Bulldogs Enjoy Productive First Scrimmage

Photo by: Austin Perryman/MSU Athletics

Bulldogs Enjoy Productive First Scrimmage

August 14, 2021 | Football

By: Logan Lowery, Assistant Coordinator/Communications

STARKVILLE - Mississippi State held its first team scrimmage of the fall inside Davis Wade Stadium on Saturday.

The Bulldogs worked on special teams start off the day before splitting into offense versus defense for the remainder of the afternoon.

"I thought it was productive," said head coach Mike Leach. "I thought it was aggressive. I thought it was competitive the whole time. Both sides have plenty to be pissed about so that typically means you had a pretty good scrimmage."

Three offensive drives produced touchdowns while two others resulted in a made field goal on the first attempt.

"I would've liked to see us finish on the goal line a couple of those times," Leach said. "But the defense let us off the hook on a couple of third-and-longs. We're not as consistent as we want to be but we do have an explosive quality with some of the sacks and explosive plays."

The first touchdown of the day was credited to senior quarterback Chance Lovertich, who hit senior wideout Austin Williams from 3 yards out.

"He's had a good camp and continues to improve," Leach said of Lovertich. "One thing (about him) is that he'll pull the trigger. That helps him when he's got his eyes in the right place and making good choices."

The second score came via Will Rogers – the incumbent starter of the final six games in 2020 – as he floated a perfect 8-yard pass to fellow sophomore Jaden Walley in the back corner of the end zone.

"He was a little up and down," Leach said of Rogers. "Several times he was really good then we'd have some dropped balls or sacks that cost the whole unit. Collectively, I thought he did pretty good only there's a play or two that he wants back. He took care of the ball but I'd like him to find his way out of some of those sacks himself."

The final TD came from a pair of true freshmen. Sawyer Robertson rifled a 24-yard scoring strike to Teddy Knox, resulting in one of the longest plays of the day.

"I thought (Robertson) looked good for the very first time ever in a team setting," Leach said. "I thought it was really good. Besides the fact he's got a pretty good arm, he's good enough on his feet to prevent some sacks."

In all, four of the seven quarterbacks on Mississippi State's roster saw action in the scrimmage. Rogers and Lovertich received the most reps working with the first and second team offenses respectively while Robertson and fellow true freshman Daniel Greek guided the third team.

Junior Christian Ford and sophomore Quinton Torbor were the Bulldogs' top two receivers in the scrimmage while sophomore Jo'quavious Marks led the way on the ground.

Senior linebacker Tyrus Wheat had a big day defensively with three sacks. Senior defensive end Jordan Davis, redshirt freshman defensive tackle Armondous Cooley, junior linebacker Nick Jarrett and senior linebacker Sherman Timbs also had one sack each while junior linebacker Jett Johnson and sophomore defensive end De'Monte Russell also combined on a sack.

Sophomore cornerback Decamerion Richardson led the defense with six tackles. Senior safety Londyn Craft and sophomore linebacker J.P. Purvis both picked off passes while junior linebacker Nick Jarrett and junior defensive tackle Nathan Pickering each forced a fumble and junior safety Shawn Preston Jr. fell on a fumble.

State still has three days of training camp remaining before breaking to start classes on Wednesday. The Bulldogs open the season at home against Louisiana Tech on Sept. 4 at 3 p.m. on ESPNU.

"I'm glad we've got three weeks left," Leach said. "I don't think we're ready yet."