The Bulldogs football program has produced several players regarded as the league's best

The SEC has named it's best football player annually since 1933.  This list includes some of MSU's brightest stars that built the legacy of Mississippi State football

Rocky Felker - 1974
Felker starred for MSU while leading the Bulldogs to a 9-3 record that included a victory over North Carolina in the Sun Bowl.  While under the direction of Head Coach Bob Tyler, Felker led the Bulldogs to key wins over Georgia and LSU.  The regular season was also highlighted by a 31-13 Egg Bowl win over Ole Miss.

The MSU quarterback completed 73 of 155 passes for 1147 yards , 8 TDs and 8 Interceptions.  Felker also added 446 yards and 7 touchdowns on the ground.

Felker would later coach Mississippi State when he took over the football program before the 1986 season.  Felker became the first MSU coach in 30 years to begin his career with a winning record.  However, he was fired after the 1990 season. Art Davis - 1954
Although making a big impact for Mississippi State in 1952 as a true freshman, it was Davis' junior season that saw him gain top conference honors.  The two-way player scored 10 touchdowns on the season and grabbed for interceptions.  His four TD's against LSU in a 25-0 road win at LSU provided great momentum for his award.  With Coach Darrell Royal at the helm, MSU posted a 6-4 season that also included a key win over 12th ranked Alabama.

Following his Bulldogs career, Davis was selected in their first round of the 1956 draft when the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted the Clarksdale, Miss. native with the 5th overall selection.  Injuries forced him out of football and Davis retired prior to the 1958 season. Jackie Parker 1952 and 1953
After playing his first two collegiate seasons at Jones County Junior College, Parker became the first two-time and back-to-back winner of the Southeastern Conference's Player of the Year Award.

Nicknamed "The Fast Freight from Mississippi State", Parker led the nation in scoring with 120 points in 1952. That record stood for four decades until Georgia's Garrison Hearst broke the mark in 1992.  Along with being selected as the SEC's best, Parker earned All-American honors in 1953 while helping MSU posted a 5-2-3 record.

Although selected by the New York Giants in the 1953 NFL Draft, Parker opted to play in the Canadian Football League.  Parker became a Edmonton Eskimos legend and a 3-time CFL Player of the Year. Tom McWilliams - 1944
Not only did the Meridian, Miss. native star for the Bulldogs in 1944 and 1946-48, but "Shorty" (was actually 6-3) also played for the undefeated Army team in 1945. Along with winning top SEC player honors in 1944, McWilliams finished in the top 10 of the Heisman Trophy's voting twice.

When World War II ended in 1945, McWilliams eventually made it back to Mississippi and earned All-SEC honors three more times.  McWillims played professionally for the Los Angeles Dons and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Erwin Elrod- 1940
Along with being named the SEC's top player in 1940 "Buddy" also earned Consensus All-American honors that season as well.  Elrod was the first MSU player to earn that honor and has been regarded by many Bulldog fans as the school's greatest defensive player of all-time.