Davon Booth hoping to leave his Egg Bowl mark
Every season, new faces enter into the Egg Bowl rivalry and new stories are told.
Davon Booth is a player that is looking to leave his own mark on the rivalry. A native of Las Vegas and a former running back at Utah State, Booth has admired SEC rivalries from afar.
It started for his family watching the Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn growing up and he’s learned plenty about Mississippi’s own bitter battle. This week has been about doing everything within his power to help bring the Egg Bowl trophy back to Starkville.
“This is the game for sure. Growing up, these are the games that I saw on TV so to be a part of it is very special,” Booth said. “It would mean everything (to get a win). It would be our first SEC win so to get a win would be very special.”
Booth has steadily grown in State backfield
It took some time for Booth to adjust to his new surroundings. After transferring in during the summer, he had to get acquainted to life in the SEC and inside Jeff Lebby’s offense.
The first three non-conference games netted just 20 carries for 58 yards and a touchdown. The workload picked up a bit when SEC play came around with 44 carries over the next three games for 160 yards. Over the last four games, however, Booth has hit a different stride.
During that four-game stretch, Booth has rushed 60 times for 418 yards and three scores. His last two games alone against Tennessee and Missouri he’s had 125 and 124 yards respectively giving him the first two 100-yard games of his tenure at State.
The big plays have been involved for Booth as well with the back starting to get open space to run away from the defense and allow State’s offense to have success. Getting those big plays will be a challenge on Friday though with the nation’s best defensive line on the other side of the ball.
“They’re very physical,” Booth said of the Rebels. “I think they lead the country in forced fumbles, so we have to be on our Ps and Qs as far as ball security.”
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Booth leads the team this year with 136 carries, 721 yards and five touchdowns but that’s production that will now be heading out for Lebby. With the senior set to finish out his State career this weekend, it’s up to the next group to step up.
Two recruits are on the way but the Bulldogs could also have most of the backfield back for next season. Johnnie Daniels has 102 carries for 530 yards and four touchdowns and has gotten some good reps for the Bulldogs this year, but freshman Xavier Gayten is another player that excited Booth.
The Brookhaven native is one of the team’s best athletes and has eight carries on the year for 119 yards with some electricity in his game. His work in practice in recent weeks has shown Booth that the future is bright for the room.
“Those guys are hungry for sure. Seeing (Gayten) at practice, he was making some cuts that I haven’t seen this season but he’s looking good for sure. He’s come a long way. He was always falling at practice and tripping over his feet. He’s got it together.”
Booth and his team will take the field against the No. 14 Rebels on Friday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. The game can be seen on ABC.
