STARKVILLE — Go ahead and let Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen describe the way he see the give-and-take relationship among coaches.
“I”m an information gatherer more than a releaser,” MSU”s third-year coach said, “so I probably have gathered more than I”ve given up. I”m a taker.”
That”s what happened this spring when Mullen traveled to a practice at the University of Oregon to watch his friend Chip Kelly, who is coach of the Ducks.
Led by tailback LaMichael James and quarterback Darren Thomas, Oregon led the country in total offense (530.7 yards per game) and scoring offense (47 points per game) while averaging 78.8 plays a game last season. That productivity helped Oregon get one Auburn drive away from its first national championship.
“We have an attack mind-set from the get-go,” Kelly said before the national championship game against Auburn. “We”re going to try to pressure you in as many ways as we can from the tempo we play at to the formations we run.”
Oregon was second in the nation is points per play call (.604), while MSU was 57th (.383).
The trip represented a reunion for two coaches who have known each other since both men were position coaches in the state of New Hampshire. Kelly first coached at New Hampshire in 1990, and then served as offensive coordinator from 1999-2006, while Mullen coached the wide receivers at the school in 1996-97.
The relationship dates to when Oregon offensive coordinator Gary Crowton, another coach with New Hampshire ties, went to Utah to see how then coach Urban Meyer was running his spread offense. Mullen told Crowton, the Utes” offensive coordinator, that if he wanted to run the system properly he should talk to Chip Kelly, a little-known offensive coordinator at I-AA New Hampshire.
“When he came back he had some rough edges to the spread and he started calling Chip Kelly on Sundays saying this came up and I didn”t quite know what to do with it,” Nike founder and Oregon booster Phil Knight told The Oregonian last December. “Chip always had an answer, so when LSU came and picked up Crowton, (former Oregon coach Mike) Bellotti knew he”d been talking to Chip Kelly, so he went to get Chip Kelly.”
This spring, Mullen went to Kelly in Eugene, Ore., for some answers again.
“Chip”s a great football coach,” Mullen said. “I like some of the stuff they do. I thought we practiced just as fast as they did.”
MSU”s offense has been predicated on speed since Mullen arrived in Starkville three years ago. The fast pace involves speeding up the play-calling from the sidelines or getting to the line quicker after a successful play to prevent the defense from making personnel changes.
Every player is required to run on and off the field to simulate game speed because walking wastes valuable seconds. This philosophy is implemented so much that earlier in the preseason Mullen bristled at a question about he”s team”s hurry-up offense. He responded by saying his team is always running a hurry-up.
“We”re kind of no-huddle anyway,” Mullen said. “I don”t mind having a little bit of tempo in there, especially because we have more experienced players.”
MSU fans saw quarterback Chris Relf make that progression last season after he failed to get the Bulldogs in field goal range on the final drive in a 17-14 loss to Auburn. Two months later, he accomplished that goal in a game against the University of Arkansas.
“There”s no doubt in mind I”ve got this offense down, and coach Mullen trusts me with the ball in any situation,” Relf said. “It”s all about confidence, and when I”m out there now I”m much more confident with the ball in my hands.”
MSU defensive players said they”ve noticed a different pace to practice this season.
“With the way we”re going, and that seems like 100 percent for two hours straight without many breaks, games even in the SEC should be easy,” junior defensive back Jonathan Banks said. “It takes the younger guys a little longer to get adjusted to even how we practice now compared to how they”ve been worked in the past.”
Senior linebacker Brandon Maye also has noticed. The transfer from Clemson University has needed time to adjust to the pace of things in the Southeastern Conference.
“I won”t and don”t want to say the football in the ACC is slow, but I”m much more exhausted mentally and physically compared to how practices went at Clemson,” Maye said. “It”s just a different pace, and you have to get yourself up to that level quickly.”
Mullen”s decision to have all student assistants wear referee shirts also has helped increase the pace of the offense. The idea is designed to get players in the habit of handing the ball to the closest official after being ruled down to get the next play called as quickly as possible.
“In this league, there are going to be a lot of games that will come down to the final drive of the game,” Mullen said. “We better be prepared, especially as an experienced offense.”
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