STARKVILLE — It’s been just three practices into the spring for Mississippi State football, but the Bulldogs are hard at work learning and adjusting to their new-look coaching staff.
Existing faces Zach Arnett and Matt Brock are in new places, but the addition of new offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay has brought a new style to the offense.
That fresh look has allowed Mississippi State’s defense to adapt from the air raid that they’ve dealt with in practice over the last three years.
“The air raid man, it was a lot of pass-rushing,” redshirt senior De’Monte Russell said. “You have to be in shape for that…We know that we have to run the angles now because there’s a lot of read options. We just know we have to get our eyes up and looking at which way to go.”
Barbay brings with him from Appalachian State a balanced offensive playbook, one that will see the Bulldogs, who were at the bottom of rushing offense last season, jump in that category.
Mississippi State found itself nearly 35 rushing yards per game behind the next-closest team in Kentucky as the Bulldogs ran for 81.69 yards a game, more than 18 YPG up from the 2021 season.
However, Barbay quite literally ran wild with the Mountaineers in Boone, North Carolina, rushing for over 204 yards a game, something that’s immediately translated into offensive sets this spring in Starkville.
“[The offense] is a lot different,” senior Decamerion Richardson said. “Adding in a tight end, things spread out wide, throwing and running.”
Preparing this spring for what’s to come in the fall is not just helpful for the defense, who will already be seeing a number of dual-threat offenses in the Southeastern Conference.
It’s just as helpful for the offensive line as they’ll be blocking up front much more on rushing plays and for the potential of quarterback options into the open field.
“It’s good,” redshirt senior guard Steven Losoya III said. “There’s been a little adjusting. We don’t have everything down right now, but after 10, 12 practices, we’ll have everything down for sure.”
The spring is the perfect time for introducing new schemes into the mix as new transfers come in, players are transitioning into new positions, and like in the case of Mississippi State, coaching chances and shifts are going on.
Everyone is getting back adjusted to the field and back to game speed, and from both sides of the ball, the Bulldogs are embracing change and unfamiliarity as they look to make waves in the SEC.
However, in the wake of unfamiliarity, having the commonality of schemes that they’ll face during the season brings confidence and comfortability.
“Really, it’s just like a game,” redshirt senior linebacker J.P. Purvis said. “During the season, we play teams that are running 12-personnel, 13-personnel. We’re just seeing what we’re going to see during the season.”
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