STARKVILLE — As Fred Ross let the question sink in, he let out a breath and shook his head.
On Monday, the Mississippi State football wide receiver was asked how the last two days in practice had gone.
“It’s been tough at practice because (MSU football coach Dan) Mullen’s been kind of hard on us,” the senior said. “I think that’s what we need. A lot of young guys on the team, we’ve got to refocus and worry about South Carolina.”
MSU was off Sunday, but they hit the practice fields hard Monday (Labor Day) and Tuesday. MSU is coming off a 21-20 loss to South Alabama at home. MSU (0-1, 0-0 Southeastern Conference) plays host to South Carolina (1-0, 1-0) 6 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2) at Davis Wade Stadium to open SEC play.
Mullen, who is 0-2 against South Carolina in his eight seasons, said he liked Monday’s practice. He said it was physical and guys were working hard.
However, that doesn’t mean it is going to translate into the game.
“We have a chance, but it’s not a guarantee,” Mullen said. “I can guarantee if you don’t practice well you won’t play well. If you practice really well, then you’ve got to translate it over to the game. You have the opportunity to do that, but you certainly don’t have an opportunity the other way.”
Senior running back Brandon Holloway said the mood of the team has been good in the two days of practice. He said the team needs to worry about getting back to playing like MSU teams have in the past.
The response has been well.
“You only have two options: you either lay down or you get up and find a way to fix it and I think that’s what we’ve done,” Holloway said. “People are out there trying to fix the problem.”
Although the last two days of practice have been intense, Ross said it has been good and eye opening. He said veteran players and young players alike have responded well.
“Guys are going harder in practice, guys kind of know what they’re job is and they know how they’ve got to do it and why they’ve got to do it,” Ross said.
Secondary issues
Mullen didn’t pinpoint the issues in the secondary.
He said there are issues with both the cornerbacks and safeties. MSU allowed South Alabama to pass for 285 yards. Dallas Davis was 24 of 34 with two touchdowns, including the 4-yard go-ahead touchdown to Gerald Everett with 57 seconds remaining.
MSU was hit hard by injuries in the secondary in training camp. Senior cornerbacks Tolando Cleveland (out for season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee) and Cedric Jiles (out for half the season with a broken right arm) were expected to be the starters. Their losses meant young and inexperienced players had to step up.
Junior Jamoral Graham had six tackles, while junior college transfer Lashard Durr had three.
“They’re OK, they’re improving,” Mullen said. “A lot of guys are in new roles. There’s a bunch of guys that are in roles that they weren’t expecting to be in and we weren’t expecting them to be in even during or coming out of training camp. They adjusted well to it and we need to see continual improvement out of those guys on the back end of taking steps forward.”
Sophomore safety Jamal Peters practiced at cornerback last week, but didn’t play defense. He only played on special teams. Redshirt freshman Maurice Smitherman, who practiced at cornerback in the spring and made the move to safety in the fall, didn’t play defense either.
Mullen didn’t give an answer as why the two didn’t play defense. He said they could play defense if they have a good week of practice.
Healthy moving forward
Mullen said he doesn’t expect injuries to be a problem.
Along with Cleveland and Jiles being out, senior defensive lineman Will Coleman (lower back) missed last week. Mullen said last week he was going to be out for at least two weeks.
Mullen said no new injuries arose in the loss to the Jaguars.
Senior defensive lineman Nick James and sophomore wide receiver Malik Dear were suspended last week for a violation of team rules. Freshman defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons served his one game suspension last week.
Mullen said he will announce their playing status Saturday.
James was arrested for driving under the influence last week, but the charges were dropped. Mullen didn’t go into detail about Dear.
Simmons, a former Noxubee County High School standout, pled no contest to simple assault and was found guilty of malicious mischief. He came under fire in the spring after a video surfaced of him striking a woman.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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