Mississippi State Football: Is It Strange For a Mike Leach Led Football Team to Depend on Its Defense?

The Bulldog Defense Has Outperformed Expectations

The Mississippi State Bulldogs now have the #2 ranked defense in the SEC. Before the Alabama game, the Bulldogs were ranked #1. Is it strange that a Head Coach known for having a league-leading offense has a highly ranked defense? When Mike Leach was hired, we knew there would be a culture shift offensively.

What was unknown is would the Bulldogs keep the defensive mentality that Mississippi State is known for. The Bulldog defense ranked 10th last year under former coach Joe Moorhead. I expected our defense to be decent but not outperform the offense week after week.

The way the Bulldogs play defense can be credited to Zach Arnett. Coach Arnett brought back a familiar style of defense near and dear to Bulldog fans, the 3-3-5. I knew the front six would be stingy, but the secondary I questioned, especially after losing Jarrian Jones to a transfer to Florida State.

Let’s take a look at some of the players that make up the #2 ranked defense in the SEC. This defense includes some fan favorites and plenty of new faces. Also, take the time to vote in our Bulldog Poll of the day. If you don’t have Twitter, sign up and give Maroon & White Nation a follow.

Defensive Line

The Bulldogs are led up front by two stout senior defensive ends in Kobie Jones and Marquis Spencer. Spencer (20 TKL, 5.5 TFL, 2.5 SACKS) has played several positions for the Bulldogs since 2016. That makes him very versatile. He can stop the run, and he can pressure the quarterback.

Spencer has played in a total of 47 games in his Bulldog, and if he stays healthy will have played in a total of 52 games.  Jones (13 TKL, 2 TFL, 2 SACKS) is another local product that decided to come down the road and help his hometown team win football games. Since his true freshman season, Jones has played in every game.

While Jones does not have eyepopping stats, he is a player you have to account for when he is on the field. He is a team leader, and Coach Leach is on record for saying he wants a team full of players like Kobe Jones. To earn that type of praise from Mike Leach means you are definitely doing something right.

The Bulldogs also have defensive tackles Jaden Crumedy and Nathan Pickering plugging up the middle. Providing valuable depth at defensive end, the Bulldogs have Aaron Odom and Jack Harris. All six of these Bulldog lineman rotate throughout the game to keep each other fresh.

Linebackers

The unquestioned leader of the linebackers and the defense is Erroll Thompson (50 TKL). Thompson has logged double-digit tackles in every game except for the Kentucky game. If he keeps stopping ball carriers at the current pace, he will have over 100 tackles, which would be a career-high.

For every Batman, there is a Robin, and the Robin at linebacker for Mississippi State is Aaron Brule (29 TKL, 3.5 TFL, 2 SACKS). Brule can do it all, and he is just a sophomore on the field, which means barring declaring early for the draft, he will be in Maroon & White for two more years.

Two new Bulldogs share the third linebacker position, and both have wasted little time introducing themselves to SEC offenses. Tyrus Wheat (12 TKL, 2.5 TFL, 2.5 SACKS) and Jordan Davis (17 TKL) are Mississippi JUCO products and have added a needed boost to the defense.

Secondary

Once thought of as a weakness, this unit is now very much a strength for the Bulldog defense. The Bulldogs were already playing a lot of young players, but who would start across from PFF Honorable Mention Freshman All-American, Martin Emerson (27 TKL, 2 BRK) was in question.

Esaias Furdge started the first two games, but true freshman corner Emmanuel Forbes wrenched the starting job away by the third game season and has not looked back. Forbes (13 TKL, 2INT, 3 BRK, 1 TD) is a long, lean corner, and I expect him to get better every game. He reminds me of another Bulldog great that wore #13, Jonathan Banks.

After Fred Peters was lost for the season, Marcus Murphy (24TKL) is now counted on to be the secondary lead dog. Peters has been replaced in the lineup by Colin Duncan (13  TKL).

Another Bulldog that I have to mention is Londyn Craft ( 21 TKL). Bulldog fans moaned when the former walk-on earned the starting job. He has been a steady performer all year for the Bulldogs.

Providing quality depth at safety is Shawn Preston Jr. ( 26TKL). Preston has a nose for the football as he is fourth on the team in tackles and has played in only four games with no starts yet.

This Bulldog secondary only allows 212 yards passing a game, and the good news is everyone will be back, including Fred Peters.

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Is it Strange For Mississippi State to Rely on Its Defense?

I don’t find it strange that the Mississippi defense is playing well. A stand out defense has been a staple of Mississippi State football for years. Take a look at all the former Bulldog defenders on NFL rosters if you do not believe me.

For Mississippi State to salvage its season, the offense needs to score some points. On the other side of the ball, you have some DOGS doing all they can to keep their team in the game. When the offense catches up, the Mississippi State Bulldogs with Mike Leach running the offense and Zach Arnett running the defense should be a team to be reckoned with in the SEC.

This may not be Joe Lee Dunn’s 3-3-5, but this version of the defense is getting it done. If you want to take a stroll down memory lane, take a gander at this video of Joe Lee Dunn’s 3-3-5 in action.