Turnover-happy defense steals show in Mississippi State spring game

Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen had to love what he saw from his defense in Saturday’s spring game, right up until Jonathan Abram's unnecessary head shot on Bennie Braswell that turned out to be the game’s final play.

Leading up to that targeting penalty midway through the fourth quarter, Todd Grantham’s troops had stolen the show. The Bulldogs defense intercepted five passes -- four from starting quarterback Nick Fitzgerald in the first half -- and returned two for touchdowns that gave the White team (mostly the first-team defense) a 21-10 victory over the Maroon (mostly the starting offense).

That was exactly what new coordinator Grantham wants from a defense that was only OK at creating…