Mississippi State Football: Takeaways from the spring game

Mississippi State football wrapped up spring practices with the Maroon and White game on Saturday. What can we take away from the spring game?

The spring season has come to a close for Mississippi State football. The Bulldogs played their Maroon and White spring game on Saturday, with Team Wingo defeating Team Golding 17-7. Now that we’ve gotten our first glimpse at the 2023 team, what can we take away from their performance?

1. Tulu Griffin is in for a massive season

It didn’t take long for Tulu Griffin to make noise on Saturday. On just the 4th play of the game, Griffin took a reverse toss 43 yards for a TD to ignite the Davis Wade Stadium crowd. Griffin totaled 75 yards of offense on just four touches, showing off how electric he can be with the ball in his hands.

Tulu has flashed his potential on numerous occasions over the past three seasons but has yet to be a focal point of the Mississippi State football offense. New OC Kevin Barbay has made it clear that’s going to change.

2. Don’t doubt Will Rogers’ arm strength

Deep shots are a key component of Kevin Barbay’s offense. Many have questioned how QB Will Rogers would handle that, as he hasn’t regularly shown the ability to push the ball downfield. He silenced doubters on Saturday with a 55-yard dime to Zavion Thomas for a TD.

Rogers completed another deep ball to Justin Robinson later in the game and showed a willingness to take those shots throughout. Any questions about his ability to stretch the field should be gone.

3. Depth at Linebacker is strong

With Jett Johnson out and Bookie Watson seeing limited snaps, Mississippi State football’s reserves at LB got the chance to showcase their ability. And what they displayed should have fans excited.

John Lewis’ hard hit was just one of several big plays by the Bulldog backers. DeShawn Page, J.P. Purvis, and Khalid Moore all made their presence felt in the spring game. They should be major factors for State’s defense this fall.

4. The Offensive Line needs some work

One position group in need of improvement is the Offensive Line. MSU’s 1st team defense totaled four sacks and seven tackles for loss while surrendering just 3.5 yards per rush to State’s starting RBs. On the one hand, that’s a positive showing for the Bulldog defense. On the other, it was less than stellar for the OL.

It’s worth pointing out that starter Kameron Jones was out, and this a unit that is perhaps dealing with the toughest transition when it comes to learning a new offense. They’re working with new pass protection and run-blocking schemes while facing more unique defensive fronts than they’re used to. But regardless, Mississippi State Football will have to get better up front to be successful against the defenses of the SEC.