Depth, Dependability And Experience Returning At Receiver

Ducking, Walley, Calvin Louisiana Tech 9-4-21

Photo by: Austin Perryman/MSU Athletics

Depth, Dependability And Experience Returning At Receiver

August 05, 2022 | Football

By: Logan Lowery, Assistant Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – Footballs will start flying on Friday afternoon as Mike Leach begins his third year at the helm of Mississippi State.

Leach has rewritten school and Southeastern Conference record books during his first two seasons with quarterback Will Rogers slinging passes in his innovative Air Raid system. The Bulldogs could see even more benchmarks fall this season due to a deep receiving corps made up of established veterans, talented transfers and wideouts waiting to breakout.

"That's what we do," said outside receivers coach Steve Spurrier Jr. "That's the offense we run. We're going to throw the ball at you…Everybody that we recruit, they know they're going to have a chance to shine and see the ball in the air coming their way."

There are names you know like Jaden Walley, Austin Williams, Lideatrick Griffin, Jamire Calvin, Scoobie Ford and Rara Thomas. That group combined to catch 199 passes for 2,233 yards and 18 touchdowns last season alone. Williams tied the school record for touchdown catches in a game with three and had the highest hands grade among Power 5 receivers in 2021 while Griffin was the MVP of the 2020 Armed Forces Bowl.

Walley, Williams, Griffin, Ford and Thomas all averaged over 10 yards per catch last fall with Thomas leading the way with 14 yards per reception.

"We've been fortunate to have some veteran guys that you can come to expect what they've got every single day," said inside receivers coach Drew Hollingshead. "For us, it's just kind of getting better at the details. We try to be as competitive as we can and get as good as we can at those details every single day."

MSU lost its most prolific receiver from 2021 – Makai Polk – to the NFL. Polk led the Power 5 and set a single-season school record with 105 receptions for 1,046 yards and nine scoring grabs.

Replacing Polk's production at the Z position could be shared among several players unless another breakout receiver emerges this fall.

"For the most part, we try to play two guys at every position," Spurrier said. "Makai was just that much better than anybody at that position and played about 90-percent of the snaps at Z…It just depends on what happens. If two guys end up splitting that position, we expect to divide (the production) by two. If one guy ends up being a great player, we'll expect him to have 105 catches."

The Air Raid offense has recent evidence of two Z receivers experiencing strong showings in the same season. Easop Winston (85 catches, 970 yards, 11 TDs) and Dezmon Patmon (58 catches, 762 yards, eight TDs) had strong campaigns playing for Leach and Spurrier at Washington State in 2019.

What Polk, a former Cal transfer, did during his lone season in the Air Raid offense caught the eye of another talented wideout in the transfer portal – Justin Robinson. Robinson, coming off a national championship at Georgia, saw the impact Polk was able to have last year and the 6-foot-4, 220-pounder wants to contribute early on as well after transferring to State in January.

"That definitely played a part in my decision," Robinson said. "It showed me that I could come in and really make a difference like Makai did. I'm ready to fill his shoes or whatever I need to do."

Another Power 5 transfer that went through spring practices is Jordan Mosley, a redshirt freshman that appeared in four games for Northwestern last fall and was a high school All-American and a four-star recruit.

Several other receivers that have been in Leach's system are expected to see their roles increase this fall. Senior Caleb Ducking, a former junior college transfer, redshirted in 2020 and played in seven games last year and provides a huge target at 6-foot-5, 200-pounds.

"It's his time and I think he recognizes that," Spurrier said. "It's his opportunity to go play and he's in a position where the ball is going to come to him. If you look at the history of Caleb, he's never been put in a position where he needed catch more than 15-20 balls a season. I think he's been here long enough and worked long enough and knows the standards and expectations of that position. I think he'll be ready for a good year this year."

Ducking played behind Polk on the depth chart last year and averaged 9.2 yards per catch. He is looking forward to making the most of his opportunity this season.

"It's all about being prepared and coach Leach's philosophy is the next guy up," Ducking said. "You have to step in because we're only as strong as our weakest link. Now that I'm the next man up, I've just locked into the playbook more and learning defenses and how they play."

A homegrown wideout expected to step up in the slot is sophomore Rufus Harvey. The Starkville native his first touchdown catch at Vanderbilt last season and had a solid showing in the spring.

"Rufus has been kind of uncanny good for a while," Leach said. "He's played real well for the last year really. He always finds the end zone. If Rufus gets enough reps, he's always going to find the end zone and that's a pretty good knack to have. In high school, Rufus was always in the end zone."

Former four-star prospect Antonio Harmon is also ascending up the depth chart after playing in a pair of games as a true freshman in 2021. Harmon plays physical and has the frame to do so at 6-foot-3 and 215-pounds.

True freshman Jarnorris Hopson arrived early in January and impressed during spring drills. Hopson will be joined on the field this fall by highly-touted recruits from the 2022 signing class Marquez Dortch, Zavion Thomas and Kaydin Pope.