The start of football season is less than a month away.
Mississippi State players reported to fall camp Thursday and will begin practice Friday with a little more than four weeks to prepare for the 2021 campaign, which begins at 3 p.m. Sept. 4 against Louisiana Tech.
After a 4-7 season in 2020, a young Bulldogs team hopes to put things together in coach Mike Leach’s second year. To find success in a strong nonconference schedule and the eight-game Southeastern Conference grind, Mississippi State must find consistent production at quarterback, continue to improve under defensive coordinator Zach Arnett and thrive at wide receiver with sophomore Jaden Walley in the lead.
Here’s more on the three keys to the Bulldogs’ success in 2021.
Quarterbacks
Leach knows the football adage well enough: If you have two quarterbacks, you have no quarterbacks.
It’s why he insisted during SEC Media Days on July 21 the Bulldogs will commit to one signal-caller. Whether that will be sophomore Will Rogers or Southern Miss graduate transfer Jack Abraham remains to be seen.
Regardless of who starts in Mississippi State’s opener against Louisiana Tech, Leach is sure of one thing: “We’ve got a lot better quarterback room than we had last year,” he said.
Behind Rogers and Abraham, South Alabama transfer Chance Lovertich and Sam Houston State transfer Jack Kristofek join freshmen Sawyer Robertson and Daniel Greek, making for solid depth at the position.
“It will be very competitive, and the biggest challenge is going to be sorting out how to deal the reps because you don’t have enough reps to consistently rep four quarterbacks,” Leach said. “So we’re going to have to sort out who’s toward the top and narrow it down to two and go from there.”
The Bulldogs’ depth might not matter if they can’t get consistent production out of their starter, a problem they faced last year when Stanford transfer K.J. Costello struggled after a record-setting Week 1 against LSU. Rogers took over the starting job midseason, finishing with 1,976 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
But his average yards per attempt of just 5.7 ranked 116th in the nation, a sign the Brandon product has room to improve.
Wide receiver Austin Williams said Rogers has committed to doing that, spending plenty of time bettering his game and becoming a leader in the locker room.
“For Will coming in as a true freshman, kind of a tough situation to get thrown in, and I think he did a great job,” Williams said. “I’m ready to see him continue to grow.”
Defense
Mississippi State fielded the sixth-best defense in the SEC in 2020, hardly a bad showing for Arnett in his first year in Starkville. But the former San Diego State defensive coordinator said this spring he wasn’t pleased with the progression he’d seen in the offseason.
“We’re not a very good defense right now,” he told reporters April 6.
But that was early in spring practice, and the Bulldogs promise they’ve improved since. Linebacker Aaron Brule said during SEC media days that having a full spring after the COVID-19 pandemic took that away in 2020 was crucial.
“We didn’t have enough time last year to implement everything we wanted to, and I think … the spring we just had gives us a great boost going into the season,” he said.
Brule, who had 77 tackles (8.5 for losses) and four sacks in 2020, will be Mississippi State’s defensive leader after several key players moved on. Linebacker Erroll Thompson and defensive ends Kobe Jones and Marquiss Spencer won’t return, with Spencer a seventh-round NFL draft selection of the Denver Broncos. Thompson and Jones both signed free-agent deals with the Atlanta Falcons.
Cornerbacks Martin Emerson and Emmanuel Forbes Jr. will play big roles in the secondary.
“I thought that both Martin and Emmanuel got better as the season went on,” Leach said. “They’re both great workers. You know one thing both of them have is they just love to play. Those guys that love to play, that always want one more snap, tend to get better because they find an excuse to be on the field rather than an excuse to be off of it.”
Texas transfer Jalen Green, who moves from corner to safety, and UCF transfer defensive lineman Randy Charlton will be important pieces of the defense as well.
“He brings a high motor — a high-energy guy,” Brule said of Charlton. “He’s a natural leader. Everybody follows the energy he brings to the table.”
Wide receivers
Walley will be tasked with setting the pace in the Bulldogs’ wide receiver room after a Mississippi State freshman-record 718 receiving yards in 2020.
The sophomore from D’Iberville leads a group that returns nearly everyone from last season. Osirus Mitchell (505 yards, four touchdowns) turned pro, while JaVonta Payton (225 yards, one touchdown) transferred to Tennessee.
“I think we’ve got a lot of experience coming back,” Williams said. “We’ve got a couple new guys. I really like where we’re at. I think we have a better understanding of the system. I think we’re going to be a lot more sound and a lot better.”
Williams, a redshirt senior, and JUCO transfer Malik Heath will help Walley carry the load. The Ocean Springs product caught 43 passes a year ago for 372 yards and three touchdowns, while Heath pulled in 37 receptions for 307 yards and three scores.
Leach praised Williams’ steady presence in the lineup during SEC media days.
“He does an outstanding job,” Leach said. “The thing that Austin brings is the consistency. I think that sometimes people forget how important consistency is. It’s vitally important, and it’s also something that, if you’ve got a real consistent guy that’s a great example, other people draw from that.”
Transfer Makai Polk had 193 yards and a touchdown in limited playing time for Cal in 2020, and he’ll offer the Bulldogs another option at receiver.
“I think he’s a great player. He works hard, he’s explosive, and he does all the little things right,” Williams said.
Sophomore Lideatrick “Tulu” Griffin of Philadelphia High School and redshirt freshman Rufus Harvey III of Starkville High could be back-end options as well in what Williams said will be a “good, healthy competition” at wideout.
“We’re getting better,” Leach said. “We’re still a young group, but we’re steadily getting better, steadily improving.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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