STARKVILLE — Mississippi State University’s first open football practice of the fall season Saturday was about the present and the future.
MSU coaches divided the morning session between several veteran starters and some eagerly anticipated newcomers who have the fan base excited.
“I think for a lot of the young guys it was a shock for them, just the pace of moving from drill to drill, going back and getting on the ball, and running the play and going fast,” MSU offensive coordinator Les Koenning said. “Those things are really, really different for them because they’ve been working out (but) they haven’t been around a football all summer.”
There was a method to MSU’s plan to split the team up by positions. Coach Dan Mullen said Thursday that running backs coach Greg Knox suggested a plan to give the four guys vying for a starting role more opportunities.
“Each position coach has a different reason for putting this guy with this guy,” Mullen said. “The reason we do the split practice is we had an installation today (and) when you get in line and there’s two running backs instead of five running backs you get a lot more specific teaching.”
Outland Trophy watch list nominee Josh Boyd worked on the first-team at defensive tackle with sophomore Curtis Virges. The West Point
High School standout will battle senior Devin Jones and sophomore P.J. Jones to be Boyd’s new sidekick at the position.
“Last year, (2012 NFL first-round draft pick) Fletcher (Cox) would do his thing then I’d do something,” Boyd said. “But now he’s gone (and) I’m one of the oldest guys on the line, so I’ve got step up and lead those guys.”
The fans at the MSU practice field might have been more excited to see freshmen Quay Evans and Nick James work in tandem at backup middle lineman for the first time. Evans and James were four-star prospects coming out of high school, and were listed in the top five of nearly every Internet scouting service’s list of the state’s top five players. The only difference between the highly cherished talents was Evans’ surprising decision to enroll early at MSU so he could be eligible for spring workouts.
“We need the d-line to step up big, (especially) when you’re losing a top player in Fletcher Cox and an experienced guy like Sean Ferguson and Trevor Stigers, who was a rotator a little bit,” Mullen said in March. “With those guys all moving on, that’s a spot that you have to see some guys step up.”
With experienced depth at linebacker, it’s hard to imagine a freshman breaking and earning a lot of playing time, but Richie Brown made an impression in debut. Geoff Collins, MSU’s co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach, will overindulge the four-star prospect from Long Beach with information on all three linebacker positions before he’s asked to master one.
“Richie’s playing the middle right now, (but) to play linebacker you’ve got to be in charge,” Collins said. “The more knowledge you have, the more in charge you can be.”
On offense, the expectations and anticipation for the debut of wide receiver Joe Morrow intensified Saturday morning as the redshirt freshman caught a touchdown pass off a tipped ball in a scrimmage late in the morning practice.
“I don’t know what happened. I just turned my head and the ball was right there,” Morrow said. “The first thing that popped in my head was, ‘Catch,’ so I jumped under it and it fell in my hands.”
Morrow sat out the 2011 season to learn the system and to get comfortable with Tyler Russell as his quarterback. Mullen admitted halfway through it was incredibly difficult not to put the Ocean Springs native into the game because the Bulldogs lacked big, athletic targets in the passing game.
“The thing about Joe is he’s been really, really good or really, really bad,” Koenning said. “Sometimes he’s not in the right spot, but then when he is in the right spot he makes the good catches and he makes plays. That’s the learning process for him. I think he’ll tell us when he’s ready to play.”
After the morning session, Morrow wouldn’t stop talking about the young, athletic defensive backs he competed against. One of them was freshman cornerback Cedric Jiles. The 5-foot-10 prospect from Clinton did get beat on a jump ball to wide receiver Sam Williams in skeleton passing drills, but he rebounded later in the workout for several impressive tipped balls and knockdowns.
“He’s a young guy who has some great ball skills and can run,” Wilson said. “When you can run, you are usually pretty confident. The biggest thing is getting him some knowledge. The more knowledge they get, the more comfortable they get.”
MSU fans also had their first look at walk-on freshman quarterback Jamil Gordon, of Memphis, Tenn. Gordon, a first-team All-District player according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, had an early touchdown pass and then found Morrow on sideline routes.
“For a young freshman to come in there and never been around our system and pick it up and understand the checks and go through the things, it was impressive to me for a good first day,” Koenning said. “Nobody is in the Hall of Fame here, (but) we’re going through it. We’re in a learning process, and we’ll make evaluations as it goes on.”
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