Everything Mississippi State defensive coordinator Zach Arnett said ahead of the LSU game
Mississippi State defensive coordinator Zach Arnett met with reporters on Wednesday night, ahead of Saturday's game at No. 6 LSU. Above is video of the session, or read below to find out what all Arnett had to say about his team as well as the Tigers:
On defense overall headed into the LSU game: "I’m not sure you ever know exactly where you’re at until you actually line up and play a real game. Obviously we’ve had some scrimmages and scrimmage opportunities and had some guys that performed well, but you see things that you need to get better at. I know this, we’ve got an excited group of guys ready to play on Saturday. Come around 6:30 p.m. or so, we’ll know a lot more about what we’ve got."
On MSU linebacker Nathaniel Watson and the versatility he brings: "You mention the opponent there, you better be pretty versatile against LSU. You look at their offense last year. Shoot. My goodness. They hurt you every way imaginable. You better have some versatility. But the other thing I think everyone in football is dealing with this year is you better have some depth and versatility because you never know when a guy (might be out because of) contact tracing or coronavirus-related (things). A guy might get shut down for 10 or 14 days and if you don’t have some depth on your roster then those are big blows if you lose a starter or something like that to something like that."
On young guys on the depth chart: "There’s always a challenge with youth and inexperience because they just haven’t played in many games. I’ve said it about Erroll (Thompson). There’s not really anything we can show him or ask of him that he hasn’t come across already. So you don’t have that luxury with a lot of youth and inexperience. But to be honest with you, every program typically deals with it. Every three, four years right? You get a good recruiting class. All of a sudden you got guys that are two and three-year starters and you’re really good and then they all graduate or leave early and you have to start off with a new bunch. It happens in every cycle. It happens to everyone."
On MSU's Londyn Craft earning starting role at strong safety: "We keep it simple right? We turn on the tape and evaluate who is the most reliable and playing the best and in the right places they’re supposed to be. So right now, he’s the guy that’s shown that the most. It doesn’t mean other guys won’t play or rotate in there with him or something, but through this long, extended camp – 25 practices over six or seven weeks – he’s probably shown the most consistency there. So he’s earned the right to start."
On familiarity with LSU offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger or passing game coordinator Scott Linehan: "No firsthand familiarity. I know the offensive coordinator when I was at San Diego State, Coach Jeff Horton, he and coach Linehan are really good buddies. I think it goes back to their NFL days, but that’s really all I know about him. I think his son is a (graduate assistant) now at San Diego State. I couldn’t bribe him for any secret info though unfortunately."
On facing a new-look LSU offense: "Part of me feels like when you have a year where maybe they set a record for the most yards ever in the history of college football, it’s hard for me to believe they’re going to change drastically from what worked and got them a national title. So I think you’re going to see a lot of the same things. But obviously you’ve got different influences in there. So I’m sure Coach Linehan is going to bring some things from what he did with the Cowboys. They obviously recruit very well every year. They’re going to have players running all over the field. They might not be household names yet because they were behind those guys playing a whole bunch a year ago, but I promise you there’ll be no shortage of speed and talent on that field."
On MSU linebackers Jordan Davis and Tyrus Wheat: "I think it has been a good competition. (Davis) early on in camp got a little bit of an ankle sprain, so he missed about a week or so. It was awhile ago. He’s well passed it. So obviously he lost out on some reps there. I think maybe that first scrimmage he was just getting back fresh. But you talk about versatility, I think those guys are big enough and strong enough to play at the line of scrimmage if we need them to like a defensive end, yet also savvy enough to play off the ball and drop into space from time to time. So we’re glad we’ve got those two."
On LSU QB Myles Brennan: "He’s got a cannon. Sometimes watching him on film, he reminds you of Peyton Manning the way he moves around and stuff. He’s got a big strong arm. He can make all the throws. I want to say the cut-up I watched, there’s quite a bit of action on there because they were up in a lot games (last year) so he got in late there. He’s not afraid to stand in there and deliver the ball. I can remember against Vanderbilt, there was a safety or linebacker blitzing off the edge and he takes it right in the chops, but he hangs in there and delivers a wide-field out. He’s a big, strong, strapping guy with a big arm and they even ran some quarterback draws with him. Drops back and then runs for a first. So maybe not quite as fast or elusive as maybe Joe Burrow was a year ago, but by no means is he just a stand-in-the-pocket only and not be able to hurt you with his legs either."
On highly-touted LSU tight end Arik Gilbert and having only high school film to go on: "His high school film is pretty good. Nah, I mean it is what it is right? Like I said, you see the way they used their tight end a year ago. You hear articles about how good he’s looked and the different ways they can use him. Obviously they’ve got really good coaches who will put him in the best positions to be successful. Until you come out after the first couple of series and maybe get a feel for maybe the different ways the tight end is being used, you go in with your base gameplan and then you adjust if it’s giving you problems."
MORE FROM COWBELL CORNER:
Report: Former Mississippi State baseball coach Andy Cannizaro in running for another collegiate job
Dan Mullen revisits his Egg Bowl experiences
Callin' Baton Rouge: Five questions for an LSU insider from a Mississippi State perspective
To follow along on Cowbell Corner and comment on articles and participate in the community, simply sign up, get a username and chime in with your thoughts and questions. Also, be sure to follow Cowbell Corner on Twitter (@SIBulldogs) by clicking here, and like it on Facebook by clicking here. Thank you for coming to Cowbell Corner for coverage of Mississippi State sports.
