and play for the Bulldogs in Joe Moorhead’s final recruiting class.

Unexpectedly to many, Walley showed his abilities right away. He had one of the best freshmen seasons for a wide receiver in school history in 2020 when he helped Leach’s first team get going late in the year offensively. Walley would haul in 52 passes for 718 yards and two touchdowns as he became a Freshman All-American.

He followed that up with 55 catches in year two for 628 yards and six touchdowns. The last two seasons, those numbers have begun to drop, however, as injuries have played a part in preventing Walley from reaching his freshman year production. After catching 34 passes for 348 yards and three scores in Leach’s final year, Walley had just five catches in 10 games last season for 49 yards and a score.

Walley enters the season having played in 47 games with 146 catches, 1,743 yards and 12 touchdowns. He has dealt with more injuries this training camp, but the hope is that he can finish his career strong and cross the 2,000-yard mark this season.

No. 11, Jr. LB Ty Cooper

Cooper has been the model student athlete for the Bulldogs since his arrival, but it was no surprise to those that followed his high school career.

A native of nearby Louisville, Cooper was a standout for the state champion Wildcats and one of the top students in his class. If not for his desire to finish out his senior year with the basketball team, Cooper might have enrolled early in college. He’s graduated with a degree in Psychology in three years and has been a part of the SEC Academic Honor Roll multiple times.

On the field, Cooper has done everything that has been asked of him at State.

The 6’4, 245-pound linebacker made an impact early in Starkville as his former defensive coordinator had him on the field contributing for the Bulldogs in eight games during 2021. He had seven tackles that year and 0.5 TFL, but Cooper had shown some potential.

The Bulldogs were able to get his redshirt year back in 2022 with three games of action and six tackles with another 0.5 TFL. State needed him to play in a tight end role during the spring of his redshirt sophomore season in 2023 but he was back to defense during the season as he worked with David Turner’s defensive line and had 13 tackles in 12 games with two starts.

Cooper began his career as one of the top defensive players in the state of Mississippi for the Wildcats. He had an incredible senior season with Louisville as he made 112 tackles during 2020 with an unbelievable 44.0 TFL and 12.0 sacks on the way to a state championship win.

As a junior, Cooper will be playing the JACK linebacker spot for the Bulldogs and work as a pass rusher for Coleman Hutzler. He is competing with Donterry Russell and Branden Jennings for a starting spot, but Cooper will play plenty this season.