STARKVILLE — J.T. Gray can’t help but notice something about his new position: he’s granted a lot more opportunities to make impact plays.
Such is the reality of a linebacker-turned-safety in new Mississippi State defensive coordinator Todd Grantham’s system, one in which a nickel player like Gray is expected to be of vital importance in all aspects of the defense.
“I have to step up and take on that role,” Gray said. “My coaches are very detailed on what I have to do to be a better player.”
In that respect it has been a busy preseason for Gray: more than just converting on interception and tackle for loss opportunities, Gray has taken on that load while navigating a position change. Gray started almost every game for MSU last year at former defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon’s Star linebacker position, a hybrid linebacker position that was given more field to work with than most other linebackers.
Now Gray is granted even more space. As he put it, “I don’t have to touch on linemen every play.” Beyond that, his new position’s role in the defense from a purely schematic sense is only slightly different. Even those that weren’t involved in last year’s defense can see it from the film, such as Gray’s new position coach Ron English.
“Some of what we do (in Grantham’s defense) is new for everybody. (Gray) knows what he’s doing just fine and he’s getting better at doing it,” said English, MSU’s first-year safeties coach. “They all need to get better in their craft and I think J.T. is doing a good job of that.
“J.T.’s a mature guy, he really is, so I don’t have to say a lot to him. He’s always in here trying to do extra stuff.”
Most of that extra time has been spent on the challenges — physically and mentally — of making the plays he’ll be asked to make from his new alignment. He said that begins with reacquiring the footwork of an old position: he played the nickel in high school, a career split between in-state Clarksdale High School and Coolidge High School in Arizona.
“It changes because I’m changing my stance, I’m backpedaling more, I’m not inside anymore,” Gray said. “I’ve adapted very well. I’m better at keeping my balance when I’m changing directions.
“I’m way more comfortable than I was in the spring, because this whole summer I’ve been working on controlling my body weight, controlling my breaks.”
Gray’s move to safety has given him more than physical challenges. On the mental side, Gray has spent the offseason, “getting more in detail into what I’m doing on the field,” meaning both coverage and disguising blitzes. It’s possible his biggest mental adjustments come on what happens before the snap.
As a safety, Gray described how presnap motion impacts him much more than it did as a linebacker. Tracking the coverage changes required with presnap motion has forced Gray to take on a new level of system knowledge.
“You have to know what’s going to happen before it happens. When they start moving parts, you have to process it before it happens,” Gray said. “It’s in studying film and walkthroughs. You have to visualize it in your head to see it before it happens.”
Gray hasn’t used it yet, but if he needs a sounding board at some point in the process, he can always go to Jamal Peters. Peters came to MSU as a safety and tried a few positions, safety included, before settling in at his current cornerback spot. Peters said the two haven’t discussed the nuances of switching to safety, but he knows what Gray will need.
“Just communicating, learning the defense and letting everyone know what they have to do,” Peters said. “If you can’t communicate with the defense, that’s how you give up touchdowns.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter, @Brett_Hudson
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