Ready To Roll
September 01, 2021 | Football, Joel Coleman
Bulldogs feeling prepared and confident as season opener looms.
STARKVILLE – When you're a Mississippi State Bulldog, you can't ever really get enough maroon and white. However, there's a small caveat to that. When you've been practicing day after day for a month now, competing against only your teammates, you kind of get ready to start seeing other colors.
"I'm glad that we're getting close to playing," State head coach Mike Leach said. "We are getting tired of playing one another, and I think it's about time to get tested by other teams."
MSU now sits one day closer to Saturday's 3 p.m. CT season opener against Louisiana Tech. Finally, Mississippi State can start to turn its attention away from itself following a training camp full of internal competition.
You better believe there's an eagerness amongst MSU personnel to finally stare across the field at someone that doesn't have Mississippi State etched on the jersey. Yes, State will still be playing against a group of Bulldogs, but at least it'll be a different breed. The Starkville-based bunch is chomping at the bit to see how they stack up against an outside foe.
"Everyone is ready to go," MSU linebacker Aaron Brule said. "Everyone knows that we can win football games, we're just ready to show everybody what we've improved on since last year."
Therein lies another reason for State's anticipation of a new season. There's always hope headed into the dawn of a new year, but for State, there's a belief this team can take a leap forward in the second year under Leach.
There's a familiarity with the Leach staff now. There's a comfort level, built by hands-on experience with these coaches. Whether it's continuing to grow in the Leach Air Raid Offense, or defensive players having a better grasp of defensive coordinator Zach Arnett's scheme, 2021 offers a situation 2020 didn't afford. This year, there's been time to grow on both sides of the ball. Nothing is brand new anymore for most of these Bulldogs.
"We've got a lot of reps under our belts," receiver Austin Williams said. "We've got a lot more experience. Mostly, the same guys are still here. We're just confident, ready to go and prepared. Everybody feels good and ready to roll."
A second year under Leach has been good news for his past teams. From year one to year two at Texas Tech in the early 2000s, Leach's Red Raiders increased their offensive production by nearly 60 yards per game and averaged eight more points per contest. It was an almost identical situation at Washington State, where the Cougars averaged nearly 62 more yards and 10 more points per game in 2013 as compared to 2012.
Time will tell if MSU can replicate what happened at Texas Tech and Washington State, but many of the same reasons that led to Leach's second-year success previously are in place now in Starkville.
"I think the whole thing accelerates because you have a sense of what guys can do [by the second year]," Leach said. "There's a feel for it. You're not guessing so much as to what a guy is able to do. The other thing is that hopefully they're developing some.
"As you teach the players what you taught them the first year, the guys have experience. Instead of lying there in the room or watching other positions, they can educate others on what you need them to do. You just have more voices that can say the same thing and I think it sprints faster."
Williams has been a walking example of the growth Leach speaks of. He's seen development from his teammates as well.
"It's a reps-based offense," Williams said. "Everyone understands the spacing, where they need to be and when they need to be there. I think we saw that come to fruition in camp with guys getting a lot more comfortable. I think it's definitely going to be a little bit different this year."
Don't forget that MSU defense either. A season after Arnett's bunch impressed, ranking fifth in the Southeastern Conference in both yards per play allowed and total defense, the group is now a year older themselves, not to mention perhaps deeper as a result of many youngsters having to step into key roles last season.
"Everybody is moving much faster," Brule said. "Everyone seems to have more confidence in themselves, knowing that they can do it."
On both sides of the football, there is optimism. And while that offers no guarantees, Leach himself admits he's seen better and more consistent practices over the entirety of this preseason training camp as compared to last year. Now, it's about time for the Bulldogs to try and get all that to translate to the Saturdays that count.
