STARKVILLE — Mike Leach is walking into a win now situation.
While previous coach Joe Moorhead won 14 games and two Egg Bowls during his tumultuous tenure at Mississippi State, the fan base grew weary of off the field issues. A gift-wrapped 2018 roster that finished 8-5 with a loss to Iowa in the Outback Bowl didn’t help things either.
But with Moorhead’s time up, Leach heads into his first season in Starkville with the senior foundation of his squad having been laid by current Florida coach Dan Mullen and the 2016 recruiting class — a group that finished ranked No. 28 nationally in 247Sports.com’s composite rankings.
And though Leach’s air raid offense and incoming defensive coordinator Zach Arnett’s 3-3-5 scheme differ vastly from the past two regimes’ on-field strategies, the second-to-last class of the Mullen era should anchor The Pirate’s first year at MSU.
Everything checked out
For a class that ranked No. 11 in the SEC, Mullen pulled in plenty of star power with the 2016 class.
Headlining the group was No. 18 overall prospect Jeffery Simmons — tied for the second-highest rated player to ever sign with MSU in 247sports.com history. Simmons carried some baggage entering his college career after a video of him punching a woman during a fight emerged in March of 2016. That said, he was a stand-up citizen during his time in Starkville and was named a first team All-SEC performer in 2018 by ESPN, Pro Football Focus and the Coaches as a junior in 2018. Simmons was later selected by the Tennessee Titans with the 19th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Behind Simmons, cornerback Cameron Dantzler and linebacker Erroll Thompson became stalwarts for the MSU defense. Dantzler started all 13 games as a redshirt sophomore and was named a second team All-SEC performer after recording 43 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, two interceptions and 11 passes defended. His 41.1 passer rating allowed also ranked second among SEC corners according to PFF. Injuries limited Dantzler to nine games in 2019 but he’s expected to be drafted in the first three rounds of April’s NFL Draft.
As for Thompson, he comprised one third of the prolific linebacking corps that included 2017 signee Wille Gay Jr, and Leo Lewis the past two seasons. An old-school thumper, Thompson spurned home state Alabama at the last minute to sign with Mullen. A captain in 2019, he finished last season with 84 tackles — 3.5 for a loss — two passes defended, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery and will be MSU’s most experienced returning defender after he opted to skip the draft and remain in school for his final year of eligibility.
The major remaining hits from the 2016 class come in the form of former East Central Community College tight end Jordan Thomas and wide receiver Osirus Mitchell. Thomas came to MSU as the No. 1 rated junior college tight end and recorded at least two catches in seven of 13 games as a senior — finishing as the Bulldogs’ third-leading receiver following a move to receiver following a string of injuries at the position.
Mitchell was the last and lowest-rated player to sign with the Bulldogs as the No. 160 ranked prospect in the state of Florida in 2016. Ranking aside, he led the team with 430 yards and six touchdowns and finished second on the roster with 29 receptions in 2019 and stands to be a major beneficiary of Leach’s air raid offense.
Other hits in this class should also include offensive linemen Stewart Reese, Dareuan Parker and Greg Eiland — all of whom started for the Bulldogs in 2019 and should do so again in 2020. Eiland and Parker have notbaly out-played their recruiting rankings as the No. 67 and 87 players in Mississippi in the 2016 class.
Lastly, Copiah-Lincoln Community College prospects Tre Brown and Lashard Durr proved to be solid rotational pieces throughout their time at MSU. Durr concluded his career with 36 tackles and four pass breakups and one interception in 25 career games — including 13 starts — while Brown notched 21 tackles, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery in 26 appearances.
Might want a redo
Attrition is always natural with any signing class and MSU suffered very little in its 19-player 2016 group.
Three-star tight end Christian Roberson was ultimately recruited over in ensuing classes and transferred to Charlotte ahead of the 2019 season.
Three-star athlete Jamal Couch was the highest-rated departure in the 2016 class — leaving MSU for East Tennessee State University in 2018. The No. 346 ranked player nationally, Couch recorded just 18 receptions for 304 yards and four touchdowns during parts of two seasons in Starkville.
Other departures included South Bend, Indiana safety John Michael Hankerson and Eight Mile, Alabama receiver Reggie Todd. Two of the Bulldogs’ four lowest rated signees in the class, Hankerson and Todd were both dismissed from the team for varying legal issues.
Of those who remained, Dontea Jones came to MSU as the nation’s No. 1-ranked tight end but Mullen and Moorhead’s varying offensive schemes have left him with little ability to make an impact during his career.
Miami native Korey Charles has been mostly relegated to special teams duty during his time at MSU and likely won’t be a part of the secondary rotation in 2020.
Jury is still out
Safety C.J. Morgan is hard to label a miss given he’s suffered injury issues and spent two years behind first round NFL Draft pick Jonathan Abram, but the four-star prospect out of Bossier City, Louisiana has been a mixed bag throughout his four years at MSU. With the departures of safety Jaquarius Landrews and nickelback Brian Cole, Morgan could rewrite this narrative should he rebound from the torn ACL that ended his 2019 campaign.
Marquiss Spencer and Kobe Jones are similarly hard to tab given both came to MSU with considerable hype as four-star recruits and top-300 prospects. And though neither has been remotely close to the playmaker Simmons was during his three years, both were productive replacements for he and fellow first round draft choice Montez Sweat this past season and should help bolster a Bulldog defensive line that was startlingly young and inexperienced in 2019.
Conclusions and a 2020 Outlook
In all, Mullen’s second-to-last class was littered with playmakers and solid role contributors as 12 of the 19 signees graded out as productive or better players during their careers, while three remain up in the air.
Simmons concluded his time as a Bulldog as arguably the most dominant defensive player in school history and if not for an ACL tear during pre-draft training likely would have found himself inside the top 10 picks.
Dantzler too could sneak into the back end of the first round come this April’s Draft depending on his combine testing.
Back in Starkville, with Leach breaking in his patented pass-heavy offensive scheme, Mitchell, Parker, Reese and Eiland should all be beneficiaries of the coaching change in 2020.
And though Leach has been known as an offensive guru, his defenses have struggled throughout his 18-year head coaching career. With offensive growing pains seemingly inevitable, Thompson, Jones and Spencer become all the more important in keeping the Bulldogs in games while the potent passing attack gets its feet underneath it.
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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