Let the cowbells ring. The Mississippi State Bulldogs won their first national championship in men’s baseball, which got one member of the New Orleans Saints amped up: safety J.T. Gray, a Clarksdale, Miss. native who celebrated his alma mater’s title-securing victory over Vanderbilt on Wednesday night.
It’s going to put some pep in his step, but Gray won’t lack for motivation in 2021. He was named a second team All-Pro in 2019 for his efforts on special teams, leading the Saints in tackles in the kicking game (16). Gray went on to play well enough in 2020 to earn a two-year, $4 million contract extension with New Orleans, and he’s in good position to take on a bigger role in the game’s third phase after Justin Hardee signed with the Jets in free agency.