Jeff Lebby cites recruiting location, support for taking Mississippi State job
Jeff Lebby left a pretty solid gig behind as the Oklahoma offensive coordinator when he decided to take the head coaching job at Mississippi State. But Lebby is pretty confident he’s now leading a program with the requisite pieces to win big.
Joining ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy in a recent interview, Lebby hit a few points that have been common as he’s stumped for the Bulldogs this offseason: They’re located amidst plenty of talented high school prospects, and the support locally is massive.
“There’s a couple of things,” Lebby said. “I think as I was looking at it and had the opportunity to get in this chair, it was always going to be about proximity to players and support. Those two things, I’ve said that a ton since I’ve been here. I love our footprint. I love our five-hour radius. From where I’m sitting right now, you can recruiting great players and not have to get on airplanes and I think that’s advantage, us. And then the support. We’re going to walk into a full stadium every single Saturday and State fans are incredibly loyal, they’re passionate. And I think that’s a huge deal for our guys.”
And playing against some of the top competition in the SEC week in and week out is also something Lebby anticipates will be plenty attractive to recruits.
“You want to do it on the biggest stage, with the best, and against the best, and man we’re going to get to chase it right here, which is going to be a lot of fun,” Lebby said.
Lebby considered his benchmark for Year 1 success
Lebby is tasked with turning around Mississippi State‘s fortunes after 2023’s lone season with Zach Arnett didn’t turn out as planned.
Even though the Bulldogs missed out on a bowl game last season, Lebby believes Mississippi State is coming together nicely under his guide. Taking over the program after gaining a reputation of being one of the top offensive assistants in the country, Lebby outlined what success would look like to him during his inaugural season.
“I want, after year one, for people to say that they got the right guy,” Lebby said to McElroy. “They’re trending up, there’s great energy inside the program, you can tell these guys love playing football. It’s an exciting brand, how they play, how they do, what they do is impressive.
“And then going and winning a bowl game. Those are the things that I want to get done in year one and continue to create momentum and build on it from there.”
Mississippi State finished the season 5-7 in 2023, which marked the first time since 2009 that the Bulldogs weren’t eligible for a bowl game. It’s clear that Lebby isn’t interested in sitting out in the postseason.