Mississippi State football got back to work last week with a month to go before the start of the 2025 season. Head coach Jeff Lebby and his staff all had their turn to speak to the media, and the players took their turn on Friday.
Here’s what the players talked about after the first week of practice.
Offensive install is smoother
Jeff Lebby arrived in Starkville with hopes of reviving an offense that sputtered in 2023. The results in Year 1 were mixed for a multitude of reasons. Injuries, lack of cohesion, and constantly playing from behind was not a winning formula, but there is already confidence in finding an identity out of the gate this season.
The biggest reason why? Continuity.
“Obviously, when you know somebody a little bit longer, you kind of grow that relationship, and I feel like we’ve been able to do that on and off the field,” quarterback Blake Shapen said of working with Lebby. “I feel like communication, like, you know, he’s a quarterback coach, and O.C., so you get to kind of be hand in hand with him every day and talk to him about, just what we’re going through that day. So being on the same page has been critical, and I think our relationship obviously grows when I get to know them longer.”
It’s not just the quarterback and the head coach on the same page either. Returning starters from the offensive line, running back, wide receiver and tight end positions have stepped up to bring new teammates up to speed on the playbook and meet the expectations of the coaching staff.
“I think having people that really knew the offense and could teach it to other people has helped a lot,” tight end Seydou Traore said. “Last year, everyone here was kind of learning for the first time, but now, for example, we have two transfer tight ends, and I can easily teach it to them, and they have someone apart from coaches who can teach it.”
Shapen has had to shoulder some of that burden with six new receivers added to the offense through the transfer portal, but it’s a group that showcased its talent early in the spring.
“This is definitely the most talented room that I’ve been a part of, and I can honestly say that,” Shapen said of the pass catchers. “Last year, obviously, we were really talented, but it’s pretty crazy to think that you can kind of grow from last year and have an even better room, and I think we do.”
Part of the process involved Shapen’s own recovery from injury. According to him, he’s even stronger now after wondering what it would be like just to throw the ball again. His rehab process put more focus on his throwing motion, which has paid off as much as his knowledge of the offense going into his last year with the Bulldogs.
“I didn’t know what that would look like, you know, whenever I came back, but, you know, I’ve told a lot of people, I think it’s made stronger just because of the rehab and different things that I’ve done, off the field, just because I had to,” he said. “Whenever I had the injury, I was doing a lot more shoulder stuff, bands, things like that, that I didn’t really do previously. And so weirdly, I think I came back even stronger, so that’s a blessing too.”
Defensive depth pays off with reps
The Mississippi State defense underwent similar changes in the offseason, particularly along the defensive line. After producing one of the worst pass rushes in the country last year, the Bulldogs are looking to be more proactive about pressuring opposing quarterbacks.
Trevion Williams, one of the few returning pass rushers from a year ago, spent the offseason getting stronger and quicker. While his position group will have plenty more competition for playing time this year, it’s not something that he minds at all.
“I love the depth piece,” Williams said, “because it gives guys more opportunity to recover, you know, catch their breath and get fresh legs in, so I love it.”
There’s depth in the secondary as well after the Bulldogs ran thin on the outside and at safety last year. Preseason All-SEC selection Issac Smith noted the quality at safety despite his moving up into the front seven. Experienced transfers like Jahron Manning, Tony Mitchell and Jayven Williams helped bolster the secondary as Smith moved to more of a linebacker role, and he’s been able to put his trust in those manning his old position.
“Just having those guys in the back here, I mean, it takes a lot of stress off me and the other linebackers and the D-line,” he said, “just because we know we’ve got some players back there that know the game of football and have been around for a while.”
The same was said of the guys up front. Linebacker Nic Mitchell noted that the depth makes everyone’s jobs easier, even the guys who are competing for playing time.
“It’s unlimited competition,” Williams added, “really just pushing me to be better every day. You know what I’m saying? You got people behind you that’s competing for the same amount of playing time, so it just pushes you to be better. It makes the whole room better.”
Chemistry building
The big focus for either group is to get on the same page as soon as possible, and a lot of that comes down to spending time together, on and off the field.
Running back Davon Booth made the watchlist for the Paul Hornung Award, given annually to the most versatile player in the country. He’s used to having a hand in the running, receiving and return game, and getting around the different groups has led him to some new faces.
“Well, I’m a quiet guy, you know, I don’t like to talk a lot, but it’s not really hard to just ask, ‘Where you from, what do you do?’ So, once that bond is connected, then, you know, it just goes with the flow.”
With more than 30 arrivals through the transfer portal on top of the incoming freshman class, the Bulldogs have spent the spring and summer building chemistry. The coaching staff expressed their belief that the group is in a better spot than they were a year ago, and the players echoed that sentiment.
“It feels more like a culture and a brotherhood, and, you know, at the end of the day, that’s what it’s about,” Smith said. “Building that culture, that brotherhood. Building that trust and belief in each other to go out there on Saturdays and win.”
For both new and returning players, it’s an opportunity to set a new standard.
“Coach Lebby did a great job, kind of setting the standard as soon as (we came) back,” Mitchell said. “Okay, we know what happened, it is what it is. Now we got to fix it. You can’t just live in the past. You learn from it and you move on. And he challenges us personally to bring guys along. The older guys that came back, I mean, it’s my last year, so I don’t wanna go out, I don’t want to be no loser. I kind of think of it as like, when I’m a granddad and I have a grandchild, they ask me, ‘Oh, how were you your senior year? Last year at college?’ I want to be able to tell them I won.”
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