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WMD’s Mississippi State Preseason Preview: Defense

By Dakota Knight

Oct 24, 2015; Starkville, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs live mascot bully sits on the sideline during the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Wade Stadium. Mississippi State won 42-16. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 24, 2015; Starkville, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs live mascot bully sits on the sideline during the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Wade Stadium. Mississippi State won 42-16. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 30, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs defensive back Brandon Bryant (20) celebrates with defensive back Jamoral Graham (9) after an interception in the first quarter against the first quarter against the North Carolina State Wolfpack in the 2015 Belk Bowl at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 30, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs defensive back Brandon Bryant (20) celebrates with defensive back Jamoral Graham (9) after an interception in the first quarter against the first quarter against the North Carolina State Wolfpack in the 2015 Belk Bowl at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports /

Safeties:

This is another position of strength for the Dawg D in 2016. Honestly, it’s an embarrassment of riches for State at safety in terms of both talent and depth.

Brandon Bryant will start at one of the safety positions. He had a breakout season in 2015 as a redshirt freshman. Bryant is the fastest player on the team without sacrificing size at 6′ and 215. He’s a solid tackler, but it’s when he gets the ball in his hands that special things can happen.

I think Kivon Coman begins the season as the other starter. He’s struggled at times, but the ability is there. He’s a senior, so it’s now or never for him to put it al together. While he’s not great in pass coverage, he excels as a run stopping safety. The question is whether or not he can fight off the two Pups behind him.

Jamal Peters and Mark McLaurin provide depth for State. And by depth, I mean both of them would start for a whole lot of rival SEC teams. These two were both very highly recruited and showed glimpses of why last season as true freshmens. With a year of live games under their belts and a full offseason, these two will play and play a whole lot. Both have NFL S size at 6’2″ each and 217 & 218 respectively. McLaurin is more of your classic enforcer at S, but he’s no slouch in coverage. Peters is probably a little more well-rounded based on last season, but not by much. These two have the potential to become All-SEC and All-American type players eventually. Even if Coman starts, I think both of these guys wind up playing more. In fact, I’d be willing to bet one of them ends the season as the starter.

Cornerback:

This is the area of concern for State’s D. Both starters from 2015, Taveze Calhoun and Will Redmond, are gone. They were one of the best tandems in the nation. Replacing both of them is virtually impossible. That task was made more difficult when the 2016 projected starting tandem of Tolando Cleveland and Cedric Jiles were both lost due to injury. Cleveland tore his ACL and will miss the entire season. Jiles, who’s injury history might be more extensive than Tobias Smith or Zach Smith, broke his arm and will be out for several weeks at best.

So who’s going to start for the Dawgs at CB? Right now I’ve got Jamoral “Smokey” Graham and Lashard Durr projected to start. Smokey moved to CB last season after spending his freshman year playing WR. He’s got the skills to be a good CB, but it’s the game experience he lacks. The good news is he looked better from the end of 2015 to the Maroon and White Game. Reps is the key for him, and he’ll be getting plenty now. Hopefully Coach Buckley can get him ready in a hurry.

Durr is a junior college transfer from Co-Lin and has drawn rave reviews from observers of practice. He’s a natural corner with speed to burn. I think he’d have eventually started over one of Cleveland or Jiles this season, so essentially the injuries only cleared the way for him to start game one instead of having to wait until games 5, 6, or never based on Mullen’s seniority policy.

The backups will be Maurice Smitherman, Chris Stamps, and Chris Rayford. Rayford is a sophomore, but has so far been relatively unimpressive when he’s played. Smitherman and Stamps both redshirted last season. There was talk that Smitherman was the best backup of the group and should have been starting ahead of Cleveland after Redmond’s injury. Don’t be surprised if he and/or Stamps see a bunch of action this season. There’s a chance one even passes Smokey on the depth chart at some point during the year.

Next: WMD's Thoughts on the Defense

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