David Turner coaching up new Bulldog defensive line

Longtime Mississippi State defensive line coach David Turner has been around the block over the years.

A coach in Starkville for multiple head coaches, Turner was one of two coaches that would be retained from Zach Arnett’s staff. Turner’s 2024 defensive line is a work in progress and will have several new faces on it, but the coach is confident in his group this year.

In the middle of preparations for the season, Turner spoke to the media about the progress of his players, his transfer portal additions and who is standing out so far.

Question: What are your thoughts on your group?

DT: “I like the group. Good group. We’ve got a lot of pieces and a good mixture of younger guys and older guys. We’re still trying to figure our who we are and what we can do. I think the big things as a coach is your trying to develop guys and get them better, but trying to figure out who can do what. Trying to put the pieces in place and go from there. That’s what fall camp is about. They’ve been working hard in the summer so I’m looking forward to getting on the grass with these guys.”

Q: When you were recruiting the transfer portal, what were you identifying that you felt like they would be a good fit?

DT: “A couple of things. I had relationships prior with both (Kedrick Bingley-Jones and Sulaiman Kpaka) because I had recruited both of those guys. Obviously, you wanted guys that had played and played at a high level. KJ playing at North Carolina in the ACC and Pak playing at Purdue in the Big Ten, they checked those boxes.

“You’ve got to be careful in the portal. I look at it a little bit different. I want to get good guys that aren’t going to create a big problem in terms of attitude, in terms of work ethic, in terms of expectations. I was honest with those guys. I told them that we have a need, but the only thing that I’m guaranteeing you is an opportunity and if you do what I think you’re capable of doing, you’ll play and play a lot. Those guys, in terms of size and in terms of experience, I thought it was what we needed at the time.”

Q: How have Trevion Williams and Kalvin Dinkins progressed from injury?

DT: “They’re right on schedule. I think they’re eager to get back and I’m eager to get those guys back. Hopefully we can keep them healthy. They’re progressing well. They’re running and doing football related agilities, so the deal is now to get them back out there, get them acclimated and go from there.”

Q: How have you helped the new staff?

DT: “I don’t know if I’m helped them any. Starkville is a unique place. A lot of good people. It’s my third time here and it is exactly what it appears to be. It’s a college town with good people. Mississippi State football is important. People ask me all the time what is my favorite place to coach and, in terms of kids, it’s Mississippi State and not close.

“Most of them knew what they were getting into coming here. Trying to get this thing back to where we’re competing for championships and that’s why I’m here. That’s my motivation. I know coach (Jeff) Lebby has been familiar with Mississippi football having been at the School Up North, so I think we’re all excited to get out there and get this thing going.”

Q: How do you describe Coleman Hutzler?

DT: “Everybody playing college football on defense is doing the same thing. It’s just a matter of the pieces and the equipment; what you’ve got out there playing. I’ve been in the defense so I knew what to expect. Hutz has been great at leaning on me for certain things and trying to mesh all of the coaches and players together.

“It’s been fun. It’s been unique in terms of what we’re trying to do. Everybody is excited. He’s been great.”

Q: Are you looking for one or two guys at defensive end and EDGE or is that mix and match?  

DT: “It’s going to be a mix and match for a couple of reasons: how the season develops and then what we’re playing up front. There might be times where we need to get bigger and might be some times where we need some pressure. It goes back to what I mentioned earlier about trying to plug pieces into place. We’ve got ends and we’ve got tackles. We’ve got some ends that can play tackle and some tackles that can play end.

“It might be based on what we’re doing or might be based on opponent. Some guys might figure into the equation more than others, but we’ve still got to develop guys. We’ve still got to get guys that can come off the edge, we’ve still got to get guys that can set the edge and still got to get guys that get after the quarterback.

“Those are the things that we’re trying to develop. I think we’ve got the pieces, now we’ve just got to continue to develop.

Q: You’ve worked with a lot of defensive coordinators. How do you change what you do when you’ve worked with some many defensive coordinators?

DT: “You’re not really changing what you do. The biggest thing is learning terminology. It’s always word association. It hasn’t been a problem. Football boils down to blocking and tackling – can you get off blocks and make a play and on offense can you block people and move the ball. The basics for what we do up front, it doesn’t change it might just be terminology and what we’re saying on different calls.

Q: Who is stepping forward as the leader on the line?

DT: “Probably De’Monte (Russell). He’s taken more of a leadership role, which he should. Then KJ has taken a leadership role. You want to develop leaders, you don’t want to name leaders. There’s no rule that says the leader has to be an older guy or a senior, it just happens that way. Those two right now have been the guys.

“Every day, somebody might step up and try to take a leadership role. Those guys should be. Those guys have played the most football and have been battle tested. Those guys know what it takes to win at a high level. Those are the things that factor into it and they’ve taken the bull by the horns.