Detailing Mississippi State Football's New Offense Under OC Kevin Barbay
Mississippi State hired Kevin Barbay back in January as the new offensive coordinator.
For the past couple of years, the Bulldogs have been accustomed to the Air Raid as the offensive play, but Barbay has stepped in with a few new concepts the players are not used to. He has to build his team up from the ground to ensure each player understands his methods fully.
"We are trying to take the install really slow for these guys because everything that we're asking them to do is a little bit different than the Air Raid," Barbay said.
Barbay has so far been a coach that adapts to his player's skills. His adaptation to use and enhance the strengths of each player caught head coach Zach Arnett's eye when hiring the offensive coordinator.
"Ultimately the job of the coach is to identify who your best players are and who your most explosive players are and put them in position to maximize their skill sets and ability to be successful," Arnett said.
Currently, Barbay is working alongside State quarterback Will Rogers to ease the transition of his new methods. So far, Barbay has moved around MSU's playmakers in formations with shifts and motions in order to create mismatches and advantageous situations against the defense.
Back at Appalachian State, Barbay's team ranked eighth nationally with 21 plays of 40 yards plus. The Mountaineers averaged 34.9 points per game, averaged 6.56 yards a play, and averaged 204.2 yards per game on the ground.
Barbay's history back at Appalachian State excites running back Jo'quavious Marks. Over his past three seasons at State, Marks has been limited to traditional handoffs but still managed 5.2 yards per carry last year and earned a total of 18 career rushing touchdowns. Barbay's new offense will not allow one player to remain stuck in one spot it will allow for movement across the field for matchups.
A few other approaches of Barbary's offense include reducing the split along the offensive line, bringing the tight end position back, and having the quarterback take the occasional snap from under center.
The Bulldogs held their first two spring practices before spring break. The team will resume this Tuesday for Barbay to continue searching for strengths within the players and installing the ends and outs of the new offense.
Even though it's only this far in, Barbay is already pleased with his players' skills and attention to detail. He wants to continue upon this foundation and work on the fundamentals over the next month of spring practices, something that will be exciting to watch as the Bulldogs move into a new era.
