Todd Grantham brings everlasting chip on shoulder to Mississippi State

Todd Grantham loves being the underdog. Ever since his grind-it-out high school lineman days in Pulaski, Virginia, Grantham has felt compelled to have some sort of edge in his game and personality. At every stop (more than 25 years of combined experience at the college and NFL), Grantham has weighed himself down with a figurative chip as a way of motivation and persistence.

Now, as he readies for his first year as Mississippi State's defensive coordinator -- and a return to the SEC -- Grantham's chip has grown. He's challenged with turning around one of the nation's worst defenses (ranked 110th nationally for giving up 459.1 YPG in 2016), while still feeling he has to prove that he's one of…