STARKVILLE — Mississippi State’s defense hollered its way off the field when safety Fred Peters snagged an easy interception from quarterback Chance Lovertich in the end zone near the conclusion of Thursday’s practice.

The final play of the team portion of the workout, the pick won the day for the Bulldogs’ defense and forced maroon-clad offensive players to subject themselves to up-downs on the turf at the Leo Seal Jr. Football Complex.

But while the defense emerged in the second half of practice and secured the overall win, head coach Mike Leach said the early part of the afternoon went to the offense as the two sides of the ball “kind of traded blows.”

“I thought it was pretty even on both sides, but nobody really got the momentum for too long,” Leach said.

It’s that kind of balance the second-year Bulldogs coach is looking for as his team prepares to take the field Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium for the second intrasquad scrimmage of fall camp. And considering that more than twice the population of Starkville will fill the stands just two weeks later — when it really counts — Leach knows just what he wants to see.

“Competitive at every level, execution on both sides of the ball — which pretty well means that both sides of the ball are pissed because they would have liked to have more plays and would have liked to have been more explosive and have more success on their side of the ball,” he said.

Leach said he mostly liked what he saw in last week’s scrimmage, calling it productive, aggressive and competitive.

Here are a few storylines to follow before the Bulldogs hit Scott Field on Saturday.

O-line competition taking shape

Leach had strong words for his offensive line last week, saying some of the members of the Bulldogs’ front rank have to get tougher to handle the strong defensive linemen they’re going to face.

“Some of them probably think they’re better than they are, so we’ve got to get that out of them,” Leach said.

So far, so good.

Leach was mostly positive in his evaluation of the line Thursday, touching on the five players currently slated to earn starting reps.

At left tackle, projected first-round NFL draft pick Charles Cross remains steady, while left guard Kameron Jones has been solid after moving from the right side of the line.

“He does some really good stuff,” Leach said. “He’s athletic, and he’s bigger than he was.”

Columbus native LaQuinston Sharp has done well at center after seeing hardly any playing time in 2020 at a different position. Sharp improved toward the end of the year, Leach said.

“He was all over the place, and then later in the season he was a steadier player and just so hard to move,” Leach said.

Sharp and Cole Smith have each received snaps at center in practice, but the Columbus High and East Mississippi Community College product has stood out.

“He’s a thick guy with long arms,” Leach said. “When he stopped kind of pressing on himself and let himself play, then he really started to take off.”

At right guard, Kwatrivous “Dollar Bill” Johnson has done the opposite of what Leach typically wants with his linemen. Johnson has shed weight rather than put it on, and the results have been good.

“He’s in better shape,” Leach said. “He’s more mobile. He does some good things and is starting to carve out a role for himself there.”

West Point’s Scott Lashley, who transferred from Alabama last season, is “starting to get comfortable” at right tackle, Leach said.

Ruiz back for more with Bulldogs

Kicker Brandon Ruiz expected to declare for the NFL draft when he went home to New Mexico after last year’s Armed Forces Bowl.

Instead, he elected to return for another season at Mississippi State, solidifying a special teams unit that also features another fifth-year senior, punter Tucker Day. The two played together in the Army All-American game in their senior year of high school and will team up one last time as college football players.

“I feel like we can do really good things this year,” Ruiz said Tuesday.

Ruiz said a limited sample size — he attempted just 12 field goals, making 10 of them, in 2020 — contributed to his decision to return. So did the chance for full stadiums in his final college season.

“I felt confident going out into the NFL, but I also wanted to have a good year in Davis Wade without COVID — a good last football season in case the NFL didn’t work out,” Ruiz said.

The Arizona State transfer didn’t miss a kick in last week’s scrimmage, hitting multiple times from more than 40 yards out. He made all 24 of his extra points in 2020.

Oh, and now he’s even stronger.

Ruiz said strength and conditioning coach Tyson Brown’s “midnight maneuvers” — competitive workouts pitting players against each other — and a full spring of weightlifting and conditioning have helped. In the “after” pictures. Ruiz said he could see a difference; he’d lost body fat, replacing it with a newfound strength.

And now he’s ready to take on the packed crowds of the Southeastern Conference one last time. Ruiz promised kicking in full stadiums won’t be the challenge some might think.

“I love the pressure,” he said. “It actually makes me perform better.”

No update on Davis

Senior defensive end Jordan Davis reportedly tore his ACL in Saturday’s scrimmage, Matt Zenitz of On3.com tweeted Tuesday.

But Leach said he had no update on Davis’ condition or when he would return to play.

Davis went down with a left leg injury and was taken off the field on the back of a golf cart.

The Memphis product transferred from Copiah-Lincoln Community College last season and was converted from a linebacker to a defensive end. In Davis’ absence, UCF transfer Randy Charlton has been taking first-team reps.

Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.