, Kylin Hill

What a difference a month makes.

On December 12, Mississippi State was certain that they were going into 2020 with a fresh running back room and there was a possibility that the linebackers were all going to be new as well. Of course, the program was expecting Joe Moorhead to return as head coach also. None of that came to fruition.

Starting running back Kylin Hill has changed his initial decision after declaring for the draft last month and has instead opted to return for his senior year under new head coach Mike Leach, the playmaker announced on Wednesday. Because Hill didn't sign with an agent, his declaration was by word only initially and his eligibility remains in tact.

Hill comes back to Starkville fresh off of a First-Team All-SEC junior year in which he nearly rewrote the record books for a season. Hill rushed 242 times this past season for 1,350 yards and 10 touchdowns. He came into the Music City Bowl lacking just 48 yards for the school record but only managed three yards rushing on seven carries.

Now Hill has bigger goals in front of him. He comes back for his senior season with 437 carries, 2,477 yards and 16 touchdowns in three seasons. He’s currently tied for sixth all-time in 100-yard performances with 11 but will need 11 more of those to pass Nick Fitzgerald’s 21 game record. Anthony Dixon holds the record for running backs with 17. Hill had eight such games this season which tied Dixon and Fitzgerald for the most ever.

Hill needs to get to 453 carries to break into the top 10 for career rushes though the 910 by Dixon for the record seems safe. The rushing yardage record is still a possibility for Hill who would need a monster senior year to get to the 3,994 by Dixon, but he’s already climbing the charts and passed JJ Johnson for No. 9. Next up is Dak Prescott’s 2,521.

Beyond the records, Hill’s return is huge to bridge the gap for the Bulldogs at running back next season. The talent level is there for MSU moving forward, but they will have a sophomore in Lee Witherspoon and two true freshmen in Jo’Quavious Marks and Dillon Johnson that all would have been counted on heavily had Hill moved on. There’s also a senior in Kareem Walker who was academically ineligible this past season after arriving very late from junior college, but his impact is unknown.

The workload on Hill and the rest of the backs won’t nearly be as heavy under Leach, however. Last season, Leach’s offense carried the ball 210 times to the 710 passes they threw. The pressure off of the running game did produce more explosive plays as Max Borghi rushed for 817 yards and 11 touchdowns, a mark of 6.4 yards per carry. Leach also got Borghi heavily involved in the passing game as he led the team with 86 catches and had 597 yards and five more scores. Hill will be utilized.

Hill wasn’t the only big news of the day for the Bulldogs. MSU’s defense also got a big boost in the return of defensive captain Erroll Thompson for his final year. Thompson was reported after Moorhead’s firing to be leaning towards the NFL Draft but that report was premature. He also announced on Wednesday his return.

Thompson was a Freshman All-SEC in 2017 when he had 46 tackles and became a starter late in the season when senior Dez Harris went down with an injury. He followed that up in 2018 by finishing second on the team with 87 tackles, 9.0 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. He was named second-team All-SEC by the Associated Press. The big first two seasons earned Thompson team captain honors.

The return of Thompson is as big for the linebackers as Hill’s return is to the running backs. The Bulldogs lost junior Willie Gay Jr. to the draft just last week and fellow starter Leo Lewis finished up his eligibility this year. The unit will add Junior College standout Tyrus Wheat from Co-Lin Community College and Alabama linebacker Rodney Groce Jr. They return sophomores Nathaniel Watson and Aaron Brule that have played meaningful reps.

Along with Gay, the only declaration from an MSU underclassman was from junior cornerback Cam Dantzler who decided to turn pro after the Egg Bowl and skip the bowl game. He is preparing for the draft in Florida.