Three Things to watch - spring game

[Big4Dawg]

http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/116058/mississippi-state-spring-game-three-things-to-watch


1. Resetting the field at receiver: De?Runnya Wilson is off to the NFL, Fred Brown has been kicked out of school and Fred Ross and Donald Gray are both out with injuries. If you?re keeping track at home, that?s all four of Mississippi State?s top receivers from a year ago who won?t be on the field Saturday. So before we get ahead of ourselves with who replaces Prescott at quarterback, consider who will actually catch passes from his successor. Outside of Malik Dear, who caught 22 passes last season, there?s not much experience at receiver. Jesse Jackson and Jonnas Spivey have reportedly taken many of the reps, but neither have a catch to their names yet. The depth chart has been so decimated that Jamal Peters has been brought over from safety to pitch in.

2. Life after Dak: It will be a weird experience seeing another quarterback take center stage for the Bulldogs this weekend. For the past two years it?s been all Prescott, all the time. But now the offense must change hands, and the spring game marks the first major audition for the handful of candidates looking to replace Prescott under center. It?s fair to call Nick Fitzgerald, who appeared in eight games last season, the front runner. But he?s not alone. Damian Williams, Elijah Staley and Nick Tiano are all in the mix. Tiano?s name wasn?t thrown around much before spring practice, but he?s made an impression on the coaching staff the last few weeks, showing a good command of the offense and the kind of intangibles you don?t see often from a redshirt freshman.

3. Defensive changes: It?s not just that the coordinator changed -- everything changed. The entire staff, down to the graduate assistants, is new on defense. And while the overall philosophy will remain the same as long as Dan Mullen is in charge, you can expect some slight schematic differences from Manny Diaz to Peter Sirmon, including more 3-4 looks than last year and the use of a hybrid outside linebacker who can play with his hand in the ground or drop back in coverage. As far as personnel, expect the defensive line to be the strongest unit, headlined by defensive end A.J. Jefferson. They're in good shape at linebacker if Richie Brown is back, and if junior college transfer Lashard Durr is able to establish himself at cornerback, it would go a long way in settling a secondary that lost three starters.

WR is going to be interesting. I'm just hoping they don't look awful. Our WR are going to be Dear, Myles, Jesse Jackson plus a bunch of Redshirt Freshmen: Spivey, Thomas (RFr), Mixon (RFr). I think this is going to make our QBs look a lot worse than they do.

[maroonmania]

IF Richie Brown is back? Is there some kind of risk I don't know about that he might not be?

[Ifyouonlyknew]

http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/116058/mississippi-state-spring-game-three-things-to-watch



WR is going to be interesting. I'm just hoping they don't look awful. Our WR are going to be Dear, Myles, Jesse Jackson plus a bunch of Redshirt Freshmen: Spivey, Thomas (RFr), Mixon (RFr). I think this is going to make our QBs look a lot worse than they do.

We'll see. It didn't hurt them last week in the scrimmage. They all looked good.

[Commercecomet24]

We'll see. It didn't hurt them last week in the scrimmage. They all looked good.

I believe our receiving corps is extremely talented even if they are a little green. I don't understand all the freaking out over it. This is a way better group than what Dan inherited and he did pretty well with them.

[Big4Dawg]

I believe our receiving corps is extremely talented even if they are a little green. I don't understand all the freaking out over it. This is a way better group than what Dan inherited and he did pretty well with them.

I think when health, they are good. But w/o Ross & Gray, our corps is bottom of the SEC.

[gravedigger]

http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/116058/mississippi-state-spring-game-three-things-to-watch



WR is going to be interesting. I'm just hoping they don't look awful. Our WR are going to be Dear, Myles, Jesse Jackson plus a bunch of Redshirt Freshmen: Spivey, Thomas (RFr), Mixon (RFr). I think this is going to make our QBs look a lot worse than they do.

I know the offensive line isn't a sexy thing to tell everyone to 'watch' but it will literally determine the success or lack thereof for us this year.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

I think when health, they are good. But w/o Ross & Gray, our corps is bottom of the SEC.

That's most of the SEC without their top 2 WR

[Political Hack]

I'd be willing to be we run a similar scheme and play calling rotation to what we saw with Relf. Going to be a lot of ground and pound this next year. I actually like that.

[deltadawg99]

I think we'll lean on the run game and hope that the passing game improves as the year goes on.

Ross is going to draw a lot of attention from opposing defenses which can help out the other guys.

I really like our talent at TE. It is young talent I know, but a TE can be a great safety valve for a young QB. Some of these guys could even play some at the X receiver spot to give us a big target.

Chrisitian Roberson - 6'3 230
Justin Johnson - 6'3 229
Farrod Green - 6'3 215
Dontea Jones - 6'4 250
Jordan Thomas - 6'7 275

All 5 have good size and I'm sure Green weighs more than 215.

[SallyStansbury]

We don't have the talent on offensive line like we did when we had Relf. It could be ugly. I would also suggest Mullen has become more predictable in his play calling and there is no one like a Hudspeth or whomever @ o-coord to offer opposing views. I am skeptical. Hope I am wrong.

[Jack Lambert]

I'd be willing to be we run a similar scheme and play calling rotation to what we saw with Relf. Going to be a lot of ground and pound this next year. I actually like that.

With shumpert moving to full back I think you hit it on the nail.

[GTHOM]

I hope the Relf offense comes back, but if the OL is pure garbage again it'll be a much worse Relf offense. I think we have the QB, RB, and WR/TEs to do it but it'll all hinge on the OL. Cant be much worse, I think with Rankin, Jenkins, and Calhoun coming in we get much more talented than last year. We will be damn good on D though, I just hope Mullen doesnt handicap Sirmon. The 3-4 is going to be sick with our personnel

[Political Hack]

I hope the Relf offense comes back, but if the OL is pure garbage again it'll be a much worse Relf offense. I think we have the QB, RB, and WR/TEs to do it but it'll all hinge on the OL. Cant be much worse, I think with Rankin, Jenkins, and Calhoun coming in we get much more talented than last year. We will be damn good on D though, I just hope Mullen doesnt handicap Sirmon. The 3-4 is going to be sick with our personnel

They'll be better run blocking than they will pass protection. Couple that with the need to protect the ball and we don't have much of a choice. We ran behind Sherrod a lot when CDM first got here and will need to find a workhorse or two on this OL.

[mic]

We'll see. It didn't hurt them last week in the scrimmage. They all looked good.
Serouosly... Can everyone please stop worrying about WR...

[mic]

I think when health, they are good. But w/o Ross & Gray, our corps is bottom of the SEC.

as it would be for every other school that don't have their top 2 guys...

[deltadawg99]

I never understood why Desper isn't playing center since that's where he played in high school. Clayborn was really good at guard and never played center until last year. That never maid sense to me.

Hopefully Clayborn will be improved from last year now that he has a year of experience there. He seemed like he was thinking before reacting last year.

I wish/hope Jenkins gets moved to guard since Senior and Rankins look to be starters at the tackle spots. He played well at RT last year and has to be better than Desper.

Calhoun will be an upgrade from Malone. I thought he showed flashes last year when he played.

Senior looks more like a LT than a RT to me. He has good reach and isn't a road grader like you need at RT. I don't know what happened, but he and Malone both regressed last year.

[fishwater99]

With shumpert moving to full back I think you hit it on the nail.

Is this really happening? I must have missed this announcement...

[smootness]

Our WR are fine. It's not the deepest group, but Ross/Gray have a chance to be one of the better duos in the conference. I'm a little worried about the position down the line (not the slot), but we should be fine this year.

[Big4Dawg]

as it would be for every other school that don't have their top 2 guys...

I get what your saying but let's use our in-state rival for example. If they lost Stringfellow & Adeboyejo, they would still have Van Jefferson, Lodge, Pack, which were all 4*s. Same w/ LSU, Auburn, Bama, UGA, etc.

[Political Hack]

Losing your top 2 isn't ideal for any position, but it's the spring game. It'll actually help us develop depth and be beneficial in the long run so long as Gray and Fred come back strong.

[Reason2succeed]

If Relf 2.0 is going to be our offensive identity then heaven help us.

[GTHOM]

If Relf 2.0 is going to be our offensive identity then heaven help us.

We were pretty damn good offensively in 2010 especially later in the year. Add more talent at WR and a much better QB we should be pretty good. Question will be the OL

[GTHOM]

They'll be better run blocking than they will pass protection. Couple that with the need to protect the ball and we don't have much of a choice. We ran behind Sherrod a lot when CDM first got here and will need to find a workhorse or two on this OL.

I think the 2 best road graders we have are Jenkins and Calhoun. Clayborne when he wants it theyve all got a little nasty in them. Desper and Senior have 0 nasty

[djaymsu5]

How did Ross and gray get hurt? Are they significant injuries, or just something they will be out until maybe summer for?

[Bdawg]

I never understood why Desper isn't playing center since that's where he played in high school. Clayborn was really good at guard and never played center until last year. That never maid sense to me.

Hopefully Clayborn will be improved from last year now that he has a year of experience there. He seemed like he was thinking before reacting last year.

I wish/hope Jenkins gets moved to guard since Senior and Rankins look to be starters at the tackle spots. He played well at RT last year and has to be better than Desper.

Calhoun will be an upgrade from Malone. I thought he showed flashes last year when he played.

Senior looks more like a LT than a RT to me. He has good reach and isn't a road grader like you need at RT. I don't know what happened, but he and Malone both regressed last year.

I agree. Senior impressed me none last year. I thought Rankin and Jenkins would be your starters at the tackle spots. Thought a lot of players were saying Jenkins is going to be a stud for us too.

[Bdawg]

How did Ross and gray get hurt? Are they significant injuries, or just something they will be out until maybe summer for?

I can't be specific but I thought I read it's nothing major. Just being cautious as to not make it a lingering thing on into the summer.

[Coach34]

We dont have near the OL we had in 2010- we had a legit SEC OL back then