TrapGame
08-21-2022, 09:25 AM
https://hailstate.com/news/2022/8/20/football-from-the-sidelines-of-saturdays-scrimmage-coleman.aspx
STARKVILLE ? Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers, running back Jo'quavious Marks, running backs coach Jason Washington and a handful of others gathered in the North end zone of Davis Wade Stadium several moments ahead of MSU's Saturday scrimmage. The group of Bulldogs formed a circle, but this was no ordinary huddle.
Game time was nearing, but this formation was for a different sort of contest. Picture a game of hacky sack. Now replace the hacky sack with a football and instead of players using feet, they used their hands.
It was part volleyball. It was part hot potato. Bottom line?If you were responsible for the football hitting the ground, you were out of the circle. Last man standing got the win.
Rogers fought his way into the final three. In the end though, redshirt freshman running back Javaris Bufford came away triumphant. Victory or no victory, it was evident the impromptu battle was fun for all.
For this bunch of Bulldogs, even their fun is competitive. Competitive spirits seem to be woven into the fabric of every being in head coach Mike Leach's 2022 bunch. The internal drive of these State players was put on display time and time again on Saturday as MSU scrimmaged with the clock ticking towards this season's kickoff.
Only two weeks remain before the Bulldogs host the Memphis Tigers. Over the course of Saturday's work, it was evident game day is just ahead. There was a sense of urgency. There was a reluctance to accept anything as good enough.
Take for instance MSU's offensive line. As the unit got set to go on Saturday, Bulldogs offensive line coach Mason Miller oversaw their preparation.
"Right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot," Miller instructed as the group worked on driving defenders backwards.
Oh, but it wasn't just footwork Miller was concerned with. He's a big believer in his linemen using their hands correctly. That was once again emphasized. It might seem like such a small detail to some, but to Miller, there are no small details. It all matters ? every single thing.
Miller isn't unique in this regard. It's across the board with the Leach coaching staff. It's why Saturday's work proved to be so competitive.
"I thought it went good," Leach ultimately said when he evaluated the practice at the end of the day. "We've got plenty to work on, but I thought it was a pretty good, balanced scrimmage."
You bet it was. An early sequence illustrated it.
Mississippi State's offense was having some early success. Rogers had his side moving down the gridiron quickly courtesy of a couple of big completions ? one to Caleb Ducking and another to Jaden Walley.
As Rogers and company tried to get in the end zone later in the series, the defense had seen enough. Pressure was coming. Rogers had to throw the football away just before defensive end De'Monte Russell got to him.
"I'm gonna get you, two," Russell said to his quarterback before the two went back to their respective sides of the line of scrimmage. "I'm gonna get you."
Rogers had the last laugh this time. A couple of plays later, he'd hit Lideatrick Griffin for a score from eight yards out.
Not to be outdone though, the defense had its moments, too. As Leach often says, a good scrimmage happens when both sides of the football have things to be upset about.
Well, the offense was surely angry when cornerback DeCarlos Nicholson was able to halt a drive with an interception at the goal line. Nicholson got a little help from a friend as well.
Nicholson appeared to either be losing his grip on the ball, falling down ? or perhaps both ? when safety Shawn Preston, Jr., caught his teammate in what was essentially a bear hug to hold him up. Nicholson held onto the football and returned it about 30 yards up the field.
The two defenders joked about it upon their return to the sideline.
"I wasn't gonna let you drop that," A smiling Preston told Nicholson. "I just held you up and said, 'Go, go, go.'"
Yep, this squad has each other's backs at every turn.
They're lifting each other up. They're teaching each other. They're learning from each other. They're encouraging each other. They're even impressing each other.
Case in point ? receiver Rara Thomas had a couple of receptions late in the scrimmage that had offensive lineman Kameron Jones perhaps envious.
"That Rara man, he's just so elusive," Jones said to anyone listening. "Man, it's crazy."
Maybe nothing paints a better picture of these Bulldogs as what happened late in the day though. Following a couple of rumbles of thunder, it was determined lightning was too close to Davis Wade Stadium for the scrimmage to continue outside.
Like a child whose mother has to drag him in at sunset, the Bulldogs weren't done playing.
"We gotta go in? Really?" a disappointed Rufus Harvey yelled out. "It ain't even raining out here!"
Fortunately for Harvey, he's got a head coach that's just as driven to compete and get better. There'd be no cancelling things on this day.
Leach made the call for the Bulldogs to shift practice up the road and run a few more plays indoors at the Palmeiro Center. No one, not even Mother Nature, was going to derail this group's mission to improve. It's like an unquenchable thirst.
"We have high energy and that's really good," Leach said. "Our guys really like to play and that's a huge thing."
The only negative to that is the last few weeks, all this playing for the Bulldogs has come against fellow Bulldogs. But in 14 days, that all changes. State can finally battle a team wearing different colors.
Until then, the work continues. And that's just fine with this group. It's what they're all about.
STARKVILLE ? Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers, running back Jo'quavious Marks, running backs coach Jason Washington and a handful of others gathered in the North end zone of Davis Wade Stadium several moments ahead of MSU's Saturday scrimmage. The group of Bulldogs formed a circle, but this was no ordinary huddle.
Game time was nearing, but this formation was for a different sort of contest. Picture a game of hacky sack. Now replace the hacky sack with a football and instead of players using feet, they used their hands.
It was part volleyball. It was part hot potato. Bottom line?If you were responsible for the football hitting the ground, you were out of the circle. Last man standing got the win.
Rogers fought his way into the final three. In the end though, redshirt freshman running back Javaris Bufford came away triumphant. Victory or no victory, it was evident the impromptu battle was fun for all.
For this bunch of Bulldogs, even their fun is competitive. Competitive spirits seem to be woven into the fabric of every being in head coach Mike Leach's 2022 bunch. The internal drive of these State players was put on display time and time again on Saturday as MSU scrimmaged with the clock ticking towards this season's kickoff.
Only two weeks remain before the Bulldogs host the Memphis Tigers. Over the course of Saturday's work, it was evident game day is just ahead. There was a sense of urgency. There was a reluctance to accept anything as good enough.
Take for instance MSU's offensive line. As the unit got set to go on Saturday, Bulldogs offensive line coach Mason Miller oversaw their preparation.
"Right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot," Miller instructed as the group worked on driving defenders backwards.
Oh, but it wasn't just footwork Miller was concerned with. He's a big believer in his linemen using their hands correctly. That was once again emphasized. It might seem like such a small detail to some, but to Miller, there are no small details. It all matters ? every single thing.
Miller isn't unique in this regard. It's across the board with the Leach coaching staff. It's why Saturday's work proved to be so competitive.
"I thought it went good," Leach ultimately said when he evaluated the practice at the end of the day. "We've got plenty to work on, but I thought it was a pretty good, balanced scrimmage."
You bet it was. An early sequence illustrated it.
Mississippi State's offense was having some early success. Rogers had his side moving down the gridiron quickly courtesy of a couple of big completions ? one to Caleb Ducking and another to Jaden Walley.
As Rogers and company tried to get in the end zone later in the series, the defense had seen enough. Pressure was coming. Rogers had to throw the football away just before defensive end De'Monte Russell got to him.
"I'm gonna get you, two," Russell said to his quarterback before the two went back to their respective sides of the line of scrimmage. "I'm gonna get you."
Rogers had the last laugh this time. A couple of plays later, he'd hit Lideatrick Griffin for a score from eight yards out.
Not to be outdone though, the defense had its moments, too. As Leach often says, a good scrimmage happens when both sides of the football have things to be upset about.
Well, the offense was surely angry when cornerback DeCarlos Nicholson was able to halt a drive with an interception at the goal line. Nicholson got a little help from a friend as well.
Nicholson appeared to either be losing his grip on the ball, falling down ? or perhaps both ? when safety Shawn Preston, Jr., caught his teammate in what was essentially a bear hug to hold him up. Nicholson held onto the football and returned it about 30 yards up the field.
The two defenders joked about it upon their return to the sideline.
"I wasn't gonna let you drop that," A smiling Preston told Nicholson. "I just held you up and said, 'Go, go, go.'"
Yep, this squad has each other's backs at every turn.
They're lifting each other up. They're teaching each other. They're learning from each other. They're encouraging each other. They're even impressing each other.
Case in point ? receiver Rara Thomas had a couple of receptions late in the scrimmage that had offensive lineman Kameron Jones perhaps envious.
"That Rara man, he's just so elusive," Jones said to anyone listening. "Man, it's crazy."
Maybe nothing paints a better picture of these Bulldogs as what happened late in the day though. Following a couple of rumbles of thunder, it was determined lightning was too close to Davis Wade Stadium for the scrimmage to continue outside.
Like a child whose mother has to drag him in at sunset, the Bulldogs weren't done playing.
"We gotta go in? Really?" a disappointed Rufus Harvey yelled out. "It ain't even raining out here!"
Fortunately for Harvey, he's got a head coach that's just as driven to compete and get better. There'd be no cancelling things on this day.
Leach made the call for the Bulldogs to shift practice up the road and run a few more plays indoors at the Palmeiro Center. No one, not even Mother Nature, was going to derail this group's mission to improve. It's like an unquenchable thirst.
"We have high energy and that's really good," Leach said. "Our guys really like to play and that's a huge thing."
The only negative to that is the last few weeks, all this playing for the Bulldogs has come against fellow Bulldogs. But in 14 days, that all changes. State can finally battle a team wearing different colors.
Until then, the work continues. And that's just fine with this group. It's what they're all about.