Versatile Veterans Anchoring State's O-line
August 30, 2023 | Football
STARKVILLE – There is no substitute for experience and Mississippi State brings back a wealth of versatile veterans along its offensive line.
The Bulldogs have four of their five starters returning from last year's team and that number doesn't even include Kwatrivous Johnson, who has earned 16 starting nods throughout his career. However, MSU is unveiling an entirely new offense under coordinator Kevin Barbay this season so each of their roles and responsibilities are different in 2023.
"It's obviously a new system and the guys have done a good job trying to learn it," said offensive line coach Will Friend. "We've asked them to do some different things. We've still got a long way to go, but every day is an opportunity to get better and we'll approach it that way."
Instead of playing back on their heels and pass blocking for a majority of the snaps along with the wide splits that the Air Raid offense required, the Bulldogs' O-line will now have the opportunity to be on the attack with more running plays, double teams and opportunities to pull in their offensive repertoire this year.
"In the Air Raid, the defensive players would pin their ears back and take off on us because they knew about 90 percent of our plays were passes," Johnson said. "But in this scheme, we've got a mix of all of it with runs, passes and play action. I think we're going to be pretty good in this scheme."
Although State brings back four returning starters along its offensive line, only one remains at the same position he played a bulk of the snaps at last season. This year's depth chart begins with Johnson at left tackle, Nick Jones at left guard, Cole Smith at center, Steven Losoya III at right guard and Kameron Jones returning at right tackle.
Kameron Jones is back in the same position where he has made 20 of his 31 career starts. The Starkville native is entering his sixth season with the program and also has 11 games of starting experience at left guard.
Johnson has started every position along the offensive line save for center during his career. Smith has starts at all three interior positions of the O-line and Nick Jones has earned starts at both left tackle and left guard. Losoya started eight games at left guard and once at center during his first season with the Bulldogs last year and also had starts at tackle early on in his career at Middle Tennessee State.
"Anytime you get in a situation where guys can play multiple positions it adds value to them," Friend said. "There's a handful that have played different spots across the board. Steven, Cole, Nick, Kam and 'Dollar Bill' (Johnson) have all played different spots. That helps anytime you can move guys anywhere and gives you a chance to hopefully put your best people out there and there not be a big drop off."
Johnson and senior Percy Lewis have been locked in a battle all offseason to be the Bulldogs' starter at left tackle. Johnson, a 6-foot-7, 330-pound graduate, has started four career games at that position while Lewis drew his first start there during the ReliaQuest Bowl back in January.
"It's still playing out and we're going to continue pushing both of those guys to be starters," said tackles and tight ends coach Mike Schmidt. "It'll be a development all the way up until gametime. Hopefully they'll continue to push each other over the course of the season."
And while the competition has been fierce between Johnson and Lewis, the two massive men have a ton of mutual respect and encourage one another to be at their very best.
"We motivate each other," Lewis said. "It doesn't matter who is up there. We're brothers at the end of the day and a team. He motivates me as much as I motivate him."
At 6-foot-8, 345-pounds, Lewis enters his second season with the Bulldogs after arriving as a four-star prospect and the nation's No. 1 juco offensive tackle from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in January 2022. He appeared in all 13 games last fall.
"I think Percy has got all kinds of talent," Friend said. "He's a really talented player who has size and can bend and move. Percy's got to focus on the little things and stay focused. We tell him all the time that the only thing that can stop Percy is Percy. He is an extremely talented player that I think will continue to get better as he's here."
Nick Jones started eight games at left tackle and four others at left guard last season. The 6-foot-3, 300-pounder who also arrived from the Mississippi junior college ranks will start his senior year off at left guard.
"Nick has stepped up inside for us," Schmidt said. "We were light inside in the spring on interior bodies and we felt he had the skillset and mindset to adjust inside well. He's done a nice job there but to have him in your back pocket (to play left tackle) in case of an emergency is a good sign."
Smith also shifts back to center where he began his college career at both LSU and MSU. The now 6-foot-3, 305-pound graduate started nine games at center during his sophomore season for the Bulldogs in 2020 but has since made 19 straight starts at guard.
Strangely enough, Smith - a natural left-hander - was told to snap right-handed during his freshman year at LSU and just continued to snap that way when he arrived in Starkville. Now that he has switched back to snapping with his dominant arm, it has greatly improved his accuracy and overall confidence.
"My first year, there were definitely a lot of nerves involved," Smith said. "I wasn't very sure of myself as a player quite yet because I was still pretty young. But now, I feel like I've had a few years to develop and get some confidence within myself and things are a lot better now."
Losoya made eight starts at left guard and made one start at center against Alabama last season, his first year as a Bulldog. The 6-foot-4, 320-pounder moves over to right guard as a senior and has developed quite a chemistry playing alongside Smith.
"Cole and I have definitely gelled together," Losoya said. "We're in the trenches together and really getting it done out there. It's a lot of fun with him."
Redshirt sophomore Albert Reese IV is another multi-talented offensive lineman in State's arsenal. The 6-foot-7, 320-pound Canadian appeared in all 12 games during the regular season in 2022 and started the bowl game at right tackle. He is listed on the depth chart as a backup at left guard but will likely see action at several spots along the line.
A newcomer that has made some waves since his arrival during the summer is Leon Bell. The enormous 6-foot-8, 325-pounder was rated the No. 2 junior college prospect in Texas during the 2023 signing class and projected as a backup at right tackle.
"Leon is looking pretty good for it to be his first fall with an SEC team," Johnson said. "There's some things he's got to handle and get better at, but as time progresses he'll get better. As we've been going through fall camp, he's gotten better and I can see him continuing to do that."
Redshirt sophomore Canon Boone is listed on the depth chart as State's No. 2 center while junior Grant Jackson and redshirt freshman Jakson LaHue are both being considered for a backup role at right guard.
Jackson has 27 games of experience on his résumé while Boone made his debut against East Tennessee State last season. LaHue redshirted last year along with walk-on Wesley Davis.
In addition to Bell, the Bulldogs also inked three other offensive linemen in the 2023 signing class. Jayden Hobson (6-5, 295), Zay Alexander (6-7, 340) and Amari Smith (6-7, 315) are all getting their first glimpse of college football as true freshmen.
"Those young guys are definitely coachable and taking the little, small ques that they to help them progress in their development," Kameron Jones said. "They're willing to accept their role and whatever they need to do to get better."
