What a nice time to be a sports fan from Attala County. Whether you are a Bulldog or a Rebel, you have every right to have a huge smile on your face. The smile is not necessarily because of team records and such, but because two Kosciusko natives are making noise in the Southeastern Conference scene. One is in football and the other in baseball. Two former Whippets are becoming household names as I type this, not just locally but in fandom circles all over.
Former Whippet star pitcher Ryan Rigby is currently a junior relief pitcher for the Mississippi State Bulldog baseball team and former Whippet, Holmes Bulldog and Louisiana Tech star offensive lineman Jacob Peeler was recently named wide receivers coach for the Ole Miss Rebels. 
Rigby, who is coming off a 5-1 year with a paltry ERA of 2.25 and 43 strikeouts in 48 innings of work for the Bulldogs, is poised to be one of the leaders in what should be a very good year for MSU on the diamond.
Peeler, leaving a very successful tenure at the University of California, is a budding superstar in the coaching profession and he is only getting better.
The question I now ask every sports fan is simply this, “Can we all just agree to be supportive of our hometown talent, whether you bleed maroon or bleed red and blue?” This is quite a rare occurrence really. I cannot think of any other time in my 37 years in this area where two homegrown talents have been on such a large stage at the same time. I do understand that we have had many athletes from this area that have played various levels of intercollegiate sports, but not two who are on such a large stage at the same time.
The SEC is huge and the last I checked, it has its own television network. Some may say it is the Crimson Tide Network or whatever, and I get it, but I am just excited to be able to write about and take pictures of these two fellows who will be in the national spotlight, not just in your local sports section…which is an absolute beast of a sports section if I should say so myself. I’m only kidding, sort of. So if you are reading this without purchasing it, just take it to the counter and drop down your three quarters and take it home with you. But I digress.
2017 should be fun for us local folks with Rigby and Peeler being on the big stage and all. You never know who that next star might be, so go out and support our area teams…I know I will.
You never know, you just might be watching another Ryan Rigby or Jacob Peeler.
