Just three days after the
new uniforms for the 2009
Mississippi State football team
were unveiled, Bulldog fans will
have a chance to see how their
team looks as head coach Dan
Mullen debuts his spread offense
in the annual Maroon and White
game tomorrow.
As Mullen tries to purge the
team of the lackluster offense of
the last five years, he has called
upon former Bulldog head coach
Jackie Sherrill for an assessment
of MSU football.
“He understands that he’s got
to learn what Mississippi State
is, what strengths it has,” Sherrill
said. “He’s doing a good job
with that. He’s trying to build
the present and the future, and
he knows that the only way to
do that, you have to acknowledge
the past. There have been
a lot of great players that have
come through Mississippi State,
and a lot of them are still out
there playing.”
Mullen said he thinks the team
is finally starting to hit its stride
right as spring practice ends.
“It’s been a crazy couple
months, but we are ready to wrap
up spring practice,” Mullen said.
“We had a real slow start, and
I am hoping that we continue
with a strong finish right now
and wrap things up on Saturday
with the Maroon and White
game.”
Mullen said he attributed the
slow start in part to the players’
learning an entirely new system,
which when fully developed
will be a far cry from Sylvester
Croom’s West Coast offense.
However, in the short term,
Mullen said he cautions those
who would want a complete
overhaul because the Bulldogs
have to play to their strengths.
“Our coaches have to evaluate
the things our players do well,”
Mullen said. “We are putting
in the spread offense here, but
every day we are really evaluating
and doing a lot of different
things to see what our players
do well.”
That could mean Bulldog fans
will continue to see a lot from
senior running back Anthony
Dixon, who has been the only
running back to have stayed
healthy throughout spring practice
with senior Christian Ducre
having suffered a shoulder injury
and both sophomore Robert
Elliot and senior Arnil Stallworth
out with knee injuries.
In his first spring in Starkville,
Mullen has shown no player’s
spot on the team is guaranteed.
Currently, Mullen has Dixon
third on the depth chart, despite
Dixon being MSU’s leading
rusher for the last two seasons.
Quarterbacks senior Tyson
Lee and sophomore Chris Relf
have been splitting time directing
the offense. Mullen, known
for developing quarterbacks said
he has put a lot of emphasis on
those two players learning the
offense.
“They are doing a nice job
picking up the offense,” Mullen
said. “They are both athletic.
They are not real drop-back
passers. We have to just build
around their strengths. Our QB
development is crucial for us
having a good season.”
One bright spot on the team
for Mullen is the defense, which
should again be anchored by
senior linebacker Jamar Chaney.
The defense has been dominant
in scrimmages, and Mullen said
many of the scrimmages have
not been close.
“One of the things that
Mississippi State has always done
is play good defense,” Mullen
said. “We went out and got Carl
Torbush as our defensive coordinator,
and we are going to seal
up that and keep the defensive
tradition alive.”
However, after the first scrimmage,
Mullen, an offensive-minded
coach, said he grew
impatient with the defense’s
dominance.
“The defense played real well.
I’m real disappointed with the
offensive performance today,”
Mullen said. “The offensive
line’s been looking solid; they
were just turning guys free from
protection today, turning the
other way. That was disappointing.
I thought our backs ran
hard, but you just see the obvious
lack of playmakers. We need
to get some playmakers here.”
The offensive line will feature
two players with significant collegiate
experience, juniors Derek
Sherrod and J. C. Brignone.
Mullen also said no one in
the 2009 recruiting class will be
redshirted.
“We need playmakers,”
Mullen said. “We do not plan
on redshirting anybody. If you
can come in and play, we want
you on the field. In our system,
one of the things we like are
multi-talented guys; they create
tough mismatches for the
defense.”
The MSU incoming class
includes six receivers and five all
purpose athletes whom Mullen
said he hopes can supplement
the current group of Bulldogs.
“We are going to make sure in
our version of the spread we are
utilizing the talent that is here
to be successful,” Mullen said.
“If we want to change, we will
go recruit to those changes, like
more speed at the receiver position.
We are going to try to use
the talent that we have here to
be successful.”
Although currently unavailable
due an injury last season,
senior Brandon McRae said he
has found the spread offense to
be much easier to learn than last
year’s West Coast.
“I already know the plays
now,” McRae said. “When they
told me to learn one position,
I just go ahead and learn them
all. It’s not that hard compared
to the West Coast. And once
I see a play, I’ve just got it in
my head, so it’s pretty easy. I
wouldn’t mind if they lined me
up at quarterback.”
Mullen has been on a radio
tour of sports stations across the
Southeast drumming up support
for the Maroon and White
game.
Calling for 40,000 fans to
show up tomorrow, Mullen said
he expects a huge crowd for the
unveiling of the new MSU version
of the spread offense.