STARKVILLE — Bittersweet.
That’s the best way to describe Saturday’s Mississippi State Ring of Honor ceremony for the late Kent Hull, who posthumously became the fifth former Bulldog to receive the school’s highest honor in football.
Hull’s name was unveiled high atop Davis Wade Stadium during halftime of MSU’s 28-10 win over Auburn. He was the only new member this this year — joining last year’s first class of former players Johnie Cooks, D.D. Lewis and Jackie Parker and former radio announcer Jack Cristil.
“It’s a really special day for our family. The only thing that could’ve made it better if Dad could’ve been right here on the field with us,” said Drew Hull, Kent’s 25-year-old son. “With his name up there, his name will now be forever linked to Mississippi State football.”
It was an emotional ceremony for all of Hull’s family gathered on the field but especially so for Kay Hull, Kent’s wife for 27 years before his untimely death at age 50 last October. But Kay took great comfort in knowing Kent was looking down on it all with the best view of all.
“I know he was watching it all from heaven and enjoying it himself even though he would be the first one to tell you there were others more deserving of this honor than him. He was such a humble guy,” she said.
“It’s been a great day having so many of Kent’s teammates and friends here to share in this. It really gives me chills to think about it.”
Also on the field with Kay for the ceremony were her daughter, Ellen, 22; Kent’s younger brother, Maury; and his father, Charles Hull, a former MSU basketball player, and his wife Sandra.
Hull, a Pontotoc native and longtime Greenwood resident, had an outstanding career at MSU as a four-year starter at center. He was a consensus first-team All-SEC freshman selection in 1979 with the Bulldogs and a preseason All-America pick in 1982.
Cooks, a standout linebacker who played four years at State with Hull, was on hand to see his former teammate’s name go up with his own.
“There’s nobody who has ever worn the maroon and white more deserving of this honor. I would gladly give up my spot for him,” said Cooks, who was drafted by the Baltimore Colts as the second overall pick in the 1982 NFL draft and went on to have a 10-year NFL career that included a 20-19 victory in Super Bowl XXV against Hull’s Bills.
“It’s a great day and yet a sad day for me and so many others. I loved Kent so much. I wish he was here. We just really clicked from the start as two ol’ country boys from the Delta. What you saw was what you got with him.”
Hull was the center for one of the more memorable games in Bulldog history, a 6-3 victory over top-ranked Alabama in 1980 in Jackson. I loved to hear him tell the story about Cooks walking over to the Tide sideline telling coach Bear Bryant to go for it on fourth-and-short.
Heard it several times. Gave me goose bumps every time.
He helped pave the way for a Mississippi State option attack that set school records for rushing yards and total offense — some that still stand today.
Even so, Hull was still an undersized center in MSU’s wishbone attack when he finished at State and he didn’t garner attention from pro scouts.
As expected, Hull wasn’t taken in the NFL draft but signed on with the New Jersey Generals of the USFL — where he played three years as he got bigger and stronger and worked on his pass blocking. Then he signed with the Buffalo Bills at the same time as quarterback Jim Kelly.
Kent loved to tell the story of Kelly arriving in Buffalo by limousine with himself coming in on a “wagonload of pumpkins.”
He told Kay that he wouldn’t be in camp long with the Bills because he expected to be cut.
Well, we all know how that turned out.
Eleven years, 189 games, three Pro Bowls and four Super Bowls later, Hull retired as arguably the greatest offensive lineman in Buffalo Bills history. His name sits atop Buffalo’s Ralph Wilson Stadium as proof of that.
Hull became the 19th member of the Bills Wall of Fame in 2002.
Former State receiver/kick returner Glen Young knew Hull well for the last 35 years of his life. The two began their football careers together at Greenwood High School and then continued their playing days together in Starkville.
Young was one of many former MSU teammates on hand to see Hull’s name put in the Ring of Honor.
“I know Kent would be very proud to have this honor because Mississippi State meant a great deal to him. Yes, he was a great player but an even better man and a fine representative of our great university,” said Young, an instructor in MSU’s department of kinesiology.
“The thing that impressed me so much about Kent was how hard he worked. He always gave his best effort, and it was that work ethic that paved the way for such a great career in football.”
Nobody can question what a great player Hull was, and for those of us who were fortunate enough to call him a friend, nobody will question what a great man and great ambassador for Mississippi State he was.
Like Kay, I know he was looking down on this scene Saturday with great pride and a humbled heart. Shoot, I bet he and the late Emory Bellard, Hull’s coach at MSU, shared the moment together with a hug and a laugh or two.
You can bet they enjoyed the win, too.
• Contact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com. Follow on Twitter:@Bill_Burrus.
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