The Mississippi State University football team had its first official spring scrimmage open to the public on Saturday. Last season during the spring, the team was young and inexperienced with multiple new starters who were getting acclimated to their new roles. However, this year that is not the case as the Bulldogs return 17 starters and have 22 seniors. With that experience and the emergence of Dak Prescott at the quarterback position, MSU enters the 2014 season with hefty expectations. 
Prescott displayed a strong performance during the scrimmage. He was 16-26 for 175 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. His decision-making and ability to throw from the pocket appeared to be much improved from a year ago. He only ran the ball five times for 11 yards. 
Head Coach Dan Mullen said after the scrimmage he does not want to put Prescott in a lot of running situations during the spring scrimmages. 
“Overall, he did a great job. His leadership is good, and he does a good job out here of understanding that we’re not going to put him in position to make a lot of plays with his legs even though he’s comfortable with that,” Mullen said. “I have to do it sometimes so the defense gets the practice against a running quarterback, but I love when you take that away from him, and he still manages the offense effectively.” 
Running back appears to be a big position of strength this season. The Bulldogs have a lot of depth at the position with four guys who can all contribute this season. Junior Josh Robinson, senior Nick Griffin, sophomore Ashton Shumpert and sophomore Brandon Holloway all have the talent to be playmakers for the MSU ground game in 2014. Holloway showed off some impressive elusiveness in the open field Saturday, shaking and eluding defenders throughout the day. He had 15 carries for 67 yards. Griffin ran the ball well. He also accumulated 74 yards and two touchdowns on just 11 carries. Griffin has been plagued by injuries his entire career at MSU, and those setbacks have kept him off the field. However, this season he appears to finally be fully healthy and ready to be a steady contributor in the backfield. 
While the running game was a strong point in the 2013 season, the receiving game was not always consistent. Senior Jameon Lewis played well in 2013, but no other receiver could be counted on consistently. That might not be the case in 2014. Senior tight end Malcom Johnson saw multiple minutes in the scrimmage and contributed significantly offensively. He had six receptions for 127 yards and a touchdown. Johnson and Prescott seemed to be on the same page and had good chemistry. 
Prescott said he and Johnson have had a good wavelength all spring. 
“Malcolm’s a big guy, and his speed gives him an advantage against linebackers, and his size gives him an advantage against linebackers, so anytime we can get him the ball in the open field, we’ll take it,” Prescott said.  
Defensively, the Bulldogs showed signs of improvement as well. Sophomore defensive lineman Chris Jones did not play in the scrimmage due to a broken thumb, but John Harris stepped up in his place. He was huge in the scrimmage with eight tackles, five for loss, and three sacks. Linebackers Dez Harris, who had nine tackles, and Richie Brown, who had seven tackles, were also active on defense. 
Brown said the defense has some things it needs to improve on, but overall it was a productive day. 
“(Saturday) we had a big emphasis on trying to make big tackles and get our hands on the ball,” Brown said. “Our biggest thing on defense is just trying to get the ball and force turnovers or three-and-outs.”  
Placekicking still appears to be a major issue that could continue to plague the team moving forward. Sophomore Evan Sobiesk missed all three of his field goal attempts (38, 27,40), one of which was blocked. The team even struggled to convert extra points. Freshman Westin Graves missed two extra point attempts, one of which was blocked. The defense and offense both have talent and should play well this season, but special teams could be this team’s Achilles heel. 
The Bulldogs will have another scrimmage in Davis Wade Stadium Saturday before the annual Maroon and White spring game April 13.