Everything Nic Mitchell, Isaac Smith and Trevion Williams said after Friday's practice

After the second practice of the preseason for Mississippi State six Bulldogs - three offense, three defense - met with reporters. Here's what the defensive players said.

Mississippi State player Isaac Smith comes into the College Football Hall of Fame during SEC Media Days in Atlanta. | Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Nic, it seemed like you've been here forever now and last year kind of breakout season for you. What do you feel like maybe you've done to improve upon last year?

Yeah, you definitely look back at the tape. I had a lot of reps—600 plus plays. That’s a lot of good reps, a lot of bad reps to learn from. That’s what we went over this offseason and he grew me through. So, it's been great.

We talked—it seems like everybody we talked to—we’re talking about more depth and added talent and all that. What’s it been like in your group?

Yeah, we definitely got some guys that can roll. Bringing in Jaylen, bringing in DG, and then the younger guys coming along as well. So right now we’re just steady progressing and keep building our gap along, for sure.

Who's been some of those most impressive guys so far?

I mean, it’s day two, but everybody’s been working hard, showing up to work. It’s day two, so it's kind of early in camp, but everybody's been showing up. And we all had a great summer. You know, the whole LB group—it's one of the best summers I've been part of with my position group, for sure.

Coach Lebby was talking about how you guys are able to practice differently, practice better this season compared to last because maybe you have just more bodies. Do you notice a difference at all in how you guys are practicing?

Yeah, you kind of find yourself sitting on the sideline a little more because there’s so many groups that got to roll through. So, yeah, you notice that, but it’s good to have that so you can keep guys fresh and keep guys rolling.

What's it been like having Isaac Smith back?

It’s been fun. He always brings energy. He’s the life of the party, so he always brings energy. Yeah, it’s always fun to have a guy like that. You know, he sees you slacking, he going to pick you up. I see him slacking, I'm going to pick him up. So, I love having Isaac in my room.

You said you had a good summer. What did the linebackers work on during the summer?

Just our execution, our eyes, just keeping our eyes clean, knowing where to be, knowing how to do the technique once you get there. Stuff like that. Just progressing at linebacker.

Some new voices on defense too—Coach MacIntyre and Coach Rhoads. What’s your interaction with them been like?

Yeah, Coach Mac actually coached my brother at FIU. He was the head coach of my older brother who played receiver down there. So I kind of have some background experience with Coach Mac. I love Coach Mac. He’s a good coach. And I see Coach Rhoads—like you see him today—he’s on the offensive side coaching the far-field corner, just giving them a lot of wisdom. So it’s great to have those old-head experiences pouring into us, for sure.

What do you think about the new guys they plugged in on the defensive front?

Yeah, I mean I’m excited. I’m excited about a lot of them guys. You can just see—like I said in the spring—you see the disruption, the vertical presence. It kind of cleans it up for me so I can keep my hands clean and just go play ball.

They’re making your job easier?

Oh yeah, for sure. Feel cleaner.

Who are some of the guys that are standing out at the edge position?

At the edge? A lot of them guys. Got Will, Brandon, Malik, Taye, Deontay—he’s been here for five years. Yeah, a lot of them guys. All them guys are doing a good job. They all had a great summer and now it’s time to put it back to play.

And how do they make the defense more functional in what you want to do?

Yeah. I mean, when you get a vertical presence on the edge, it creates pass rush. It creates disruption. So it's always good to have that no matter what defense you’re playing—you need pass rush off the edge.

Coach Lebby said back in the spring one of the most important things about portal guys is getting guys that are the right fit for the culture. What have you seen from that aspect?

That’s huge. That’s huge because you bring in 40-some guys from different cultures. So it kind of takes time for everybody to become a team. In the beginning, you bump heads a little bit. It just is how it is. You add a bunch of new guys into a locker room that’s already established. So we got to mesh together and grow as a team. Now we’re doing good, for sure.

Not only with you guys, but you and Zakari—you’re the old guys now in this group. How are you two working together?

Yeah. Me and Zakari, man, we go way back. So it’s been a lot of fun. It’s been a lot of fun seeing Zakari develop since he came in as a freshman. I mean, right now he’s lightyears ahead. He’s going to have a great season for sure this year.

When you have a season like last year—I know the coaches’ conversations are a lot about accountability—but when you're talking to your other teammates that are coming back, what have some of those conversations been like about improving?

Coach Lebby did a great job kind of setting the standard as soon as we came back. Like, okay, we know what happened. It is what it is. Now we’ve got to fix it. You can’t just live in the past. You learn from it and move on. And he challenged us personally to bring guys along. The older guys that came back—I mean, it’s my last year, so I don’t want to go out—I don’t want to be no loser. I kind of think of it like when I’m a granddad and I got grandchildren, and they ask me, “Oh, Dad, how were you your senior year, last year of college?” You know what I mean? I want to be able to tell them, “Oh, I won big.” You know what I mean?

Isaac Smith, S

Is it—take us through the first—what’s it been like the first couple days kind of getting back out there and getting to work?

Uh, you know, it's fun getting to see all the guys fly around again. Just getting to play football. It's not just in the meeting room all day working out and running. We're actually getting to do what we came to school to do, and that's play ball—and it's fun.

How do you feel about the depth? Just going through the practices, Coach Lebby always talked about just having the bodies out there to go through practice and do what they want to do. What’s your thoughts on that?

I mean, I love it because we brought guys in that want to play. So it's a lot of competitiveness, and everybody's going to get a shot. So this fall camp, everybody has to come work, compete each and every day. Come Saturday, August 30th, we're going to see who's out there and it's going to be a good game.

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Obviously, things can change as the season progresses, but what do you kind of foresee your role being as far as position-wise this year?

You know, just being that key piece in the middle again—the outside linebacker piece—and just being able to fly around. Really be that piece for Coach Hustler where he can use me however he wants, and just be an energy giver to the defense. At the end of the day, it's all about having fun, competing, and winning.

What have you seen from freshman Tyler Lockhart early on?

He's developing. He's going to be really good. I feel like this fall camp is really crucial for him—just getting better in the playbook and going out there and playing fast, because that's what it's going to come down to.

He's developing. He's going to be really good. I feel like this fall camp is really crucial for him—just getting better in the playbook and going out there and playing fast, because that's what it's going to come down to.

It’s more linebacker, but eventually, you know, just float around.

What are you seeing from those guys in the secondary? You know, with Brao and Giron and those guys—some veteran guys but also some newcomers?

Giron—he did a lot at his old schools and he knows the game of football really well. Bravo played here last year. Then we got Hunter Washington back. Just having those guys in the back end takes a lot of stress off me and the other linebackers and the D-line, because we know we've got some players back there that know the game of football and have been around it for a while.

What are your thoughts on playing where you’re at right now? Do you like that spot?

Oh, I love it. I get to be versatile and be physical. Then I get to go play the post and play man as well. So, it's fun.

How about Tony Mitchell?

Tony's doing really good. He came in, worked hard, and I’m ready for everybody to see what he can do.

In terms of the defense as a whole, what would you say is the biggest difference now compared to the first couple days of practice last year?

I would just say execution. I feel like people know more at this point in time than we did last year at this point. People feel more dedicated this year to listening and doing what Coach Hustler wants us to do. And just wanting to be great and better. Like Coach Lebby said—it’s about believing, and I feel like we’ve got that belief.

I know it’s early, but have you had any conversations with the coaches about—are you the communication guy on defense this year? Do you have the communication stuff in your helmet, or do you know anything about that yet?

I do not. But I know what we’ve been practicing all summer long, spring, and now into fall camp is just the whole defense communicating with each other. That’s going to be a big part of winning. You can’t go play in some of these stadiums where it's loud—even in Davis Wade it’s so loud—you can’t hear. So being able to communicate is a big part of defense in general.

Coach Lebby has talked about how he just likes this locker room and the leadership a little more. Do you see a difference in that communication and other guys stepping up this year compared to last year?

I do. It feels more like a culture and a brotherhood. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s about—building that culture and brotherhood so we can build that trust and belief in each other and go out there on Saturdays and win.

A big part of being a safety is being able to process and react. What are you seeing from the guys behind you now? Who’s maybe sticking out in that regard—reading a play and jumping on it?

Really all of them. They really dedicate themselves to watching film and studying the game of football—and that’s what I love about them. They're veteran players, so they’ve seen a bunch and played a bunch of football at a high level. It comes down to them just being able to see plays fast and execute—and all of them can do it.

Trevion Williams, DL

Trey, that room looks a lot different this training camp than it did last year. What’s that competition been like?

I mean, it's just unlimited competition. Really just pushes you to be your better self every day. You know what I'm saying? You got people behind you that's competing for the same amount of playing time. So, it just pushes you to be better. It makes the whole room better.

You and Damonte were two of the biggest guys last year, but that doesn't seem to be the case this year. Talk about the size brought in.

Yeah, we had a lot more bodies, a lot more size, a lot more strength, a lot more everything. So, we're pretty good up front.

We just talked to you about — you look slimmer this year. Talk about playing outside.

Yeah, I'm moved out to the edge now. So, I'll be playing a lot more in work.

Which work and Coach Dancy?

It's a change from Coach Turner. You know, two different coaching styles, but it's still the same intensity.

What are you being asked to do maybe a little bit different this year than what you did last year?

Nothing much, nothing too different really. It's just different positions. You know, it's basically the same concepts and schemes.

When you look at this group too — like last year, the big bodies just weren't here. You were one of the biggest ones, but now the room has gotten a little beefier. What do you feel about the depth piece now within that group?

I love it. I love the depth piece because it gives guys more opportunities to recover, you know, catch their breath and get fresh legs in. So, I love it.