Isaac Smith knows what drew him to Mississippi State and why he has remained there.

“There’s no distractions in Starkville,” the junior safety told reporters during Southeastern Conference media days. “Small town. Real pretty community. The people are awesome. I fell in love with it and I’m still in love with it and will forever always be in love with it.”

Smith's 127 tackles last season led the Southeastern Conference and tied him for seventh place among all Football Bowl Subdivision players, production that hasn’t translated to team success. Mississippi State has gone 7-17 overall and 1-15 in SEC competition during Smith’s two seasons.

That makes Smith a natural candidate to head our list of good players on teams that figure to struggle this season, even though he believes Mississippi

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