Mississippi State Plays Waiting Game with Newton, Sidney

Waiting is so hard, because we’re an impatient society. Thus the phrase, “Slower than Christmas.” And the impending holiday is probably only exacerbating the impatience of many a Mississippi State fan, especially ones who are off this week and spending way too much time online.

Two situations of particular interest are keeping MSU fans waiting. One is the decision by juco QB Cameron Newton (pictured above) on where he will play football next season.

He has delayed his decision—he originally hoped to announce it last week—and took a visit to Auburn this past weekend. He’s reportedly narrowed his choices to Auburn, MSU and Oklahoma (he visited Starkville on Egg Bowl weekend and was in Norman the weekend of Dec. 11).

As Rivals reports (subscription required), Newton had an “excellent” visit to Auburn , and he said he’ll make a decision within a week to 10 days—so, by Jan. 1. MSU would obviously love to get Newton in and plug him into the offense right away, but having Chris Relf and Tyler Russell would make losing Newton at least palatable for MSU.

On the basketball front, MSU coach Rick Stansbury is like the rest of us: Waiting to see if the NCAA will ever clear 6'10" freshman Renardo Sidney for competition. Sidney’s lawyer, Donald Jackson , said last week that the NCAA wants to interview the Sidney family a second time, and they want to do it this week. I haven’t yet been able to get Jackson to confirm a definite meeting time.

The big question is, Why does the NCAA want another round of interviews with the Sidneys? Is it a signal that the Eligibility Center is finally wrapping up its investigation?

Well, NCAA spokesman Bob Williams said last week that Jackson still hasn’t turned over all the requested information. Is it just a way for the NCAA to drag this out further? That’s what Jackson believes. Or has the NCAA done what a reporter like myself might do—follow up with the Sidneys concerning new information?

We can only guess, which is what makes all this waiting so maddening.