Bulldogs Breaking In A New Offense Under Barbay

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State tabbed Kevin Barbay as its new offensive coordinator in January and has been diligently learning his system ever since.

Barbay brought with him a pro-style playbook that features a few different concepts than the players have been accustomed to. Because of that, Barbay's installation plan is more methodical in an effort to ensure every player fully understands their assignments and duties.

"We are trying to take the install really slow for these guys because everything that we're asking them to do is a little bit different from the Air Raid," Barbay said. "We're conscious of that and making sure that we go slow with our install and really being detailed with every little piece of the game."

Quarterback Will Rogers is working hand-in-hand with Barbay during this installation process. The Bulldogs' three-year starter and all-time leader with 10,689 passing yards and 92 touchdown career touchdown throws likes the way Barbay has modified his playbook around the personnel State currently has on its roster.

"It was a quick fit because he's such a good coach," Rogers said. "He's done a really good job of molding some of his stuff into some things that we've done. Good coaches can coach their (scheme) with the guys that they have on the team."

Barbay's willingness to adapt was one of the main attributes that attracted head coach Zach Arnett to bring him on board in the first place. During the interview process, Arnett asked Barbay about his offensive identity and his response was refreshing.

Instead of lauding his own offense from Appalachian State last year that ranked among the top 25 in numerous categories, Barbay humbly asked Arnett to show him his top 11 playmakers on offense so he could better answer the question.

"Ultimately the job of a coach is to identify who your best players are and who your most explosive players are and put them in a position to maximize their skill sets and ability to be successful," Arnett said. "So, to talk to a candidate that has a small enough ego or is willing to put that aside is incredibly refreshing. Our job is to identify the players and build the scheme and our identity around them."

Part of Barbay's plan is to move Mississippi State's playmakers around in formations with shifts and motions in order to create mismatches and advantageous situations against the defense.

"Part of the offense is not allowing a guy to get stuck in one spot," Barbay said. "We move guys around in order to try and create matchups."

With Barbay calling plays, Appalachian State ranked eighth nationally with 21 plays of 40-plus yards. The Mountaineers averaged 34.9 points per game offensively averaging 6.56 yards a play and chewed up 204.2 yards per game on the ground.

That last category is something that certainly excites senior running back Jo'quavious Marks. The former four-star recruit has had limited traditional handoffs during his first three seasons in Starkville but still managed 5.2 yards per carry last year and has racked up 18 career rushing touchdowns.

"I think it's pretty cool to do something new," Marks said. "We were in the Air Raid and now we're back running the ball like I did in high school. That's been pretty big for me and getting equipped to do it is not a big deal because I'm an athlete. I've just got to get in there and know the plays and get them down pat."

A few of the other nuances of Barbay's offense include reducing the splits along the offensive line, bringing the tight end position back and the quarterback taking an occasional snap from under center.

"Right now, we're identifying what we can do well – what our offensive line does well up front, what our receivers can do, what types of running backs we have and how these tight ends are meshing in," Barbay said. "That's the beauty of spring ball."

The Bulldogs held their first two spring practices last week but are off this week for spring break. The team returns to work on Tuesday for Barbay to resume identifying the strengths of his new players and those players continuing learning the intricacies of his offense.

But with two days of installation already done, Barbay has been pleased with the attention to detail his players have had and wants to continue building upon that foundation over the remaining month of spring practices.

"Spring ball is about details and fundamentals," Barbay said. "We're off to a good start but there's a lot of improvement that has to happen. Right now, we've just got to focus on the fundamentals of football through this spring."

Bulldogs Breaking In A New Offense Under Barbay

Players Mentioned

Jo'Quavious Marks

Will Rogers

Mississippi State University Athletics