Mississippi State football has a strong reputation when it comes to playing defense, but you wouldn't have known that last season. The Bulldogs, under first-year DC Coleman Hutzler, surrendered 34.1 points and 456.4 yards per game, both dead last in the SEC by a substantial margin. In fact, forget the SEC. This was one of the worst defenses in the country.
HC Jeff Lebby chose to stick with Hutzler for 2025, believing that with improved talent and more continuity, the on-field performance will be drastically better. Well, the talent looks to be better thanks to some quality portal additions, and there's quite a bit of experience here. Will the performance actually improve?
Biggest Positive - There's exciting talent in the middle of the Mississippi State defense
If there's a source for positivity for the Bulldog defense, it's in the middle of the field at linebacker and safety. All-SEC safety and tackling-machine Isaac Smith is back after 127 tackles last season. He's being considered more of a linebacker this year to allow for more plays near the line of scrimmage but will still take on safety and nickel roles for the defense. He's an outstanding building block to work around.
As for full-time LBs, play-making junior Zakari Tillman looks ready to breakout, Nic Mitchell is a returning starter who was solid in 2024, and transfers Jalen Smith and Derion Gullette are talented. In the safety room, transfer Jahron Manning was highly-productive at Old Dominion last season, and JUCO product Tony Mitchell might be as talented as any player on the roster. MSU should feel good about the core of their defense going into the season.
Biggest Question - Do the Bulldogs have a game-wrecker along the defensive front?
The Bulldog defensive line was in horrible shape last season, and fixing that was the primary goal. On the surface, it looks to be better off going into 2025. Thanks to the transfer portal, there are more (healthy) bodies in the room, and those bodies are significantly bigger than they were last season. There's some solid additions as well that should certainly raise the floor.
The question is whether or not State has any true, big-time talents up front that can actually create disruption with regularity. DEs Red Hibbler (6.5 sacks for NC State in 2023) and Will Whitson (5.0 sacks in 17 games at Coastal Carolina) could help generate pressure, as could Jack LBs Branden Jennings and Malick Sylla. Transfers Jaray Bledsoe and Jamil Burroughs add much-needed mass to the interior. And MSU hopes the likes of Trevion Williams, Deonte Anderson, and Kalvin Dinkins can finally breakout. The Bulldogs have options up front, but they need a few of these players to emerge as true game-wreckers for the defense to truly make a leap.
Biggest Concern - We have no clue if Mississippi State has SEC-caliber cornerbacks
LB and safety look to be in good shape. DL should be improved enough to at least be serviceable. But at cornerback, we still don't know what MSU has. The Bulldogs lost their No. 1 in Brice Pollock to the portal and failed to bring in a clear replacement of similar caliber. Now, they need some unproven players to breakout.
6-4 sophomore Kelley Jones is a physical freak with his length and speed, but he's yet to show consistent play at CB to this point. DeAgo Brumfield was a starter for a bad Memphis secondary two seasons ago and was limited here last season. Transfers Jayven Williams and Dwight Lewis III aren't obvious answers either. There was a good bit of hype around JUCO transfer Jett Jefferson throughout preseason camp, so perhaps he can lead the way. But with no sure thing at CB entering the season, the spot may prove to be a liability for 2025.