Right now you can read my answers to your Blog Bag questions, and the new blog is where all entries will go from now on. That doesn’t mean you should delete this one from your bookmarks. We’ll keep it around for two reasons: 1) Archive purposes; and 2) as a backup if/when the new one has problems.

So, there you have it. WordPress has been good to us, but integration is a good thing. Please let me know what you think of the new blog, good or bad, and ways you think it could be improved. Thanks for your faithful readership, and thanks for sticking with us as the Daily Journal makes strides in the online world.

The thing that you have to like about Mullen is that he balances that intensity with praise. He cited the players’ efforts Thursday while emphasizing how much work lies ahead. “There were some improvements, but a long way to go. I think offensively, just the execution, I’m a little disappointed at the speed in which we’re picking things up right now.”

MSU returns to the practice field at 10 a.m. Saturday for fully padded, full-contact drills. Mullen expects to learn a lot about his team then.

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Speaking of moving forward, I’m supposed to set up my new blog today at NEMS360.com, our new Web site. Hopefully, I’ll be posting stuff on it by this afternoon. Stay tuned to this blog for details.

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As you can read in today’s Journal, MSU basketballer Jarvis Varnado is still pondering his future, while teammate Kodi Augustus has decided to stick with State. Speaking of players staying and going, Ole Miss starting center Malcolm White has left the team.

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Finally, in baseball, the Bulldogs look to bounce back from a three-game sweep at the hands of Georgia and hope to find some runs at Arkansas this weekend. Today’s game starts at 6:35 p.m.

Winston said the coaches “support whatever Jarvis’ decision will be.” He added, “(He’s) just taking it day by day. There’s no rush.”

Underclassmen must declare for the draft by April 26.

UPDATE: Stansbury released a statement about Varnado, saying, “We met this afternoon and no decision was made. But, we don’t have to be in a hurry because we have until April 26. Until then, we’ll gather all the facts we can and continue to communicate and come to a decision for what’s best for Jarvis.”

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The Kodi Augustus saga has taken a turn for the better, as far as Mississippi State’s concerned. The 6-foot-8 sophomore has decided to stay with the Bulldogs, he said today. “It was my choice, I have to live with it,” he told me. “We just looked at everything, and the positives outweighed the negatives.” The “we” included his parents, MSU’s coaches, and Augustus’ AAU coach, the always opinionated John Eurey, who earlier in the season told me that the benching of Augustus was “unfair.” Augustus started the first nine of the games of the season after senior Brian Johnson went down but then was stuffed down the bench until late in the season.

Augustus finished the year strong, becoming the Bulldogs’ biggest contributor off the bench as they rolled to the SEC Tournament title and into the NCAA tournament. “I’m thrilled. All that’s coming back, basically the same team, way more experienced. Finally everybody can stop talking about how young we are,” he said. “We’re going to be way better than we were this year.”

How close was Augustus to leaving Starkville? Pretty close, he said. “I seriously thought about it after what I had went through my first year and my second year.” He insists there was never a rift between he and Stansbury. “Never was a problem. He told me he was trying to figure out some things. He said he had a bunch of pieces, he was trying to move some things around, that’s what happened. I just caught the bad end of it.”

Now Augustus can focus on next year, which he expects to be a good one for both MSU and himself. “I think I played well. I feel good about it, I’ve just got to keep doing it in order to get stronger. I’m going to go to some camps this summer and build on it and get stronger and get more knowledge about the game, and everything should fall into place.”

“I think our kids really sense on weekends when Whitney and Routt are on the mound, we have a real chance to win the game,” MSU coach John Cohen said this morning. Routt has been especially sharp, with 31 strikeouts and eight walks in 31.2 innings. To Cohen, that’s beyond impressive.

“When you’re really good in this league, like Georgia, you take freshmen like Routt and you slowly involve him as a Tuesday or Wednesday type starter, and you get their feet wet, and as a sophomore and junior they’re ready to do well on weekends,” Cohen said. “We don’t have that luxury. He’s done amazingly well.”

Why has he done so well? Cohen said he throws a lot of strikes, has deception in his delivery, has a good repertoire – in general, “His understanding of his delivery and what he’s trying to do is so far beyond his age.”

Two problems for State (14-10, 2-4 SEC) have mitigated some of what Routt and Whitney have done: The rest of the pitching staff has been suspect, and the run support isn’t always there. The Bulldogs stranded 12 runners last weekend against Georgia – in each game. That’s 36 total for the mathematically challenged among you. MSU is 11th in the SEC in hitting (.287) and ninth in runs (141).

“We’re not an overly skilled offensive club,” Cohen said. “I thought our hitters in some cases were overmatched (against Georgia).”

More on the Bulldogs in tomorrow’s Journal.

DraftExpress.com projects Varnado as a first-round pick. Gary Parrish, senior writer for CBSSports.com, agrees that Varnado must at least test the waters.

“He has to test it, at least, because to not do so would be to waste an opportunity that literally has no downside,” Parrish wrote in an e-mail. “There’s absolutely no reason to not enter without hiring an agent, and I suspect that’s what he’ll do, just to see what franchises think. Remember, not all 30 teams have to like you for you to be a first-round pick. It only takes one team to like you, and if that happens, you’re good. So my understanding is that he’ll at least test it and go from there.”

Ah, but the big question: Is he ready? Says Parrish, “No, probably not. But who is, outside of Blake Griffin? There’s not another player in the draft who couldn’t stand to get a little stronger, a little better offensively, so on and forth. But that’s not what this is about. This is about potential, and whether somebody will give you millions of dollars based on it, and that’s what Jarvis has to find out. But clearly, if he wants to make a paycheck next season, he can. It’s just a matter of where, and for how much.”

I’m sure Varnado has looked back to last year, when Jamont Gordon left MSU after his junior season and went undrafted. But Varnado is a better player, and his ability to defend will be invaluable and could be what keeps him in the association for a long time. Stay tuned.

Doesn’t look like it. MSU compliance guru Bracky Brett said Johnson would need an extension of his “five-year clock,” and that’s not likely to happen. “He does not meet the criteria for a clock extension,” Brett said. Why not? Because athletes are allowed two medical redshirts in their careers, and Johnson’s transfer season counted against that total. Sitting out for transferring is considered “under the control” of the athlete, Brett said, which just means Johnson had the choice to take that route.

Brett hasn’t yet talked with Johnson about it, but the coaching staff is aware of his intentions.

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MSU’s football team began spring drills Tuesday, and so here’s the story on that. Dan Mullen and company return to the field Thursday at 3:30 p.m. Fan turnout yesterday was modest, with maybe 50 people in attendance at one point. Perhaps Saturday’s 10 a.m. session will draw better.

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MSU greats Ron Polk and Rafael Palmeiro are among 10 selected to the 2009 National College Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Class. So that’s pretty cool. Speaking of baseball, the Bulldogs got whipped last night by South Alabama, 17-12. State hit three home runs in the ninth, which tells you how bad it really was. MSU is back in action today against Memphis, at home (6:30 p.m.), weather permitting.

“I think it’s more intense, more attention to detail, and a fast pace,” said linebacker Jamar Chaney. Quarterback Tyson Lee echoed that: “It’s just intense the whole way through.”

Everyone was happy to get outside and start practicing what they’ve been studying. “It’s great to back out on the field right now,” Mullen said. “This is what you work for. You do all that so you can get out here and play some football.”

Injury updates: TE Marcus Green (hamstring) looked completely healthy; Chaney (ankle) looked solid; RB Robert Elliott ran pretty well but was limited and just a little gimpy; WR Brandon McRae (leg), also limited, was moving gingerly; WR Delmon Robinson came up gimpy late in practice, holding his thigh. Also, Mark Melichar (mono) and Eric Richards (hip) were in uniform but didn’t practice.

Being pressed for time as I am tonight, here are some thoughts from Mullen, Chaney and Lee. Starting with Mullen:

• “We’ve got a long way to go. But I think our guys came out and gave some effort today, and that’s what we’re looking for after this offseason.”

• On freshman Cameron Lawrence (January enrollee) at QB: “We want to give him a shot, especially early on so he can learn the offense and add a little extra depth. If he does move to a different position, at least he has a foundation at quarterback.”

• On anyone standing out today: “I don’t know if there’s anybody that really jumped out and said, Boy, right there we’ve got ourselves a real football player. I think we’ve got a long way to go to get ourselves some football players.”

From Chaney:

•  On returning from injury: “I missed coming out here, dressing out with them before they go on to practice, just the little things that you wouldn’t think was a big deal before the injury.”

• On the mental workload: “On defense, we’ve got probably 25 percent of our defense is already in right now. They’re just putting it on us.”

• On Mullen’s coaching style: “He’s a real fiery guy. He’s a real cool coach, but he’s going to get after you, he’s going to make sure you do your job, and he’s going to make sure you go 100 percent, give all your effort.”

From Lee:

• On the mental workload: “It’s one thing sitting in a room and seeing things on paper, but actually getting out there with defenses and people moving, it makes a difference. That’s why tonight and tomorrow, watching film, it’s huge to look and see what I did wrong, what you did wrong, so you can learn from it.”

• On the QB battle: “It’s an open position. I ran with the ones today, Chris (Relf) ran with the twos. I don’t think that dictates or indicates anything as far as me starting.”

To review, here is the spring practice schedule:

Today – 3:30 p.m.

Thursday, March 26 – 3:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 28 – 10 a.m.

Tuesday, March 31 – 3:30 p.m.

Thursday, April 2 – 3:30 p.m.

Friday, April 3 – 3:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 4 – 10 a.m.

Tuesday, April 7 – 3:30 p.m.

Thursday, April 9 – 3:30 p.m.

Friday, April 10 – 3:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 11 – 10 a.m.

Tuesday, April 14 – 3:30 p.m.

Thursday, April 16 – 3:30 p.m.

Friday, April 17 – 3:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 18 – Maroon-White Game, 5:30 p.m.

We’re actually not quite done with hoops. The Bailey and Gillom trophies will be handed out next Monday, and MSU’s Jarvis Varnado and Alexis Rack are up for those awards, respectively. The focus for the next four weeks will be on MSU football. Spring drills start today at 3:30 p.m. Open to the public, so come on out to the practice fields behind Shira Fieldhouse. (By the way, State isn’t the only SEC team starting practice this week.)

New coach Dan Mullen promised his new players the hardest offseason workout program they’d ever experienced, and quarterback Tyson Lee can attest to that. The hardest part? “Everything,” Lee said. “Day in, day out, each workout, it pushes you to give everything you have. It’s not a workout where you can give 80, 85 percent.” The challenge now is to learn Mullen’s spread offense, a two-edged sword according to Lee. “The spread offense can be good and can be bad. With so many plays and formations, knowing what everybody is doing and getting the ball to the right person at the right time (is crucial).”

More on the first day of practice later today. I’ll be there.