Mississippi State’s Commitment to Geoff Collins Reaffirms Bulldogs Long Term Commitment to Defense
One of the biggest off-season moves for Mississippi State in football this past year was tying down defensive coordinator Geoff Collins. Collins and the Bulldogs reached a new two year deal worth 1.2 million dollars after his defense MSU finished 33rd in the country in scoring defense (23.1 ppg), 38th in rushing (144.1) and 22nd in passing defense (205.1).
The move to extend Collins contract eased the minds of many Bulldog fans, after rumors of Florida State and Georgia having interest in the rising assistant.
The move to sign Collins to a deal show’s the Bulldogs commitment to defense in 2014 and a commitment that has been in play by the athletic department, for the most part, since 1996.
If you dig a little deeper in the history books you will find that you can probably thank legendary coach Jackie Sherrill for the Bulldogs commitment to defense for almost two decades.
After the 1995 season, Sherrill’s team was coming off an abysmal 3-8 campaign that saw the Bulldogs give up a staggering 32.5 points per game – 88th best in the country that year.
Sherrill, who was facing criticism at the time realized something had to change and as the old adage goes, “offense sells tickets and defense wins championships”, Sherrill went out and hired Joe Lee Dunn to transform his defense.
Dunn made an immediate impact in the Bulldogs production – defensively, improving the Bulldogs points allowed per game to 20.82. The Bulldogs improved 11.68 points per game, almost a two touchdown per game performance.
Dunn’s odd, yet physical style set the tone for the entire football team, helping State claim the 1998 Western Division Crown and setting the stage for a stellar year defensively in 1999. The Bulldogs won 10-games in 1999, despite only scoring 21.2 points per game. The big reason the Bulldogs were so successful is because of a defense that allowed only 13-points per game.
The Bulldogs sent several players on to play professional football off that team. Names like Fred Smoot, Robert Bean, Willie Blade and more set the standard for what a Bulldog defense should be and validated the need to commit to the defensive side of the football.
You may not always have a quarterback that ranks in the upper half of the SEC, statistically and your offense may not always be up to par but, if you are sound and strong defensively, you always have a chance to be successful.
We saw this same scenario in 2007 under then defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson. The Bulldogs averaged only 21.5 points per game offensively that year but, it was the defense that kept State in ball games and actually gave the Bulldogs a shot in the arm in many games that year, as the Bulldogs advanced to the Liberty Bowl and an 8-5 season.
Be it an Anthony Johnson or Derek Pegues interception return or a big sack by Titus Brown, the defense for the Bulldogs was stellar that year.
Dan Mullen realized this commitment for defense in Starkville after the 2009 season as he hired Manny Diaz to replace Carl Torbush. Diaz improved the Bulldogs defense by 6.9 points per game in 2010.
Diaz’s aggressive style in 2010 and 2011 helped pace the Bulldogs as they only gave up 18.4 points per game.
Thankfully Mullen had a “forward vision” and was able to have Chris Wilson on staff as basically a defensive coordinator in training, because Diaz’s success propelled him to the University of Texas.
Wilson, while his defenses dipped somewhat, still held teams to 21.7 points per game over three seasons.
Mullen continued to use the “defensive coordinator in training” or co-defensive coordinator approach, finding Collins at Florida International and tagging him his linebackers coach. Collins was then promoted to head man after the 2012 season.
While Collins, who was tabbed the “Minister of Mayhem” allowed 23-points per game this season, his unit was young and got better through the year. His team collapsed in the fourth quarter of LSU giving up 59-points and gave up 51 on the road to Texas A&M, but take those games away and this unit did really well in 2013.
There’s no denying when Mississippi State football has success, their defense is having success. This was a recipe Jackie Sherrill initiated back in 1996. While some years have been lean defensively, for the most part the Bulldogs have gotten the respect from their peers as a physical – hit you in the mouth team, which plays great defense.
Mississippi State’s commitment to Geoff Collins assures Bulldog fans everywhere that the Bulldogs are committed to continuing that style and brand of football. I think if you ask Collins, you have to have the mayhem; it’s a recipe for Bulldog success. It’s been proven and will continue to be the key reason the Bulldogs succeed, as they look for their fifth straight trip to the post season in 2014.