Fluff Bothwell injury update: Jeff Lebby defends decision to have Mississippi State RB in late

Fluff Bothwell was carted off the field during the fourth quarter on Saturday vs. Texas A&M. However, Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby had good news on the Bulldogs running back.

“We got good news back on Fluff,” Lebby said. “As we move forward, there’s not a hard timeline for us right now,” Lebby said. “All the pictures came back and they were positive, so feel really good about that. We will continue to evaluate, it will be a day-to-day deal. Really fortunate the images came back the way they did.”

Bothwell was injured while being tackled after catching a check-down pass. He was left in pain and the training staff had to tend to him before being carted off. The injury occurred with less than four minutes left in a game Mississippi State lost 31-9.

This led to Lebby facing criticism after the game for keeping the Bulldogs’ starters in so late. Lebby stated that him and his players were trying to “finish the right way.”

“You get minimal opportunities to play this game and we’re trying to finish the right way,” Lebby said. “We’re still, as a program, incredibly green and young. As we’re sitting here six games into year two, it’s still about how we do what we do. Finishing is a huge point of emphasis. It has been.

Playing and winning games in the fourth quarter is a real thing in this league. Our guys need to understand how to sustain to get it done.”

Bothwell was held to 60 rushing yards on the day across 14 carries. He was averaging 117.5 rushing yards during the last two outings and had rushed for at least 90 yards in each of the last three games. In total, he’s leading the team out of the backfield through six weeks totaling 84 carries for 465 yards and six touchdowns.

Mississippi State is on its bye this week, so there’s no availability report to give a firm status on where he is his recovery. For now, we’ll have to take Lebby’s word for it. The good news for the Bulldogs is that he’ll be given an extra week to recover during the program’s off week.

When they return to the field, it’ll be on the road against Florida during Week 8. If Bothwell is unable to suit up, Davon Booth has been a steady hand in the backfield for Mississippi State this season.