Isaac Smith ready to get back to work with State defense

Throughout Isaac Smith’s career, there haven’t been many games spent on the sidelines watching on while his teammates worked.

The leader of Mississippi State’s defense did just that two weeks ago when he wasn’t able to go against No. 1 Texas. Smith had intentions of playing in the ball game despite taking a massive hit against Florida the week before that forced him to leave the game for concussion protocol.

After making the trip to Austin and going through pregame warmups, Smith was making contact with teammates in drills and realized he wasn’t ready. He met with Jeff Lebby and shared the news and then went into the locker room bathroom to collect his thoughts.

When the time alone had concluded, Smith was locked in on doing what he could to help the team. A bye week helped heal up the talented tackler and now he’s geared up and ready to take on another top 5 team on the road in Georgia.

“I feel great. It’s good to be back in pads and back active, back with my brothers,” Smith said. “I’ve been doing a lot of mental stuff like learning our defensive playbook and coaching up the guys as well as doing more treatment and getting back healthy.”

Smith adds important piece back to State defense on Saturday

Just as was the case with the Longhorns, this UGA offense will be another major challenge for the State defense. The other Bulldogs have a veteran quarterback in Carson Beck along with an offense that has the ability to make big plays and establish the run game.

The last two ball games have been as big of a challenge as this defense has faced this season and adding Smith back into the mix only helps State’s cause.

“They’re a really good team that will be really physical. They’ve got a good quarterback that’s a veteran guy. I look forward to the challenge and going over there showing people we’ve been improving from Texas to the bye week and now.”

The improvements might not show on paper, but State has been working to correct some issues with the unit.

State has one of the worst defenses in the FBS this season with a group that ranks 121^st nationally in total defense (438.0 ypg) and 110^th in scoring (31.6 ppg). While neither of those got any better on the road at Texas, the Bulldogs did show something as they were able to get off the field a few times against the Longhorns and they forced some turnovers.

More of that on Saturday at Samford Stadium could go a long way in continued improvements for Coleman Hutzler’s group.

“I think we’re coming together as a whole. The brotherhood we’ve built game-by-game. You can go back and watch the first game to where we are right now. We are getting a lot better when it comes to communicating and we’re working on tackling a lot more.”

Smith is one of the few players that has had no issues with the tackling side of things. The Itawamba AHS alum went from 15 total tackles all year last season as a freshman to an incredible 51 tackles through just four games.

The Fulton native is 15^th nationally in total tackles but leads the league in that category and is second in the country with 12.8 tackles per game. If not for the injury, Smith would likely be inside the top five in the country. Those numbers aren’t what the sophomore cares about.

“I don’t really like to get too big into that, but for me it comes down to my energy level on the field,” Smith said. “I love being around the football because you never know what could happen if you get to the football. That’s a big part of my game but I don’t think about it much when I’m playing. I just try to get to the ball and force a turnover.”

With a 1-4 start and the team being 34 point underdogs on Saturday at 3:15, times are tough for State right now.

State is a loser of four-straight and have matchups with five top 25 teams in the last seven games. If the Texas matchup proved anything, though, it’s that this group doesn’t intend on laying down and calling it in anytime soon. Smith understands frustrations among the fanbase and feels some himself, but he also sees much brighter days ahead based on what’s happening within the walls of the Leo Seal Jr. Complex.

“I get asked a lot about how is this season different than last season with us not winning,” Smith said. “The bond that we’re building right now and the vibes in the building, you can tell that it’s something about to happen here and I just want people to buckle up for it.”