NASHVILLE — Working as Mike Leach’s defensive coordinator the past three seasons, first-year Mississippi State football head coach Zach Arnett has learned a few lessons. One of them, Arnett told MSU media members Tuesday at a breakout session during SEC Media Days, was to stay off of social media.
Those words of wisdom have come especially handy for Arnett, and this year’s Bulldogs team, who have heard the expectations many have for them to take a step back during the 2023 season.
Last year, MSU finished 9-4, winning six conference games and finishing third in the SEC West standings, only behind Alabama and LSU. When the preseason media picks are released Friday afternoon following this week’s media day sessions, the Bulldogs will likely be predicted to finish near the bottom of the division.
Arnett didn’t refer to those expectations, or lack thereof, as bulletin board material for his team, but they will certainly serve as motivation.
“We are going to go to work as training camp kicks off, then we will line the ball up out there, play some football and let the best team win,” Arnett said.
The Bulldogs open this season on Sept. 2 against Southeastern Louisiana at Davis Wade Stadium. It will be Arnett’s first home game as MSU’s head coach, having led the Bulldogs to a ReliaQuest Bowl victory over Illinois following Leach’s death last December. It will also be the first game for new MSU offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay, who is pivoting from Leach’s signature air raid attack, and bringing to Starkville a more traditional college football-style offense.
Though the Bulldogs have some inexperience at key leadership positions, they bring a lot of playmakers on the field, including their three representatives at media days, quarterback Will Rogers, defensive tackle Jaden Crumedy and running back Jo’quavious Marks.
“We have a lot of returning players that have played a lot of games in this conference, and they know what it takes to win and the level of strain and effort that goes into winning games in this conference,” Arnett said.
The Bulldogs are projected to return 12 starters from last season, seven on offense and five on defense. As he’s worked through his first offseason as a head coach, Arnett has relied on that experience through an offseason headlined by change to keep confidence up and the program moving forward.
“I like being the underdog,” Marks said. “I don’t care what other people outside of who have seen us play, so we are going to show up September 2 and let it all loose.”
Rogers still building chemistry with OC Kevin Barbay
With only a few weeks until the beginning of MSU’s fall camp, senior quarterback Will Rogers noted his growing relationship with Kevin Barbay is at a strong point.
“From the day I met him (Barbay), until now, our relationship has grown so much, not only off the field, but on the field,” Rogers said during his first media days appearance. “He’s made me a better player, taught me a lot about terminology and defenses, I can confidently say I am a way better player than I was eight months ago.”
In three seasons in Leach’s air-raid offense, Rogers has set numerous conference and program records, throwing for 10,428 yards and 81 touchdowns in 32 career starts.
Though learning a new offensive style this late in a college career has had its difficulties, Rogers has taken the challenge by the horns throughout the offseason to grasp it.
“Will is doing great,” Arnett said. “He is a football guy. Clearly our starter and I love how he has poured himself into this process. He takes great pride in his prep and has done a good job with coach Barbary in mastering the offense.”
Jaden Crumedy back healthy for MSU’s defensive line
It was no coincidence that MSU’s defensive line pressure took a major step forward when Jaden Crumedy returned from injury.
Crumedy, a senior defensive lineman, missed the Bulldogs’ first eight games of last season after suffering an injury in preseason practice. He returned for MSU’s final five games against Auburn, Georgia, East Tennessee State, Ole Miss and Illinois.
“It was tough not being able to be out there with my guys, but I just kept making sure they knew what to do, never had their head down,” Crumedy said Tuesday. “Once I got back, it just felt like we went out and finished the season.”
In the games Crumedy missed, the Bulldogs’ defense tallied 17 sacks. In the five games Crumedy played, MSU’s defense tallied 14, including seven against the Illini in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
“That was a huge loss to us last year, having to miss the first eight games,” Arnett said. “Getting him back the last four, we were a different defense.”
When he was out, Crumedy noted watching more film, so he could make an instant impact when he returned. Out of his 11 tackles total tackles last season, 3 1/2 were tackles for losses and one was a sack.
“I saw that I wasn’t using a lot of push rushing (moves),” Crumedy said. “It allowed me to evaluate myself and I have been able to work on that lately. “
Now fully healthy, Crumedy hopes to make that immediate impact, beginning in MSU’s first game.
‘Woody’ Marks excited for more volume at running back this fall
MSU senior running back Jo’quavious Marks, and MSU’s deep running back room, could end up being the biggest benefactor from a change in offensive scheme.
In three years, Marks has tallied 279 carries, and has had no more than 106 in a season under Leach. With a chance to get more carries in 2023, Marks hopes his final college season will show how complete of a running back he is.
“A chance to show my ability to run through inside and outside the tackles,” he said. “Just showing I can run the ball, not just I am a pass receiver out of the backfield and I can do it in between the tackles.”
Last year, Marks rushed for a career-high 532 yards and nine touchdowns. He also added 45 receptions for 274 yards while splitting time with former MSU running back Dillon Johnson, who transferred to Washington this offseason.
Though Marks will be the lead back for the Bulldogs this fall, MSU brought in some help from outside of the program in Penn State transfer Keyvone Lee and Jeffery Pittman, a junior college transfer from Hinds Community College, as well as Simeon Price returning as a redshirt sophomore.
Paired with an offensive line that returns four starters in Nick Jones, Steven Losoya III, Kameron Jones and Cole Smith, Marks envisions a big season in the backfield from MSU’s running backs.
“We really all got the same attributes,” Marks said. “ I think we have the most powerful group in the offense right now. We have some good talent in our running back room right now, and I think it is going to make me even better, too.”
Justin Frommer is the Mississippi State sports reporter for The Dispatch.
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