Dan Mullen has only known winning as an assistant coach at Bowling Green, Utah and Florida. He is now in charge of a team, Mississippi State, that at best has known spotty success — and little of it recently. When the former Florida offensive coordinator took over for Sylvester Croom, who resigned under pressure after five seasons and a 21–38 record, a lot of people scratched their heads. One writer even called MSU a “coaching graveyard.”

While the enthusiasm and optimism about the Bulldogs’ future are mostly confined to the fan base, it’s a stubbornly persistent sentiment. Despite four losing seasons under Croom, and offensive ineptitude all five years, hope has descended on Starkville. Mullen’s infectious enthusiasm has a lot to do with that.

The reality of the present, though, is that the Bulldogs are short on talent. Mullen did a solid job in addressing that problem through recruiting, and a lot of the newcomers will get a chance to prove themselves immediately. MSU’s needs are plentiful, and nobody’s job is safe.

“Shoot,” Mullen says, “we’ll find out who’s going to start next September.”

Quarterbacks 

Mullen doesn’t have any Tim Tebows to run his spread offense. All he’s got is a former walk-on, a wild-armed sophomore, and a true freshman. The latter, Meridian’s Tyler Russell, was the biggest catch for State in the 2009 recruiting class. Russell had committed to Croom and held firm when Mullen was hired. He is the future. But will he have to step in this year? Mullen is coy about his plans, saying he doesn’t plan on redshirting anybody, but his preference would probably be to have senior Tyson Lee run the show. Lee, who took over the starting job five games into the 2008 season, was an All-American at Itawamba (Miss.) Community College but had to walk on and prove himself before getting a scholarship. In 2008, he completed 58.8 percent of his passes for 1,519 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions. His stature — 5'10", 200 pounds — was a clear obstacle at times, but Mullen’s spread-the-wealth offense, with its option plays and quick passes, might suit the shifty Lee just fine. He’s sharp enough to pick up the schemes, and with Russell not arriving until August, Lee got a valuable head start in learning the new offense. The other quarterback, the erratic Chris Relf, threw all of nine passes last year and isn’t much of a threat to Lee.

Running backs 

Senior tailback Anthony Dixon spent three years in Croom’s West Coast system, racking up 2,603 yards and 30 touchdowns, the latter number a school career record. When Mullen arrived, Dixon was a heavy 255 pounds but quickly dropped to about 235 by spring practices. He figures to be the feature back again, but with a wider range of duties, because A) he’s versatile, and B) MSU is woefully short of receivers. “He can run routes. He can catch the ball. He seems to have a knack for being out in space and making people miss,” running backs coach Greg Knox says. There are no Percy Harvin-types on State’s campus. Incoming freshman Chad Bumphis, of Tupelo, will don Harvin’s No. 1 jersey and be the closest thing the Bulldogs have to the former Gator star. The four-star receiver also played running back and returned kicks in high school and has both the shiftiness and speed to be a hybrid back. Senior Christian Ducré and sophomore Robert Elliott will see time in the backfield and perhaps in the slot position. Ducré brings experience, and Elliott brings speed. The fullback position returns zero experience.

Receivers

This is State’s most glaring weakness. Spring drills saw Mullen resort to using fullbacks, tight ends and walk-ons just so the quarterbacks had somebody to throw to. Brandon McRae, who led the Bulldogs in 2008 with 51 catches for 518 yards, is back, but he’s getting over a broken leg and is more of a possession receiver. Sophomore burner Delmon Robinson should fit right in, and Mullen will no doubt turn to many of the seven receivers he signed this year. Only one, Leon Berry, hails from the junior college ranks. The tallest of the bunch is 6'3" Mardrecas Hood, who was rated by Rivals.com as the No. 2 athlete in the state. MSU will likely lean heavily on a deep tight end corps. If Marcus Green’s hip behaves, he can be a game-breaker there. It’s going to be a struggle. “We just need to get some playmakers here,” Mullen says.

Offensive linemen 

There figures to be an adjustment period for the Bulldog linemen, who must adapt to the more complex blocking and protection schemes in Mullen’s offense. State does, however, return a decent amount of experience. Six players with significant playing time are back, including juniors J.C. Brignone at center and Derek Sherrod, the most promising lineman, at left tackle. Those two are the anchors of a unit that yielded 37 sacks last year. “The fundamentals are a little different from what they’ve had here in the past,” says offensive line coach John Hevesy, who worked with Mullen at Florida.

Defensive linemen 

Mississippi State got a much-needed instant upgrade on the defensive line with the signing of Pernell McPhee, a 6'4", 270-pound transfer from Itawamba (Miss.) Community College. In two seasons, he recorded 33 sacks as a defensive end. At MSU, he’ll play both outside and inside for a unit that was soft against the run and had almost no pass rush. Experienced senior Charles Burns will take over at noseguard, and senior Kyle Love, who checks in at 310 pounds, returns on the inside as well. A player to watch is sophomore end Sean Ferguson, who started five games last year and is expected to do big things.

Linebackers 

This is by far the deepest and strongest part of the Bulldogs’ defense. The only major loss was All-SEC middle linebacker Dominic Douglas, who moved from his outside slot when starter Jamar Chaney went down with a broken leg in the season-opener. Chaney, thanks to a medical redshirt, is back. And he’s joined by junior K.J. Wright, whose 72 tackles was second only to Douglas, and junior college transfer Chris White. Chaney led the team in tackles as a junior and will be the leader of the defense, which is coached by veteran coordinator Carl Torbush, the former North Carolina head coach. Injuries and inconsistency last year led to some lineup shuffles on the strong side — where Wright is now — which means experience runs deep with the likes of Karlin Brown (five starts), Bo Walters (two starts) and Jamie Jones (one start).

Defensive backs 

The Bulldogs lost their best defensive back, Derek Pegues, and their most fiery defensive presence, Keith Fitzhugh. Those two held down the safety positions, but it’s the cornerbacks who pose some concern. A rotation of corners last year wasn’t overly effective, although MSU managed to avoid facing two of the SEC’s best quarterbacks, Georgia’s Matthew Stafford and Florida’s Tim Tebow. Jevan Snead of Ole Miss, though, burned the Bulldogs for 213 yards and four touchdowns in a 45–0 Rebel win in the season finale. Senior Marcus Washington, who started all 12 games last year, will start on one side. On the other will probably be Damein Anderson, but coaches are strongly considering the likes of Corey Broomfield and Louis Watson, both redshirt freshmen. “I really like all of my corners,” cornerbacks coach Melvin Smith says. “They’re young, but I really like them.” At the safety slots are junior Zach Smith and sophomore Charles Mitchell, the former a solid player and the latter a star in the making. Wade Bonner, a former running back, will be a nice addition at nickelback.

Specialists 

There should be dramatic improvement in the kicking game with junior college transfers Sean Brauchle and Heath Hutchens stepping in. Brauchle, who has 50-yard-plus range, was a two-time All-American at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Hutchens was an All-American as well, averaging 44 yards over two years at Itawamba. Last season, Mississippi State averaged 37.8 yards per punt and made 7-of-13 field goals. Returns will likely be handled by Leon Berry and Robinson, but Bumphis should get a shot as well.

This preview appears in the 2009 Athlon Sports Southeastern Magazine. Click here to order yours today.

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