Mississippi State Reportedly Expected to Hire App State Offensive Coordinator
Mississippi State football is hiring Appalachian State offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Kevin Barbay, according to reports from Sports Illustrated and ESPN on Thursday.
Barbay served in the same role with the Mountaineers after a three-year stint at Central Michigan.
Under Barbay's guidance, App State ranked 23rd nationally in scoring offense in 2022. Barbay, 40, is no stranger to the Southeastern Conference after he served as Florida's director of player development from 2015 to 2017 under coach Jim McElwain. He and McElwain also worked together at Central Michigan.
The Mountaineers finished out the 2022 season with a 6-6 overall record, holding a top-25 offense in yards per play, passing yards per attempt, while averaging roughly 35 points per game.
With the move, Barbay is set to become the latest hire under new Mississippi State head coach Zach Arnett, who was promoted up from defensive coordinator after the passing of former Bulldogs head coach Mike Leach in December.
Leach ran a pure Air Raid system, something that looks to change some under Barbay, who utilized the run game and the passing game more equally at App State.
