[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyahgz6p2j3xp7 player_id=none image=https://saintswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
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.
That all followed his landing with the Saints as a dark-horse undrafted rookie back in 2018, when he surprised many fans by making the opening-day roster. Having earned all of his opportunities the hard way, Gray has put in the work to stick with one of the NFL’s most talented rosters in recent years, and it’s good to see him enjoying himself and taking some pride in his school’s success.
Still, speaking as a Southern Miss fan (To The Top!) and graduate: let me congratulate Gray and the Bulldogs on the school’s second-ever national championship, between this 2021 baseball win and and their famous 2009 disc golf title. Now they’ve won as many national championships between those two sports as the Golden Eagles have accomplished in football (1958 and 1962). Good for them!
[vertical-gallery id=45753]