STARKVILLE — Safety is, “second nature,” to Mississippi State’s J.T. Gray. “It’s what I’ve been growing up on.” It was the position that got him to the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic and to the second round of the playoffs in his senior year of high school.
That natural ability was apparent to new Mississippi State football defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, so much so that a week into spring practice, MSU changed his official roster listing from linebacker to defensive back. It was moment making official what the defensive coaching staff was already publicly discussing early in spring practice: moving Gray to a position exclusive to safety duties.
It’s not that Gray was ever far removed from his natural position — the Viper, a hybrid linebacker-defensive back position, that he played last year for Peter Sirmon thrust him into familiar situations at times — but the feel is certainly different now that he is a full-time safety with no other responsibilities.
For one, he was only aligned with his fellow safeties to meet certain game situations. He was listed as a linebacker on the roster and was clearly treated as such in some meetings.
“I actually thought J.T. was a safety when he first came in,” fellow defensive back Brandon Bryant said. “That’s where he was supposed to play. I think he’s in the right position to make his transition to the next level. I think that’s the position he’s going to play in the NFL, safety.”
That skill was immediately apparent to his new position coach, Ron English.
English, after looking back on last year’s film, said there are limited differences between what Gray is doing now and what he was doing before, with most of his reps coming on the edge of the defensive formation.
Even while adjusting to the Viper position, Gray turned in one of the best seasons of any MSU defender as a junior, finishing third in tackles (71) and tackles for a loss (eight) while adding a sack and a pair of quarterback hurries. He was a part of the trio with Richie Brown and Leo Lewis that accounted for nearly a quarter of MSU’s total tackles in 2016 by itself.
Grantham has plans to put Gray’s prior edge experience to work quickly, as he traditionally has with his Star position.
“When you look at Star and the kind of Stars you have,” Grantham said, “if you have a guy that couldn’t set the edge of bubble (screens) they can throw it out there for five or six yards, and that’s not good.”
In the past, Grantham has used the Star position as a fifth defensive back — the one that does not fit in the mold of a cornerback, free safety or strong safety position typical of four-defensive back formations — but generally uses a bigger player for that position since it blitzes more. Gray fits that mold, packing 202 pounds into a 6-foot frame.
In that essence, the point of the Star position is versatility, and Gray has proven to head coach Dan Mullen he has that — and as a coach with an offensive background, those are the types of defenders he wants on his defense.
“He can play down at the nickel, he can come off the edge and blitz and he gives you the versatility to drop back and play safety,” Mullen said. “I love those guys that are able to play multiple positions because those are the guys that create problems. Is he a linebacker or a safety? He’s a linebacker but he can do safety things, too, and that really messes with your counts and how you’re (identifying) fronts.”
Part of that role is making plays behind the line when the down-and-distance calls for it, somewhere Gray has already proven himself under prior coaching. Grantham has no intention stopping that now and has given Gray an offseason project to do it more often in 2017.
“As a general rule, we’ve all got to work on our tackling and make sure we have the ability to tackle in space,” he said. “When you’re put on the perimeter, you have to get guys down, roll them down if you have to. Understand our leverages, know where our help is.”
Gray agrees, noting the abundant differences in tackling he has taken on in the position change.
“It’s very different, because you have to maintain space and close in real quick,” Gray said. “I’m just trying to perfect my tackling this year.”
The certain nuances of tackling are not the only notable change for Gray: English used the spring to turn Gray into a technician at safety.
English would tell Gray his margin for error at safety is smaller than it was at linebacker, otherwise, “stuff happens that everybody can see.”
Gray sees himself developing on two technique projects: keeping his weight balanced and lowering his hips to break on routes at a sharper angle. This was a point of emphasis and change for him because of the shuffling he was required to do as a linebacker not putting those previous skills of his to use.
“It’s just the technique standpoint and what I have to do,” Gray said. “I’ve progressed at it from my coaching standpoint. My coaches have done a great job of breaking down what I need to get better at.”
Notes
Mullen confirmed wide receiver Malik Dear tore his ACL earlier in the spring and has already has surgery on it. He said it may be until August that the team knows for sure what his recovery timetable looks like. As for the multiple other players that missed the Maroon & White Game, Mullen said he was told be the training staff that no injuries are expected to linger into the fall.
Former MSU players Richie Brown and Brandon Holloway were named to the National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society, made up of football players who maintain a 3.2 cumulative grade point average throughout their careers.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter, @Brett_Hudson
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