The Mississippi State Bulldogs will finish fine-tuning for the season over the next two weeks and be ready to step onto the field against Memphis, or at least they had better be.
The 2010 season brings higher expectations in Bulldog Country. Each fresh campaign also brings uncertainty in the form of new challenges that require adjustments, which can result in anything from a huge plus or a huge negative for the squad, but each season also gives teams a chance to showcase new strengths as well.
Typically, each team is aware of what new sets of strengths and uncertainties other programs bring to the table.
The Known
Defensive Line: Mississippi State’s stellar defensive line is led by senior All-SEC defensive end Pernell McPhee, who amassed 56 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and five sacks last season.
He is joined by sophomores Fletcher Cox, who recorded 29 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and one sack in the 2009 season on the way to garnering Freshman All-SEC honors and Josh Boyd who was highly touted out of high school and also earned valuable playing time in his debut campaign. Junior college transfer James Carmon, a behemoth of a man at 6’6, 360-pounds, figures to make a big splash in the middle after a decorated career at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. The likely eight-man rotation will be rounded out by sophomore defensive tackle Devin Jones, redshirt freshman Johnathan Mckenzie, and junior defensive ends Nick Bell and Shawn Ferguson. The only thing keeping the athletic defensive line from being even more hyped is the lack of overall experience at defensive tackle, which should be overcome quite easily because of the plethora of talent on the roster.
Ladarius Perkins: Some may wonder exactly who Ladarius Perkins is and how a redshirt freshman’s potential impact can be known. The answer would be: speed is concrete whether one has played or not, and Perkins’ legitimate 4.3-second 40-yard dash gives MSU the homerun threat needed for the spread offense to work.
Perkins’ wheels are comparable to those of former Bulldog Jerious Norwood’s, and his shorter stature (listed in the media guide at a generous 5’10) presents comparisons to Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew.
The bowling ball-type body gives him the opportunity to hide behind taller offensive linemen then burst through the seam and into the open field. Head man Dan Mullen will not likely use him as an every down back this year, but will line him up in several positions because he creates a mismatch wherever he lines up.
Aggressive Style: The Bulldog defense is going in a different direction this season – downhill to be exact. Manny Diaz and Chris Wilson joined the Bulldog coaching staff this offseason, and both are responsible for installing an attacking style defense which seems to fit MSU’s personnel better than the previous defensive scheme.
Under Diaz, MTSU finished second in tackles for loss last season, and sixth in sacks. He has reached nine bowl games in his 11 year career, and he has been involved with some top defenses at North Carolina State.
Chris Wilson comes from Oklahoma where he was the defensive line coach for a unit that only allowed 92 rushing yards per game and met the quarterback quite often.
Their attacking style seems to fit the MSU personnel much better than last year’s scheme.
The Unknown
Running Back: Although scat back Ladarius Perkins is a known plus, running back is still a question mark. It is impossible to fully replace the SEC’s leading rusher in yardage &mdash Anthony Dixon.
Running Backs coach Greg Knox has been quoted as being optimistic, but look for MSU to feature more of a running back by committee style this season.
Juniors Robert Elliot and Vick Ballard must step up and be every down backs, especially with the departure of Montrell Conner, who was a bigger more bruising Anthony Dixon type running back.
Elliot and Ballard’s success would also free up Ladarius Perkins to be even more of a utility guy and a bigger weapon for Mullen.
Secondary: The Bulldog defense is inexperienced, although talent-laden. Charles Mitchell, a junior safety, is an All-SEC caliber player. Sophomores Corey Broomfield and Johnthan Banks are coming off of great freshman campaigns, each earning Freshman All-SEC honors and amassing 10 interceptions and four touchdowns between the two.
Senior cornerback Maurice Langston has all the tools to be a solid starting cornerback and will benefit from his first full offseason with the team.
The Bulldogs will start redshirt freshman Nickoe Whitley who has earned a reputation for being a head hunter and a ball hawk, but he must prove it on the field.
MSU does have some experienced depth with safeties Wade Bonner and Zach Smith.
Junior cornerback Damein Anderson, sophomore cornerback Louis Watson and redshirt freshman safety Dennis Thames have also played well enough to earn some playing time and at least contribute on special teams.
Let’s see if the more talented, but less experienced underclassmen can grow up quickly enough to be the great unit they could possibly be.
Killer Instinct: Bulldog fans do not need to be reminded of the near-wins last season, but since almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, it would be unrealistic to ignore the late-game shortcomings last season.
Beginning with the most painful, MSU lined up 4 times on the 1 yard line against LSU and could not get into the endzone for the game winning score. MSU lost to SEC runner-up Florida by 10, ACC Champion Georgia Tech by 11, C-USA runner up Houston by seven, and were in the game against Arkansas until the 4th quarter.
A win in any of these games would have resulted in a bowl game for Mullen and the Bulldogs.
Will an overall deeper and more physically fit Bulldog team be able to develop the killer instinct necessary to finish games in the SEC? That remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain: Mullen will not accept his Bulldogs laying down to anyone.