3 Takeaways From Mississippi State Football's Latest Scrimmage
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Mississippi State football has been hard at work this offseason as the Bulldogs prepare to take on what's been frequently called the toughest schedule in the nation ahead of the 2022 season.
The Bulldogs scrimmaged again on Saturday, making some strides and looking particularly improved on offense while still reflecting some need for growth.
Here's a look into three things we took away from Saturday.
1. Better day for the kickers.
The Bulldogs were inconsistent at placekicker last season and it was among the priority areas of concern entering the offseason. While things still haven't been totally perfect at the position ahead of the fall, there is some reason for optimism.
After finishing a combined 5-of-9 on kicking attempts in the previous scrimmage, Bulldogs placekicker Massimo Biscardi was perfect on all three of his attempts with a long of 43 yards. Bulldogs kickers combined to go 5-of-6 on Saturday.
Considering special teams has been something of an issue for the team in the past, the combination of Biscardi, Ben Raybon and Jordan Kennedy is something to keep an eye on.
2. Competition remains within the secondary.
The Bulldogs had a solid pair of cornerbacks last season in Martin Emerson Jr. and Emmanuel Forbes, though only the latter player remains on the roster with Emerson already making good headway with the Cleveland Browns in the NFL preseason.
Between having Forbes still in the fold and what has been shown by Decameron Richardson, Esias Fudge and Marcus Banks, there doesn't seem to be much concern about where the group is depth-wise.
Safety has been a position battle to watch, and it's still a close battle that has gone back and forth between Corey Ellington and Jalen Green.
"They're fighting it out. I think Jalen Green a little better day today, but I think it's competitive. That's the key, is that we have enough guys within the secondary so that it's competitive."
While both players took first-team reps on Saturday, Green got the better part of them. It will be interesting to see how these players continue to separate themselves moving forward.
3. There's work to do, but the offense showed overall improvement.
MSU has hit some rough patches offensively throughout fall camp, with a lot of concern surrounding dropped passes by receivers. That's something the team appears to be cleaning up gradually that wasn't quite as much of an issue on Saturday.
Rufus Harvey, a player who flashed last season and has shown consistent development, was among the highlights Saturday. He finished out the scrimmage with three receptions for 62 yards with two touchdowns, nearly adding a third score that he fell just short of.
Junior quarterback Will Rogers completed 6-of-13 passes for 86 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Projected backup Sawyer Robertson completed 8-of-15 passes for 66 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Daniel Greek and Chance Lovertich also saw some action as Greek went 2-of-9 passing for 30 yards and one touchdown while Lovertich was 9-of-13 passing for 82 yards with one touchdown.
"I thought they were decent," Leach said of the quarterback performances. "Their good plays were good and I thought we did a pretty good job spreading out the bad plays."
While improvements have been gradual, Leach views Saturday's overall team performance as a step in the right direction.
"I thought it was competitive. I thought we had good energy. We weren't perfect, we've got plenty to work on. But I thought it was a pretty good, balanced scrimmage."
