Coming out of the spring, Mississippi State football's offensive line group was facing major questions. Over the last week, we've seen the Bulldogs make use of the transfer portal in a big way to upgrade the position. Now that those transfers are in the boat, how do we evaluate the MSU O-Line?
Mississippi State has more experience along the offensive line
Last season, Mississippi State fielded an offensive line consisting of five new starters, four of whom were transfers. While there was some starting experience in that room from prior schools, that group having never played together resulted in a lot of issues.
This time around, the Bulldogs are much more experienced. Three players who saw regular starts in 2024 - tackle Luke Work, guard Jacoby Jackson, and guard/tackle Albert Reese IV - all return (though Reese IV did miss the spring with injury). That at a minimum is a good starting point.
You have a veteran backup in interior lineman Canon Boone, and though he played in just four games and redshirted, tackle Jimothy Lewis has spent a year inside the program to continue developing upon his talent. Simply having familiarity is massive.
There are plenty of new faces to add talent and depth to the offensive line room
Of course there are plenty of transfers as well because even with more experience, this group severly lacked talent and depth. Former Virginia tackle Blake Steen made 12 starts for the Cavaliers last season. Koby Keenum from Kentucky will have the opportunity to start at either guard or center. The same could be said for UTEP transfer Brennan Smith.
Tackle Jayvin James and guard Zack Owens are high-upside options. There are even more transfers along with some JUCO guys. I'm not going to list every single one, but you get the picture. State wanted to upgrade this room, and it did.
Mississippi State simply needs to find its five best lineman
The task between now and the start of the season is very clear for Jeff Lebby and OL coach Phil Loadholt: find your best five offensive lineman and roll with them. That of course may be easier said that done. That's especially true considering several of the transfers were post-spring additions, so they won't get their chance until fall camp.
And to an earlier point, that likely means limited reps together for the starting five even with more experience. Still, this is a much-better all-around unit, and it's not particularly close. There could still be some road bumps early on, but O-Line shouldn't be the killer it was in 2024.