Revamped Bulldogs Open Second Week Of Spring Drills
And on Monday during the Bulldogs' first day back from vacation, the MSU head coach put several of his thoughts into practice.
The week off was a good time to think about some of the possibilities we have, Croom said. Coming back from that time away provides a good chance to experiment.
Croom tinkered on both sides of the ball.
He moved junior Jeremy Jones (Harvey, La.), a tight end by trade, to fullback. The tight end position is deep in experienced senior leadership, and Croom was searching for a way to get Jones on the playing field. The 6-2, 275-pounder has played in nine games and started once at tight end. He brings blocking ability and receiver's hands to the backfield position.
Croom also spent a good deal of Monday's workout with an eye on young offensive tackle Mark Melichar (Birmingham, Ala.). The 6-5, 275-pound redshirt freshman is being given every opportunity to get in the mix at right tackle.
Our play at right offensive tackle bothers me a little bit, Croom said. Either (defensive end) Titus Brown is really good, or we've got a long way to go at tackle. The other four positions along the offensive line did well in the scrimmage.
Another area that drew Croom's experimentation was the interior defensive line. For Monday's drill, he moved defensive ends Charles Burns (Hattiesburg, Miss.) and Cortez McCraney (Southaven, Miss.) inside to tackle. He credited the 6-3, 262-pound Burns with doing some good things in the scrimmage.
Burns has played in 22 career games, and has started twice, but all his work has come on the edge of the defensive line. McCraney, a 6-4, 262-pound junior, sat out last fall after transferring from Memphis.
I'm trying to find some blue collar guys in there, Croom said. We just haven't found the two guys inside that we need.