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Mississippi State

Bulldogs lose linemen Will Whitson and Blake Steen for the season

3rupauk8_400x400by: Robbie Faulk09/08/25RobbieFaulkOn3
will whitson5
Mississippi State DE Will Whitson (Photo by Jared Thomas, Maroon and White Daily)

Mississippi State landed a monster win over Arizona State last Saturday night, but the Bulldog roster took a major blow in the process.

Bulldog head coach Jeff Lebby confirmed at his Monday press conference that standout defensive end Will Whitson is out for the season. Whitson went down with an apparent knee injury in the first half and never returned to the game. Screening that occurred in the following days confirmed a season-ending knee injury.

“Will was playing at a really high level. He was making plays, the guy was not being blocked. He was doing some things that were close to being elite and special.” Lebby said. “The positive is that we’ve got guys at that position that are capable whether it’s (Deonte Anderson), (Trevion Williams), Red (Hibbler), Joe Head, we have guys at that position that can go play winning football and there’s no doubt about that.”

It’s a hard hit to the State defensive line that has appeared to have made a major jump from last season’s struggles. In week one, Whitson had already made his mark in the conference as he earned SEC Co-Defensive Lineman of the Week after making four tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.0 sack in the Bulldogs’ 34-17 win over Southern Miss in Hattiesburg.

He followed that up with four more tackles in the first half against ASU and had 2.0 TFL and 1.0 sack.

Whitson had an early exit in his 2024 campaign at Coastal Carolina as well when he played in just four games before going down with a season-ending injury. Like this season, Whitson was off to a great start with 21 tackles, 3.5 TFL and 2.0 sacks.

“Anytime that happens to a player like that, it’s tough,” senior LB Nic Mitchell said. “I’m praying for Will, he’s going to be great and has a great future ahead of him. I’m definitely confident that we have guys in the room that can roll and we’re going to be fine.”

Lebby also gave confirmation on Blake Steen’s status as the coach officially stated that Steen will also be out for the season. The Bulldogs started the Virginia transfer at right tackle in the first game against USM but he left the contest in the first half after going down with an injury.

After Steen went out of the game, he was replaced by senior Albert Reese who would pick up SEC Co-Offensive Lineman of the Week honors on Monday. The Bulldogs have also had injuries to OG Luke Work and LT Jimothy Lewis, but both are expected to be available to play against Alcorn State on Saturday evening at 5 p.m.

Whitson is out of regular eligibility but the Bulldog coaches will seek a medical redshirt for him to get him what would be a seventh year of eligibility. He played his freshman season during COVID and didn’t have that eligibility count against him and then had another medical redshirt last season.

As for Steen, he is a redshirt junior and will have one more season of eligibility to return to Starkville.

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