Competition still ongoing for Mississippi State offensive, defensive lines
It’s game week for Mississippi State as Jeff Lebby and the Bulldogs look to turn things around after a rough 2-10 season in 2024.
In order to make a big jump, State is going to have to be better on the offensive and defensive line, and Lebby and his staff have a lot of new faces fighting for spots. The early depth chart released on Monday suggested that two transfer offensive linemen are in line for starting spots and another three on the defensive line.
The biggest question from the first depth chart revolved around a familiar face, however.
After the Bulldogs struggled to have consistency at the left tackle spot, it was a highlight of the offseason. State has a talented young player in Jimothy Lewis at the left tackle spot who was thought to be the favorite for the position, but senior Albert Reese was listed as the starter on Monday after spending most of the camp at right tackle and guard.
“We’re going to roll at that position. There’s going to be multiple guys playing at that spot and we’ll have a couple of guys inside the game that will play a couple of different positions. Those will be guys that have played a lot of football, and we feel like can handle that. We’re fighting every day to make sure we’re playing the right guys and that’s why they call us coach. As we get closer and closer, we’ll dial into exactly what that rotation looks like on Saturday.”
The rest of the offensive line was as expected. Senior Jacoby Jackson is working alongside sophomore Luke Work at left guard, senior Canon Boone is an “or” with UTEP transfer Brennan Smith, Colorado transfer Zack Owens and Stanford’s Trevor Mayberry are fighting it out at right guard and Virginia transfer Blake Steen has locked down right tackle.
Defensive line prepared to play a lot of bodies at USM
On the defensive side of the ball, Lebby said that a ton of different players will play on Saturday as well.
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The Bulldogs brought in a bevy of transfers in the offseason and the group could play both three and four-man fronts. Kedrick Bingley-Jones and Auburn transfer DJ Reed are working at defensive tackle with Jaray Bledsoe cementing a starting spot at the nose tackle spot. Kalvin Dinkins is back healthy and pushing for reps at NT as well with Miami transfer and former Alabama defender Jamil Burroughs.
At defensive end, the Bulldogs are set to roll a lot of different players led by senior Deonte Anderson and Coastal Carolina lineman Will Whitson. Trevion Williams, Red Hibbler and Joseph Head Jr. are all competing as well.
The prevalent point from Lebby remained – a lot of players are set to roll out on Saturday in Hattiesburg and the chips will fall from there.
“We’ve gotten a bunch of guys back over the last four to five days in that room. We’re healthy in that room right now and that’s exciting. We’ve got the ability to roll guys and we’re going to continue to talk about fresh and fast bodies and we need that. That will be a big part of Saturday morning and we’re excited to see those guys cut loose.”
Game time on Saturday at M.M. Roberts Stadium is set for 11 a.m. on ESPN.
