STARKVILLE — Aaron Brule can feel the energy.
From Mississippi State’s scout team to its starters, the redshirt junior linebacker said Tuesday, something is just different. With only a few days left until the Bulldogs open their season at 3 p.m. Saturday against Louisiana Tech, it’s not hard to tell what it is.
“I think everybody’s ready to go,” Brule said. “Everybody knows that we can win football games.”
By the time the teams clash inside Davis Wade Stadium, it will have been 247 days since Mississippi State last played a game. And it’s never been clearer that the Bulldogs feel they’ve waited long enough.
“I’m glad that we’re getting closer to playing,” head coach Mike Leach said. “We’re getting tired of playing one another, and I think it’s about time we get tested by other teams.”
First up are the red and blue Bulldogs from Ruston, Louisiana, who own a 2-6 all-time record against their maroon and white counterparts. Mississippi State won their last meeting in November 2018, a 45-3 beatdown in Starkville.
Ninth-year coach Skip Holtz and Louisiana Tech, though, have an edge in 2021 when it comes to age — something of which Leach’s team doesn’t possess much.
“They have a lot of guys back,” Leach said. “They’re kind of an upperclassman team, and we’re a lowerclassman team. I think they have quite a lot of experience.”
But the Bulldogs have talent and chemistry, both of which should serve them well this fall. Redshirt senior wide receiver Austin Williams pointed to MSU’s considerable number of returning starters as evidence of improvement about to come.
“Most of these same guys are still here,” Williams said. “We’re just confident, and we’re ready to go. We’re prepared. Everybody feels good. We’re ready to roll.”
Louisiana Tech’s defense allowed 35.5 points per game last season, good for 12th out of 13 teams in Conference USA, but Williams praised the unit nonetheless. He said the visiting Bulldogs are likely to deploy plenty of the rush-three, drop-eight defensive looks that Mississippi State often couldn’t solve in 2020.
“I’m sure we’ll see a lot of drop-eight,” Williams said. “They’re a sound defense. They’re coached well; they play hard. It’ll be a good game.”
On offense, Louisiana Tech will start West Virginia transfer Austin Kendall at quarterback, the team announced Monday. The one-time Oklahoma signal-caller threw just 23 passes last season but finished with 1,989 yards, 12 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 2019 in Morgantown.
Brule said the Bulldogs reviewed film of Kendall as well as quarterbacks Aaron Allen and Luke Anthony.
“I think he can present a good challenge for us,” the linebacker said.
On offense, Louisiana Tech — fourth in C-USA at 28.4 points per game a season ago — uses the whole field, though perhaps not to the extent of Leach’s Air Raid scheme.
“They spread the defense out — kind of like our offense but obviously not as spaced as our offense,” Brule said. “They space the field out and get us running side to side.”
That, of course, will put extra emphasis on the Bulldogs’ secondary. Leach said cornerbacks Emmanuel Forbes and Martin Emerson are up to the task.
“I think they’re both really good,” Leach said. “Forbes got off to a good start last year. A lot of times, freshmen will play scared or they aren’t ready to play, but that wasn’t the case for Forbes. … I thought Martin was one of the better corners in the conference before last year, then he continued to reinforce that.”
And after spending much of 2020 “scraping for safeties” because of injuries, the Bulldogs feel they have quality depth at the position, where Collin Duncan, Jalen Green and Fred Peters are set to start with capable backups behind them.
“We were just lining somebody up there so we could get through the drills, among other things,” Leach said.
But that’s no longer the case. On the offensive side, too, the same depth and chemistry are present, thanks in part to the additions of Cal transfer Makai Polk and Washington State transfer Jamire Calvin at wide receiver.
“Everybody’s moving much faster,” Brule said. “I feel like they have much more confidence in themselves, knowing that they can do it.”
Soon, they’ll have the chance to show it as Davis Wade Stadium gets loud again.
“I think just really getting back to full crowds this year is going to be something that people really have been waiting for and we all have been waiting for,” Brule said. “I think it’s a good thing for everybody.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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