The Mississippi State Bulldogs enter the 2008 season with high expectations, coming off a head-turning 2007 season which saw them finish 8-5 (4-4 SEC) with a Liberty Bowl win over Central Florida. The Bulldogs now set their sights on competing for their first SEC West title since 1998.
The Bulldog offense is led by sophomore quarterback Wesley Carroll. After expecting to redshirt last season, Carroll was thrust into the starting role due to injuries to other quarterbacks.He completed 134 passes (53 percent) for 1,392 yards and led the team to fourth quarter game winning drives three times.
Backing up Carroll is junior Tyson Lee, a former Ittawamba Community College standout who transferred to Mississippi State in the spring and earned a scholarship. MSU head coach Sylvester Croom has praised Lee’s strong arm and quick release and plans to play him in some capacity along with Carroll.
The Bulldogs’ running backs will be led by junior Anthony Dixon, who ran for 1,066 yards and 14 touchdowns last season. “The thing that impresses me most about him is the way he works,” assistant coach Rocky Felker said. “He’s 235 pounds, runs a 4.6 (40-yard dash), he’s got real good hands, he can run and he can block.” Felker also said he considers Dixon to be “one of the best backs in the league.”
Complimenting Dixon is junior Christian Ducré, who rushed for 487 yards and three touchdowns last season. Also expected to contribute this year are speedy redshirt freshmen Robert Elliot and Wade Bonner. “We have two main running backs, but Elliot and Bonner are two guys that have abilities that we want to get into the game,” said Felker. He added that any good SEC team has to have three or four good running backs, and with Dixon, Ducré, Elliot and Bonner, Mississippi State has four backs “that can make something happen with the football in their arms and can help us win games.”
At fullback, seniors Brandon Hart and Eric Hoskins will both be in the mix. Hart will likely be the starter, but both are trusted by the coaching staff and expected to contribute equally.
The Bulldogs look to improve their receiving game, which had the fewest yards per game in the SEC last season. Senior Jamayel Smith led the team a year ago with 33 catches for 510 yards, including a 208-yard, two touchdown day against Arkansas, and has been billed by Croom as the team’s top receiver. Croom said Smith, along with seniors Co-Eric Riley and Aubrey Bell and junior Brandon McRae will be on the field the most, but they will have to maximize their full potential better than they did last year if they want to make a big impact.
Freshman O’Neal Wilder, the reigning 400-meter dash junior world champion, is also expected to add a spark to the passing game.
Tight ends coach Reed Stringer said there are three players – sophomore Brandon Henderson, freshmen Marcus Green and Nelson
Hurst – battling for playing time right now. “I don’t think one will probably play more than the others right now. We’ll know more about that after a couple
games,” Stringer said.
The Bulldogs face a tough task in rebuilding the offensive line, which lost three of five starters from last year’s team. According to offensive line coach J.B. Grimes, if the season started today, the starting offensive line would include seniors Anthony Strauder, left guard, and Michael Gates, right guard, sophomores Derek Sherrod, left tackle, J.C. Brignone, center, and redshirt freshman Quinton Saulsberry at right tackle.
“Right now you’ve got to feel like Derek Sherrod is a mainstay there at left tackle. He’s a young man who played 300 snaps as a true freshman a year ago, and I feel like he’s got an opportunity to be a really, really good player,” Grimes said.
Although only Strauder has been a regular starter on the line before, Grimes feels good about the starting lineup, since “four of those guys have seen extensive action in Southeastern Conference play.”
The defensive line will also have to replace key players from last year, including All-SEC defensive tackle Titus Brown. Junior
Kyle Love and senior Jessie Bowman are expected to start at defensive tackle, where depth is a key concern. The defensive end spots are still up in the air, but senior Tim Bailey and true freshman Sean
Ferguson are expected to get much playing time.
The Bulldogs return a solid linebacker corps anchored by seniors Jamar Chaney and Dominic Douglas, who led the team in tackles last season.
“They’ve given us great leadership, and there’s no reason not to expect a great year out of them,” linebackers coach Louis Campbell said.
New to the starting ranks this year is sophomore K.J. Wright.
“Those are three good linebackers, to some degree as good as you’ll find,” Campbell said. “If we can keep those three on the field, I’ll feel good.”
Croom has referred to the secondary as one of the strengths of the team, and it is loaded with talent and experience.
Senior second team All-SEC free safety Derek Pegues anchors the defense, having intercepted five passes last season. Pegues will be backed up by sophomore Zach Smith, who played in 12 games last year as a true freshman. Senior Keith Fitzhugh, who caught two interceptions last season, will start at strong safety and senior Jasper O’Quinn and junior Marcus Washington are expected to start at cornerback. Also returning are junior cornerback Tay Bowser and senior safety De’Mon Glanton. Croom has said true freshman Charles Mitchell will get playing time as well.
Special teams will look much the same for the Bulldogs this fall, with senior Blake McAdams punting and senior Adam Carlson handing the placekicking duties. Redshirt freshman Eric Richards is also expected to contribute this year.