Spring ball will culminate with the annual Maroon and White Game as part of Super Bulldog Weekend on Saturday, April 13. Kickoff is 1 p.m. and admission to Davis Wade Stadium is free. The game will also be televised on ESPNU.
Football Scrimmages For Second Time Before Spring Game
April 06, 2019 | Football
by Brandon Langlois, Associate Director/Communications
STARKVILLE – Saturday saw Mississippi State scrimmage for the second time during spring camp at the Leo Seal Jr. Football Complex. Like a week ago, it primarily featured situational down and distance work.
Head coach Joe Moorhead said he felt the Bulldogs took another positive step Saturday.
"Obviously we're still limited a little bit in certain positions because of injuries and depth so we kind of crafted the scrimmage today to best utilize our time and resources," Moorhead said. "The [starters] went through more of a controlled protocol like we did last week, and I think we got a lot out of that … we went through every situation from the minus one to the plus one. So we got first down, second down, third and short, medium and long, red zone, goal line, backed up, all those things."
Regarding the quarterback play, Moorhead said he has been most impressed with Keytaon Thompson's improved decision-making and accuracy, thus far.
"I think that comes with confidence of year two in the offense and quite frankly, how we're protecting," Moorhead said. "I think we're seeing some of our receivers separate versus press coverage, which was a point of emphasis this spring, and catch the ball consistently so I'm happy with his progress."
Defensively, senior Brian Cole continued his strong camp turning in several big plays Saturday.
"Another year in the system, he's been incredibly active and a really instinctive blitzer," Moorhead said. "He has a good knack for slipping blockers and getting to the quarterback and he's a good man-cover guy. He plays like a linebacker against the run and a defensive back against the pass. Brian's poised for a big season."
State will practice next Tuesday and Thursday then have a walk-through on Friday. Spring ball will culminate with the annual Maroon and White Game as part of Super Bulldog Weekend on Saturday, April 13. Kickoff is 1 p.m. and admission to Davis Wade Stadium is free. The game will also be televised on ESPNU.
For more information on the Bulldogs, follow MSU football on Twitter, like them on Facebook and join them on Instagram by searching for "HailStateFB."
Below are quotes from Moorhead's media session Saturday:
Head Coach Joe Moorhead
April 6, 2019
On Saturday's scrimmage …
"Obviously we're still limited a little bit in certain positions because of injuries and depth so we kind of crafted the scrimmage today to best utilize our time and resources. The [starters] went through more of a controlled protocol like we did last week, and I think we got a lot out of that. We allowed the 2s and 3s to go live with base calls on offense and base calls on defense so all those guys don't have to worry about thinking … just blocking, tackling, running, throwing, catching, covering, all those things. We went through every situation from the minus one to the plus one. So we got first down, second down, third and short, medium and long, red zone, goal line, backed up, all those things. I felt we took another positive step today."
On situational down and distance work …
"It guarantees that you get an opportunity to game plan … to script, call the play and get those reps. If you aren't doing those things, sometimes during the course of a scrimmage, you may not get down there or you may get down there a bunch of times so what that does is guarantee the opportunity. Of our five spring goals – dominate situational football, critical statistics, we just want to make sure we're giving our kids the opportunity to have operated under all those conditions."
On quarterback Keytaon Thompson …
"I think, like anything, there's a little bit with protection, a little bit with routes, a little bit with the throw, but I think he completed his first four, five or six there. I think we're seeing small, positive gains by him on a daily basis. I'm most impressed with his improved decision-making and accuracy, thus far. I think that comes with confidence of year two in the offense and quite frankly, how we're protecting. I think we're seeing some of our receivers separate versus press coverage, which was a point of emphasis this spring, and catch the ball consistently so I'm happy with his progress."
On what he hopes to accomplish in practice next week …
"We're going to reconvene on Monday and see who we have available but, we'll practice Tuesday and Thursday then have a walk-through on Friday. The practice, blocks and faces are already done so, I'm going to sit down on Sunday and go through them and modify. One additional situation that was supposed to go in this upcoming week was 2-minute and that's something I think we'll be able to do. It'll continue to still be first and second down, third down, red zone. We'll get all those situations but, I think we're just going to have to cut back on some of the reps and that will probably be the only modification."
On very few turnovers during the first two scrimmages …
"Yes and one thing we track every day and discuss in the team meeting is explosive play margin and turnover margin. Most statistics people will tell you those are the two biggest determining factors in the outcome of football games. As well as the defense did in all the statistical categories last year, creating turnovers and scoring on defense was something we wanted to improve on. Certainly, creating explosive plays offensively is one where in the games we were good, we had a bunch of explosions and in games we weren't, we didn't. I would say what you're seeing out here is pretty much indicative of what's occurred throughout the first nine practices – a good give and take and good plays on both sides of the ball. We just have to continue to protect on offense and take away on defense. I guess at the end of the play, someone's happy on either side of the ball so you want a bunch of good plays on both sides."
On Brian Cole making a lot of good plays Saturday …
"Another year in the system, he's been incredibly active and a really instinctive blitzer. He has a good knack for slipping blockers and getting to the quarterback and he's a good man-cover guy. He plays like a linebacker against the run and a defensive back against the pass. Brian's poised for a big season."
On evaluating the three quarterbacks …
"I think we are taking strides. It's kind of all relative to experience. I think KT (Keytaon Thompson) has done what we've expected from a quarterback in year two of the offense. Jalen (Mayden) has definitely taken strides forward in the run game and the pass game. Some of the stuff that you're not seeing with him, with the two quarterback or one quarterback is quarterback run game. It's something we're going to continue to do, but we want to focus on the things that we feel need the most improvement. Garrett (Shrader), he's swimming a little bit just from an understanding and a speed of the game, but he's got a lot of ability and a lot of potential and I think you see that. Sometimes he'll make a throw in practice and it's a completely wrong read but it's a laser and it's caught and it's a big play. His thing is going to be understanding what's going on. He's worried about the 'how' now, and everyone else is worried about the 'what' and 'why.'
On coaching a quarterback when he makes a great play but it's not the right one …
"Pat him on the back and tell him 'great job.' Then explain to him why in the future it probably wouldn't work out well. Historically, I don't think you want to coach the player out of him, and I think that's something, in particular, quarterback coaches fall into that trap where you want him to be so engrained into the assignment and into the footwork and to the read and the throw, you coach some of the ballplayer out of him. With Trace McSorley and with Nick Fitzgerald and hopefully with these guys, you want to have enough where they understand the system and they're playing within the confines and the structure of the scheme. But, at the same time give them enough latitude and sometimes football players just make football plays. So, it's a delicate balance, but you definitely don't want to coach them out of it."
On depth developing at wide receiver …
"Yes, we are seeing some depth develop. With Osirus Mitchell, and Cameron Gardner and Malik Dear playing the Z, we got Deddrick Thomas and Austin Williams in the slot, and Stephen Guidry is having a very good camp and Devonta Jason behind him, we got some of the younger guys coming in. We're going to need it. Like I said, an area of improvement is to have our pass game match our run game and it's going to take all of those guys."
STARKVILLE – Saturday saw Mississippi State scrimmage for the second time during spring camp at the Leo Seal Jr. Football Complex. Like a week ago, it primarily featured situational down and distance work.
Head coach Joe Moorhead said he felt the Bulldogs took another positive step Saturday.
"Obviously we're still limited a little bit in certain positions because of injuries and depth so we kind of crafted the scrimmage today to best utilize our time and resources," Moorhead said. "The [starters] went through more of a controlled protocol like we did last week, and I think we got a lot out of that … we went through every situation from the minus one to the plus one. So we got first down, second down, third and short, medium and long, red zone, goal line, backed up, all those things."
Regarding the quarterback play, Moorhead said he has been most impressed with Keytaon Thompson's improved decision-making and accuracy, thus far.
"I think that comes with confidence of year two in the offense and quite frankly, how we're protecting," Moorhead said. "I think we're seeing some of our receivers separate versus press coverage, which was a point of emphasis this spring, and catch the ball consistently so I'm happy with his progress."
Defensively, senior Brian Cole continued his strong camp turning in several big plays Saturday.
"Another year in the system, he's been incredibly active and a really instinctive blitzer," Moorhead said. "He has a good knack for slipping blockers and getting to the quarterback and he's a good man-cover guy. He plays like a linebacker against the run and a defensive back against the pass. Brian's poised for a big season."
State will practice next Tuesday and Thursday then have a walk-through on Friday. Spring ball will culminate with the annual Maroon and White Game as part of Super Bulldog Weekend on Saturday, April 13. Kickoff is 1 p.m. and admission to Davis Wade Stadium is free. The game will also be televised on ESPNU.
For more information on the Bulldogs, follow MSU football on Twitter, like them on Facebook and join them on Instagram by searching for "HailStateFB."
Below are quotes from Moorhead's media session Saturday:
Head Coach Joe Moorhead
April 6, 2019
On Saturday's scrimmage …
"Obviously we're still limited a little bit in certain positions because of injuries and depth so we kind of crafted the scrimmage today to best utilize our time and resources. The [starters] went through more of a controlled protocol like we did last week, and I think we got a lot out of that. We allowed the 2s and 3s to go live with base calls on offense and base calls on defense so all those guys don't have to worry about thinking … just blocking, tackling, running, throwing, catching, covering, all those things. We went through every situation from the minus one to the plus one. So we got first down, second down, third and short, medium and long, red zone, goal line, backed up, all those things. I felt we took another positive step today."
On situational down and distance work …
"It guarantees that you get an opportunity to game plan … to script, call the play and get those reps. If you aren't doing those things, sometimes during the course of a scrimmage, you may not get down there or you may get down there a bunch of times so what that does is guarantee the opportunity. Of our five spring goals – dominate situational football, critical statistics, we just want to make sure we're giving our kids the opportunity to have operated under all those conditions."
On quarterback Keytaon Thompson …
"I think, like anything, there's a little bit with protection, a little bit with routes, a little bit with the throw, but I think he completed his first four, five or six there. I think we're seeing small, positive gains by him on a daily basis. I'm most impressed with his improved decision-making and accuracy, thus far. I think that comes with confidence of year two in the offense and quite frankly, how we're protecting. I think we're seeing some of our receivers separate versus press coverage, which was a point of emphasis this spring, and catch the ball consistently so I'm happy with his progress."
On what he hopes to accomplish in practice next week …
"We're going to reconvene on Monday and see who we have available but, we'll practice Tuesday and Thursday then have a walk-through on Friday. The practice, blocks and faces are already done so, I'm going to sit down on Sunday and go through them and modify. One additional situation that was supposed to go in this upcoming week was 2-minute and that's something I think we'll be able to do. It'll continue to still be first and second down, third down, red zone. We'll get all those situations but, I think we're just going to have to cut back on some of the reps and that will probably be the only modification."
On very few turnovers during the first two scrimmages …
"Yes and one thing we track every day and discuss in the team meeting is explosive play margin and turnover margin. Most statistics people will tell you those are the two biggest determining factors in the outcome of football games. As well as the defense did in all the statistical categories last year, creating turnovers and scoring on defense was something we wanted to improve on. Certainly, creating explosive plays offensively is one where in the games we were good, we had a bunch of explosions and in games we weren't, we didn't. I would say what you're seeing out here is pretty much indicative of what's occurred throughout the first nine practices – a good give and take and good plays on both sides of the ball. We just have to continue to protect on offense and take away on defense. I guess at the end of the play, someone's happy on either side of the ball so you want a bunch of good plays on both sides."
On Brian Cole making a lot of good plays Saturday …
"Another year in the system, he's been incredibly active and a really instinctive blitzer. He has a good knack for slipping blockers and getting to the quarterback and he's a good man-cover guy. He plays like a linebacker against the run and a defensive back against the pass. Brian's poised for a big season."
On evaluating the three quarterbacks …
"I think we are taking strides. It's kind of all relative to experience. I think KT (Keytaon Thompson) has done what we've expected from a quarterback in year two of the offense. Jalen (Mayden) has definitely taken strides forward in the run game and the pass game. Some of the stuff that you're not seeing with him, with the two quarterback or one quarterback is quarterback run game. It's something we're going to continue to do, but we want to focus on the things that we feel need the most improvement. Garrett (Shrader), he's swimming a little bit just from an understanding and a speed of the game, but he's got a lot of ability and a lot of potential and I think you see that. Sometimes he'll make a throw in practice and it's a completely wrong read but it's a laser and it's caught and it's a big play. His thing is going to be understanding what's going on. He's worried about the 'how' now, and everyone else is worried about the 'what' and 'why.'
On coaching a quarterback when he makes a great play but it's not the right one …
"Pat him on the back and tell him 'great job.' Then explain to him why in the future it probably wouldn't work out well. Historically, I don't think you want to coach the player out of him, and I think that's something, in particular, quarterback coaches fall into that trap where you want him to be so engrained into the assignment and into the footwork and to the read and the throw, you coach some of the ballplayer out of him. With Trace McSorley and with Nick Fitzgerald and hopefully with these guys, you want to have enough where they understand the system and they're playing within the confines and the structure of the scheme. But, at the same time give them enough latitude and sometimes football players just make football plays. So, it's a delicate balance, but you definitely don't want to coach them out of it."
On depth developing at wide receiver …
"Yes, we are seeing some depth develop. With Osirus Mitchell, and Cameron Gardner and Malik Dear playing the Z, we got Deddrick Thomas and Austin Williams in the slot, and Stephen Guidry is having a very good camp and Devonta Jason behind him, we got some of the younger guys coming in. We're going to need it. Like I said, an area of improvement is to have our pass game match our run game and it's going to take all of those guys."
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