Gerri Green Leading the Charge

MSU got great news early last month when they reeled in one of the state's top players in linebacker Gerri Green out of Greenville, Miss. Green spends his Friday nights wrecking havoc on opposing teams on both sides of the ball. In two and a half games, the senior has tallied 36 tackles and caught four passes with two touchdowns.

"We're just trying to break through as a team right now on the offensive line especially. It's been a tough start but I'm doing everything I can to help the team playing both ways."

The road got tougher for Greenville-Weston on Friday night as Green was thrown out of the game in the middle of the first quarter after an on-the-field altercation that he reacted to. The humble Green said it's not like him.

"I was just a little fired up after the play and told the guy that I'd get him back on the next play because he was getting after me after the whistle. The referee told me he couldn't let me do that and I got ejected," Green said of his Friday night. "The coaches at State were joking around telling me since I didn't get to play Friday I could suit up and play for them Saturday. They know that I'm not that type of player to start any trouble but I was upset with myself anyway. I'm ready to get back on the field."

Green wasn't sure yet if he'll be able to play on Friday or not, but he was sure that he had a great Saturday afternoon getting his mind off of things.

"I had a great trip," Green said. "It was my first trip to campus since I committed so I was really excited and the team played great. The atmosphere was great and the coaches were awesome so it was a good weekend. I also got a chance to hang out with a lot of the commits and build that special brotherhood."

Green got to see firsthand what he gets to experience next season in Maroon and White and also saw young players hitting the field early. The latter excited him about the future, but he's still ready to earn his keep.

"I love how the players get after it on defense," Green said on his thoughts of the Bulldogs' victory. "Coach (Geoff) Collins has really done a good job with that defense and it got me pumped for next year. It was good to see some freshmen in the game, but I'm not coming to MSU thinking I'm just going to walk on the field. I know what's expected and I'm going to work hard to earn my position. Whether they redshirt me or not is up to them, but I'm ready to work."

Now that Green is on board for the Bulldogs he's gone from recruit to recruiter and already started to try and bring others on board in Starkville. One player is in his crosshairs and a fellow member of the Dandy Dozen.

"We're working on a few guys right now, one of our main targets is (Callaway defensive lineman) Breland Speaks," Green said of his recruiting efforts. "I feel like we have a class that's not going to make a lot of noise in the rankings but it's so good because it fills all of the needs that the coaches had to make."

Green and his fellow commits are set to visit after the season and are already building a strong bond together.

"We're trying to all get together sometime in January because the coaches want all of the Mississippi guys to get together and bond one weekend," Green said. "I'm also looking forward to building a relationship with some of the other guys like Elijah Staley so it should be great."