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Mississippi State

100 Day Bulldog Countdown: 37 Days - No. 37, Sr. LB Nevaeh Sanders

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Photo by Northern Illinois Athletics

Year two of the Jeff Lebby era has arrived and the Mississippi State coach is back to work.

After a disappointing first season, the coach and his staff are doing what they can to get things back on track in Starkville. The players on the field will be the difference for State this season if they are to make a return and we’re going to discuss every single one of them over the course of the next few months.

As we do every year, we’re counting down 100 days until State’s first game at Southern Miss in Hattiesburg on August 30. Over this period of time, we’ll breakdown every scholarship player on the roster, look back at great moments in MSU history and even talk about legends that have come before the current Bulldogs.

Today, we look at an incoming pass rusher.  

37 Days: Former No. 37, Sr. EDGE Nevaeh Sanders

Priority number one in the offseason for State football was creating a pass rush on the defensive side of the ball and the Bulldogs grabbed some players that have done it.

Sanders is one of those who produced when his number was called, but the Northern Illinois transfer is making a major jump up in competition. It’s been quite the story for Sanders to this point and finishing strong in the SEC would certainly be a nice stamp on it all.

We go all the way back to Flint, Mich., in 2019 to start this road for Sanders. He was a 6’4 wide receiver playing for Flint Powers Catholic High School and was an intriguing prospect for schools. After hauling in 19 catches for 369 yards and four touchdowns, some schools came after Snaders for offense, but his potential was even higher on the defensive end where he had 7.0 sacks as a senior.

Sanders initially committed to play for Siena Heights – a private Catholic college that competes in NAIA. Snaders would then walk on to play for Youngstown State but needed money to make his dream come true so he stepped away from college to work for a semester.

After a year of working through things, Sanders decided to go the Junior College route at Iowa Western for two seasons. While there’s no recorded stats to be found on Sanders on the official team website he was twice named to the Honor Roll and was a part of two teams that made it to the national championship with a title in 2022.

Sanders would take a walk-on opportunity in 2023 when he went to Northern Illinois and he worked his way on to the field immediately. As a backup defensive end, Sanders would play in 11 games that season and make four tackles. He earned playing time in 12 of the games in 2024 with just eight tackles. However, Sanders had become known for his ability to make plays when his number was called.

Of the 12 tackles in his 25 games at NIU, 7.5 of those were for loss with 6.5 sacks. He also forced two fumbles and had a pass deflection. His best game of his career came last season when he had 3.0 sacks against Buffalo, a week after the Huskies upset eventual National Champion Runner Up Notre Dame.

Sanders decided after the season to bet on himself once again and he decided to transfer to Starkville to play for the Bulldogs. His impact with the Bulldogs will be a wait and see, but he could be a player that could help on pass rushing downs. After the journey he’s been through to this point, not many have had as humble a path. He could be one of the fan favorites if things go well.   

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