NASHVILLE — By the time Mississippi State football coach Zach Arnett had finished the first sentence of his opening statement at the podium during Tuesday’s SEC Media Days session, he had already surpassed the seven words his predecessor, Mike Leach, used in his short statement last year.
“I’ve already said too much, and that combined with wearing a tie, I’m sure I’ve disappointed (Leach) a little bit here today,” Arnett said. “In recognition of his tremendous impact and influence not only on the game of football but on myself, I’m going to do my best to keep this short and sweet.”
Arnett, who took over MSU’s football program after Leach’s sudden death in December, spent nearly 20 minutes discussing his team on Tuesday, as well as who he is as a head coach. Part of that included lessons learned from Leach that Arnett is carrying into his tenure.
“There’s obviously a lot of wisdom, nuggets of wisdom that I received from Coach Leach over the last three years,” Arnett said. “Simply put, I look at it as a blessing. I got to spend three years under, in my opinion, a unanimous first ballot Hall of Famer. His fingerprints and impact on the game of football are evident throughout, particularly offensive play in modern football.
“There’s a lot of slogans and words said in our building over the last three years: Don’t listen to the noise, play the next play, all things that were kind of the DNA of Mike Leach’s program that we still say to this day.
“Those aren’t just buzz words or slogans or catch phrases that coaches say because they’re good to have in a building. They’re actually critical to winning football and developing a winning football team.”
Leach did a lot of winning in his 21 seasons as a head coach, which included stints at Texas Tech, Washington State and MSU. He finished with a career record of 158-107, with 19 of those wins coming with the Bulldogs.
In hopes of continuing that success, Arnett is finding the balance between his own style and things that worked while he was an assistant coach for Leach. That balancing act isn’t lost on Arnett’s players, either.
“You see things just pop up week-to-week,” MSU senior quarterback Will Rogers said. “When something bad happens, you just tell yourself to play the next play or play till the clock says zero. Those are things Coach Leach repeatedly said over again and (you) catch yourself just saying them in the back of your head…You want to honor Coach Leach and respect the things he did. At the same time this is Coach Arnett’s team now. He is not Coach Leach and will do things differently, while doing some things the same.”
One of the most notable changes under Arnett this season has been the change of offensive scheme under first-year offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay. Though what exactly MSU’s offense will look like when it kicks off its season against Southeastern Louisiana on Sept 2 is still somewhat unknown, Arnett expects it to have the same core principals as any of Leach’s three Bulldogs teams in the past.
“I hope it’s a continuation of the identity that Mississippi State has always had as a football program: Tough, hard-nosed, disciplined,” Arnett said. It’s been acknowledged for a long time in this league that when you line up against Mississippi State, you’d better pack your lunch box and hardhat, because it’s going to be a physical game.
“That’s what Mike Leach wanted.”
Justin Frommer is the Mississippi State sports reporter for The Dispatch.
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