Kevin Barbay highlights important aspect of his offensive philosophy

Mississippi State offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay steps into a tough situation in his first year with the Bulldogs. He’s taking over for a late legend — which is itself a challenge — while also having to implement his own style into a program that played Mike Leach’s unique style the last few years.

In order to put his plan into place while not confusing his players too much, Barbay has stuck to a certain theme: simple but creative. He explained that concept to reporters when asked about how his approach to coaching offense.

“Yeah really my mindset is simple but creative, right,” Barbay answered. “I try to tell myself: don’t overthink this, keep it simple for the kids.”

He went on to note that while MSU is putting in place some pre-snap motions, the actual plays themselves don’t become any more complicated.

“Conceptually, we’re running a lot of the same things, right. But presentation-wise, we’re in a different personnel group with a shift or a motion. So for the quarterbacks, their progression stays the same, the kids know their landmarks on the concepts of where they need to be.”

What those movements do provide is some confusion for the defense, which helps draw mismatches for the offense.

“But from the outside view and a defense coordinator’s view, there’s a whole lot of stuff going on and a whole lot of adjustments, and that’s where I think you get those personnel matchups as well. You know when you — ‘hey, I can get in 12 personnel and I can match up this receiver on this DB’ — that’s what I’m looking for in each game plan.”

Kevin Barbay plans to keep the defense on its heels with some pre-snap motions and shifts, but again, nothing that will confuse his own players, since the goal is to keep the gameplan somewhat simple in year one.

“My general philosophy without being a real smart guy is simple yet creative,” says the new Mississippi State OC, who joins the Bulldogs following a quick rise into the SEC coaching ranks.

Just five years ago, Barbay got his first OC job at Stephen F. Austin. After one season, he flipped that job into an associate head coaching position at Central Michigan for a couple of years before eventually becoming the Chippewas’ OC. In one year in that role, he helped lead CMU to a 9-4 record and an average of more than 32 points a game.

Barbay then moved on to Appalachian State for the 2022 season. The Mountaineers had a roller-coaster year but finished with their best scoring offense of the decade at 34.9 points per game, a mark that helped Barbay land the gig with Mississippi State for this season.