Mississippi native to officiate national title game

For the first time in the history of the Division I FBS National Championship game, a Mississippi native will serve as one of the officials.

Fulton C. Carson got his start right here in the Magnolia State as a baseball and basketball player before officiating those same kinds of games through the Mississippi High School Activities Association.

The Mississippi Valley State alum was recently one of the referees in his first-ever Big 12 championship game and now he’s upping the ante as a side judge when Alabama takes on Ohio State in next week’s College Football Playoff Championship Game. “No matter if it’s the national championship game or the JV championship game, you focus on the rules and integrity is a huge part and knowing that those kids are out there, they’ve put in a lot of work to get to that level, and so do officials. We really don’t just get down off the tractors and come out and officiate like most people think. For every game, there’s countless hours of rule study and film review of players. We actually know the players better than we know ourselves by the time we walk out on that field. So, there’s a lot of study associated with it, and collaboration with other officials and it really works well.”

The Crimson Tide and Buckeyes will kick things off at 7 p.m. Monday from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.