The Mississippi State University football team marked the midway point of its spring practices with a scrimmage Friday.
The spring is a good time for the coaching staff to evaluate the incoming players and see how players can fill the different voids left by former players. What did we learn from the first scrimmage?
We learned the Bulldogs will have  just as much depth as last season, if not more this upcoming fall. With the unexpected early departure of Josh Robinson, the Bulldogs will have to fill the void at running back. Freshmen Aeris Williams and Dontavian Lee received the most carries in the scrimmage and combined for three rushing touchdowns.
“It was good,” Head Coach Dan Mullen said in a news release. “They ran the ball hard. Again, I want to go look at some of the reads, make sure they’re on it. It looked like they were a little hesitant at times, and they probably could have some things a little bit more full-speed. The check pass protection obviously is going to be critical for them. I thought they ran the ball hard, which I already knew that would happen. It’s the other things you have to make sure that they’re ready for.”
Brandon Holloway also ripped off the longest run of the day for a 75-yard touchdown. If he gets into the second-level untouched, he is almost a guaranteed touchdown. 
“We’re just progressing along, progressing along,” Mullen said. “You know, spring is all about player development and getting a lot of guys different things. We’re 0-0 at the end of spring. I think our guys have a great attitude. I think they competed, I think they played hard they give good effort. But I think they’ve got to really learn how to maximize themselves out here on the field.”
Freshman Geri Green and sophomore J.T. Gray showed they may be willing to fill in for the talent lost at linebacker. Both finished with eight tackles leading the defense. Green was also in the backfield for sacks all scrimmage long. The defense is adjusting to new defensive coordinator Manny Diaz’s schemes. 
“I believe they’re getting it slowly but surely,” Mullen said. “They’re getting it. You see some definite improvements; you see other things that are going to be maybe drastic differences from what we did before, of them trusting their job, trusting their teammates, trusting all the fits. And not sitting there saying; boy is the ball really going to get turned back to me the right way?” 
Players such as De’Runnya Wilson sat out due to injuries in the scrimmage, so the public was not able to see how the Prescott-to-Wilson tandem progressed. Fred Ross and Fred Brown played well though, both gaining over 100 yards receiving. Freshman Malik Dear displayed versatility as well as receiving and getting the ball in the backfield for a few rushes. 
“The biggest thing for him as you see he can do some things,” Mullen said. “But he’s got to learn the system, learn how to play it at the college level. And he’s got to do it consistently. It can’t be a great play and then he has to come subbed-out. I still think he’s working, got to get in a little bit better shape still, conditioning-wise to get ready to play at this level. But he shows he’s got the ability. We’ve just got to get him to do it consistently.”
Nick Fitzgerald ran quarterback for the second unit and showed a surprising grasp of the offense. He ended up tossing in three touchdown passes on top of his performance. Mullen fell under fire last year when he let Damian Williams share reps with Dak Presscott early in the season because Williams sometimes looked as if he did not have command of the offense. With Fitzgerald’s performance, it will be interesting to see if he can challenge Williams for the backup quarterback postion.
We have learned Mullen has the football team turning out players left and right. Last season was the first year the fans saw how far Mullen can lead a team with depth. Even though the Bulldogs say goodbye to some of the most talented players in the history of the program, MSU has the talent to fill-in those holes with only missing a minimal beat.
MSU will have its second scrimmage of the spring Saturday at 11:40 a.m. at Davis Wade Stadium and, it is open to the public.