100 Day Bulldog Countdown: 8 Days - No. 8, TE Seydou Traore and Edge Malick Sylla

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 two talented athletes on the offense and defense.  

8 Days: No. 8, Sr. Tight End Seydou Traore        

Talent is through the roof for Traore as he enters his final campaign on the college level, and the Bulldogs’ tight end has a chance to end it on a big note.

A native of London, England, Traore has picked up the game of football like a fish in water. Traore hails from the land that breeds futbol players. He left that for a chance to learn America’s game and has adapted extremely well.

Despite never playing the game in its traditional way, Traore would move to America in 2020 and played his senior season at Clearwater Academy International in Florida. During that season, Traore had 26 catches for 433 yards and three touchdowns and teams began to take notice.

Traore initially committed to Central Arkansas after that senior season but changed his thoughts when Arkansas State came in with an offer just before the season signing period. Traore would jump at that opportunity and he went to play for the Red Wolves for his freshman year.

Despite having limited experience of the game and enrolling during the summer, Traore would play in 11 games that freshman year and catch 12 passes for 97 yards with 10 of those catches coming in the final three games. He used that finish to springboard him into a big sophomore year as he had 655 yards and four touchdowns and was the Sun Belt’s top receiving tight end as he landed on the First-Team All-Conference list.

With that breakthrough season in hand, Traore decided to test his production on a bigger stage and he entered the transfer portal, landing at Colorado. Traore spent the spring playing with Deion Sanders’ Buffaloes, but he would decide to transfer again after practices. State would be the destination and he would have to sit the season due to transferring twice in the same sports calendar.

Traore was back in the saddle last season and finished second on the team with 34 catches while getting 361 yards receiving and scoring one touchdown. With a year down in Lebby’s offense, Traore believes that he can have a great season for the Bulldogs. He’s greatly needed for the team to have success.

No. 8, Sr. Jack Malick Sylla  

When Coleman Hutzler and the Bulldog defensive coaches set out to fix State’s pass rushing issue in the offseason, adding players with the skill set of Sylla was what they were wanting.

The Bulldogs added some players that had more production than Sylla, but the pass-rush specialization that he brought to the table and his experience inside the SEC were premium. In the last three seasons, Sylla was playing at Texas A&M and he logged 33 games during that stretch including getting a start as a sophomore in 2023.

Sylla is a former high school teammate to Bulldog players Hunter Washington and Seth Davis and made a name for himself at Katy High in Texas. A former four-star recruit and the No. 10 Edge player in the country by the Composite rankings, Sylla came out of the class of 2022 and had offers from huge programs like Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, LSU, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, State, Oregon, Penn State, Texas, Tennessee, USC and many others.

The Under Armour All-American wanted to stay home and play for the Aggies and he committed to A&M during the spring of his junior season. That was just a month shy of Sylla helping his Katy team to a state championship, and he followed that up with 55 tackles, 17.0 tackles for loss, 8.0 sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception as a senior in 2021.

Sylla would go on to A&M and got on the field for all 12 regular season games his true freshman season with five tackles and 1.0 sack. As a sophomore, Sylla became a regular in the defensive rotation and played in all 13 games while getting a start in the Texas Bowl to close out the season. He had 14 tackles and 1.0 sack. Last year, Sylla only played in six games and made six tackles with 2.0 sacks and he entered the transfer portal after the year concluded.

The senior is now searching to finish his career strong and will be working under first-year Edge coach Vincent Dancy. The pressure won’t be extremely high on Sylla to perform as the Bulldogs have some good depth at the position. However, the 6’6, 255-pound frame and his ability mean that he should be able to help State improve on having just 10.0 sacks as a team a year ago.