Cowbell Corner

What we learned about Mississippi State’s offensive line in week one

The Bulldogs won their opener, but Mississippi State’s offensive line depth and performance remain a storyline to watch after Southern Miss.
Taylor Hodges|
Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback Blake Shapen (2) runs the ball against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles during the first quarter at M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Miss., on Aug. 30, 2025.
Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback Blake Shapen (2) runs the ball against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles during the first quarter at M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Miss., on Aug. 30, 2025. | Matt Bush/Special to Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Mississippi State Bulldogs

Mississippi State defeated Southern Miss to continue its season-opening win streak, but that win didn’t erase many questions about this Mississippi State team.

There was one question, though, answered and it came from first-year Southern Miss coach Charles Huff.

“They’re a lot bigger than us,” Charles Huff said in an in-game interview before the start of the fourth quarter.

How many opposing head coaches would’ve said that about Mississippi State last season? So, the offseason goal of “getting bigger” worked, especially on the offensive line. But we kind of already knew that, right? All of us can pull up a roster and see the difference in sizes.

What we didn’t know is the impact those changes would have, specifically with an offensive line featuring a new coach and five new players added after spring practices.

Who would be the starters and where would they line up? Both are questions that not even this week’s depth chart answered, and coach Jeff Lebby’s comments Monday didn’t provide much clarity.

“We’ve talked about those five to eight guys being able to play winning football for us,” Lebby said. “You’re going to see some guys at different positions. We’ve got multiple players who will move around in week one as we try to get to where we have eight guys who can all go play winning football. They’ve worked hard, done some really good things, and we’re going to need to rotate at least eight through the season to do what we want to do.”

Unfortunately, in Saturday’s game against Southern Miss, we only saw six offensive linemen. Part of that was due to injury. Sophomore Luke Work was spotted wearing a boot before the game and starting right tackle Blake Steen left with an injury after Kyle Ferrie’s 30-yard field goal to end the first half.

After Saturday’s game, Lebby didn’t provide much information on those injuries.

“We lost Blake there late in the second quarter,” Lebby said when asked about Steen. Later in the press conference he added, “I feel good about having Luke next week. Blake and Jett (Jefferson), we’re not there yet and we will have to get in and see exactly where it’s at.”

(Note: cornerback Jett Jefferson, referenced above, was also spotted before the game not dressed in a uniform.)

So, the Bulldogs are already dealing with significant injuries. (And, no, Mississippi State isn’t required to release a Student-Athlete Availability Report until conference play starts, so, don’t expect many more updates on that front…although I’ll be happy to be proven wrong.)

Now, let’s get to the original idea of this: How did the different offensive line combinations perform for Mississippi State?

The Bulldogs used three different lineups for the offensive line. Each one is listed below as well as what that unit produced on the field (i.e., yards, points scored, sacks allowed).

1st Lineup

  • LT: Albert Reese IV
  • LG: Jacoby Jackson
  • C: Canon Boone
  • RG: Zack Owens
  • RT: Blake Steen

Results

Number of Drives: 2
Yards Gained: 86 (15 rush, 71 pass)
Points Scored: 7
Sacks Allowed: 0

2nd Lineup

  • LT: Jimothy Lewis
  • LG: Jacoby Jackson
  • C: Canon Boone
  • RG: Zack Owens
  • RT: Blake Steen

Results


Number of Drives: 4
Yards Gained: 122 (73 rush, 49 pass)
Points Scored: 10
Sacks Allowed: 0

Those were the two offensive lines Mississippi State used in the first half, but as noted previously, Steen walked off the field at the end of the first half. Whether or not the Bulldogs would have sent a different offensive line if Steen hadn’t got hurt, is an answer only available in an alternate reality.

3rd Lineup

  • LT: Jimothy Lewis
  • LG: Jacoby Jackson
  • C: Canon Boone
  • |RG: Zack Owens|
  • RT: Albert Reese IV
    (Note: This is the same lineup the Bulldogs had at the end of the first half, except Reese replaced Steen.)

Results

Number of Drives: 6
Yards Gained: 149 (102 rush, 147 pass)
Points Scored: 21
Sacks Allowed: 1

Feel free to make your own deductions based on the above data. The injuries to Work and Steen won’t make things any easier to figure out. Without the Steen injury, I’d expect to have seen the second lineup for a majority of the second half. At least until Shapen left the game, then…who knows.

However, the lineup the Bulldogs used in the second half proved effective enough. And the interior three linemen didn’t change, which is an important group for the run game.

Then again, the only sack Shapen took was in the second half and it was a strip sack.

DAWG FEED:

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Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas, but he was taken to Razorback pep rallies at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth before he could walk. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

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