Photo by: Sarah Triplett/MSU Athletics
Bulldogs Building Experience Across The Board
September 30, 2021 | Football
STARKVILLE – There are two truths in the coaching profession: You can't coach size or experience.
Mississippi State already possesses the size but the experience piece is something the Bulldogs are continuing to build game-by-game.
Head coach Mike Leach only has two players on his roster – juniors Jaden Crumedy (22) and Martin Emerson (20) – who have 20 or more starts in their careers. That ranks as the lowest total in the Southeastern Conference and a stark contrast from Arkansas, who leads the league with 11 players with 20 or more career starts.
Underclassmen have accounted for 11 of the 15 touchdowns during MSU's first four games. The Bulldogs' entire backfield (Will Rogers, Jo'quavious Marks, Dillon Johnson) and several of their top wide receivers (Jaden Walley, Makai Polk, Lideatrick Griffin) are only sophomores.
Rogers currently leads the country with 42.5 completions per game and tops the SEC with 1,454 passing yards. Polk is the league leader with 33 catches. Marks (7.8) and Johnson (6.2) rank second and fourth in the conference respectively in receptions per game while Walley leads the team with three touchdown grabs and Griffin is the SEC's top kick returner (48.8 avg.).
"You have young guys who are going to make mistakes, then you try to work them along," Leach said. "They just aren't ready. We only have two guys that have 20 starts. We have to put [the inexperienced players] in there. There is some trial and error. There will be a day where they will be ready to play and do a good job. We are trying to discover that day as soon as we possibly can."
Another area where the Bulldogs are building experience is along the offensive line. Four of the five starters are playing a new position in 2021 with only sophomore left tackle Charles Cross returning at the same spot as last season.
Outside of Cross, State's other four offensive line starters combined for only 53 career snaps at their current positions entering this fall. Scott Lashley had 52 reps at right tackle while he was still playing at Alabama and LaQuinston Sharp had snapped the ball only once at center.
Kameron Jones started six of the final seven games of 2020 at right tackle but has since shifted inside to left guard while Kwatrivous Johnson – who started the first three games last season at right tackle – has been the Bulldogs' starter at right guard this year.
"We've definitely got a whole lot better chemistry this year than last year," Jones said. "Last year, it was a new system and a new offense and we weren't used to blocking as long. Now we've kind of got it under wraps and can focus better on what we have to do."
Mississippi State's entire offensive line has started a collective 57 career games, which is the fewest amount of starts in the SEC. Arkansas (130), Vanderbilt (123), LSU (113), Auburn (109), Florida (109), Missouri (108) and South Carolina (104) all have offensive lines with more than 100 career starts.
Despite that inexperience, the Bulldogs' O-line is coming off possibly their best performance to date. MSU limited an LSU team that led the country with 19 sacks in its first three contests to one lone sack last weekend on the final play of the first half.
The Bulldogs finished with a season-best 486 total yards and eclipsed the century mark on the ground for the first time in 2021.
"We improved on the O-line," Leach said. "We did some good things. I thought we played physical. I think they were leading the nation in sacks. We were very physical up front. I thought we played together for the most part over the course of the day."
So far this fall, a total of 15 players have made their debuts in an MSU uniform including a pair of true freshmen – running back Simeon Price and wide receiver Rara Thomas.
Last year, true freshmen were responsible for 76 percent of the Bulldogs' touchdowns (22 of 29), including all of the end zone visits against Georgia (3) and Tulsa (4).
Mississippi State already possesses the size but the experience piece is something the Bulldogs are continuing to build game-by-game.
Head coach Mike Leach only has two players on his roster – juniors Jaden Crumedy (22) and Martin Emerson (20) – who have 20 or more starts in their careers. That ranks as the lowest total in the Southeastern Conference and a stark contrast from Arkansas, who leads the league with 11 players with 20 or more career starts.
Underclassmen have accounted for 11 of the 15 touchdowns during MSU's first four games. The Bulldogs' entire backfield (Will Rogers, Jo'quavious Marks, Dillon Johnson) and several of their top wide receivers (Jaden Walley, Makai Polk, Lideatrick Griffin) are only sophomores.
Rogers currently leads the country with 42.5 completions per game and tops the SEC with 1,454 passing yards. Polk is the league leader with 33 catches. Marks (7.8) and Johnson (6.2) rank second and fourth in the conference respectively in receptions per game while Walley leads the team with three touchdown grabs and Griffin is the SEC's top kick returner (48.8 avg.).
"You have young guys who are going to make mistakes, then you try to work them along," Leach said. "They just aren't ready. We only have two guys that have 20 starts. We have to put [the inexperienced players] in there. There is some trial and error. There will be a day where they will be ready to play and do a good job. We are trying to discover that day as soon as we possibly can."
Another area where the Bulldogs are building experience is along the offensive line. Four of the five starters are playing a new position in 2021 with only sophomore left tackle Charles Cross returning at the same spot as last season.
Outside of Cross, State's other four offensive line starters combined for only 53 career snaps at their current positions entering this fall. Scott Lashley had 52 reps at right tackle while he was still playing at Alabama and LaQuinston Sharp had snapped the ball only once at center.
Kameron Jones started six of the final seven games of 2020 at right tackle but has since shifted inside to left guard while Kwatrivous Johnson – who started the first three games last season at right tackle – has been the Bulldogs' starter at right guard this year.
"We've definitely got a whole lot better chemistry this year than last year," Jones said. "Last year, it was a new system and a new offense and we weren't used to blocking as long. Now we've kind of got it under wraps and can focus better on what we have to do."
Mississippi State's entire offensive line has started a collective 57 career games, which is the fewest amount of starts in the SEC. Arkansas (130), Vanderbilt (123), LSU (113), Auburn (109), Florida (109), Missouri (108) and South Carolina (104) all have offensive lines with more than 100 career starts.
Despite that inexperience, the Bulldogs' O-line is coming off possibly their best performance to date. MSU limited an LSU team that led the country with 19 sacks in its first three contests to one lone sack last weekend on the final play of the first half.
The Bulldogs finished with a season-best 486 total yards and eclipsed the century mark on the ground for the first time in 2021.
"We improved on the O-line," Leach said. "We did some good things. I thought we played physical. I think they were leading the nation in sacks. We were very physical up front. I thought we played together for the most part over the course of the day."
So far this fall, a total of 15 players have made their debuts in an MSU uniform including a pair of true freshmen – running back Simeon Price and wide receiver Rara Thomas.
Last year, true freshmen were responsible for 76 percent of the Bulldogs' touchdowns (22 of 29), including all of the end zone visits against Georgia (3) and Tulsa (4).
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