Knocking Off Rust And Looking Ahead
December 11, 2021 | Football, Joel Coleman
Mississippi State starts bowl prep with eyes on the present and future.
STARKVILLE – It'd been just over two weeks since Mississippi State had been on the practice field, so it shouldn't come as much surprise the Bulldogs didn't exactly earn an abundance of praise from head coach Mike Leach on Saturday after MSU began preparations for the upcoming AutoZone Liberty Bowl.
"I think we're a little rusty," Leach opined. "It was good to get back out on the field. We were excited about that, but I do think we were a little rusty and we need to take advantage of all of the practices that we can and that we have."
The Bulldogs of course have plenty of time to iron out their kinks. It's more than two weeks before MSU and Texas Tech square off in Memphis, Tenn., on Tuesday, Dec. 28. In the meantime, State has its sights set on getting back in the swing of things and – perhaps even more importantly – developing. It's a key part of Leach's strategy this time of year.
When it comes to preparing for a postseason game, very few collegiate head coaches have ever had as much experience with it as Leach. This is his 20th season as a head coach. The Liberty Bowl marks Leach's 18th bowl appearance in his time guiding football programs.
Expectedly, his 18th bowl prep looks a lot like his previous 17. Leach is giving younger players reps.
By the end of Saturday's practice, most of those towards the top of MSU's depth chart had already left the practice fields at the Leo Seal Jr. Football Complex, giving way to the pups on the Bulldog roster. When the schedule allows, as this year's does, this is the Leach modus operandi.
"If you can, it just depends on when the bowl is," Leach said. "We have some time this bowl so that's beneficial. Try to work the young guys as much as you can, keep the older guys sharp, then as you get towards the game, gameplan and feature the guys you're going to go out and win the game with."
Ah yes. Understand Leach's preference to get young guys work isn't at the expense of hoisting the Liberty Bowl trophy later this month. No one loves to win as much as Leach. In fact, very few still coaching these days have won as much as Leach.
Leach's 150 career victories are the second-most among active Southeastern Conference coaches and fifth-most among all active Power 5 coaches. Rest assured, he's eyeing win No. 151 in Memphis to springboard State into 2022.
"I think it always brings quite a bit of momentum to the offseason," Leach said of winning bowl games. "Like all games, I think it's really important. I do think it helps energize the offseason."
Of course Mississippi State is aiming to win off the field first.
The early signing period begins on Wednesday. After an incredibly promising 2021 that has MSU bowling for the 12th-straight season, Leach and his staff are eyeing the next batch of Bulldogs to come in and help push MSU higher in the years to come.
This year, State was one of only four schools in the nation to finish the regular season in the Top 25 in both total offense and total defense. The Bulldogs defeated three different opponents that were ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.
It's obvious Mississippi State is rising and that's precisely what Leach and company want those seeking to put on Maroon and White to know.
"We're on the upswing," Leach said. "We're getting better. We've improved this year and we've got plenty of space to go. We've got plenty of places where people can start, and people can play. We just need a few more pieces."
Before adding those new parts, the ones already in place are staying hard at work. There's that rust to knock off for the veterans and the growing to do for the youngsters.
Off the field and on, this bowl season, you don't have to look hard at all to see the focus on the continued elevation of Mississippi State football.
"We've got to become a more mature, polished team, but we're getting there," Leach said. "We're heading the right direction. We're certainly not there yet…I think we just have to keep doing what we're doing, just do it better."
