After two consecutive three win seasons and last year’s winless term in the southeastern conference, veteran head coach Jackie Sherrill is in a corner.
On one side the fans and media are screaming for Sherrill to be replaced with someone new, and on the other side the NCAA is still continuing with an
investigation into Sherrill’s program that dates as far back as the 1998 season.
With all of this commotion surrounding the Bulldogs program, one has to ask how will Mississippi State’s winningest head coach do it? How will he restore a program that he once led to three straight postseason bowl berths, posted four straight winning records, and won the SEC Western Division title.
Well, for starters Sherrill almost totally revamped his coaching staff, hiring a new offensive and defensive coordinator and three new assistants.
OFFENSE:
New coordinator Morris Watts will take over an offense that lost five starters and placed dead last in the Southeastern Conference, scoring just 18.9 points a game last season. On the plus side MSU has plenty depth and talent to improve on last years embarrassing woes.
State has a trio of running backs that include sophomores Nick Turner and Jerious Norwood and junior Fred Reid. Turner looks like he will be the Bulldogs starter and will also return punts. The Atlanta native returned a punt for 71 yards to pay dirt in the Bulldogs final fall scrimmage and also had a five-yard run for a touchdown. Norwood broke through with an 80-yard run for a touchdown and Reid had seven attempts for 35 yards. There is no doubt that the Dogs have an experienced and talented backfield, but the blockers are the worry on offense.
New offensive line coach Steve Campbell will have to build his
offensive line around senior Blake Jones. The three-year letterman from Alabama is the lone senior on the line and will have to lead an offensive line that only helped produce a running game that ranked 11th, just above Mississippi, in the Southeastern Conference last season.
The past two seasons the offensive line has experienced a number of injuries, if they can stay healthy and become a unit they have the talent to help the Bulldogs have a successful running game.
In his Tuesday afternoon press conference Coach Sherrill said his main worry was the offensive line. Sherrill also said that the game against Oregon will be won on the line of scrimmage.
Mississippi State will sorely miss Terrell Grindle in the receiving area, but the Bulldogs do have returning starter Justin Jenkins who had 28 catches for 273 yards last season. Jenkins will be accompanied by junior Ray Ray Bivines who, in the Bulldogs’ final fall scrimmage, caught a wide receiver screen from quarterback Kevin Fant and ran it 56 yards for a touchdown.
Look for junior Antonio Hargro to have a break out year for the Dogs. Hargro made five catches for 184 yards and two touchdowns in State’s fall scrimmage.
“Somebody flipped the switch on,” Sherrill said of Hargro’s play. “He has gotten better every day of preseason, and up until a couple of days ago, had caught everything thrown his way. If he gets in the open, it takes sprinter’s speed to catch him.”
Jackie Sherrill publicly announced that senior quarterback Kevin Fant will control the snaps for State. After Fant’s leave of absence during spring drills Sherrill bumped sophomore quarterback Kyle York up to starter. Fant’s reappearance this fall has caused a competitive race for the starting job.
In MSU’s final fall scrimmage the two were neck and neck. York threw for 128 yards missing only one pass going five for six, while Fant threw for 114 yards and went six of eight. Kevin Fant has the talent to start for many Southeastern teams, he has a very powerful arm, but the question is “Can Fant be a leader and lead the Dogs back to glory?”
“Offensively, I thought we caught the ball well, but we have a lot of work to do on the offensive line,” Sherrill said of the Bulldogs offense after the fall scrimmage. “We were able to make some big plays, but we weren’t nearly consistent enough. I guess the best thing you can say about this scrimmage was our field goal kicking.”
KEY TO A
SUCCESSFUL OFFENSE:
One of the main things the Bulldogs will have to work on is holding on to the ball and not making stupid passes. Last season MSU ranked 111th out of 117 Division 1-A schools in turnover margin, (negative 15)!
DEFENSE:
New defensive coordinator Ron Cooper will lead a defensive unit that returns eight players from a 2002 squad that allowed just over 28 points a game, which ranked 11th in the SEC only beating out Vanderbilt.
This year’s defense, led by senior line backer T.J. Mawhinney, has a fiery competitive spirit that was not lit last year. Cooper will bring in a 4-3 scheme on defense consisting of a more patient approach then past coordinator Joe Lee Dunn.
Cornerbacks coach Curley Hallman did a great job with the defensive secondary last year. The Bulldogs ranked third in the nation in pass defense last year, only allowing 153 yards per game. MSU will retain most of last years secondary, so a major plus in that category.
First year assistant coach John Blake will have to resurrect a defensive line that gave up over 170 rushing yards per game last season.
The D-line will be led by seniors Tommy Kelly and Kamau Jackson. Jackson will have to sit out the first two games of the season due to NCAA sanctions dating back from his junior college days.
The line backer core will be led by Mawhinney, a Louisiana native.
Mawhinney has just been put on the 2003 Butkus Award watch list. The Butkus Award is given to the collegiate best line backer.
KEY TO A
SUCCESSFUL DEFENSE:
Mississippi State’s defense placed dead last in the SEC last year in the sack category. The Bulldogs only sacked the opposing quarterback 10 times last year that is not even once a game. State’s defense has got to put more pressure on the quarterback
this year.
A nation-wide ESPN-2 audience will see if this Bulldog will come out attacking or not come out at all.