In Dan Mullen’s inaugural spring game as head coach of Mississippi State, Derek DePasquale’s 25-yard field goal as time expired gave the Maroon team a 24-21 victory after his squad trailed by as much as 12.
Mullen, whose team lost last year’s starting punter and kicker to graduation, said seeing his kickers perform was one of the day’s highlights.
“It’s kind of big to have the kickers be able to come out and kick in a live situation in front of fans,” he said. “You know it’s pretty easy to do it in practice when you’re standing off to the side to start off practice, but when you’ve got to do it in front of over 30,000 people with the game on the line it’s good to see them come out and be put under that pressure.”
Junior college transfers DePasquale and Sean Brauchle took turns kicking field goals, with each making good from 37, 42 and 47 yards. Brauchle seemed to get the best of the competition, however, by nailing his second attempt at a 52 yarder.
An even bigger question mark for MSU is how Mullen’s players will adapt to an entirely new offensive system.
Mullen echoed a sentiment certainly felt by many State fans, saying he was simply glad his offense, new to the Bulldogs, could put points on the board.
“We accomplished our goal by getting a lot of fans to come out there, so I’m thinking to myself ‘Boy I hope we can put some points on the board so they’ll leave happy,'” he said.
Mullen, who describes himself as not easily satisfied, was not disappointed in his team’s performance.
“I was pleased with the effort. I’m pleased that we’re coming out of spring with the foundation of the offense and the foundation of the defense and special teams,” Mullen said. “More important is the foundation of what we expect effort-wise from our guys out on the field.”
Tyson Lee, the maroon team’s starting quarterback and presumptive front-runner to win the spot in the fall, mirrored his team’s production by starting off slow and picking up steam. He credited receivers Terrance Davis and Leon Berry for making plays late in the game.
“I didn’t give them the opportunity to [make plays] at the beginning of the game and as a quarterback I have to do that,” he said.
Lee said his resurgence came from a more relaxed approach and not thinking too hard.
“We’ve practiced it, and practiced it and now it’s just execution. In the first half I didn’t execute well,” he said. “As a quarterback you have to execute when the time presents itself, and I didn’t do that.”
Lee said Sophomore Relf has been quick to grasp the offense.
He also said he couldn’t help but cheer on his counterpart.
“Chris did wonderful. I was watching him from the sideline, and it’s hard to root for him because I didn’t want to come in and clean the stadium [Sunday],” Lee said.
Relf’s favorite target on the day was redshirt freshman O’Neal Wilder. Wilder, who hopes to pull double duty as football player and track star, made a circus catch on a deep route on the game’s first possession after the ball was tipped.
Wilder’s position is a huge concern for Mullen, whose offensive scheme utilizes a lot of receivers.
“We’ve got to stay healthy at that receiver position, get a couple more guys and hopefully get Brandon McRae back for the fall,” Mullen said. “If we do that I think we’ll be able to put a decent receiving corps out there on the field with our [number] one offense.”