HOOVER, Ala. — In a moment of clarity before the first Mississippi State University spring football practice of the 2012 season, junior offensive guard Gabe Jackson came to a stunning realization.
“I looked around and finally realized, ‘Hey, I’m a veteran on this team’ and ‘Wow, guys are coming to me for advice on how to do things,’ ” Jackson said Wednesday at the 2012 Southeastern Conference Media Days. “I was prepared for that, but it made sense because this will be my third year as a starter.”
Dan Mullen has made it a tradition to take a junior or senior offensive lineman to Media Days since he became MSU’s coach. His goal is to help unrecognized players get national attention for their hard work, especially when they play a position that doesn’t receive a lot of headlines.
“I understand the deal because I came in as a tackle, and that’s the glory position of the line,” Jackson said. “Even tackles don’t get praised all the time, so as a lineman you have to be satisfied with letting the quarterback, running back, and those guys take the credit. We have to be concerned with how we’re graded out every week.”
Mullen suggested Wednesday the play of the offensive line and its ability to protect junior quarterback Tyler Russell will have a significant impact on his team’s record this season.
“(Russell) knows we’re going to turn the keys over to him,” Mullen said. “We’re going to put it on his shoulders, let him go, give him control of the offense, have a lot of input in decision-making, give him a lot of freedom in play-calling at the line of scrimmage, and put a lot on him.”
If MSU is going to execute Mullen’s plan, it will need the offensive line to stay healthy. Less than two months before the season opener against Jackson State University on Sept. 1, Jackson, who was named to the Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award watch lists (the awards recognize the nation’s best lineman), will try to be a leader of a line that hopes to have senior right guard Tobias Smith, of Columbus, finally healthy after an injury-plagued career.
Jackson has a chance to set himself up as a leader Wednesday. He said he had been looking forward to his trip to Media Days to talk about the season and to prove a point by senior defensive back Johnthan Banks that he is the best dressed guy in the locker room.
“I spent a lot of time thinking about my suit and what I’d wear after finding out I was coming to Media Days,” Jackson said. “I went to the coaching staff and they finally told me not to worry about it. People need to understand for a tall, big guy like myself it’s hard to find great clothes that fit. I’m not shopping off the rack, fellas.”
Banks, who served as the judge of Jackson’s presentation, said last week he was going to rely on his girlfriend and sister-in-law to make sure he looked stylish.
“What you guys have to realize about the way Gabe looks today is it’s hard to make 300 pounds look good,” Banks said.
With less than a month before the start of preseason workouts, Jackson likely will be one of four offensive linemen with experience, but he understands this year’s group will have an adjustment period as it builds chemistry.
“I think they are getting better every day,” Russell said. “They are young, but they still have some older guys that have done it. I’m really not worried about it too much.”
MSU had three starting lineman miss games with injuries last season. As a result, a lack of cohesion on the line of scrimmage was a factor in a drop-off from nine wins in 2010 to seven wins last season. MSU also saw declines in scoring (377 points in 2010; 329 last season) and rushing yards per game (214.8; 175.3).
Russell said it his responsibility to make sure the offensive linemen know their job on every play, and accepts the consequences of not reminding them. Those consequences normally allow a player twice the size of the quarterback to make a play in the backfield.
“On a blitz, some of the young guys might not have known what was going on (in the spring) and they didn’t make the right play,” Russell said. “It was my job to step in and point that out, so really it is helping me out. It is making the offensive line better and making me better.”
Jackson spent a long time Wednesday talking about the positive reports of health for Smith. He said Smith’s contributions will be critical to the offensive line’s ability to protect Russell.
“No matter what quarterback you are blocking for, you still don’t want to give up sacks, and you still don’t want to get beat and you want to open up lanes for the running back,” Jackson said.
Russell, who is the projected starter, has said he didn’t feel comfortable being the dominant voice in the huddle until this spring. With so many moving pieces on each play, Russell said he needs to be a positive leader to keep everyone going in the right direction.
“I have to be responsible and accountable for everybody knowing how to do their job on every call this season,” Russell said. “That’s what a leader does.”
Russell’s confidence and leadership skills have translated into a different personality for veterans like Jackson who were familiar with the laid-back style of Chris Relf, who helped lead MSU to back-to-back bowl victories.
Jackson said his goal will be to ensure the offensive line does everything it can to protect Russell.
“(Tyler) has pretty much taken over,” Jackson said. “He has demanded more of everyone. He’s doing extra things and working hard, going out throwing balls. I feel like he is more of a vocal leader than he has been in the past. He has always been the type to work hard and to be a leader, but he has done a better job this year of stepping up and taking control.
“When we line up every play, my job is to do everything I can to make sure Tyler isn’t getting hurt. If we do that, then he’s going to lead us to victories. If he gets hurt, we all didn’t sacrifice enough at our jobs and we hurt the team for the rest of the year. That just can’t happen.”
Last year, MSU allowed only 25 sacks, which is comparable to LSU, the University of Alabama, and the University of Arkansas, but losing nearly 40 rushing yards per game highlighted the lack of cohesion up front.
“Every year we have to set our expectations higher. We have to get better, win more,” Jackson said. “I feel like (last season) was a disappointment, but we are going to come back from it.”
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