'Streaky' Mississippi State Team Continues to Aim for Improvement Heading into Fifth Practice of Fall Camp

Mississippi State has plenty of talent across the roster on offense and defense heading into the 2021 season, but none of that matters if players can't deliver day in and day out.

Head coach Mike Leach stressed reaching a high level of consistency when he met with reporters following Monday's practice.

"I thought both sides were streaky. I thought we practiced better yesterday overall... both sides," Leach said. "The biggest thing is that we've got to be consistent. We're a streaky team right now. We are able to put together plays on either side of the ball in succession, but we don't have that consistency we need to get."

Some of that may have to with the August heat in Starkville.

"The other thing is that I think we need to push through the weather and the work," Leach said.

South Alabama transfer Chance Lovertich and sophomore Will Rogers are ahead of the other quarterbacks in the competition for the starting gig as Leach indicated Monday, but no clear starter has been named.

Lovertich had a solid day Monday with very few incompletions.

"He's steadily improved," Leach said. "I thought he had a really good day today and he's triggering quicker than he did in the spring. So, he just needs to keep improving."

The receiving corps has been another interesting unit to watch throughout camp, with Jaden Walley slated to be one of the best at his position in the country this year, Austin Williams continuing to prove his reliability. There are also players within the unit who aren't as talked about like Brodie King and Malik Heath showing flashes. Both have caught touchdown passes and have had some impressive catches in what we've seen of them.

Cal transfer Makai Polk has been another player who has garnered a little buzz lately.

“He’s improved since the spring — good at playing the ball in the air,” Leach said. “(Polk) needs to push through — needs to be the same guy at the end of the work as he is at the beginning.”

Looking at all of this, camp is, well, just that and things can change any day during practices and at any given week in the season. That's something Leach knows plenty about.

"That’s the thing, a young guy one day can’t do something and the next day he gets better at it," Leach said when we spoke with him during the spring. "But then there’s also another learning curve of being able to do it the majority of the time.”

It will be interesting to see who continues to emerge and where each player ultimately stands on the depth chart when the Bulldogs open the season against LA Tech on Sept. 4.