Bulldogs are Ready for First Scrimmage

MSU will undergo its first scrimmage of the preseason.

Oct 23, 2021; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; LSU Tigers offensive linemen Marlon Martinez (77) blocks Mississippi Rebels defensive linemen KD Hill (55) during the first half at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports / Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

STARKVILLE, Miss. — It has been almost two weeks since preseason camp opened for Mississippi State. First-year head coach Jeff Lebby is undergoing his first camp as the head guy, and practice has seen some give and take.

However, even for an offensive coach at heart, Lebby welcomes a little back-and-forth between both units. It was also complimentary of his new defensive coordinator, former Alabama assistant Coleman Hutzler.

"That is what we want to see (back and forth)…. You want to see things not go well, and someone responds and see true back and forth," Lebby said. "Coleman (Hutzler) and the rest of the defensive staff have done a great job getting their guys ready to practice every day," Lebby said.

Due to rules implemented into college football practice, few "live" reps or full contact exist. Defensively, it can be challenging to practice without full contact due to the violent nature of their job.

However, it is even more important in State's case due to the vast number of inexperienced players expected to fill out the starting lineup. One of the youngsters expected to take a leap forward is sophomore safety Isaac Smith.

The Fulton, Miss. native has been working as the field safety, and the former 4-star spoke on the importance of the scrimmage ahead.

"Just getting those live reps in, and it is hard to come across those now," Smith said. "That is the hardest thing about college football. You can only thud, but in the scrimmages, you actually get those live reps."

It is also imperative that the MSU offensive line gets live reps. The room saw drastic changes as the Bulldogs underwent a coaching change, adding four new faces and a new coach, Cody Kennedy.

All four guys are expected to play a meaningful role for State, whether starting or being the first guy off the bench. LSU transfer Marlon Martinez is expected to contend for a starting spot, as he took first-team reps at each guard spot during the MSU spring game.

The job of an offensive line revolves around contact and physicality, and the Fort Lauderdale, Fla. native spoke on his excitement to pop pads and see how his group stacks up.

"I just want the opportunity to go all-out…. most of the periods we do, we are supposed to take care of each other, but a scrimmage is a different mindset," Martinez said. "It will be live football…. honestly, I am just ready to cut loose and see what we can do against the defense."

Along with the players' excitement for the first scrimmage, their new head coach will also get his first live look at his squad since the spring. The former Oklahoma offensive coordinator spoke on the small things he wants to see from both units today at Davis Wade Stadium.

"Offensively, we want to play clean football. We are going to play with great tempo and really aggressive, but from a penalty standpoint, pre-snap penalties, we want to work on that and play really clean while taking care of the ball," Lebby said. "Defensively, we want to go get the ball and get off the field on third downs."