Mike Leach identifies which position group is in serious need of developing toughness

Aside from quarterback, there may not be a position more important in Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach‘s air raid offense than the receiver position. But after the Bulldog’s first scrimmage of fall camp, Leach wanted to see more out of his wide receiver group in regards to physicality and toughness.

“I think we’re getting better, I think we’ve got to get tougher at receiver. I think those receivers spend a certain amount of time being awfully willing to get shoved around, but just overall we just have to have overall improvement, and then we’re still developing depth in the o-line,” Leach said.

This is a good sign for the Mississippi State defense, but not necessarily for the offense. Especially one that’s as reliant on their receivers as the Bulldogs are, as they lead the SEC in total passing yards and passing yards per game last season.

“Yeah we’re better in the secondary and we just have to answer the challenge of receiver. We make too many judgements on when the ball is going to come to us and I think as a team we do it some, but I think the receivers do it even more and we just have to be tougher people. And we’ve got a weird mix, we’ve got old guys and real young and we need to develop some of those guys that are kind of the middle experience guys,” Leach said.

Leach loses his top pass catcher from the 2021 season in Makai Polk. Polk, a redshirt software transfer from Cal, had a breakout year in his debut season for the Bulldogs last season with an SEC leading 105 catches and 1,046 yards, both single season school records. Leach’s leading returning receiver is Jaden Walley who made the Freshman All-SEC team in 2020, and followed it up with a sophomore year were he improved on his reception and touchdown totals, hauling in 55 catches and six for touchdowns.

Leach will definitely be leaning on Walley and other veterans heavily this season, and hopefully for the Bulldogs they can elevate their toughness and have it spread throughout their room as they continue to develop younger talent like Rara Thomas, who showed a lot of promise in his freshman season. Mississippi State opens up the season at home versus Memphis September 3, a team that upset them in a second half comeback early last season.