Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Breaking Down the Bulldogs' First-Time Starters
November 19, 2020 | Football
State’s 19 first-time starters are tied for the most among Power Five teams
STARKVILLE – The 2020 season has been a year of change for Mississippi State. Along with a new coaching staff, several student-athletes have embraced new roles. A major factor in the Bulldogs' growth this season has been the number of first-time starters State has sent onto the field.
A total of 19 different players have made their first career start this season. That leads the SEC and is tied for the most in the Power Five. In the FBS, only Navy (23), Army (23) and Texas State (22) have used more first-timers in their starting lineups.
MSU's first-time starters have played an impressive 3,966 snaps this season after combining for just 501 career snaps with two members of that group playing more than 100 snaps entering the season.
The Bulldog offense has been especially green, with a dozen first-time starters on that side of the ball. Six of those have been on the offensive line where MSU was replacing 2,009 snaps from last year's group. Entering the season, the Bulldogs' original starting five had just 36 combined starts in their career.
"We've got a crazy number of young guys playing," head coach Mike Leach said. "It's some insane number that's like 39 out of 63 guys are sophomores or less. So, I think they have done a pretty impressive job as far as getting a bunch of young guys together and on the same page."
MSU has totaled 838 plays on both offense and defense this season. Multiplied by 11 players, that means there have been 9,218 total snap opportunities. Of those, 43 percent have been taken up by first-time starters. On average, MSU has 4.7 first-time starters on the field for every play.
Perhaps, no position group has gotten as much from its first-timers as the Bulldogs' linebackers. Aaron Brule has been one of State's most dominant defenders this season, ranking second on the team with 42 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss. He also leads all SEC linebackers with 20 total pressures according to Pro Football Focus.
Junior college product Tyrus Wheat has posted the highest pass-rush grade on the team, according to Pro Football Focus, and the fourth-highest overall defensive grade this season. He leads the team with 3.5 sacks and has forced a pair of fumbles.
Headlined by Freshman All-American candidate Emmanuel Forbes, MSU's secondary has relied heavily on first-time starters. In fact, prior to MSU's last game against Vanderbilt, the Bulldogs had a player who had not started a game prior to 2020 starting in at least three of the five positions in each game.
Forbes has stepped in nicely as one of five true freshmen in the nation to record multiple interceptions this season, and he ranks sixth in the country in run defense grade from Pro Football Focus. Esaias Furdge made the first interception of his career in his first start along with a career-high six tackles. He entered the season with just four plays of experience back in 2018.
Londyn Craft and Collin Duncan have played the majority of the snaps at safety. Craft is second among first-time starters on the team with 21 total tackles this year and has recovered a fumble. Duncan had six total tackles in his first three games this season. Since making his first start, he has posted a career-high seven tackles in back-to-back games.
No position group was as inexperienced entering the season as State's offensive line. Only Dareaun Parker has started every game for MSU this season after entering the year with more than 600 snaps under his belt. The projected starting five to open the year included three players who had not played more than 22 career snaps.
The Bulldogs have used six first-time starters on the line, and those six have combined for 1,163 snaps. Cole Smith has started at center in four games after entering the season with 12 career snaps at the Division I level. He's also played left guard. Brandon Cunningham has allowed just three hurries this season on 63 pass-blocking snaps, and Charles Cross has been State's third-highest graded lineman this season. Cross has allowed just one sack on the year, while seeing the second-most snaps on the team.
State's top two quarterbacks on the depth chart to open the season had never played at MSU or in Leach's offense. Will Rogers is the first true freshman to start at quarterback under Leach and just the seventh in MSU history to do so. He already completed a freshman single-game-record 35 passes in his first career start.
Running back Jo'quavious Marks has already broken the MSU record for single-season receptions by both a running back and a freshman. He ranks second in the nation among freshmen with 38 catches on the year, which leads the team and all FBS running backs.
New starters at wide receiver have combined for 27.4 percent of MSU's total receiving yardage this season. Add in Marks out of the backfield, and that number jumps up to 36.2 percent. They have caught 43.3 percent of MSU's passes this year.
Malik Heath has led the way. His 27 catches trail only Marks on the team, and he is third on the squad with 218 receiving yards. Ten of his 27 catches have gone for a first down, and he is averaging 8.1 yards per catch.
Jaden Walley had a breakout game against Arkansas when he was one of three true freshmen that combined to produce 54.3 percent of State's total offense in that game. Walley is averaging 28.5 receiving yards per game, which ranks fourth among SEC freshmen this season.
A total of 19 different players have made their first career start this season. That leads the SEC and is tied for the most in the Power Five. In the FBS, only Navy (23), Army (23) and Texas State (22) have used more first-timers in their starting lineups.
MSU's first-time starters have played an impressive 3,966 snaps this season after combining for just 501 career snaps with two members of that group playing more than 100 snaps entering the season.
The Bulldog offense has been especially green, with a dozen first-time starters on that side of the ball. Six of those have been on the offensive line where MSU was replacing 2,009 snaps from last year's group. Entering the season, the Bulldogs' original starting five had just 36 combined starts in their career.
"We've got a crazy number of young guys playing," head coach Mike Leach said. "It's some insane number that's like 39 out of 63 guys are sophomores or less. So, I think they have done a pretty impressive job as far as getting a bunch of young guys together and on the same page."
MSU has totaled 838 plays on both offense and defense this season. Multiplied by 11 players, that means there have been 9,218 total snap opportunities. Of those, 43 percent have been taken up by first-time starters. On average, MSU has 4.7 first-time starters on the field for every play.
Perhaps, no position group has gotten as much from its first-timers as the Bulldogs' linebackers. Aaron Brule has been one of State's most dominant defenders this season, ranking second on the team with 42 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss. He also leads all SEC linebackers with 20 total pressures according to Pro Football Focus.
Junior college product Tyrus Wheat has posted the highest pass-rush grade on the team, according to Pro Football Focus, and the fourth-highest overall defensive grade this season. He leads the team with 3.5 sacks and has forced a pair of fumbles.
Headlined by Freshman All-American candidate Emmanuel Forbes, MSU's secondary has relied heavily on first-time starters. In fact, prior to MSU's last game against Vanderbilt, the Bulldogs had a player who had not started a game prior to 2020 starting in at least three of the five positions in each game.
Forbes has stepped in nicely as one of five true freshmen in the nation to record multiple interceptions this season, and he ranks sixth in the country in run defense grade from Pro Football Focus. Esaias Furdge made the first interception of his career in his first start along with a career-high six tackles. He entered the season with just four plays of experience back in 2018.
Londyn Craft and Collin Duncan have played the majority of the snaps at safety. Craft is second among first-time starters on the team with 21 total tackles this year and has recovered a fumble. Duncan had six total tackles in his first three games this season. Since making his first start, he has posted a career-high seven tackles in back-to-back games.
No position group was as inexperienced entering the season as State's offensive line. Only Dareaun Parker has started every game for MSU this season after entering the year with more than 600 snaps under his belt. The projected starting five to open the year included three players who had not played more than 22 career snaps.
The Bulldogs have used six first-time starters on the line, and those six have combined for 1,163 snaps. Cole Smith has started at center in four games after entering the season with 12 career snaps at the Division I level. He's also played left guard. Brandon Cunningham has allowed just three hurries this season on 63 pass-blocking snaps, and Charles Cross has been State's third-highest graded lineman this season. Cross has allowed just one sack on the year, while seeing the second-most snaps on the team.
State's top two quarterbacks on the depth chart to open the season had never played at MSU or in Leach's offense. Will Rogers is the first true freshman to start at quarterback under Leach and just the seventh in MSU history to do so. He already completed a freshman single-game-record 35 passes in his first career start.
Running back Jo'quavious Marks has already broken the MSU record for single-season receptions by both a running back and a freshman. He ranks second in the nation among freshmen with 38 catches on the year, which leads the team and all FBS running backs.
New starters at wide receiver have combined for 27.4 percent of MSU's total receiving yardage this season. Add in Marks out of the backfield, and that number jumps up to 36.2 percent. They have caught 43.3 percent of MSU's passes this year.
Malik Heath has led the way. His 27 catches trail only Marks on the team, and he is third on the squad with 218 receiving yards. Ten of his 27 catches have gone for a first down, and he is averaging 8.1 yards per catch.
Jaden Walley had a breakout game against Arkansas when he was one of three true freshmen that combined to produce 54.3 percent of State's total offense in that game. Walley is averaging 28.5 receiving yards per game, which ranks fourth among SEC freshmen this season.
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