STARKVILLE — Zach Arnett isn’t one to sugarcoat things.

When the Mississippi State defensive coordinator finalizes his team’s depth chart, he’s never afraid to tell the players designated as second-stringers the logic behind that status.

“My message to guys on the twos, whether it be D-line, linebackers, safeties or corners, is, ‘There’s a reason you’re a two — because there is a dropoff,’” Arnett said Tuesday. “We need that dropoff to be as minimal as possible.”

Arnett, in his second year manning Mike Leach’s defense with the Bulldogs, said those conversations have largely taken place. With less than two weeks to go until Mississippi State’s season opener against Louisiana Tech at 3 p.m. Sept. 4, Arnett said a two-deep rotation on defense is nearly set.

“I think we have a pretty good idea of who the top 22 are right now,” he said. “It’s probably the last week for guys to show something here with the mock game coming up this weekend, so now or never time for guys.”

By this point, the identity of MSU’s defensive starters seems fairly clear. Jaden Crumedy and Cameron Young will join UCF transfer Randy Charlton — stepping in for the injured Jordan Davis — on the defensive line. Tyrus Wheat, Nathaniel Watson and Aaron Brule form the linebacker corps. Martin Emerson and Emmanuel Forbes will hold things down at corner with Jalen Green, Fred Peters and Collin Duncan starting in the three safety positions.

But Arnett hopes it will be those fighting for playing time behind them who will make an impact. Asked about redshirt sophomore defensive end Demonte Russell, the coordinator said Russell is one of the reserves receiving increased reps so far.

And Arnett hopes there will be more.

“If you’re not a starter, it means we think there’s noticeable room for improvement, and nothing will make us happier than you proving us wrong, that we’re incorrect about your spot on the depth chart,” he said. “Every guy who’s a two or three — prove us wrong. That’s the best thing for the program. Be the best at doing your job, make yourself better every day — that’s the best thing you can do to help the team get better.”

One player who did just that in Saturday’s scrimmage at Davis Wade Stadium was redshirt sophomore end Izuchukwu King Ani, who had multiple sacks and stood out as one of the Bulldogs’ best defenders.

Arnett praised Ani’s performance but noted everyone on the roster has had good plays and bad ones on their report cards in training camp. He said the job of Mississippi State’s coaching staff is to tilt that ledger in the positive direction.

“We’ve got to make sure we maximize the pluses and eliminate as many of those minuses as possible,” Arnett said. “You’re never going to play perfect — that’s the game of football. The other side of the ball is coached up to do their job, too. But we’ve got a lot of minuses to eliminate from our grade sheets.”

Arnett said that tendency to give up explosive plays is one of those bad habits, and it reared its head in the weekend scrimmage. While the Bulldogs made a couple of red-zone stands and were solid on third down, there were too many plays during which the maroon-clad offense ripped off a big gain.

“It’s funny how the ball has a way of finding you if you make a mistake,” Arnett said.

He said he’s still seeing the same mistakes even as training camp gives way to mock game week, which culminates Saturday with the titular contest. Assignment errors ran rampant during team practice, something the Bulldogs will have to clean up by Sept. 4.

“Hopefully they’re willing to hit somebody,” Arnett said. “We’ll see when we actually play live tackle football.”

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