Thames dismissed from team

Mississippi State redshirt sophomore safety Dennis Thames has been dismissed from the football team by head coach Dan Mullen for undisclosed reasons, effective Thursday.

Thames appeared in 10 games for the Bulldogs in 2010, registering 10 tackles, including one tackle for loss. He also had two pass break-ups and two passes defended.

Thames and Mullen decided to part ways yesterday, the first day of first-term summer school, but the reason for Thames' dismissal is currently unknown.

Coming out of Louisville High School in Louisville, Miss., Thames was rated the No. 20 "athlete" in the country by Rivals.com, and he was named to The Clarion-Ledger's Dandy Dozen list in 2009. He committed to MSU in January of 2009 over offers from Alabama, Tennessee, Auburn, Arkansas, Ole Miss and Michigan.

Thames would have been a significant contributor in 2011, but MSU and defensive coordinator Chris Wilson still return plenty of depth in the secondary with Charles Mitchell, Nickoe Whitley, Wade Bonner, Johnthan Banks and Corey Broomfield, plus the addition of a number of true freshmen and redshirt freshmen defensive backs, as well as junior college transfer Darius Slay.