By By Danny P. Smith / special to The Star
Sept. 25, 2002
STARKVILLE Mississippi State head football coach Jackie Sherrill likes the fact that he has Curley Hallman working for him rather than against him.
When Hallman was the head coach at LSU from 1991-94, he had a 3-1 record against the Bulldogs.
Hallman will return to Baton Rouge, La., this week as the defensive back coach with Mississippi State.
The Bulldogs are set to take on the 22nd-ranked Tigers in Saturday's 11:30 a.m. kickoff.
Sherrill said Hallman has been a plus for his staff since he was hired earlier this year.
Even though Hallman had success against Mississippi State over those years, he never had a winning season with the Tigers and was fired after the 1994 season.
After his time at LSU, Hallman became an assistant at Alabama from 1996-97 and the Birmingham Thunderbolts of the XFL from 2000-2001.
It was while he was at Alabama that the Tide did play the Tigers in Baton Rouge.
Sherrill says that any coach who lives in the past will not be successful in the present, but realizes that Hallman has a reason for special feelings upon his return to LSU.
Hallman doesn't want to spend his time dwelling on LSU and what might have been. He is trying to help the Bulldogs get on track as a defense.
The LSU game will be a homecoming for two other MSU assistant coaches as defensive line coach John Hendrick worked with the tackles and tight ends at LSU in 1989-90, while tackles and tight ends coach Terry Lewis of the Bulldogs worked with the Tigers from 1984-86.
Watching the tropics
It is unclear at this point whether Tropical Storm Isidore will present any weather related problems for Saturday's game.
Officials at both schools are watching the storm in the Gulf of Mexico to see which way and how fast it is moving.
Sherrill said he is paid to coach and not predict the weather. He certainly can't change it.
Walker could be out
Mississippi State could be without senior tailback Dontae Walker against LSU.
Walker is attempting to recover from shoulder and knee injuries.
If Walker is not able to start against the Tigers, the main duty will rest with Fred Reid.
Redshirt freshman cornerback Derrick Crockett has a quad injury and his status is doubtful, while senior cornerback Demetric Wright with knee and arm injuries.