After finishing the 2011-2012 season with a 7-6 record and a Music City Bowl victory over Wake Forest, the Mississippi State Bulldogs will now hit the weight room in anticipation of beginning the 2012-2013 football season with spring practice in March. With every off-season comes new opportunities for underclassmen to fill the holes left by graduated seniors of the previous season. As a whole, the MSU football team had 15 seniors on the 2011 roster, nine of which started. When the departure of Fletcher Cox to the NFL is added, the Bulldogs will return just 11 of 24 starters for the 2012 season, leaving a large gap for players who saw only moderate playing time this past season to fill.
At first glance, the quarterback position at MSU will be without a doubt one of the biggest question marks heading into next season. With the graduation of Chris Relf and redshirt freshman Dylan Favre out of the picture after transferring to Pearl River Community College during bowl preparation of this past season, the Bulldogs are left with just two quarterbacks on scholarship; Tyler Russell, who started multiple games this past season as a redshirt sophomore, and Dak Prescott, a highly-touted recruit out of high school who traveled with the team during the 2011 season but did not see any playing time and was eventually redshirted. With the quarterbacking corps thin at best, State will probably look to sign a quarterback in the current recruiting class in order to add much needed depth to the position. As it stands now, however, Russell may be in line to receive a lion’s share of the snaps next season, which could possibly lead to a more consistent passing attack than Bulldog fans have witnessed in seasons past.
While Vick Ballard is a player who will be nearly impossible to replace for MSU, the Bulldogs do have several candidates at running back who have the ability to fill in nicely. LaDarius Perkins, an explosive player who is known for big plays, figures to have every opportunity to start at the running back position next season as a redshirt junior. Nick Griffin, who recovered from a knee injury in time to see limited action this season, will likely back up Perkins. Josh Robinson and Derrick Milton, who both redshirted this season as true freshmen, are also primed to figure into the game plan in some fashion.
In attempt to replace three graduated seniors along the offensive line, current redshirt freshman Blaine Clausell, who started in place of Carmon and was hampered by injury at different times this season, will be relied upon to fill one of the open tackle positions. Another current redshirt freshman, Damien Robinson, saw time at guard this past season but could move to offensive tackle, the position he was originally recruited to play. Luckily for the Bulldogs, Tobias Smith, a current junior who started in the first three games of the season before suffering a year-ending knee injury, is slated to return to his starting role in the 2012 season. 
To replace Ferguson and Cox on the defensive line, State will likely turn to the likes of current freshmen P.J. Jones and Curtis Virges. Jones, who played as a defensive tackle this season, could either start alongside Boyd or slide over and fill the void left by Ferguson. Virges saw time this season at both defensive tackle and defensive end, and his flexibility will be further welcomed next season. Other names to watch are Preston Smith and Johnathan Harris, a pair of true freshmen who are likely to contribute to MSU’s defensive line next season. Also, State has acquired a large amount of talent on the defensive line in its current recruiting class. If the Bulldogs can maintain their commitments and get that talent to sign the dotted line on National Signing Day, MSU will almost surely have contribution from true freshmen on the defensive line next season.
To replace Brandon Wilson, who finished his final season at MSU with 94 tackles, State has numerous options of to “quarterback” the defense. Matthew Wells, Christian Holmes and Ferlando Bohanna, all freshmen, saw playing time this year and, barring injury, will be on the field again next season for MSU. Cameron Lawrence, currently a junior linebacker who led State in tackles at the end of the 2011 season, figures to once again be a main playmaker for defensive coordinator Chris Wilson, who will enter his third year at MSU next season.
The Bulldogs have a lot of production to replace heading into next season, but with a large amount of talent remaining on the roster, along with a schedule I believe is easier than this past season’s schedule, it is hard to imagine much drop off from the 2011 season to the 2012 season. With beginning preparations for next season right around the corner, the MSU coaching staff, players and fan base would much rather see a team in 2012 that mimics or exceeds the success of the 2010 team that finished with a 9-4 overall record and a dominating victory in the Gator Bowl rather than the 7-6 record that MSU accumulated in the 2011 season.