Preview 2019: Previewing and looking ahead to the Mississippi State Bulldogs season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Recruiting Class Analysis | Schedule Analysis
– Miss State Previews 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2018 Record: 8-5 overall, 4-4 in SEC
Head Coach: Joe Moorhead, 2nd year, 8-5
5. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE MISSISSIPPI STATE OFFENSE
– It should’ve been better. Head coach Joe Moorhead has a terrific offensive mind, Nick Fitzgerald was a veteran presence at quarterback, and enough parts were there to average a whole lot more than 397 yard and 28.5 points per game. With seven starters returning and some interesting options to play around with, the O should start to hold up its end of the bargain a bit more.
– Well this just got interesting. Keytaon Thompson might have struggled with his accuracy in his little bit of time under center, but he threw six touchdown passes with a pick. The starting gig was assumed to be his, but Tommy Stevens transferred over from Penn State – hooking up with Moorhead, his old offensive coordinator – to push for the starting spot. It’ll be one of the SEC’s biggest quarterback battles this August, throwing redshirt freshman Jalen Mayden in the mix, too.
– It’s not a deep group of running backs, but the guys up top are strong. The quarterbacks – particularly Nick Fitzgerald – shouldered way too much of the rushing load over the last few years, but that’s about to change. Kylin Hill is a good 215-pound veteran who averaged over six yards per carry with 734 yards, and 215-pound senior Nick Gibson is coming off a strong offseason and should be a rock in the rotation.
– The running game finished second in the SEC behind an O line that did a great job of keeping defenses out of the backfield. There’s a good group of linemen returning, but it’ll take fall camp for the starting five to settle.
Three starters are back, 340-pound former JUCO transfer Tyre Phillips should move into a starting spot at one tackle job, and there’s enough versatility – to go along with a ton of bulk – to at least match last year’s production if Darryl Williams, or any of the other options, can step up and shine at center in place of Elgton Jenkins.
– It depends a bit on who gets the starting quarterback job, but the wide receivers should get far more involved with all of the key parts back. 6-4 senior Stephen Guidry led the team with a mere 440 yards – averaging 23 yards per catch – and 6-5 junior Osirus Mitchell returns after leading the team with just 26 catches. It’s one of the team’s deepest units.
