Tight Ends Will Have a Major Role in the Offense for Mississippi State
Mississippi State will rely heavily on tight ends this fall.
STARKVILLE, Miss — The Mississippi State Bulldogs are finished with spring football after their live scrimmage in front of fans. First-year head coach Jeff Lebby has been implementing his new offense, which will rely on a position forgotten in Starkville for the past few years.
The tight-end position needed to be rebuilt upon Lebbys's arrival because the room lacked talent and bodies. When Mike Leach arrived in Starkville in 2020, fans knew tight ends were gone because his Air Raid scheme had no room for a true tight end.
The position is essentially a hybrid of an offensive lineman and a receiver. Naturally, Leach never recruited a tight end, but after his tragic passing, new MSU head coach Zach Arnett decided to take a new approach to offense.
Kevin Barbay was hired as the offensive coordinator and would implement a pro-style scheme. The assumption was that tight ends would finally be back at MSU, but they needed to revamp the entire room, and it did not go well.
The Bulldogs signed three tight ends out of the transfer portal: Geor'quarious Spivey, Ryland Goede, and Seydou Traore. Unfortunately, Spivey and Traore were not granted eligibility, leaving MSU in a bad spot as Goede was the only tight end on the roster.
Antonio Harmon (receiver) and Malik Ellis (offensive lineman) transitioned to tight end to add some depth, but it went poorly like the rest of the offense. Harmon and Goede combined for 14 catches on the year and did not contribute much to the offense.
Traore transferred from Colorado after spring practice in 2023 and was ranked a 4-star in the transfer portal. The London, England native impressed in his sophomore season at Arkansas State as he led the team with 655 receiving yards and led all Sun Belt tight ends in receptions and yards.
He will be a significant piece to this offense in 2024, and Lebby brought in some help from an SEC veteran and his younger brother. Lebby signed Justin and Cameron Ball, and the former spent his first five seasons at Vanderbilt and had a career year in his final season in Nashville with 15 receptions for 131 yards.
His younger brother Cameron played two seasons at Buffalo, and after redshirting his freshman season, he flashed in 2023. The Maryland native had eight receptions for 82 yards.
"They are gonna be a huge part of what we do," Lebby said.
The physical tools are there for both brothers, listed at 6-6 250 pounds. These three guys have turned around the tight-end position due to their talent, but also just adding depth.
The Lebby offense will ask these guys to be involved in the passing and running games.
"Yeah, they have a huge role in the offense," Lebby said. "We ask those guys to do a ton."
The scheme runs a lot of RPOs and quick pop passes to the tight end, and the former Vanderbilt tight end took advantage of that by snagging a couple of touchdown passes in the spring game.
Traore also flashed during the game as the athletic big man made a few catches and showed nice speed. When Lebbys offense is at its best, the tight ends are heavily involved, and the Ball brothers will provide a physical presence in the run game and a big body for quarterbacks to throw to.
"Once each of us starts really getting it, the defense will have trouble," Traore said.
However, Traore has the talent to be a superstar in this offense; he has the size and physicality to play tight end but has the hands and athleticism to play receiver. Seeing how Lebby uses this group in the fall will be exciting.
