STARKVILLE — In a season that saw more ebbs and flows than the Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi State capped off its first season under Mike Leach with an Armed Forces Bowl victory over No. 24 Tulsa last week. And while a postgame brawl marred the immediate aftermath of the contest, the Bulldogs’ win put a bow on a year that boasted incredible highs and dismal lows.
In short, 2020 was a rebuilding year in Starkville. The import of Stanford graduate transfer signal-caller K.J. Costello, former top-100 recruit Tyrell Shavers and a supporting offensive cast that included senior receiver Osirus Mitchell and junior running back Kylin Hill offered optimism at an immediate fix. A win over then-No. 6 LSU in Baton Rouge the same day it lifted the 2019 national championship banner added to the excitement.
Oh, but how things fell off.
After MSU’s emphatic open to the year, the Bulldogs went 1-6 over its next seven games and offered outputs in which there quite literally aren’t enough iterations of the word “bad” to describe. A 24-2 loss to Kentucky saw Costello throw his third pick-sx in as many games and marked the first time in 19 years a Leach-coached team failed to score even three points. Abysmal outputs against Alabama, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt also followed.
More pressing, it was the MSU offense that sputtered over that span. The Bulldogs failed to pass for more than 275 yards four times, including a 163-yard passing output against No.1 Alabama on Halloween.
MSU also saw double-digit players leave the program for varying reasons between the time Leach took over in January through the end of the season.
“We’re going to have to check some of our group and see who really wants to play here,” Leach said after MSU’s loss to Kentucky on Oct. 10. “Because any malcontents, we’re going to have to purge a couple of those.”
Yet for as deep as 2020’s valleys were, the Bulldogs inspired kool-aid-drinking worthy confidence in the latter half of the season. Near misses at Ole Miss, Georgia and against Auburn offered a glimpse of what the offense could be as freshman playmakers Will Rogers, Jaden Walley, Jo’quavious Marks, Dillon Johnson and Emmanuel Forbes made noticeable marks in the back half of the season.
Walley emerged as a bonafide star at wide receiver with four-straight 100 yard games over the final five contests, while Marks and Johnson delivered a one-two punch reminiscent in running style of USC’s Reggie Bush and LenDale White in the early 2000s — albeit to a much lower output and usage. Forbes, too, proved a stalwart alongside sophomore Martin Emerson Jr. at cornerback and his three interception returns for a touchdown were the most of any player in America.
And then there’s Rogers.
A three-star passer coming out of high school, the Brandon native was initially recruited by Leach and his staff at Washington State before he committed to Joe Moorhead. Taking over as the full time starter once Costello succumbed to an undisclosed injury against Alabama, Rogers finished the year with 1,976 yards and 11 touchdowns to seven interceptions. His 69.1 completion percentage was also the best among all freshman quarterbacks.
But for as solid as Rogers was in relief of Costello, 2021 brings a new challenge to his throne. Southern Mississippi transfer Jack Abraham, who’s played at quite literally every level of college football in the state, arrives in Starkville after a prolific career in Hattiesburg including 27 games worth of experience.
The Bulldogs also added four-star signal caller Sawyer Robertson and three-star passer Daniel Greek in the early signing period. Robertson will arrive at MSU as the highest-rated quarterback to ever sign with the Bulldogs during the recruiting rankings era after he finished among the top 15 in Texas high school football history in career completions, touchdown passes and passing yards.
Leach has long shown a propensity for siding with older quarterbacks dating back to his days at Texas Tech, but with Rogers, who will again be a true freshman next year due to the NCAA’s free pass on eligibility this season, boasting the track record he did this fall, it remains to be seen whether that falls by the wayside?
“From fall camp until now I think I have improved so much, and I think it is because of reps and repetition,” Rogers said after the bowl game. “I saw some action early but really felt like after the Vanderbilt game, and the way we were practicing, it felt different being around the facility and out there on the practice field. You could tell guys were ready and things were starting to click. I am really excited about things where they are heading into the future.”
Finishing 4-7 in 2020, it’s unclear what the Bulldogs’ 2021 ledger will look like given the COVID-19 pandemic and the rearranging of 2020 schedules. A return to an eight game Southeastern Conference slate would certainly help Leach rack up a few more wins against a handful of FCS and Group of Five cupcakes. It’s also fair to assume MSU will begin its home-and-home against an upstart NC State team it was supposed to face in the nonconference this year.
In stops at Texas Tech and Washington State, Leach never won less than six games in his second season. Given the Bulldogs led the nation heading into bowl season with 26 first-time starters in 2020, it’s expected both the offense and defense — which locked up defensive coordinator Zach Arnett to an extension in mid-December — will take another step forward.
Leach’s first season in Starkville was headed for a disaster. Late wins over Missouri and Tulsa salvaged that. Heading into a 2021 season that should include at least some semblance of spring practices and a normal-ish offseason, it will be up to Leach and his staff to show noticeable improvement in the win column.
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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