STARKVILLE — Fourteen Southeastern Conference defensive linemen finished last season with at least 10 tackles for a loss.
Mississippi State had two of them, but they both graduated.
As MSU football works through spring practice without Johnathan Calvin and A.J. Jefferson, a young group of returning players has been thrust into a leadership role for five early enrollees on the defensive line.
“I like our size up front. I like the way we have multiple guys we can play from that essence,” MSU defensive coordinator Todd Grantham said. “I would say it’s safe to say there’s a lot of competition. We’re going to give everybody a chance to make it, show their skill set and what they can do.”
The proven commodities are few, but Jeffery Simmons is one of them. No returning defensive lineman had more tackles (40), quarterback hurries (four), or forced fumbles (two) than he did.
Beyond a heightened expectation level for production in 2017, Simmons and the other returners will be asked to set the tone for coach Dan Mullen.
“With the new guys, it all depends on where they’re at and them being comfortable,” he said. “Guys like (redshirt freshman) Kobe Jones and Jeffery Simmons have great leadership qualities with the effort they bring every single day. We’re going to look at those guys to be the leaders of that front.”
Simmons has embraced that notion, saying Mullen always tells his players to challenge themselves daily and he will do so in leadership.
Cory Thomas, who had 24 tackles (four-and-a-half for a loss) as a sophomore season, and Marquiss Spencer, who had a sack and three tackles for a loss as a freshman, also return.
That group hopes to lead the way for junior college newcomers Chauncey Rivers, Deion Pope, Montez Sweat, and Lee Autry and James Jackson out of Pascagoula. The returning players have been has impressed with how their new teammates have adopted the MSU culture.
“They saw what we were doing here and joined along,” linebacker Gerri Green said. “They saw we were a family so they just joined our family. They came in with a mind-set of working. They see how we do things around here and they’re going with it. They didn’t try to go against it. They just jumped on the bandwagon.”
Even if Sweat moves to outside linebacker, a position he was seen working at in early spring practices, there is still previous Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) experience among the newcomers for Grantham to lean on. Rivers previously played for Georgia, while Sweat started his career at Michigan State.
Last season at Copiah-Lincoln Community College, Pope and Sweat combined for 13 tackles for a loss in nine games, while Sweat was third on the team with five sacks.
Rivers led East Mississippi C.C. in tackles for a loss (12 1/2) and sacks (eight) in 12 games, while Autry was close to doing the same for Itawamba C.C., posting six-and-a-half sacks. Jackson was a first-team All-State selection by the Mississippi Association of Coaches in his senior season.
Grantham can see the potential. Earlier in spring, Grantham said he wanted to see improvement in pass rush. Defensive line coach Brian Baker said Grantham has taken a hands-on approach in those situations.
“It goes back to developing habits,” Grantham said. “I would say we’re a work in progress. We’re going to get better at it, and we’re going to find ways to hit the quarterback.”
For Thomas, that begins with his first step and his tendency to take it laterally as opposed to upfield. For the unit, Grantham is focused on establishing a foundation so the Bulldogs can rush the quarterback.
“Anytime you have to learn to play with your hands, it’s a motor movement, and motor movements are repetition. It’s habit,” Grantham said. “Then you have to learn to feel the way the guy is setting you, so it’s kind of like running the ball on offense, it’s a feel thing.”
n Ole Miss defense getting physical: At Oxford, the difficulties of the Ole Miss defense were well documented in 2016, and this spring the Rebels have been on a mission to improve all facets of their defense.
The mission, according to coach Hugh Freeze, is being accomplished.
“I love the energy of the defense,” Freeze said Tuesday after practice. “They’re flying to the football, playing physical. They really bowed their neck. Defensively you’ve got to hold people to field goals (in the red zone). With the offenses in today’s football, they’re going to get down there. You’ve got to hold them to field goals.”
The defense dominated the scripted portion of the Rebels’ red-zone scrimmage Tuesday. An emerging leader for the unit this spring has been junior defensive tackle Breeland Speaks.
“Breeland’s motor has been unbelievable,” Freeze said. “He’s playing at a level energy wise and tempo wise that I could not ask for any more.”
Said junior offensive guard Jordan Sims, “Breeland’s a great player. I feel like we have one of the better D-lines in the country. Not just me, but the whole offensive line is getting better going against them every day.”
Under new defensive coordinator Wesley McGriff and defensive line coach Freddie Roach, the Rebels have tweaked some of the techniques up front. Speaks and his teammates are in the midst of adjusting.
“The great thing I love about what Freddie is doing is he’s demanding it and he’s going to call them on it,” Freeze said. “I can’t question Breeland’s heart or anything, and he knows he’s just got to keep cleaning up his technique.”
Said Speaks, “One of (the things coach) Roach is (emphasizing) is to strike blockers with our hands. I feel like it’s coming along. The more we practice, the more I get opportunities to see myself using the technique and doing with it what I will.”
Speaks talked about the tackles playing more squarely against the offensive guard than in previous years and mentioned the maturation of teammates Ross Donelly, Benito Jones, Josiah Coatney, Austrian Robinson, and Garrald McDowell in practice. He was specifically impressed with Robinson.
“Austrian is really coming along,” Speaks said. “He’s striking guys like I’ve never seen, sometimes better than me.”
Speaks said he and his teammates are using last year as motivation.
“You go from being the Landshark defense to people calling you whatever they call you,” Speaks said. “It was bad, and guys hated it. We have all the motivation to get back to that Landshark defense.”
Freeze was pleased to see Donta Evans back on the field giving the linebackers a more physical presence. He said cornerback Jalen Julius has been cleared for non-contact work but won’t see contact for the duration of spring practice.
Ole Miss is gearing up for the Regions Bank Grove Bowl at 11 a.m. April 8. Admission is free.
n Alabama straps on pads for first time in spring: At Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Alabama worked two hours in full pads Tuesday afternoon at the Thomas-Drew Practice Fields. The two-hour session was the Crimson Tide’s fourth of 15 scheduled spring practices.
Alabama’s A-Day Spring Game is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, April 22, at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The game is free to the public and will be televised live on ESPN.
Alabama will practice Thursday and have three more practices next week before holding its first scrimmage of the spring April 8 at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The scrimmage will be closed to the public.
n Southern Mississippi returns to practice: At Hattiesburg, Southern Mississippi returned to the field for the first time since Friday and wore full pads to kick off its first scrimmage week.
Coach Jay Hopson said he is seeing competition at center between Tyler Stutzman and Wyatt Richthofen. He said the team is looking forward to Saturday’s scrimmage.
“Spring always has good and bad,” Hopson said. “I sound like a broken record each day, but that’s the reality of it. Offensively we had a good day today despite some missed execution, and defensively we didn’t pick it up till the end. I thought at the beginning we were in a lull. It’s the spring and you see a lot of things to correct and some guys doing good things. We just have to keep building.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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