STARKVILLE — Mike Leach didn’t hear pads popping as much as he would have liked during Mississippi State’s Maroon and White spring football game on April 17.
But Saturday afternoon, when the Bulldogs took the field at Davis Wade Stadium for a preseason intrasquad scrimmage, Leach got what he wanted.
“I thought it was productive; I thought it was aggressive; I thought it was competitive the whole time,” the second-year MSU coach said.
Sure, there were low points. An uneven day from likely starting quarterback Will Rogers, questionable offensive line play and an injury to defensive end Jordan Davis marred the day for the Bulldogs.
But a strong day from freshman quarterback Sawyer Robertson, an effective pass rush and some nice catches by wide receivers were bright spots with 20 days to go until the Sept. 4 season opener.
“I’m glad we’ve got three weeks or whatever it adds up to,” Leach said. “I don’t think we’re ready yet.”
Here are three observations from Saturday’s scrimmage.
Rogers struggles; Robertson impresses
Rogers again showed the problems with inefficiency that hurt him as a true freshman starting in the Southeastern Conference in 2020.
He didn’t turn the ball over once Saturday, but on 20 pass attempts, he finished with just 79 yards on 11 completions, finding Jaden Walley for an 8-yard touchdown toss. Only two pass plays went for more than 10 yards.
Leach said it was an “up and down” performance from the sophomore from Brandon.
“Collectively, I thought he did pretty good, but definitely there’s a play or two he wants back,” Leach said.
South Alabama transfer Chance Lovertich outplayed Rogers, completing 19 of 30 passes for 152 yards and a 3-yard touchdown to Austin Williams. Leach said Lovertich’s willingness to pull the trigger quickly served him well.
“I think he’s had a good camp,” Leach said. “I think that he continues to improve.”
Both Rogers and Lovertich had three drives to make their impressions, while Robertson and fellow Texas freshman Daniel Greek had one apiece.
Robertson was decisive and sharp on his series, completing several short passes before finding freshman Teddy Knox over the middle for a 24-yard score. He also had a pair of successful scrambles from the pocket as he finished 6 of 8 passing for 52 yards.
“For the first time ever in a team setting, I thought it was really good,” Leach said. “Besides the fact he’s got a pretty good arm, he’s good enough with his feet to stay out of trouble, prevented some sacks.”
Greek was the most aggressive of any Mississippi State quarterback but threw two interceptions, including a Londyn Craft pick in the end zone to cap his outing.
Pass rush strong; O-line not so much
When they weren’t completing passes, Mississippi State’s quarterbacks were busy dealing with an effective pass rush Saturday.
Ten times, Bulldogs signal-callers were “sacked” — the whistle blew before their green jerseys could be sullied with dirt — by a variety of players. Linebackers Nick Jarrett and Tyrus Wheat had two sacks apiece; Davis, DeMonte Russell, Nathan Pickering, Armondous Cooley, Jett Johnson and Sherman Timbs all had one.
Leach said the success of the pass rush helped make up for a defense that “let us off the hook” on several third-and-long plays.
“I still think we’re not as consistent as we’d want to be, but we do have an explosive quality with the sacks and some of the explosive plays,” he said.
On the flip side, though, the Bulldogs’ offensive line was eminently beatable Saturday. To Leach, that can’t continue into the regular season.
“I think some of these guys have got to get tougher,” he said. “Some of them probably think they’re better than they are, so we’ve got to get that out of them.”
Davis goes down
Davis suffered a left leg injury about midway through the scrimmage and was taken off the field in a golf cart.
Trainers appeared to be working on the ankle of the senior from Memphis. Davis was standing but seemed to have trouble putting weight on the leg.
The converted linebacker had been one of the standout defenders for the Bulldogs in the first week or so of practice and was slated to start along Jeff Phelps’ defensive line.
Wide receiver Quinton Torbor was shaken up later in the afternoon after a big hit forced him to fumble, but Torbor got up fairly quickly and seemed to be alright.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
Join the Discussion