Mississippi State wasted little time filling the vacancy on it’s staff left by the departure of Mark Hudspeth to Austin Peay. The university announced the hiring of Tony Hughes, former Bulldog assistant and most recently head coach at Jackson State, early Wednesday morning. Hughes coached in Starkville under Dan Mullen from 2009-2016 before taking the job in Jackson, working with the Bulldog safeties and eventually earning the titles of recruiting coordinator and associate head coach. It is Hughes’ prowess as a recruiter that made him such a hot commodity once he resigned from JSU, as all three in-state FBS schools were interested in bringing him to campus.
Mississippi State did not designate a position to Hughes as of this first release, so it is not clear if he will slide into the role of tight ends coach, which Hudspeth held prior to his exit, or if there is further reshuffling of the staff to come. Hughes will assume his duties immediately and be part of the coaching staff when the Bulldogs take on Iowa New Year’s Day in the Outback Bowl.
We’ll discuss this later today on SportsTalk Mississippi and on tomorrow’s Thunder & Lightning Podcast.
Photo courtesy of Mississippi State Athletics
