STARKVILLE — After a topsy-turvy week filled with multiple arrests and a nationally publicized incident involving quarterback Dak Prescott, Mississippi State’s football players went back to work Tuesday.
They looked right at home.
Originally scheduled to open spring practice today, MSU moved up the opening of its annual spring workouts due to expected inclement weather. The result was a picture-perfect 78-degree day that saw coach Dan Mullen and his Bulldogs return to the practice field for the first time since last year.
“It’s great to be out here,” said Mullen, who led his team to a 10-3 record in 2014. “We work hard to come out here and play football, and I think we had a great offseason. A lot of guys have been training and working hard, and now they get to come out and apply it to the game of football. I think, for everybody, it was a lot of fun to be out here.”
The Bulldogs, who spent five weeks at No. 1 for the first time in school history last season, showed up for practice without 15 of 22 starters from last season’s team. They enter the month-long drills with several questions on both sides of the ball.
Here are 10 questions for MSU as it begins preparations for the 2015 season. Some of those questions were being answered Tuesday.
n Will Dak Prescott be 100 percent?: The world watched videos that showed Prescott and teammates Damian Williams, a backup quarterback, and Torrey Dale, a defensive end, being attacked during an incident at Spring Break in Panama City Beach, Florida. In the video, multiple men can be seen punching and kicking Prescott, including once in the face. Allegedly, Prescott also was hit with a bottle during the altercation that opened a three-inch gash below his right eye. Any questions regarding whether Prescott would be ready for the Spring were answered quickly Tuesday. Still sporting the cut below his eye, Prescott took every first-team rep and looked to be in midseason form for much of the practice.
“He’s fine,” Mullen said. “He missed a wide-open pass on the first throw of team drills, so I guess maybe that’s a side effect, but no, he’s good to go.”
Prescott accounted for 4,138 yards and 42 touchdowns in 2014. He finished eighth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy, which is given annually to college football’s best player.
n What will
Manny Diaz’s defense look like?: Returning to MSU after a four-year absence, Diaz will take the field as MSU’s defensive coordinator for the first time 2010 when the Bulldogs open the season at Southern Mississippi. Diaz will take control of a defense that enters spring practice without seven starters from last season.
Diaz, who helped the Bulldogs’ defense rank No. 19 in the nation in yards allowed in 2010, inherits a young, talented group that looks to rebound from a 49-34 loss to Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl.
Mullen doesn’t feel his defense will undergo a drastic change moving from former coordinator Geoff Collins to Diaz.
“Our style of defense is not going to change,” Mullen said. “Schematically, we might run an adjustment to coverage or a different blitz or two, but we are going to have a lot of guys running to the football with relentless effort. That is important when dealing with the defensive side of the ball.”
n Who will step up at safety?: Former starters Justin Cox and Jay Hughes are gone. Primary backup Kendrick Market spent most of Tuesday in “The Pit,” the roped-off section beyond MSU’s practice field reserved for injured players, as he recovers from a ruptured Achilles injury. Career backups Kivon Coman and Deontay Evans are the only players who remain.
Strong efforts in the spring by Coman and Evans will go a long way to helping them hold off incoming freshmen like four-star safety prospect Jamal Peters, who will arrive in June.
n What will the offensive line look like?: The Bulldogs will have to replace three decorated starters. Center Dillon Day started 46 games in his career, left tackle Blaine Clausell was a four-year starter, and guard Ben Beckwith was a two-time Southeastern Conference Offensive Lineman of the Week in 2014. One of MSU’s main objectives in the spring will be to cobble together a unit that can mimic the production of last year’s line.
That picture began to come into focus Tuesday, as the starting offensive line, which received most of the practice reps, featured left tackle Rufus Warren, a senior-to-be from Indianola; left guard Justin Malone, a two-year starter; center Jamaal Clayborn, who started two games last season; right guard Devon Desper, who started once; and right tackle Justin Senior, who started all 13 games.
“We have to create some depth,” Mullen said. “We’re probably going to be experimenting with a couple of different guys in there in different points throughout the spring.”
n Who will be the No. 1 running back?: With leading rusher Josh Robinson — 1,203 yards in 2014 — heading for the NFL, the role of No. 1 running back is open. Most expect junior-to-be Ashton Shumpert, who led the Bulldogs in rushing yards in three of the final four games of the season, to inherit the position, but Mullen mentioned redshirt freshmen Dontavian Lee and Aeris Williams on Tuesday.
Williams, who was a standout at West Point High School, was the state of Mississippi’s Mr. Football as a senior in 2012.
n Who will lead the defense?: The role of defensive leader is up for grabs after middle linebacker Benardrick McKinney is destined for the NFL draft. His departure leaves a hole in the middle of MSU’s defense in terms of production and leadership.
Junior linebacker Beniquez Brown figures to step into the roles of MSU’s emotional and physical leader. Brown patrolled the middle of the defense and whipped teammates into shape on the opening day of spring practice.
n Who will play tight end?: Former started Malcolm Johnson, MSU’s third-leading receiver in each of the past two seasons, is gone. Former West Lowndes High standout Brandon Hill also is gone, which means MSU will enter the season with a bigger hole at tight end than it has had since Mullen arrived in 2009. On Tuesday, junior Gus Walley and senior Darrion Hutcherson competed for reps at first-team tight end on Tuesday. Walley and Hutcherson couldn’t be more different in style. Hutcherson is the more physical player. He lined up in short-yardage situations, while Walley, at 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, is the receiving threat. Walley lined up at tight end in passing situations with the first team to open practice.
n What will the kicking game look like?: Former kicker Evan Sobiesk wasn’t spectacular, but he made 14 of 16 field goal attempts in 2014. But Sobiesk gave up football and opted to go to dental school in the offseason. In his absence, kicker Westyn Graves and punters Logan Cooke and Devon Bell took turns Tuesday attempting field goals.
n Which newcomers will be ready?: Six signees — two freshmen, four junior college transfers — from the Class of 2015 recruiting class enrolled at MSU in January, allowing them to arrive in time for practice. Freshmen Malik Dear and Deddrick Thomas worked at slot receiver, as did junior college All-American Donald Gray, who caught several passes over the middle from Prescott.
Defensive end Johnathan Calvin registered two pass breakups.
“I want to go and look at all of them because there are a lot,” Mullen said of MSU’s newcomers. “I bet 40 percent of our team has never played in a game. That’s redshirt freshmen, true freshmen, and a lot of guys graduated early and got in here as mid-year enrollees. A lot of guys that have never played in the game, and this is, to me, their first time to absorb it. It’s slower for the mid-year enrollees because they have to learn it, but the redshirt freshmen have been here. They are showing how much they absorbed last year.”
n Who will change positions?: That question was answered as soon as the Bulldogs hit the field. Junior receiver Fred Ross, who had 30 catches for 489 yards and five touchdowns as a sophomore, moved from the outside to the slot receiver position, while former slot guy Jamoral Graham, a sophomore-to-be, switched from offense to defense, where he made his debut as a cornerback.
“With his skill set and his physicality, we talked about it and decided that would be a good move for him and our team,” Mullen said. “He’s a competitor. He wants to see the field and he will do whatever to make that happen. And when you look at it, our depth at cornerback isn’t there, so it made sense.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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