STARKVILLE — Hot and cold.
That’s how Mississippi State football defensive lineman coach Brian Baker described the play of sophomore defensive lineman Cory Thomas.
After playing under defensive line coach David Turner and defensive coordinator Manny Diaz as a redshirt freshman last season, Thomas had to get used to a new position coach and defensive coordinator. Baker, who has 19 years of NFL coaching experience, and defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon took over in the spring.
A new position coach and a new defensive coordinator meant a new learning curve for Thomas and the other defensive lineman. Baker hopes Thomas shows some consistency as MSU (2-5) plays host to Samford (6-1) 2:30 p.m. Saturday (SEC Network) at Davis Wade Stadium for Homecoming.
“There’s sometimes when he gets distracted and gives into the fatigue a little bit and then there’s other times where he toughens up, focuses and plays really well,” Baker said.
Baker said some of the good things Thomas does is when he lets his body take over and do most of the work. The 6-foot-5, 313-pound defensive tackle has played in all seven games and has 20 tackles (3.5 for loss), one pass breakup and one pass defended. He didn’t have a tackle, but recorded a pass breakup in a 40-38 loss to Kentucky last Saturday night at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky.
Baker said some of the bad things he does is have bad body angles by getting too high at times, getting his feet crossed and getting his shoulders turned. Sometimes he doesn’t line up across from an offensive lineman the right way and that affects his ability to get into the backfield on pass rush.
Baker said repetition is the main way he has gone about correcting Thomas’ game.
“Fundamentally, he’s made some strides,” Baker said. “What we do here with our defensive line is challenge you and I told those guys that when I got here. We play multiple fronts and we play multiple techniques in those fronts. Sometimes those techniques require different fundamentals. He’s got to mentally lock and load on that because lacking that you have no chance.
“(We have to) put him in those positions where he’s got to strain through physical fatigue, make him strain mentally and physically and just have him understand that’s what it takes to win games. You have to play all four quarters.”
Sirmon said the flashes Thomas has shown are just enough to increase the expectations. Sirmon said with young players, it’s usually a mental hurdle that is holding them back from showing good flashes all the time.
Thomas said it has been a grind mentally since training camp started in August. He said he comes home from practice or a game and feels mentally drained.
“It’s just basically doing your job as a young guy because we haven’t had the reps that A.J. (Jefferson), Nick James and Nelson (Adams) have had,” Thomas said. “We just try to maintain and stay on the right track and just not do too much, just do our job and know that’s enough.”
In 2015, Thomas played in eight games and had three tackles (1.0 for loss) and an interception against Kentucky.
Thomas was a four-year letter winner for McAdory High School football coach David Powell. He had 75 tackles and 3.0 sacks as a senior in 2013.
Powell said adversity didn’t come Thomas’ way often, but when it did, he handled it well.
“He was a good sized high school defensive tackle, so a lot of Friday nights he had to fight through the adversity of being doubled team a lot during the course of the season,” Powell said. “He just had to have the mental toughness to fight through the double team play in and play out and always did.”
During his redshirt season in 2014, Thomas saw the Bulldogs start 9-0 and be ranked No. 1 for five straight weeks. Last season, he helped the Bulldogs finish 9-4 and pick up a 51-28 win over North Carolina State in the Belk Bowl in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Thomas said he learned early on there was a big difference in high school football and college football.
“I learned in my freshman year, the speed of the game is very different. The physicality is so much different,” Thomas said.
The Bulldogs are in the midst of a three-game losing streak. That hasn’t affected Thomas’ practice mind-set, something he says he takes very serious because he knows good practice will lead to good play.
“I would say it’s more of a fuel,” Thomas said. “Me and Jeffery Simmons basically try to feed off each other. When one of us is down or looking down, he’s like, ‘Come on Cory,’ or I’m like, ‘Come on Jeffery.'”
Against Kentucky, freshman Simmons forced a fumble that led to a 81-yard scoop and score for sophomore safety Mark McLaurin. He wants to be as active as Simmons to help the Bulldog defensive line be dominant.
Playing hot is what Thomas wants to do every down and it’s what the coaches want to see. Baker believes Thomas will get there.
“Cory’s got a lot of potential,” Baker said. “He’s got to want to reach it every day. I think as a young kid, that’s his challenge. A coach can only do but so much. A guy’s got to want to get as good as he can be. Every day he’s got to come out.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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