100 Day Bulldog Countdown: 83 Days - No. 83, P Zach Haynes
Jeff Lebby’s era of Mississippi State football has arrived.
The Bulldogs are on their third coach in as many years as Mike Leach’s tragic passing opened the door for defensive coordinator Zach Arnett’s debut as head coach last year. That experiment failed before the year even ended for State and now it’s Lebby’s turn to take the wheel.
While there is always a risk in hiring first time head coaches, Lebby brings to Starkville an exciting offensive scheme that has been productive everywhere he’s been. The coach has also brought with him some swagger that has the fanbase ready to see what’s next.
Over the course of the next 100 days, we will take a look at Lebby’s roster and even some fun historical rewinds that will bring back memories for Dawg fans of all ages.
Today, we look at a transfer special teamer looking to lock down his position.
100 Day Bulldog Countdown: 83 Days – No. 83, Sr. P Zach Haynes
Following the Bulldogs’ struggles in the punting department last season, one of Lebby’s priorities in the transfer portal was finding a reliable punter to flip the field for State this season.
Hiring Cliff Odom from New Mexico State to be the new special teams coordinator put the wheels in motion to fill that spot. Haynes came to Starkville from NMSU after punting it 52 times a season ago and dropping 19 of those punts inside the 20 with 20 fair catches. He had three of his punts go beyond 50 yards with a long of 54.
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Prior to his time at New Mexico State, Haynes was a two-time First-Team All-Ohio Valley Conference punter for Southeast Missouri State. Following a redshirt year in 2019, Haynes was First-Team All-Conference as a redshirt freshman walk on and led the league with a 42.2 yards per punt average. Of his 36 punts in 2020, Haynes had 15 inside the 20 and had a 53-yarder as his longest punt of the year.
After earning a scholarship for his sophomore year, Haynes punted 41 times as a sophomore and booted a career-high 59-yarder during the season with 17 punts inside the 20 and four of 50 or more yards.
The Missouri native will have a chance to lock down the punting position this fall but certainly has the experience to do it.
