The departure of Johnthan Banks, Darius Slay and Corey Broomfield among others has left the Mississippi State Bulldogs’ secondary thin, but one addition has already made a huge difference for the Dogs.
After the Bulldogs’ first week of spring practice in full pads, new defensive backs coach and two-time Super Bowl champion Deshea Townsend said it is apparent the MSU defensive backs are looking to improve on last year’s results.
Players throughout the MSU secondary are already noticing the changes with Townsend at the helm. Junior Jamerson Love said learning from a coach who played in the NFL creates an advantage most teams do not have.
“He (Townsend) is a great guy. He played 12 years in the league. That’s an advantage to us; he can teach us some of his knowledge,” Love said. “We just got to take in what he’s giving us and just go with it.”
Townsend has only had a short time to be with his new group of backs but has already seen the talented group he has inherited. He said the backs have their great work ethic and attitude thanks to former Bulldogs Banks and Slay, both of whom are prospects in the 2013 NFL Draft. 
“One thing I found out early on is that we have speed. Speed makes a lot of coaches better. They’re all good kids. They don’t mind working; they want to compete,” Townsend said. “It’s my thing to mold them into the player they want to be.”
The practices have also been more physical with Coach Geoff Collins and Townsend now leading the defense.
Junior defensive back Dee Arrington said this was apparent at the Bulldogs’ practices last week, with the intensity levels rising for the defensive backs in practice.
“We’ve picked it up a lot on the intensity level. We’ve been flying around,” Arrington said. “It’s been good. You just got to play up to your level and the coaches’ level.”
Townsend said newcomer Justin Cox has also been shining during spring practice for the Dogs and possesses great talent.
“A kid who is 6’1 who can run a 4.3 (in the 40-meter dash) – it’s hard to find those,” Townsend said. “He’s the type of kid the more reps he gets, the better he will be. We’re going to keep working him and teaching him to be a corner in the SEC.”
Cox adds to a secondary that returns key players such as Matthew Wells, Jay Hughes and Nickoe Whitley.
MSU resumes spring practice on Tuesday.