With three games already played in the 2010 season, the Bulldogs have answered some of the questions brought up in the offseason.
One of the biggest concerns coming in to the season was the defense. The Dawgs addressed last year’s defensive struggles by bringing in new coaches and a new scheme.
However, there are still plenty of unknowns with this team that head coach Dan Mullen and the rest of the staff would like to get to the bottom of. The biggest questions at this point in the season have been on the offensive side of the ball.
Scoring has been a struggle for the Dawgs against SEC competition and must improve in a hurry if the team plans on accomplishing its goal of a bowl game appearance.
Mullen’s offensive style calls for a healthy balance of the running and the passing game. Since the season opener, the Bulldogs have struggled in both aspects of Mullen’s offensive scheme. Mullen has looked to his receivers to spark the offense and put some points on the board.
One of these receivers is redshirt sophomore Arceto Clark. After coming back to the offensive side of the ball, Clark has made some big catches early in the season. Mullen is hoping to give Clark a more active role in an offense that lacks proven talent and playmakers.
“I hope so; we need those guys to step up, and we have a lot of young wide receivers out there playing in these football games right now,” Mullen said. “Arceto has made a lot of nice catches. We need those guys to learn to step up and take it up another level.”
Coming off of the switch from defensive back to wide receiver in the offseason, the coaches did not really know what to expect from Clark. Wide receivers coach Mark Hudspeth was quick to compliment his ability to adjust to the position change in an interview with BulldawgJunction.com.
“Arceto has really come on and been somewhat of a surprise,” Hudspeth said. “His hands are ahead of what I anticipated. He also picked up the offense quickly considering he only played receiver a few days in the spring.”
Up to this point in his career at MSU, versatility would have to be the word to describe Clark. After signing with the Bulldogs, Clark sat out the first seven hames of the 2008 season, and he expected to sit out the remaining games.
Then head coach Sylvester Croom decided to lift Clark’s redshirt midway through the season, calling Clark his “secret weapon.”
Clark said the back and forth came as as a bit of a shock.
“In a way I was surprised,” he said. “Nobody really wants to sit out when you know you can play. It happened to take him a little time to see that I could play.”
Then, in 2009 came the beginning of the Mullen era, and the new head coach decided to have Clark sit out the 2009 season and take the redshirt year most thought he was going to have in 2008.
Clark said he struggled with the idea, but in the end prospered from it.
“It was kind of tough, being able to play and then not being able to play, but when I got my opportunity to come back out here, I was ready for it,” Clark said. “It made me want it more, to work harder and give it my all.”
With two seasons at MSU behind him, Clark is looking to move forward and help the team in any way possible. His ability as a playmaker is without question, and has been on display a few times already this season. For the Bulldog offense to get rolling, it’s going to take Clark and the rest of the offense making some big plays to supplement the solid work being done by the defense.
When asked about his thoughts on the rest of the season, Clark kept things simple.
“Just look for me to keep making plays,” Clark said.