Three Questions Surrounding the Mississippi State Offense in 2023
Mississippi State football is in a state of transition after the death of Mike Leach, with Zach Arnett taking his place as the head coach with an entirely new staff under him.
For the past three years fans have been used to Leach's Air Raid for the offense, something that will be no more as the Bulldogs look to use a more balanced approach between the run and the pass game under new offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay.
Here's a look at some of the main questions regarding MSU's offense heading into 2023.
1. Is Will Rogers going to remain the starting quarterback?
At the start of the season fans can expect to see Will Rogers start as quarterback for the first couple of games. Despite all of Rogers' many accomplishments over the years, many have found issue with him on the field because of his lack of pocket awareness. In the offseason, he's been hard at work to remedy issues like this as he looks to take the next step.
While there's still plenty of reason for optimism surrounding Rogers' future as a quarterback, will not be a shock if Zach Arnett puts a player like freshman Chris Parson in if Rogers doesn't stay sharp on the field in a new system.
2. Just how different will the overall scheme look in comparison to the old offense?
The era of the Air Raid is over. Arnett is completely re-building this team to his team now. He made the move to hire Barbay as the offensive coordinator shortly after his promotion, bringing him over from Appalachian State.
It's sent a message to everyone that this will be a different offense that used to. State has not had a top-40 scoring offense since quarterback Dak Prescott left in 2015.
3. What exactly does Barbay bring as an offensive coordinator?
Barbay has a unique way of doing things that has been very efficient and successful for the teams he's spent time with. He tends to build around his rushing attack and uses ground game to set up deep shots off of plays of action. Something very common and should be expected to see on the field this upcoming season is a pistol formation. Barbay heavily utilized this in the past at CMU and App State to avoid less of a tell as to which way the ball will be run. There's change in store for MSU, and how that comes together on the field in 2023 will be something to keep an eye on.
