A driving factor in Mississippi State football's disastrous 2024 season was their near total ineptitude on the defensive side of the ball. The Bulldog defense was horrid, surrendering more than 456 yards per game and over 34 points per game. Those stats ranked No. 126 and No. 118 nationally and, obviously, last in the SEC by a substantial margin.
One of the very few bright spots on that defense was hybrid safety Isaac Smith, who led the SEC with 127 tackles. At SEC Media Days, Smith pointed to a lack of execution as the culprit of MSU's defensive woes.
"We lacked execution the whole season, really - missed tackles, missed assignments. And, quite frankly, that's why we lost a lot of games."
It's a different tune than the one sung by many in the fanbase, where there's a widespread belief that first-year defensive coordinator Coleman Hutzler failed to put his unit in position to succeed. Smith certainly doesn't see it that way.
"Last year, I feel like a lot of the criticism got put on our coaches. But I always tell, like the guys, the coaches can't go out there and play for us. It's up to us to go execute and make the plays."
That's the level of accountability that you'd expect from a team leader, and there's confidence that the Bulldogs will be able to execute at a much higher clip on defense in 2025. Some of that will be from having continuity within the system, and some, as Smith highlights, will be a product of the effort put in this offseason to turn things around.
"We've been working our tail off all summer long. We had a great spring...The defense, we did a lot of things to fix what we had last year, and it's going to be a fun season."
Of course part of State's lack of execution defensively last season is also a product of a lack of talent on that side of the ball. The Bulldogs fell well short of the necessary talent threshold to play defense at a high-level in the SEC.
To address that, they added 13 transfers to that side of the ball. Many from that group are expected to be immediate contributors as well as starters for MSU this fall. With those new faces and better execution, Smith sees good things in store for his squad.
"We've got some guys out of the portal that have come in and are ready to work and compete. And I think we're going to surprise a lot of people this year defensively."
If that is indeed the case, there's a real chance for Mississippi State to be a surprise team in 2025. The pieces are in place on offense to believe that side of the ball will be productive. If they can be paired with a respectable defense, the Bulldogs become much more formidable. That's how Isaac Smith sees it as well.
"Defensively, if we can go out there, get stops this year, I have all the faith in the world that Blake (Shapen) is going to go get the ball to guys like Brenen (Thompson), Anthony Evans. And Leb's going to call the plays to get the ball in the end zone."
With the confidence that exists in the offense, even marginal improvements defensively would go a long way for MSU. Just a few stops per game, a few big plays, could be the difference in the 2025 Bulldogs going bowling or having another rough year. The belief is there that the defense can provide that this fall.