Bulldogs Bring Back Tight End Tradition
September 02, 2023 | Football
STARKVILLE – Solid tight end play has been synonymous with Mississippi State football for decades.
And after a three-year hiatus, the Bulldogs are bringing back the time-honored offensive staple under new coordinator Kevin Barbay.
"Tight end is a fun position to have because they're half O-line and half receiver," Barbay said. "You've got to be creative with those guys and find different ways that you can get them the ball and also have them blocking some of those linebackers and safeties."
Since tight ends have been gone since the 2019 campaign, Barbay and fellow new hire Mike Schmidt – the tight ends and tackles coach – were tasked with starting that position room over completely from scratch.
"I knew coming in that it was going to be a challenge," Schmidt said. "But I think we've molded that room. We've just got to play to their strengths. Our biggest job as coaches is putting those guys in the right situations. You've got to make sure they're training in the right stuff that they can execute."
A key cornerstone in reestablishing tight ends in Starkville was the addition of Georgia transfer Ryland Goede. The 6-foot-6, 260-pounder saw action in 11 games for the SEC's other breed of Bulldogs a season ago en route to earning back-to-back national championship rings.
Goede is a former four-star recruit and the nation's No. 9 tight end prospect from the 2019 class. He also spent two seasons as a first baseman on the UGA baseball team early on during his time in Athens but was limited to 19 games on the gridiron due to injuries during his time there.
However, he arrived in Starkville over the summer eager to learn and enters the season opener atop MSU's depth chart.
"I've had an interesting four years, and this has really been the first camp that I've gotten through and been fully healthy," Goede said. "It's been a big learning month for me to get in the groove of going. But I feel great. The strength staff and training staff are unbelievable here and they've helped me do that."
To help build depth at the position, the Bulldogs moved several athletes around to better equip the tight end room. Redshirt sophomore Antonio Harmon shifted to tight end after two years as a wide receiver, redshirt freshman Jacarius Clayton swaps sides after playing defensive line and true freshman Malik Ellis transitioned to tight end after being recruited as an offensive tackle.
"We have a mixed bag of tight ends," Barbay said. "Some guys are better attached to the offensive line, getting down, digging guys out and working double teams with tackles. There are some guys who are better route runners. I think you're going to see a bunch of variety with the usage of our tight ends."
Ellis, who arrived in January as an early high school graduate, earned a spot on Mississippi State's initial depth chart, as did Harmon. However, Harmon's position on the depth chart didn't come at tight end. The 6-foot-3, 215-pounder is listed as a slot receiver behind Lideatrick Griffin.
"Harmon is really coming along and embracing his flexibility of being both outside and inside," Barbay said. "He can do a little bit of everything."
Another player moving to tight end for the Bulldogs is walk-on Nick Lauderdale. The former Belhaven and Hinds Community College transfer spent last season practicing as a wide receiver at State while earning a redshirt.
"He's come in with the right attitude and is right there in the mix as well," Schmidt said. "He's just kept on pushing forward."
The Bulldogs also brought in another walk-on, freshman Rayfield Lotten – a 6-foot-6, 240-pounder from New Orleans – to help fill in the position.
But no matter which player is in the game or how much experience they have at the position, the coaching staff is going to do their best to have them in the right alignments and packages to make plays this fall.
"They're going to have their strengths and their weaknesses and it's our job to play to those and make sure we have them in the right situations doing the right things," Schmidt said.
Mississippi State might be getting reacquainted with having tight ends returning to its roster, but the same hard-nosed effort, execution and attention to detail will be required as it is for every other position under new head coach Zach Arnett.
That blue-collar mindset is resonating throughout the tight ends group just as thoroughly as it is the rest of the program.
"Coach Barbay, coach Schmidt and coach Arnett are establishing a culture of toughness," Goede said. "Like coach Arnett said at media day, bring your lunch box and your hard hat because that's what it's going to take. This is a program that wants to win and is going to keep winning because of the guys in that locker room."
