And So It Begins
July 31, 2025 | Football, Joel Coleman
Bulldogs start training camp with promising first practice.
STARKVILLE – Call it fall camp. Call it preseason practice. Call it whatever you'd like. No matter what you call it, Thursday was the day it all began again for Mississippi State.
For a Bulldog team looking to take strides forward in year two under head coach Jeff Lebby, it was a promising first workout that built upon the progress State made back a few short months ago.
"I thought the guys that practiced with us in the spring and had good springs, it showed up [on Thursday]," Lebby said. "They spent time [working] in the summer and were so much further [along]. I'm excited about that. We have a ton of work to do, but I think our leadership is in a great place, which helps that as much as anything."
Retention from the spring is but one small sign this year's Dawgs are already headed in the right direction. Yet that wasn't the only good thing that was seen on day one.
In fact, the word 'seen' is incredibly appropriate, as any eyeballs looking at the fields at the Leo Seal Jr. Football Complex could observe obvious differences in this year's Bulldog group.
There was the noticeable uptick in size along MSU's offensive front from the line State used in the spring.
"Body-type wise, we're where we want to be," Lebby said of the offensive line. "We've got a ton of work to do, and these guys have to understand how we practice, why we do what we do and the physicality we have to play with to give us the opportunity to go win. Those are real things, and [some of those guys] haven't been with us [a long time]. But I'm excited about that group and the potential. We've got to come together in a hurry and make sure we're dialed in on the best five, six or seven that can play winning football for us."
Additional exciting happenings occurred on the other side of the football where State's restocked defensive line group got in their first reps of the preseason.
"We're in a lot better place than we were," Lebby said of the defensive front. "We've got a long way to go, but with the bodies we have now compared to where it's been, we have the ability to go two spot the entire practice. That's going to help us practice the way we need to practice and get the depth that we need."
All of these developments took place under a scorching Starkville sun that had temperatures in the 90s and the heat index near 110 degrees by the end of practice. It was certainly a scorcher, but in a way, that led to perhaps the most promising thing Lebby saw.
In Thursday's pre-practice team meeting, Lebby preached to his guys they needed to have the toughness to be able to push past exhaustion and make plays even when tired. The MSU leader said his players applied that message, and Lebby believes that mentality will be key as State continues to prepare for its August 30 season opener at Southern Miss.
"Guys strained when it got really, really hard," Lebby said. "We're going to have to continue to do that. It's going to be hot on August 30, and I think we're all aware of that as we go to kick it off. We've got great vision for that day and where we're going."
To hear everything Lebby had to say about the first day of camp, CLICK HERE to watch his full media session.