The countdown to this year’s college football season has begun in earnest with less than four weeks until Mississippi State opens the season on Aug. 31 against Eastern Kentucky at Davis Wade Stadium. The Bulldogs, under first-year head coach Jeff Lebby, opened fall camp on Aug. 1 and practiced in full pads for the first time Wednesday.
As camp progresses, The Dispatch will be taking a look at each position group on MSU’s roster, noting who could be the potential starters, backups and impact players to look out for on the gridiron.
Kyle Ferrie won the job as the Bulldogs’ starting kicker from the beginning last year as a freshman, connecting on several field goal attempts from beyond 45 yards but struggling somewhat later in the season. With Keelan Crimmins now at Purdue, the starting punter spot is open, while Hayes Hammond is back to handle long snapping duties.
Here is all you need to know about MSU’s special teams heading into the 2024 campaign.
The Starters
Kyle Ferrie
6-foot-1, 205-pound sophomore from Searcy, Arkansas
Ferrie finished 16-for-22 on field goal attempts as a true freshman and was a perfect 27-for-27 on extra points. He was twice named Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week — first after nailing field goals of 47 and 49 yards against Southeastern Louisiana and again after making all four field goals against Southern Miss. But he also missed from inside 30 yards in a critical spot against Arkansas and was 0-for-2 on field goals against Ole Miss.
Nick Barr-Mira
6-foot, 185-pound redshirt senior from Palos Verdes, California
Barr-Mira spent four years at UCLA and was the Bruins’ primary kicker from 2020 through 2022 before transferring to MSU last year. He primarily handled kickoff duties for the Bulldogs, with 25 of his 31 kickoffs going for touchbacks. Barr-Mira was also 2-for-2 on extra points and drilled a 49-yard field goal against Western Michigan after Ferrie went down with an injury. Special teams coach Cliff Odom said Barr-Mira is also in the mix to start at punter this year.
Zach Haynes
6-foot-1, 195-pound redshirt senior from Potosi, Missouri
Haynes played his first four seasons at Southeast Missouri State and twice earned First-Team All-Ohio Valley Conference honors. He then transferred to New Mexico State, punting 52 times with an average of just under 41 yards per punt. He had three punts of 50 yards or more while pinning opponents inside their own 20-yard line 19 times.
Hayes Hammond
5-foot-10, 195-pound redshirt senior from Tupelo, Mississippi
Hammond redshirted in 2020 before becoming MSU’s primary long snapper on punts in 2021. The following year, he began snapping for both punts and field goals and also has four career tackles.
The Backups
Ethan Pulliam
6-foot-1, 190-pound redshirt freshman from Starkville, Mississippi
Pulliam was the top-ranked punter in Mississippi and the No. 9 punter in the country for his class coming out of Starkville High. He did not see any action in football last year but also plays on the baseball team.
Marlon Hauck
6-foot-3, 195-pound redshirt sophomore from Phoenix, Arizona
Hauck did not see any action in 2022 and appeared in three games last year without registering any statistics.
William Wilkinson
6-foot-2, 185-pound freshman from Oxford, Mississippi
The Bulldogs plucked Wilkinson from the heart of Ole Miss country after he was 10-for-14 on field goals and a perfect 35-for-35 on PATs as a high school senior. He owns Oxford High’s school record with an 84 percent touchback rate on kickoffs and also handled punting responsibilities, averaging 42.2 yards per punt and pinning 16 of his 38 punts inside the 20.
Charlie Ingram
5-foot-11, 215-pound freshman from Vestavia Hills, Alabama
Ingram was the top-ranked long snapper in Alabama in his high school class, starting for three years in high school while also playing fullback and tight end and winning a state title in baseball.
Luke Beard
6-foot-1, 220-pound redshirt freshman from Ackerman, Mississippi
Beard did not appear in any games last season as a long snapper. He is the son of former UTEP punter Glen Beard, who was inducted into his alma mater’s hall of fame in 2021.
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