NASHVILLE — Mississippi State football’s Zach Arnett’s coaching career had never taken him to Southeastern Conference country until former Bulldogs head coach Mike Leach brought him to Starkville as defensive coordinator in 2020.
It was a job that Arnett, now gearing up for his first season as a head coach, said he would have packed his bags and walked from New Mexico to Mississippi for.
“It was a no-brainer decision for me to come here (to MSU),” Arnett said during Tuesday’s SEC Media Days press conference. “I think I had the greatest job in all of the country.”
Arnett said it was the freedom and confidence that Leach gave him to run the Bulldogs’ defense the past three seasons that kept the young coach in Starkville rather than reaching out for other opportunities.
Heading into fall camp, which begins in a couple of weeks, Arnett has decided he won’t be the one calling defensive plays for the Bulldogs, instead handing over the duties to newly promoted defensive coordinator Matt Brock.
Why?
“Matt was a very successful special teams coordinator already in his career. He‘s been a Broyles Award finalist as a special teams coordinator. I think (if) you talk with anyone who has ever worked with him or had experience with him, he’s probably the hardest working, most prepared guy on any staff he’s ever been on.”
Brock, who was hired to coach Mississippi State’s linebackers in 2020, handled defensive play calling duties during MSU’s ReliaQuest Bowl victory over Illinois, following Leach’s death and Arnett’s promotion.
“As a head coach in that ballgame and leading up to that I did not think I could prepare as well as the other defensive coaches with all the other hats and responsibilities I was wearing,” Arnett said of the bowl game. “(Matt) is our defensive coordinator now, because I knew he’d do a better job preparing and calling the defense in that game.”
Brock will now be tasked with leading an MSU defense that returns five starters, including the SEC’s top-two tacklers in linebackers Jett Johnson and Nathaniel Watson.
“When (you’ve) got the two leading return(ing) tacklers in the SEC coming back, you feel pretty good about your front six, front seven on defense,” Arnett said. “We expect big things from. We need them to have big years if we are going to be as good as we can be on defense and then we need them to lead and show the other guys underneath them.”
Tight End Time
While most expect MSU’s defensive approach to remain largely consistent with last season’s, the hiring of new offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay promises big changes to that side of the ball. Unlike Leach’s Air Raid scheme, Barbay’s offense utilizes tight ends as both blockers and receivers.
Bulldog quarterback Will Rogers noted that he is excited for the tight end’s integration back into MSU’s offense, and said he thinks it can be used to MSU’s benefit.
“I think the tight end position is probably the most critical position on an offense, outside of the offensive line,” Rogers said Tuesday in Nashville. “You get an extra hat in the run game. Then you start talking about the RPO world, it’s obviously a mismatch for smaller DBs. I think the (more) we can utilize tight ends and get those guys on the field in the right situations, we’ll be in good shape.”
The Bulldogs brought in three transfer tight ends to revamp its new position room, including Georgia’s Ryland Goede, TCU’s Geor’Quarius Spivey and Colorado’s Seydou Traore to go along with returning sophomore Antonio Harmon, who caught five passes for 61 yards last season.
Goede, a graduate senior, did not record a reception in his Georgia career. Spivey, a senior, tallied 11 catches for 136 yards and a touchdown for the Horned Frogs last year and Traore will need to request an NCAA waiver to play this season after spending spring ball at Colorado following a transfer from Arkansas State.
“I’ve worked with all three of them that came in now,” Rogers said. “They’re all different in their way, but they’re all going to help us. Some guys move a little bit better than others. Some guys are good run blockers. Some guys can do it both. We’ll see how it goes. At the end of the day, when it’s all said and done, we have to have our best 11 on the field at any given moment.”
Locker Room Talk
In wake of the Northwestern hazing scandal that has rocked the college football landscape over recent weeks, MSU senior running back Jo/quavious Marks was asked if he has had any similar experiences, before or during his career in Starkville.
Marks said nothing like the events that have occurred at Northwestern, and cost long-time head coach Pat Fitzgerald his job, have happened during his MSU career.
“Everybody should be as a family,” Marks said. “Nobody should be judging somebody or (messing) with somebody just for how they look or something. We all come together here and try to make the world a better place. We (have) younger kids looking up to us and older people looking up to us, and we should be an example and not have (stuff like that happen).”
Justin Frommer is the Mississippi State sports reporter for The Dispatch.
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 30 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 30 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