How did we let Luke Work go to Missouri?

OG Goat Holder · Sep 28, 2026

We ain't got a LT. He is their RT (edited, I initially said LT), and protected Simmons well all night. Then the tweet from the next 4 thread about how Mizzou is leading the SEC is protection this year. And this:

Work loves playing for the Bulldogs too. With most of his family hailing from the Mississippi Delta in Cleveland, Work grew up bleeding Maroon and White and considered it an honor when he received a scholarship offer during his sophomore year of high school from the legendary Mike Leach.

"It was a great feeling and couldn't get any better," Work said. "I grew up coming down here watching games and was around Mississippi State people and fans. It's always been a dream to play here, and I thought I had to make it happen."

Putting In The Work - Mississippi State

When Luke Work arrived on Mississippi State's campus back in January, the early high school graduate didn't have any preconceived plans nor grandiose ideas a...

hailstate.com

How the 17 did this happen? Did I miss something here?

Deltaduckhunter · Sep 28, 2026

Offense line recruiting/coaching is the biggest question mark left on this team in my opinion.

mstateglfr · Sep 28, 2026

https://247sports.com/college/mississippi-state/article/bulldog-football-ncaa-transfer-portal-tackle-luke-work-mississippi-state-269319808/
In fact Work showed enough potential in the on-the-job process that bigger things were forecast for 2025 and beyond, as he practiced at both tackle and guard in August. Then the injury spoiled things to a large degree, and led to this decision.

Maroon13 · Sep 28, 2026

I saw some relatives in his Mizzou jersey pre game. I struck up a conversation.

They said when the team gets a new OL coach. Then you don't start after starting the year prior .... you take the hint. Luke wanted to start.

Also they said Missouri was one of his first p4 offers in hs. If it wasn't for his grandfathers connections to State, he would have went to Missouri out of HS.

Maroon13 · Sep 28, 2026

Seems like a mistake to let Work and James leave. But I dnk the situation with James. Maybe there was more to the James story.

OG Goat Holder · Sep 28, 2026

Maroon13 said:
Seems like a mistake to let Work and James leave. But I dnk the situation with James. Maybe there was more to the James story.

Me either on James. But we let Work go, then went into the portal to replace him. That sounds stupid. Sounds like Loadholt sucks. Brought in Mason Miller a year too late. Maybe we can fire Loadholt's asss and get Work back here next season.

GrassDrills · Sep 28, 2026

He's not a LT and he's not as good as Shumpert. We won, he lost. Sometimes things happen best for everyone.

patdog · Sep 28, 2026

GrassDrills said:
He's not a LT and he's not as good as Shumpert. We won, he lost. Sometimes things happen best for everyone.

He's starting for a better OL than we have. I think we could have used him.

GrassDrills · Sep 28, 2026

patdog said:
He's starting for a better OL than we have. I think we could have used him.

We'll just have to agree that you are wrong.

OG Goat Holder · Sep 28, 2026

GrassDrills said:
He's not a LT and he's not as good as Shumpert. We won, he lost. Sometimes things happen best for everyone.

He's protecting Simmon's blindside, so essentially the same thing. Seems pretty inexcusable to me unless Mizzou paid him much more. But it's becoming apparent that is not the case, and that Loadholt just didn't want him. Which is incredibly stupid.

Xenomorph · Sep 28, 2026

GrassDrills said:
He's not a LT and he's not as good as Shumpert. We won, he lost. Sometimes things happen best for everyone.

How good is he at playing right guard?.. cause currently that’s how good you have to be for us at LT.

FactCheckerBot · Sep 28, 2026

Fact:

Work was doing a great job jawing off Saturday night.

Bully78 · Sep 28, 2026

Who for the Bulldogs is wearing number 51 this year? I can’t find the answer.

OG Goat Holder · Sep 28, 2026

Bully78 said:
Who for the Bulldogs is wearing number 51 this year? I can’t find the answer.

Guess Loaf-hold hated him so bad he took his number off the whole roster

Maroon13 · Sep 28, 2026

I saw some State players and people in maroon pat him on the back as he left the field Saturday night.

Drebin · Sep 28, 2026

patdog said:
He's starting for a better OL than we have. I think we could have used him.

Yeah, Luke Work is absolute cheeks. But he makes up for it by being soft as baby shlt.

Bulldawg77 · Sep 28, 2026

Drebin said:
Yeah, Luke Work is absolute cheeks. But he makes up for it by being soft as baby shlt.

People see a player who was here and now starting for a team. Oh wait that we beat and think they were good enough to play here. Luke is only playing due to an injury

Drebin · Sep 28, 2026

Bulldawg77 said:
People see a player who was here and now starting for a team. Oh wait that we beat and think they were good enough to play here. Luke is only playing due to an injury

I'll never lose the mental image of him crying on the sideline last year because a coach yelled at him.

Dawgzilla2 · Sep 28, 2026

Didn't he get called for a couple of big holding calls on Saturday? Maybe we paid him enough, after all**

patdog · Sep 28, 2026

Drebin said:
I'll never lose the mental image of him crying on the sideline last year because a coach yelled at him.

There’s no crying in football!

OG Goat Holder · Tuesday at 7:34 AM

Drebin said:
Yeah, Luke Work is absolute cheeks. But he makes up for it by being soft as baby shlt.

Not what I saw Saturday

Drebin · Tuesday at 8:57 AM

OG Goat Holder said:
Not what I saw Saturday

Either you were seeing what you wanted to see, or you didn't know what you were looking at.

8dog · Tuesday at 9:18 AM

Drebin said:
Either you were seeing what you wanted to see, or you didn't know what you were looking at.

It’s killing him that Lebby is 4-0

DesotoCountyDawg · Tuesday at 9:21 AM

Drebin said:
Either you were seeing what you wanted to see, or you didn't know what you were looking at.

Drebin · Tuesday at 9:25 AM

8dog said:
It’s killing him that Lebby is 4-0

I'll stick up for goat a little bit here. I don't think anyone who's a true state fan is upset that we're 4-0. I didn't think we would be 4-0 at this point and am eating a little crow about it, but it's delicious.

His hot takes still suck but I don't doubt his fandom.

OG Goat Holder · Tuesday at 9:31 AM

Drebin said:
Either you were seeing what you wanted to see, or you didn't know what you were looking at.

I saw Simmons upright all day.

I saw our LT getting worked.

I see two former OL starters that left and now start for other SEC teams.

I see that OL need time to grow up and develop, and every year makes a big difference in their output.

I see a coaching staff that wants to cut bait quickly from any players who need development.

I see that OL is again a weak link on our team.

What do you see?

Trojanbulldog19 · Tuesday at 9:32 AM

Loadholt is the worst coach we have left. Give the on field recruiting job to Miller.

OG Goat Holder · Tuesday at 9:35 AM

Trojanbulldog19 said:
Loadholt is the worst coach we have left. Give the on field recruiting job to Miller.

And that's the ultimate point. And to add to my previous post.....I also see a head coach that was an offensive lineman.

I can give a little bit on the DL not being as elite as we're used to, because obviously Lebby leads with offense. But not OL.

It all leads back to Loaf-hold being awful.

Drebin · Tuesday at 9:39 AM

OG Goat Holder said:
I saw Simmons upright all day.

I saw our LT getting worked.

I see two former OL starters that left and now start for other SEC teams.

I see that OL need time to grow up and develop, and every year makes a big difference in their output.

I see a coaching staff that wants to cut bait quickly from any players who need development.

I see that OL is again a weak link on our team.

What do you see?

So, in other words, you cannot see that Luke Work sucks because none of this has anything to do with Luke Work's performance. As bad as McVay is, and he is, he's an upgrade from Luke Work.

How did we let Luke Work go to Missouri?

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