Barbay’s Offense Again Flashes In Second Scrimmage
August 19, 2023 | Football, Joel Coleman
Rogers, Pittman, Davis and more shine with two weeks until kickoff.
STARKVILLE – It's not only players getting ready this time of year.
On Saturday afternoon, under the hot summer sun at the Leo Seal Jr. Football Complex, Mississippi State held its second scrimmage of the preseason as the Bulldogs continue to gear up for their September 2 opener. Like his players, offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay used the opportunity to keep warming his own self up for the campaign ahead.
"Sometimes, I script it out," Barbay said of his scrimmage play-calling. "[Saturday], I was really challenging myself to not script it, make sure I was calling it off the hip.
"For me, it's just as important I practice each of these situations and [think about], 'Where is the time to go fast? Where is the time to take a shot? Where is the time to sequence a play call on a third down where you know you're going for it on fourth down?'…What helps me is practicing those situations, going through it in my head, listening to the staff and their ideas – because at the end of the day, we're all in this together."
Barbay later gave himself a grade for the day – a C-minus, he declared.
"I'm hard on myself," Barbay admitted.
Maybe too hard. Because for the second scrimmage in a row, Barbay's offense again flashed its productive potential.
MSU used a balanced attack throughout the afternoon to march down the field and into the end zone on multiple occasions. The Bulldog defense provided stiff resistance as they've done all preseason long, however it was clear Saturday this State offensive attack is getting closer and closer to game ready.
Perhaps to no one's surprise, quarterback Will Rogers had one of the day's standout showings. On his 22nd birthday, the senior signal caller celebrated with a couple of touchdown passes.
He once faked a handoff before finding Creed Whittemore in the flat for a four-yard score. Later, Rogers delivered a perfectly-thrown ball to tight end Antonio Harmon on a 22-yard touchdown strike.
Rogers even showed off a little mobility. On one play late in the scrimmage, Rogers avoided pressure, rolled to his right and bought himself just enough time to hit Whittemore on a 12-yard first-down pass to extend a drive. The play highly impressed Rogers' incredibly-speedy backup who was cheering from the sideline.
"Uh oh, Will's a dual threat," an excited Mike Wright proclaimed.
Not to be outdone though, Wright later put his own versatility on full display. He busted loose for a 21-yard touchdown run down the left sideline following a perfectly-executed read option. Then, Wright put the offense across the goal line again when he swung a pass out to running back Simeon Price who caught the ball and – while being tackled near the pylon – was able to extend his arm just far enough to make it a seven-yard touchdown play.
Price was far from the only State running back to find paydirt Saturday. The skills of that room were evident throughout the scrimmage.
"We're so deep – really deep," Jeffery Pittman said. "For me, it keeps me on my toes and helps me perform at the highest level."
Pittman's performance indicated competition is absolutely getting the most out of him. The junior college transfer put quite an exclamation point on one scoring drive by accounting for the series' final 25 yards. From the 25-yard line, Pittman had a strong 10-yard run for a first down, caught a 10-yard pass for another, then had a four-yard carry ahead of busting over the goal line on a one-yard tote.
Youngster Seth Davis continued to impress as well, so much so that he earned post-scrimmage recognition from his head coach.
"I think it was the second scrimmage in a row Seth Davis [showed] he might be our most elusive ball carrier," Zach Arnett said. "He's muscled up, but he's a little smaller in stature and can kind of hide behind those linemen at times, see the seam and slip through there. He does a really nice job. There's never really square contact on him. It's always kind of glancing blows. He's doing nice things."
Nice things like a pair of 17-yard runs over a three-play span – the latter of which was for a touchdown. He also had a pair of strong runs early in the scrimmage for first downs that set up the eventual touchdown pass to Harmon.
Other Dawgs notched notable moments Saturday as well. Running back Keyvone Lee had a rushing score for the second-straight scrimmage. Receiver Freddie Roberson had several key catches, including a 36-yard grab on a deep shot from Rogers.
All in all, it was another successful day for the Bulldog offense, even if its understandably and expectedly critical coordinator saw plenty of room for growth to improve upon his personal C-minus designation.
"I don't think you ever walk away from any scrimmage feeling excellent," Barbay said. "There's always room for improvement…But there were some things that were good and some things that need correcting, which you're always going to have in a scrimmage."
