A look at Mississippi State's initial availability report ahead of Tennessee
No.7 Tennessee (7-1) will host Mississippi State (2-7) inside of Neyland Stadium on Saturday night at 7 pm ET. The Vols and the Bulldogs have both now submitted their initial player availability report on Wednesday evening, and Volquest takes a look at Mississippi State’s report.
Mississippi State comes into the game with multiple players listed as OUT, and Head Coach Jeff Lebby has already noted his team has a tough test on Saturday night.
“A dominant defensive line,” Lebby said of Tennessee’s defense on Monday. “They’re able to roll seven or eight guys and there’s not a drop-off. To me that is what sticks out in a big way and they’ve owned the line of scrimmage in every single game they’ve played. They play incredible run defense. It’s a group that’s really deep and also really old. There’s juniors and seniors in their front and they play really well.”
| Player | Position | Status |
| Blake Shapen | QB | OUT |
| Traveon Wright | CB | OUT |
| Creed Whittemore | WR | OUT |
| Trent Hudson | WR | OUT |
| Kendrick Bingley-Jones | DL | OUT |
| Keyvone Lee | RB | OUT |
| Kalvin Dinkins | DL | OUT |
| Canon Boone | OL | OUT |
| Mario Craver | WR | Probable |
| De’Monte Russell | DL | Probable |
“This availability reporting policy is intended to reduce pressure from outside entities seeking participation information and represents a commitment of our 16 institutions to provide enhanced transparency to support efforts to protect our student-athletes and the integrity of competition,” said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey in August.
According to a policy approved by the Conference’s membership, SEC schools will be required to submit availability reports three days prior to each Conference football game (beginning on Wednesday in advance of a Saturday football game) with daily updates leading to a final report 90 minutes prior to game time. In the sports of basketball and baseball, reports will be filed the night before each SEC contest with an update on game day.
Under the reporting structure, prior to game day, student-athletes will be designated as “available,” “probable,” “questionable,” “doubtful,” or “out” for their next game. To provide additional clarity on game day, student-athletes will be designated as “available,” “game time decision,” or “out” for the upcoming game.
Failure to provide accurate and timely availability reports will subject schools to potential penalties ranging from $25,000 for a first offense to $100,000 for a third and further offenses in football, and a maximum of $15,000 to $25,000 in men’s and women’s basketball and baseball.
