When an offense in college football is both bad and boring, it’s hard to generate a lot of positive headlines — on the field or in recruiting.
After moving away from Mike Leach’s “Air Raid” offense following the former head coach’s death in December 2022, Mississippi State’s offense in 2023, coordinated by Kevin Barbay, was at times both lifeless and uninspiring. The Bulldogs’ offense managed just 11.25 points per game in Southeastern Conference play, eclipsing 17 points just once.
Athletic director Zac Selmon knew he needed an offensive innovator in MSU’s next head coach, and he found one in Jeff Lebby, who coordinated stellar offenses at UCF, Ole Miss and, most recently, Oklahoma.
Selmon’s hope is that Lebby’s offense will be not just effective, but also fun to watch. The Bulldogs already have a whole slew of marketing slogans for the upcoming season, from “Showtime” to “Swag is State” to “Score From Far.”
In 2019, Lebby’s only season as UCF’s offensive coordinator, the Knights were second (behind only national champion LSU) among 130 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in yards per game and fifth in points per game. UCF did all that with a true freshman, Dillon Gabriel, at quarterback, and an outstanding receiving corps with three future NFL Draft picks in Gabriel Davis, Tre Nixon and Jacob Harris.
Lebby’s offense called for plenty of deep balls, but also kept defenses honest by getting the ball out quickly to playmakers in space. The Knights frequently used play action and rarely huddled, not giving defenses time to catch their breath.
Ole Miss was coming off back-to-back losing seasons when the Rebels hired Lane Kiffin in December 2019, and Kiffin, once considered an offensive wunderkind himself, brought in Lebby as his offensive coordinator just five days later. In Lebby’s first season in Oxford, Ole Miss skyrocketed from 81st all the way to 14th in scoring offense, led by quarterback Matt Corral, who raised his completion rate from 59 percent to 70.9 percent.
Wide receiver Elijah Moore had a monster year, with 86 catches for 1,193 yards and eight touchdowns in just eight games. That prolific passing attack opened things up in the running game as well — the Rebels led SEC with more than 210 rushing yards per game.
The following year, Ole Miss was sixth nationally in total offense and won 10 regular-season games for the first time in program history. Corral was a true dual threat at quarterback, and the Rebels went to play action often for both quick conversions and deep shots.
Lebby left the Rebels after two years for the offensive coordinator position at his alma mater, Oklahoma, a program with a rich history of explosive offenses. The Sooners were a top-10 scoring offense in 2021, so Lebby did not have to overhaul much, but he did entice Gabriel to transfer from UCF. Gabriel thrived once again under Lebby in Norman, throwing 55 touchdown passes over the last two seasons with just 12 interceptions.
What does this mean for Mississippi State?
Unlike at Oklahoma, Lebby had a lot of work to do to install his offense with the Bulldogs, who were outside the top 100 in both points and yards per game last year. Without the transfer portal, it would have been a much taller task, but MSU is looking at seven transfers starting on offense this fall, including quarterback Blake Shapen from Baylor.
Shapen was limited by injuries throughout his three seasons with the Bears and had some trouble taking care of the ball in the lone year he was fully healthy, 2022. But he flashed loads of potential in the Bulldogs’ spring game in April, with 312 passing yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone.
Those numbers, of course, must be taken with a grain of salt — Shapen was facing an MSU defense with question marks at all three levels in a modified game. But with the wide receivers’ room retooled with portal additions Kevin Coleman and Kelly Akharaiyi along with freshmen JJ Harrell, Mario Craver and Braylon Burnside, plus tight ends Seydou Traore and brothers Justin and Cameron Ball, Shapen will have plenty of capable pass-catchers.
The job now for Lebby is to mix up that passing attack with a potent ground game. Utah State transfer Davon Booth appears to have the inside track to start, but junior college transfer Johnnie Daniels impressed in the spring game and should get plenty of snaps to complement returners Keyvone Lee and Jeffery Pittman.
If the new-look offensive line, featuring an entirely new starting unit and four transfer additions, can hold up well in both run blocking and pass protection, Lebby’s offense might just give Bulldogs fans something to be excited about this season and for years to come.
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