SEC Spring Check-In: Jeff Lebby begins a new era at Mississippi State

Before the Texas Longhorns officially join the Southeastern Conference on July 1, Inside Texas is going around the SEC to check in with each of Texas’ new conference mates for updates on the latest spring storylines, important roster notes, and much more as the Longhorns embark upon life in a new league.

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Paul Jones, the publisher of On3’s Maroon and White Daily, took the time to answer a few questions about the Mississippi State Bulldogs as they enter their first campaign under new head coach Jeff Lebby. The Longhorns face the Bulldogs in Austin on Saturday, September 28. It will be the first conference game as members of the SEC for the Longhorns.

1. How much different will the SEC be in ’24 not only with Texas and Oklahoma joining, but also the elimination of divisions?

Paul Jones: Quite different. From a Mississippi State perspective, the fans are so accustomed to facing Alabama, Auburn and LSU every year. But in 2024 the Bulldogs won’t have any of those teams on the schedule. Without a doubt, adding Texas and Oklahoma makes the SEC stronger in every sport and that is change enough. But not facing those normal SEC West opponents every year is probably the biggest difference.

2. What is the spring storyline to track on offense for the Bulldogs (transfers, star recruits, coaches coming and going, etc.)?

PJ: Obviously, a lot of eyes on Jeff Lebby and his offense, particularly from a tempo standpoint. Mississippi State’s offense has not featured tempo at all under the previous head coaches but that will be Lebby’s specialty.

Individually, Mississippi State added Baylor transfer quarterback Blake Shapen and also brought in several solid offensive linemen from the transfer portal. Then at receiver, Mississippi State signed an impressive group of freshmen receivers in Braylon Burnside, JJ Harrell, Mario Craver, Ricky Johnson and Sanfrisco Magee.

3. What’s the spring storyline to track on defense for the Bulldogs?

PJ: There’s talent but it is a lot of inexperienced and unproven talent. State lost a ton of production from the defensive line and at linebacker, particularly with the graduation of linebackers Nathaniel Watson and Jett Johnson. That duo ranked first and second in tackles within the SEC for the past two years.

Mississippi State must also replace both starting cornerbacks from a year ago and a couple of starters at safety. So pretty much everywhere on defense, there will be youth and inexperience.

4. Which returner from the 2023 roster was the most important for State?

PJ: Tough question and there are several candidates I could chose from for that answer. I will go with senior safety Corey Ellington because, as mentioned above, State has a lot of inexperience in the secondary. By far, Ellington has the most experience in the Bulldogs’ defensive backfield. To make his return even better, Ellington briefly entered the transfer portal but opted to remove his name and return to Mississippi State.

5. Which transfer portal addition was the most important for State?

PJ: I would probably say former Baylor transfer Blake Shapen. State has talent at quarterback but it is inexperienced with former four-star recruits Chris Parson and Michael Van Buren. To get his offense rolling as quick as possible, head coach Jeff Lebby needed an experienced guy and he zeroed in on Shapen from the start.

6. Which class of 2024 signing was the most important for State? 

PJ: From a long-term perspective, quarterback Michael Van Buren. Not long after taking over Mississippi State’s program, Lebby went after Van Buren, who was committed to Oregon at the time. Van Buren ended up decommitting from Oregon and chose Mississippi State due to his relationship with Lebby.

Short-term perspective, I would say receiver Braylon Burnside. He is a local product from Starkville High School that decommitted from the Bulldogs last fall before returning to the class after Lebby was hired. It was good for Lebby to keep the local talent at Mississippi State.

7. The game State fans have circled on the 2024 schedule is.

PJ: Well, that is going to be Ole Miss and the annual Egg Bowl. Outside of that, I would go with a road game at Arizona State and a home game against Florida. With Lebby facing a rebuilding job, those Arizona State and Florida games could and should be crucial for State when it comes to gaining bowl eligibility, which would be a good first season for Lebby considering where the program was last year.

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8. What are Bulldogs fans thoughts on Texas?

PJ: One phrase I’ve heard often from State fans regarding Texas is that Texas fans have the arrogance of Ole Miss fans except Texas actually has a trophy case to back up the arrogance. Of course, there’s still a lot of fans upset that Vic Schaefer is coaching the Texas women’s basketball team after leading the Bulldogs to back-to-back national championship games last decade.