STARKVILLE — J.T. Gray wasted little time.
A freshman defensive back from Clarksdale who moved to linebacker early in fall camp, the original plan from Mississippi State’s coaching staff was to redshirt Gray so he could have four years of eligibility starting next season.
But plans change.
After a season-ending injury to linebacker Dez Harris, Gray was called into action in MSU’s eighth game, a 17-10 victory against Arkansas.
On the opening kickoff, he showed why. Gray, a 6-foot-1, 205-pounder, sprinted down the field and knifed through the kick return team to record the first tackle on his first play.
“It felt great,” Gray said. “I knew the coaches really liked me on special teams, and I thought that’s where my opportunities to make plays would come.”
He was right. Gray went on to become MSU’s representative on the Southeastern Conference’s All-Freshman team as a linebacker, a move that looked permanent.
But plans have changed again.
With MSU losing senior safety Justin Cox to suspension following an arrest for domestic battery prior to the Egg Bowl and junior Kendrick Market suffering a season-ending Achilles’ tendon injury against Ole Miss, MSU’s once-deep safety unit is undermanned as it prepares for the program’s first Orange Bowl in 73 years. For that reason, Gray said Monday night he’s headed back to safety.
“It was an adjustment, going from safety to linebacker,” Gray said. “Now the coaches have moved me back. They said they want me at safety. It’s an easy change for me because that’s where I’ve always played.”
Five games into his initial season, it’s unknown if Gray can become a difference-maker in the defensive backfield. But with one game left in an already historic season, the Bulldogs (10-2) are attempting to plug a hole caused by attrition.
In Georgia Tech, MSU will face a unique offense — the triple option — that requires discipline and physically at each level. For MSU, that means trusting a group of safeties that struggled in a 31-17 loss to Ole Miss.
“We are anxious to get back out there,” said sophomore Deontay Evans, one of three MSU safeties remaining after the losses of Market and Cox. “We want to prove we are better than that game. It’s no different than anything else we’ve done this year.”
Senior Jay Hughes, the son of MSU safeties coach Tony Hughes, is MSU’s anchor in the defensive backfield. After missing all but six plays of his junior season with the same Achilles’ tendon injury that Market suffered, Hughes started all 12 games this season and finished with 26 tackles and two interceptions. Hughes is confident even though MSU is down to three safeties.
“I feel like there’s no drop-off, no matter who is out there,” Hughes said. “Whether it’s me or Deontay or Kivon (Coman), I’m confident the job will get done.”
Against Ole Miss, MSU gave up seven plays of 30 yards or more. Five of those were passes across the middle of the field.
Against Georgia Tech, the assignment for MSU’s safeties will change. Instead of chasing receivers and tight ends, the defensive backfield will be asked to be sure tacklers against the run and to be the last line of defense against the play-action pass game.
“I like this kind of game, when we deal with a lot of run,” said Coman, a sophomore from Florence, Alabama, who played in all 12 games and recorded 32 tackles. “I feel like I’m a physical player, and that’s what this game will be about.”
It was a strange year for MSU’s defensive backfield. The Bulldogs finished last in the SEC and 124th in the nation in passing yards allowed per game (285.2), but they ranked No. 9 nationally in completion percentage allowed and No. 1 nationally in red zone defense.
MSU’s defensive statistics will be less relevant against Georgia Tech, which is one reason Tony Hughes also is confident entering the Orange Bowl.
“Those three guys (Coman, Jay Hughes, Evans) have played all year,” Tony Hughes said. “Those three have played a lot of football, so nothing is going to bother them. I have all the confidence in the world they’ll be ready.”
With injuries and a suspension shaping MSU’s rotation at safety, Georgia Tech doesn’t have any problems. Senior Isaiah Johnson and junior Jamal Golden have been the unquestioned leaders of the defensive backfield. They have combined to earn 22 of 26 starts this season. Johnson has 64 tackles, while Golden has 53.
“I think their defense is overlooked,” MSU coach Dan Mullen said of Georgia Tech. “Everybody wants to talk about their offense, talk about the triple option, but their defense is good. They are good against the run and the pass.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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