STARKVILLE — Mississippi State’s offensive line entered the 2023 season as one of the most experienced fronts in the Southeastern Conference, if not all of college football.

All five projected starters had started at least five games for the Bulldogs last fall, with four of them having made at least nine starts. But MSU was installing a brand new offense, swapping out Mike Leach’s “Air Raid” for offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay’s pro-style system.

Leach’s offense consisted largely of short, quick passes, so the linemen usually did not need to hold their blocks for long. With Barbay and head coach Zach Arnett at the controls, the Bulldogs (2-3, 0-3 SEC) run the ball much more frequently and also utilize a lot of play action, giving the line new concepts to learn in both run blocking and pass protection.

“Collectively as a unit, I’m really proud of all the guys (for) how far they’ve come, adjusting to a completely new system,” center Cole Smith said. “It’s been really big being with the guys every day learning a new system.”

Smith, in his fifth season in Starkville after spending his true freshman year at LSU, made nine starts in 2020, then started the last six games in 2021 at guard before starting all 13 games last season at center.

Left guard Nick Jones, a senior who started his collegiate career at East Mississippi Community College, made 12 starts in 2022. Right guard Steven Losoya III, who transferred to MSU last season after three years at Middle Tennessee, started the last nine games in his first campaign with the Bulldogs. Right tackle Kameron Jones entered this season with 31 starts over the last three seasons, and left tackle Kwatrivous Johnson came into the year with 16.

“Cole Smith has probably been our most consistent performer,” Arnett said. “Obviously as the center, you’re setting the points, making the majority of the calls, identifying the fronts and looks and getting into the right combos, double teams. He’s done a really good job.”

That quintet has started each of the Bulldogs’ first five games, but perhaps because those starters are so entrenched, MSU lacks the depth up front of its SEC peers. The Bulldogs have just 15 offensive linemen on their roster, at least two fewer than every other team in the conference.

MSU’s linemen have the second-highest average weight in the SEC overall at 317 pounds, just one-tenth of a pound behind Florida, according to research by AL.com. But the Bulldogs’ starters are the third-lightest in the conference with an average weight of 314 pounds, meaning the reserves are heavier on average than the starters.

Percy Lewis, listed at 345 pounds, has played the most among those reserves, usually spelling Johnson at left tackle. Grant Jackson and Albert Reese IV have also played in all five games.

“We’re really excited about Percy and what he has shown,” Arnett said. “You can see the player he is going to become, and so he is going to see additional opportunities and reps.”

The line got off to an outstanding start in the new system as MSU rushed for nearly 300 yards in the season opener against Southeastern Louisiana. The Bulldogs also had a strong game on the ground against Arizona (123 rushing yards on 24 carries for lead back Jo’Quavious “Woody” Marks) and even managed 4.4 yards per carry and 154 yards on the ground against Alabama.

Pass protection has been more of a challenge. MSU did hit on several deep balls off of play action against South Carolina, but against a strong Crimson Tide secretary, the Bulldogs mostly shied away from those plays last Saturday.

“We had the South Carolina week, where these guys were really good in protection on our play-action stuff and (gave) us plenty of time pushing the ball downfield, not only in play action but in six-man protection,” Barbay said. “And (against Alabama), run-game wise, they had a confidence level that they can run the football on anybody.

“Now what we have to be able to do is make sure we can combine those. We’ll get our passing game and our run game all meshed up together where we’re all clicking as one full diverse unit.”