With the Mississippi State football team (2-5, 1-3) performing at a subpar level this season, many fans are looking towards the next season and how the team can grow as a whole. One thing fans look at when they are having a struggle-ridden season is the depth and youth of the team.
For Mississippi State, head coach Dan Mullen constantly talks about the youth of the team, which many people play off as him making an excuse for the poor level of play.
Looking at the starting roster and the depth chart of the team, the Bulldogs have youth at almost every position. Not only does every position have youth, they are also getting significant playing time and performing well all over the field.
On the offensive side of the ball, redshirt freshman Keith Mixon, sophomore Malik Dear and sophomore Aeris Williams are huge playmakers and succeeding game after game for the Bulldogs whenever they touch the ball. Dear is a name MSU fans have been hearing and yelling over and over again, trying to get Mullen to play him more. So far this season, he has 10 catches for 109 yards and 9 rushes for 93 yards and a touchdown. He averages over 10 yards per touch on the ball.
Mixon on the other hand has been a big play specialist. He has 13 rushes for 56 yards while accumulating 13 receptions for 144 yards and two touchdowns, including a 37-yard touchdown catch against Auburn and a 44-yard touchdown against BYU.
Mullen has been more than pleased, praising the play of both players so far this season.
“He (Dear) and Keith (Mixon) both play some of the same positions,” Mullen said. “We move those guys around to find different ways to give them the ball. They’re dynamic players with the ball in their hands that have played multiple positions, so they’re comfortable if you motion them into the backfield. They’re guys you’re just trying to create mismatches with.”
Williams is another player who has succeeded on the offensive side of the ball so far this season.
Since he has moved to the primary runningback following Brandon Holloway’s injury, he has accumulated 44 rushing attempts for 185 yards and a touchdown. That accounts for 4.2 yards per rush. He only has 3 catches for 9 yards though receiving.
Starting quarterback, redshirt sophomore Nick Fitzgerald can be considered youth as well. He has been the face of criticism this season, but people fail to realize that it is difficult to replace the skill level of Dak Prescott in one season. He has performed well, passing for 1079 yards with 9 touchdowns and 5 interceptions while completing 55.9 percent of his passes.
He is MSU’s leading rusher with 96 attempts for 538 yards and 4 touchdowns. He even has one reception on the season for 9 yards. Fitzgerald has proven he deserves the starting position but needs to be more consistent throwing the ball.
On the defensive side of the ball, young players such as true freshman Jeffery Simmons and redshirt freshman are making a huge difference as linebacker and defensive lineman. In the secondary, sophomores Mark Mclaurin, Jamal Peters and Brandon Bryant are already leading the team and succeeding.
Simmons has performed well, especially since he did not play in game one because of off the field issues. Since he came back in week two, he has 18 total tackles with two forced fumbles. Lewis has 48 total tackles this season and leads all SEC freshman in the category.
In the secondary, Bryant has 33 tackles on the season, which he has struggled heavily. Bryant and the fans know he is one of the leaders on the team and will come back to being the dominant force he was last season.
Both Mark Mclaurin and Jamal Peters played sparingly as freshman last season, but because of injuries, they both have started games and played well.
Peters only has 7 tackles but caught his first career interception in the game against South Carolina earlier this season. Mclaurin has 31 tackles on the season while getting his first career interception two weeks ago against BYU and then recovered a fumble for his first college touchdown against Kentucky.
Mclaurin gave the coaches all the credit for his interception and described the atmosphere of the locker room weeks ago after the BYU loss.
“Coach had been teaching us the whole week about the pivot routes and the digs, and at that time the coaches made a great call, and I got the pivot route and made a play on the ball,” Mclaurin said. “We just need to keep fighting. We played hard, but we just didn’t get the outcome that we wanted. Sometimes it just ends that way, so we have to keep going.”
Mclaurin’s words can be attached to the entire season so far. The games are not ending the way they want, but they have to keep fighting. The Bulldogs have lost three games this season on the very last play of the game.
When asked about keeping the young team motivated when they lost so many games on the final play, Mullen responded how any coach would, talking about keeping confidence and not letting the losses get to the team.
“You’ve got to win,” Mullen said. “It’s just the confidence of winning the game. We found a way to lose games on the last play of the game three different ways, too. I’ve never been in this situation where in a single season I’ve lost three games on the final play.”
Looking ahead, the Bulldogs have much to be happy about in the future. There are young stars on this football team, and they are going to continue to fight for starting positions and playing time. The future is bright for the youth of MSU football.
Mississippi State looks to get back in the win column tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. in the annual homecoming game. The Bulldogs host Samford University.
