[Tuck4Bama]

STARKVILLE — When Jimmie Holmes arrived at Mississippi Delta Community College in 2005, he wasn't sure that he had made the right decision. His home of Aiken, S.C., three states away, at least had a few hills. And the mosquitoes weren't massive.

Moorhead, it can be said, made an impression.

"I'm used to seeing at least a little bit of traffic," Holmes said, smiling. "I don't see anything; it's just trees and it's like flat, and I wasn't used to it. It was like it was in the middle of nowhere."

No, Aiken (population 25,000) isn't exactly a thriving cultural metropolis. But for Holmes, it is home, some 60 miles from Williams-Brice Stadium, where he and his Mississippi State teammates will take on No. 16 South Carolina (3-1, 1-1 SEC) Saturday at 11:30 a.m.

"It'll be real neat for me, a lot of family and friends," Holmes said. "It's a homecoming for me just as well as them."

Holmes, a junior defensive end, has been a pleasant surprise on a Mississippi State defense full of surprises this season. The unit lost four key players, and depth at end was one of MSU coach Sylvester Croom's biggest concerns.

Since, the defensive line has helped lead State to middle-of-the-pack rankings in the SEC statistics a third of the way through the season.

Holmes is the team's fifth-leading tackler

MSU Football: South Carolina homecoming awaits 1 Dog