From weakness to strength in a year’s time: Bulldog Safeties

In 2014 the Mississippi State Bulldogs had very few glaring weaknesses, but one of those was at the Safety position. It’s quite possibly the Bulldogs only weakness from a year ago, but it was a big one nonetheless.

Whether it was due to the scheme, injuries, lack of talent, depth, youth or even chemistry issues, we may never know, but one thing is for sure, there’s almost no way it can be any worse in 2015. If I had to guess, I would say it was more than likely a combination of all those things.

Now that the 2014 season is behind us, let’s also stash away the Safety concerns. Do not become surprised if our main weakness last year becomes a strength in 2015. We lose the leader of that group in Jay Hughes, but return almost everyone with another year experience and add redshirt Freshman Brandon Bryant along with true Freshmen Jamal Peters and Mark McLaurin. Hughes was set to be a big part of the defense in 2013 before going down with a torn achilles and missing the final 12 games. Unfortunately Hughes never fully recovered and was a step slow in 2014.

Another hit to the Safety unit in 2014 was the loss of Justin Cox, who was arrested for domestic violence and immediately released from the team.

Returnees 

Kivon Coman has appeared in all twenty six games of his career, but has yet to record a start. He made 39 tackles and six pass blocks in 2014. Coman was starting to become a force by years end and had a very good Orange Bowl game where he recorded seven tackles and one tackle for a loss. I fully expect the talented Coman to start the year as the starting Strong Safety and have a very productive season.

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Kendrick Market brings leadership and toughness to this unit. That helps him make up for his size disadvantage along with heart and his hard working attitude. Market made four starts last year and recorded 49 tackles before a torn achilles ended his season in the first half against Ole Miss. The Senior has 16 career starts to his credit. Market will begin the 2015 season as the starting Free Safety.

Deontay Evans is a Junior Free Safety who has played in all 26 career games, including a start in last years orange bowl appearance. On the season, Evans made 34 tackles, including ten in the Orange Bowl against Georgia Tech in the season finale. He will bring a ton of experience to the unit, but with uber-talented newcomers coming in I’m not real sure how much playing time will be available for Evans in 2015.

Newcomers 

Brandon Bryant is one of the fastest players in the entire country. When you combine his reported 4.25 forty time with his size, athleticism and toughness, you have a superstar in the making. After redshirting last year he has the system down pat and ready to become an immediate impact player for the Bulldogs. Don’t be surprised if he’s the starting Strong Safety sooner rather than later even though Kivon Coman is a talented player in his own right.

Jamal Peters was a consensus four star recruit and either the number one or number two Safety prospect in almost every recruiting publication. Peters is an immediate impact type talent for the Bulldogs. As a true Freshman he will have his ups and downs and Safety is one of the toughest positions for a true Freshman to come right in and have an impact, but Peters is a special talent. I expect him to be a starter at the Free Safety spot about half way through the season, and if not, I fully expect him to see a whole lot of playing time and be playing at the end of every game.

Mark McLaurin is a true Freshman that has the size and talent to come in and compete for playing time right away. I expect McLaurin to have an impact at one of the backup Safety spots day one and become one of many reasons that the Bulldogs Safety unit will be greatly improved in 2015.

My take:

When you mix the talent level of Mclaurin, Bryant and Peters with the experience coming back in Market, Evans and Coman, you have a recipe for big time improvement.

You suddenly have six guys that you can count on; three that have played a considerable amount of SEC snaps and three that have future star written all over them. To say that I’m excited to see what this unit brings to the table in 2015 is an understatement.