Mississippi State football's Week 1 depth chart brings more questions than answers

Week 1 of the 2025 college football season is here, as Year 2 of the Jeff Lebby era for Mississippi State football kicks-off this Saturday down in Hattiesburg, where the Bulldogs will face Southern Miss. With the season ready to begin, MSU released its initial depth chart for the season.

Easily the biggest things that stand out are the multitude of "OR's" across the depth chart, especially for starting jobs along the offensive line and defense, and the fact that Albert Reese IV has been named the starting left tackle.

Bulldogs' depth chart vs Southern Miss raises eyebrows

Let's get it out of the way now that overreacting to depth charts in college football is pointless, especially at the start of the season. Frequently, they end up being a poor representation of which players actually start, much less contribute.

That said, Mississippi State's Week 1 depth chart does raise some eyebrows.

Albert Reese IV being named the starter at left tackle is interesting. Word throughout preseason camp had been that RS freshman Jimothy Lewis seemed to be taking charge there, something that I believed to be a positive development. Instead, the veteran Reese, who started primarily at RT last season, moves to the most important spot on the line.

Having a veteran, returning starter, and team leader at LT makes plenty of sense. However, Reese struggled in pass protection at RT last season, performing better when moving to guard late in the year. I can't help but be a bit doubtful about having him at LT, especially when he didn't go through spring practices.

Jeff Lebby did clarify that they'll play multiple guys at LT, but that's not exactly a ringing endorsement either. Yes, you want to be able to rotate bodies along the OL. But very few teams have multiple guys who can play LT at a high-level, and Lebby's comment makes it seem they're still unsettled there.

Speaking of unsettled, all three interior offensive line positions received "OR" designations as to who would be starting. Again, even if they love their depth and options, not being decided on a starting five for a position group where cohesion is so vital gives me pause. Needless to say, I feel less confident in the OL with the depth chart release than I did prior.

Defensively, many have pointed out the lack of transfers being named as certain-starters on the initial depth chart. Jaray Bledsoe at NT is the lone locked-in No. 1 that's a transfer, which I think is a good sign for him given some of the other players at the position. But given the struggles of last year's defense, the lack of transfer starters has become a cause for concern for many.

I won't overreact much to that, personally. Many of the players returning from the defense have reportedly had strong off-seasons, and experience can go a long way for that side of the ball in improving. Essentially, I can understand why seemingly more talented or productive transfers haven't automatically taken over as starters. For many of those spots, I don't mind there being "OR's".

I cannot say the same about cornerback, however. That is a position group where, knowing State's questions there, not being settled on a starting pair of CBs at this point leads me to believe they're not confident they've got starting caliber players at the position. Maybe the competition there is fantastic and/or they just don't want to tip their hand, but it's hard to have a positive read of that.

It sure seems that Mississippi State's biggest questions remain unanswered entering Week 1. We'll have to get the correct read on this team once the season begins.