Show Up And Bring It
March 25, 2023 | Football, Joel Coleman
Bulldogs practice with the energy Arnett demands.
(NOTE: Watch head coach Zach Arnett's full post-practice press conference by clicking the image above.)
STARKVILLE – Gridiron perfection is difficult, if not impossible, to attain in March.
Nevertheless, Mississippi State was back on the practice fields at the Leo Seal Jr. Football Complex on Saturday seeking to take another step towards maximizing its ability. By the end of the day, head coach Zach Arnett knew there was still much work to be done, but he was certainly happy with the effort he continues to see five practices into his team's spring.
"Our guys showed up ready to work and had some energy and ran around and got in a good day's work," Arnett said. "I was pleased with the intensity of the work."
This time of year, the right approach is everything. There's plenty of time between now and kickoff in September to iron out kinks, and no one is expecting errorless football with a new head coach, new coordinators, a handful of new assistants and changes all over the place. But what is expected is all-out, nonstop effort. In that regard, it's so far, so good for the Bulldogs this spring.
"The players have done a great job showing up to learn and work and get better," Arnett said.
And it's all over the field, from the top down. Quarterback Will Rogers is headed into his fourth year with the program, but he's not settling in the least. He's exemplifying how it's totally possible for even old Dawgs to learn new tricks.
"Will is such a professional in his approach," Arnett said. "I bet you he probably goes through the install three or four times before he ever steps out on the field and does it. So, he's having absolutely no problems. He's already checking plays at the line of scrimmage, seeing how the defense is aligned. Might be changing run schemes. Might be changing to a play-action pass or drop-back game. He's done a great job of approaching the installation and learning it, and I really like where he's at."
Who'd expect anything less from Rogers at this point, right? But it's not just the veteran signal caller putting in the time and energy to push State forward. It's happening all over the field.
At left tackle, the guys are all pushing each other. It's the same across the entirety of the offensive front for that matter.
"Our offensive line coaches, Coach [Will Friend] and Coach [Mike Schmidt], are doing a tremendous job creating competition [at left tackle]," Arnett shared. "We've got to figure who the best guy is. I would probably predict [Nick Jones] would have the jump on it because he got so many snaps there last year. He's certainly athletic. Most people would say he doesn't have ideal length for the position, but he sure seemed to hold up pretty dang good there last year. So, we're trying to find out who the best five are [on the entire offensive line]. We'll try a whole bunch of different lineups up there to see who gives us the best chance to give us push at the line of scrimmage and also protect the passer."
Then, at safety? Well, strides are getting made there, too.
"We made a few plays [at safety on Saturday]," Arnett said. "There was an interception or two by them… So we made a few plays. We flashed."
Showing evidence of potential is one thing. Proving that potential can be relied on over the course of a grueling season is another. That's why Arnett is using this spring to constantly evaluate everything. Everyone, at every position, better keep his foot on the gas under Arnett's watch.
If spring is displaying anything, it might be that to be a contributor in the Arnett era, no coasting will be permitted.
"We'll figure out who are best 11 are and get them on the field," Arnett said. "That's kind of the message to all position groups. Unless you prove you're good enough to make us better and maximize our ability, we're going to find a way to get other guys on the field."
So, each and every day this spring, Bulldogs looking to impress their leader need to do what they did on Saturday – show up and compete. From there, the chips can fall where they may.
"I guarantee the execution we watch on film [from Saturday's practice] won't be pretty to look at, but you've got to start somewhere," Arnett said. "At least we showed up with a little energy to attack the day."
That same energy will be expected by Arnett again when spring work resumes on Tuesday.
