STARKVILLE — Isaac Smith was one of the crown jewels of Mississippi State’s 2023 recruiting class.
Coming out of Itawamba Agricultural High School, Smith was the 10th-best safety in the country and the fourth-best overall player in Mississippi, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. But Smith’s Bulldogs career got off to an inauspicious start — he battled shoulder and knee injuries in the preseason last year, and while he played in all 12 games, his snap counts were lower than he had hoped for and he was limited to just 15 tackles.
The door is now wide open for Smith to start as a sophomore and as part of a new-look defense under coordinator Coleman Hutzler. Shawn Preston Jr. and Marcus Banks have moved on, and Smith was taking first-team snaps early in fall camp at the field safety position alongside returning starter Corey Ellington and junior college transfer Brylan Lanier.
“I’ve got a bigger chip on my shoulder,” Smith said. “I’m having to work a lot harder and just prove to myself and to other people that I can fill in the shoes of what we had last year and be better. I’ve held myself to a mindset of working hard and grinding to prove to everybody that I can do this.”
An Under Armour All-American and the MHSAA Class 4A Mr. Football as a high school senior, Smith was a two-way standout at Itawamba Agricultural, with 823 rushing yards, 652 receiving yards and 18 total touchdowns in his final prep season. On defense, he pulled down nine interceptions, forced a fumble and made 65 tackles, including four for a loss.
With that resume, Smith’s offer list was lengthy — he made visits to LSU, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt and also had offers from Ole Miss, Georgia and Tennessee, among others. But he chose to stay in his home state for the chance to play right away, and he made his collegiate debut in the season opener against Southeastern Louisiana. His best game of the year came in late September at South Carolina, with three solo tackles.
“Not all things are going to go your way,” Smith said. “Even if you have a minor setback, don’t let it determine how you work and how well you prepare yourself for the next game. Being behind Shawn Preston, that helped a lot, seeing him play hard, play fast all the time. It’s just a blessing to be behind someone like that and then compete for a starting spot this year.”
Under new head coach Jeff Lebby, MSU overhauled nearly the entire staff over the winter, replacing previous safeties coach Brett Dewhurst with Matt Barnes. The Bulldogs have depth at safety behind Smith, Ellington and Lanier — Hunter Washington was a starter early last season, Jordan Morant has played in every game the past two seasons and Chris Keys had a big game last September against Arizona.
“I hope everybody’s sleeping on us and thinks we’re not very good,” Barnes said. “(Smith) is who he is every day. Great leader, vocal guy in a time where it’s hard to find vocal players. He’s vocal on the field and off the field. He’s not afraid to tell you that this could be done better. He has a great feel for the game. The safety position is really the quarterback of the defense, and he’s done a nice job with that for us and gets our defense lined up.”
The MSU secondary has certainly had its work cut out for it in practice against a rebuilt wide receivers room featuring impact transfers Kelly Akharaiyi and Kevin Coleman and heavily-recruited freshmen Mario Craver, Braylon Burnside and JJ Harrell.
Craver in particular has impressed Smith, who said practicing against a fast-paced offense can only help the defense once the season starts on Aug. 31 against Eastern Kentucky.
“It’s huge for Isaac and for every single one of our guys, understanding how we’re going to play defense,” Lebby said. “Understanding the scheme, understanding the expectation, knowing (how) to do your job every single snap. It’s truly as simple as that. Isaac’s continued to get better and better in that role.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
