How do we answer 2016's offensive riddle?

[Coach34]

The goal of most offenses is to get the ball in the hands of your best playmakers. By doing that- you give your offense its best chance at success. One problem that the State offense has this Fall is that a large number of its offensive playmakers play the same position- Slot WR.

Fred Ross is the starter. Ross was the SEC's best WR in 2016- making 1st team All-SEC. He is a huge part of the State offense and someone that needs to be on the field as much as possible.

Gabe Myles- The Jr had some injury problems but is a solid weapon in the Slot. He is absolutely someone that needs to see the field.

Malik Dear- as a Freshman, Dear caught 22 passes as well as ran the ball 11 more times for over 100 yards. Dear needs more touches in 2016.

Keith Mixon- the R-Fr impressed many last Fall during practices. Many feel Mixon is big play talent with great quickness.

So what do we do to get these guys on the field?

Considering the logjam at Slot and our problems at RB- I would attack the problem this way:

A) I explain to Shumpert that I love him, make him ST Captain, and tell him he is moving to LB.
B) I move Dear to TB and tell him to fight it out with Holloway, Lee, Williams, Gibson, and Murphy.
C) If Dear isnt working out at TB- I move Myles to an outside WR where we lack depth anyway.

[msstate7]

Got to run the ball somehow and then throw it deep... Fitz/Staley seem to have good touch on the deep ball

[Johnson85]

I think you make Ross a utility guy to begin with. He's played slot and outside, and I think he's smart enough to do both in one season. So you start with the expectation that your top three outside WRs are Gray, Brown, and Ross and your top 4 slot receivers will be Ross, Dear, Myles, and Mixon. That at least opens up some plays at the slot for for Myles, Mixon, and Dear. Maybe you try to run some trips with two slots to one side and a TE on the backside to help with blocking to also maximize your snaps with a slot position.

Ideally, Malik would be able to transition to TB full time, with him being split out to the slot in certain situations, in which case you might not need to move Ross outside. Unfortunately, I just don't have any faith that the coaching staff that our RB situation is going to be fixed this year. It was so bad last year, I don't see how anybody that was on the roster last year is going to fix it this year. They either aren't good enough to fix it, or the Staff is too stubborn to make a change and allow them to fix it. So I'm expecting Dear to be used as a slot, with him occasionally motioning into the backfield for a pro-set type look like he and Myles did some this year.

Our offense really just doesn't fit together that well this year. We have the receiver personnel to do a lot of 4 or even 5 wide. But our OT really need the help an extra TE blocker can provide them. And are you really going to consistently put your RS So QB in that position? Just something of a mess; it's not easy to come up with a group of offensive talent that will make up for a bad OL, but ours really doesn't fit it well.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

I keep Ross in the slot. He's our best WR & the slot is our prime time WR position. I move Myles to outside WR. It gives us more experience outside which we need & allows the young slot guys more reps. Dear stays at slot & is the backup to Ross. I think Dear's touches double & almost triple this year. Mixon returns kicks & gets an opportunity at punts this year while being the 3rd slot guy this year. His touches being similar to Dear last year.

[smootness]

I keep Ross in the slot. He's our best WR & the slot is our prime time WR position. I move Myles to outside WR. It gives us more experience outside which we need & allows the young slot guys more reps. Dear stays at slot & is the backup to Ross. I think Dear's touches double & almost triple this year. Mixon returns kicks & gets an opportunity at punts this year while being the 3rd slot guy this year. His touches being similar to Dear last year.

This is probably the best solution. I would use Dear out of the backfield some, but he should be lined up all over the place.

We have a lot of versatile pieces, so we should take advantage of that. There is no reason our offense should have to have set spots for all these guys. Get creative.

[RiverCityDawg]

I keep Ross in the slot. He's our best WR & the slot is our prime time WR position. I move Myles to outside WR. It gives us more experience outside which we need & allows the young slot guys more reps. Dear stays at slot & is the backup to Ross. I think Dear's touches double & almost triple this year. Mixon returns kicks & gets an opportunity at punts this year while being the 3rd slot guy this year. His touches being similar to Dear last year.

This. I like Dear at tailback, but that just seems like is isn't going to happen. You have to do something to get all of these guys on the field, so Gabe to the outside is the next best option. This is assuming someone like Couch doesn't provide a nice surprise on the outside.

[Bothrops]

There's also Deddrick Thomas to throw in the slot equation. Missing on that outside guy from Texas really hurt. Ole Miss can get players out of Texas but we can't..hmm interesting.

[Dawg-gone-dawgs]

I keep Ross in the slot. He's our best WR & the slot is our prime time WR position. I move Myles to outside WR. It gives us more experience outside which we need & allows the young slot guys more reps. Dear stays at slot & is the backup to Ross. I think Dear's touches double & almost triple this year. Mixon returns kicks & gets an opportunity at punts this year while being the 3rd slot guy this year. His touches being similar to Dear last year.

How is Jesse Jackson progressing? I am curious to see if he can be a legit contributor for us.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

There's also Deddrick Thomas to throw in the slot equation. Missing on that outside guy from Texas really hurt. Ole Miss can get players out of Texas but we can't..hmm interesting.

Deddrick spent way more time on the outside than he did in the slot.

[beretta]

I personally like Dear in the backfield.....he is joshR in a nutshell.....and then go "all in" with Cam Akers....Ross was "my boy" during the recruiting that I always keep a tab on...."my boy" is nothing posted online from each class.....ive hit a bunch....yall keep an eye on Spencer....he aint too far from Simmons in ranking point wise....Ross will play in the NFL, bank that....

[Ifyouonlyknew]

How is Jesse Jackson progressing? I am curious to see if he can be a legit contributor for us.

Jesse looked good last spring until he got hurt. Just wasn't many reps for him last year. This spring is his time to show he can be a solid SEC playmaker.

[cheewgumm]

I think we're going to regret not putting Dear at TB. Or, Mullen will regret it.

If that's not happening, it should be.

[msstate7]

There's also Deddrick Thomas to throw in the slot equation. Missing on that outside guy from Texas really hurt. Ole Miss can get players out of Texas but we can't..hmm interesting.

Where's Fred Ross from?

[Commercecomet24]

I keep Ross in the slot. He's our best WR & the slot is our prime time WR position. I move Myles to outside WR. It gives us more experience outside which we need & allows the young slot guys more reps. Dear stays at slot & is the backup to Ross. I think Dear's touches double & almost triple this year. Mixon returns kicks & gets an opportunity at punts this year while being the 3rd slot guy this year. His touches being similar to Dear last year.

I honestly believe the OL can be decent this year based upon rewatching the games and the difference when Jenkins and Calhoun were in the game together. I know that's not a popular opinion but just curious to hear your thoughts.

[Dawgtini]

I honestly believe the OL can be decent this year based upon rewatching the games and the difference when Jenkins and Calhoun were in the game together. I know that's not a popular opinion but just curious to hear your thoughts.

I agree. I also think that Rankin probably would have played late last year but they didn't want to burn his redshirt. I think we will be much improved up front.

[EAVdog]

If we just had an Offense that would utilize the QB running to make Defenses move in to the box and free up WR's?



Fitz/Staley will both run the ball, think Relf, but can pass better. Both will play and both will tote the rock more than Dak did last year. You wont see the gaudy passing numbers from last year but I feel pretty confident the O will at least be average with Mullen's tenure, which is pretty strong. However Fitz throws a very pretty deep ball. If Holloway could catch a little better he could be a great deep threat since he can pretty much run past everyone.

[Bothrops]

Where's Fred Ross from?

Your point being?

[msstate7]

Your point being?
You said we couldn't get players from Texas

[gravedigger]

I honestly believe the OL can be decent this year based upon rewatching the games and the difference when Jenkins and Calhoun were in the game together. I know that's not a popular opinion but just curious to hear your thoughts.

I think you are correct providing we limit the amount of time we expect them to hold the pocket. It was painfully obvious that they couldn't hold it long last year when we were trying to do just that vs LSU, Bama and OM.

If the defense has to respect the multiple threats of spread passing and running with some deep throws and qb draws, they simply cannot pin their ears back and bring the house without getting ripped for big plays. That is what Dak did to everyone in 2014.

I think fan opinion is going to be something along the lines of how the OL has improved, but I think the real reason we have offensive success this coming fall will be the ball distribution and the absence of the focus being on one or two players to make the plays for us. Seems the media pegged us this past year by saying 'stop Dak, stop MSU' and we did nothing to make them pay for that in the big games.

[Commercecomet24]

I think you are correct providing we limit the amount of time we expect them to hold the pocket. It was painfully obvious that they couldn't hold it long last year when we were trying to do just that vs LSU, Bama and OM.

If the defense has to respect the multiple threats of spread passing and running with some deep throws and qb draws, they simply cannot pin their ears back and bring the house without getting ripped for big plays. That is what Dak did to everyone in 2014.

I think fan opinion is going to be something along the lines of how the OL has improved, but I think the real reason we have offensive success this coming fall will be the ball distribution and the absence of the focus being on one or two players to make the plays for us. Seems the media pegged us this past year by saying 'stop Dak, stop MSU' and we did nothing to make them pay for that in the big games.

Best assessment yet and I agree completely and I believe that's how it will unfold.

[Bothrops]

You said we couldn't get players from Texas

We typically don't. I can count maybe 4 guys since Mullen has been our coach, Ross being the only contributor, thus far. Ross was a very rare and unusual get for us anyway. Being a highly ranked player that we flipped from another program. Other than Fred, we haven't done jack shit in Texas in 8 years.

[Tbonewannabe]

We typically don't. I can count maybe 4 guys since Mullen has been our coach, Ross being the only contributor, thus far. Ross was a very rare and unusual get for us anyway. Being a highly ranked player that we flipped from another program. Other than Fred, we haven't done jack shit in Texas in 8 years.

You can thank Brewster for Fred. He was not here long enough to unpack but got us one of the highest WR recruits we have gotten under Mullen. We even flipped him from Oklahoma St.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

You can thank Brewster for Fred. He was not here long enough to unpack but got us one of the highest WR recruits we have gotten under Mullen. We even flipped him from Oklahoma St.

Change that to Koenig. Koenig did the heavy lifting for Fred & Brewster just nailed the 2ft putt.

[Coach34]

You can thank Brewster for Fred. .

Negative- he helped but Koenning orchrestrated that flip

[Coach34]

I keep Ross in the slot. He's our best WR & the slot is our prime time WR position. I move Myles to outside WR. It gives us more experience outside which we need & allows the young slot guys more reps. Dear stays at slot & is the backup to Ross. I think Dear's touches double & almost triple this year..

If Dear's touches double or even triple from the slot- that means our best offensive player- Ross- will be on the field alot less.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

If Dear's touches double or even triple from the slot- that means our best offensive player- Ross- will be on the field alot less.

I think will be moved around more than last year & play all over. I just think his primary position will be the slot.

[Tbonewannabe]

I think will be moved around more than last year & play all over. I just think his primary position will be the slot.

Playing the Percy Harvin role?

[Ifyouonlyknew]

Playing the Percy Harvin role?

Yes that's what I hope. I expect to see a lot slimmer version of Dear this season.

[whosyourdawgy]

Donald Gray needs more touches PERIOD!

[maroonmania]

If Dear's touches double or even triple from the slot- that means our best offensive player- Ross- will be on the field alot less.

Probably helped that Ross had a sister already in school at MSU. Not an advantage we had with Farrar. In fact, I believe Farrar's girlfriend was headed to OU so we were pretty much doomed once OU made the solid offer.

[maroonmania]

If Jordan Thomas comes in ready to play at TE then we need to move Justin Johnson back to outside WR. He has good size at 6'3 230 and played WR in HS. I doubt he's any slower than Bear was. Looked great in the AL/MS all-star game at WR.