Former Southern Miss head coach Jay Hopson joining MSU off-field staff

Hopson previously led the Golden Eagles from 2016 through 2020

Mississippi State head football coach Mike Leach's staff is getting a little more Magnolia State flavor.

Jay Hopson – a Vicksburg native and longtime coaching veteran inside the state of Mississippi, most recently as head coach at Southern Miss – is coming to MSU for an off-field role as a defensive analyst. A source confirmed the move with Cowbell Corner on Tuesday afternoon. The news was first reported by 247Sports.

Hopson has a nearly three-decades long collegiate coaching career with a large chunk of his experience coming inside Mississippi's state lines. He has had stops at Delta State, Ole Miss and Alcorn State, in addition to Southern Miss. Other stops for Hopson have included Tulane, LSU, Florida, Marshall, Michigan and Memphis. 

Hopson has been a head coach for most of the last decade. He led the Alcorn State program from 2012 through 2015, then took over at Southern Miss in 2016. Hopson was in charge of the Golden Eagles up until his resignation one game into the 2020 season.

Hopson had a 60-40 record over his eight-plus years as a head man. He went 28-23 over his tenure at Southern Miss. 

At Alcorn State, Hopson became the first white head coach in the history of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Hopson went 32-17 in his four years with the Braves, including winning back-to-back SWAC championships in 2014 and 2015.

Now, Hopson brings all his past experiences and successes with him to the Bulldogs in Starkville, where MSU begins prepping for Leach's second season later this week when spring practices get underway starting Thursday.

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