Gulfport star will play his final high school game where he’ll start college career
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Cooper Crosby signed with Mississippi State and will finish school career at Davis Wade.
- Crosby rushed 1,631 yards, caught 609 receiving yards and scored 40 TDs this season.
- Gulfport faces Tupelo and MSU commit Jaeden Hill Saturday for the 7A state title.
Cooper Crosby will get an early taste of his new home this week.
Gulfport’s workhorse running back put pen to paper Wednesday and signed his letter of intent to play at Mississippi State just days before he’s slated to suit up for the 7A state championship game at Davis Wade Stadium.
Crosby first received a scholarship offer from the Bulldogs on Oct. 7 and decommitted from Louisiana three days later. He made two official visits in November, the first to MSU and the second to Auburn, before announcing his commitment to MSU on the eve of Early Signing Day.
“That’s just the cherry on top,” Crosby said of beginning his college career in the stadium he’ll finish his high school career. “It’s definitely special, and I can’t wait.”
The three-star tailback has enjoyed his best season yet while helping guide Gulfport to its first state title appearance since 1982.
Crosby has churned out 1,631 rushing yards on 6.7 yards per carry and caught 45 passes for 609 yards. His 40 total touchdowns are second in the state and top-40 nationally.
“Gulfport has been playing football since 1906,” Third-year head coach Pennock said. “There’s been a ton of great players, a lot of historic names that have moved on and I think you can put Cooper Crosby up there with anybody that has ever donned the Blue and Orange.”
Pennock said he was coaching at Ocean Springs when he first became aware of Crosby. Pennock knew the then-freshman was going to be problem for him down the road, but that changed when he moved to Gulfport ahead of Crosby’s sophomore season.
Crosby had 354 yards rushing that year before taking on a larger role in the backfield and eclipsing 1,000 yards for the first time as a junior.
With one game left, Crosby has amassed over 4,600 all-purpose yards and scored 69 touchdowns.
“It means a lot,” Crosby said of his career at Gulfport. “Especially with all that we’ve been through, losing in the first round all those years. And now we’re in the state championship and I still haven’t wrapped my head around it. It’s insane... This team has come a long way, especially from the beginning of the season. Our gears started to go and now we’re rolling. It’s awesome. It’s definitely something Gulfport hasn’t done before. It’s never been like this with any other team I’ve been a part of here. This team is definitely special.”
Crosby will be going head-to-head Saturday with Tupelo running back and fellow MSU commit Jaeden Hill, the reigning state title game MVP and back-to-back 7A Mr. Football winner.
Between two future Bulldog running backs playing for a Gold Ball at Davis Wade, Pennock has a strong feeling one will stand out above the other.
“I pulled (Crosby) in and we watched the state championship game from a year ago and I was like, ‘that’s the guy, that’s the guy I want you to be,” Pennock said in reference to Hill. “Now, not only are you going to be teammates with him, but you’re about to show him Saturday night that you’re better than he is.”
Gulfport and Tupelo are scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. Saturday in the championship weekend’s final match.
