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Three Mississippi State Bulldogs set to breakout after the bye week

These Bulldogs could be in store for some big performances coming out of the bye week.

By Andrew Miller

Sep 28, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs running back Johnnie Daniels (20) runs the ball in the first half against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images
Sep 28, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs running back Johnnie Daniels (20) runs the ball in the first half against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images / Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images
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Mississippi State football is enjoying a much-needed bye week after a 1-4 start to the season. The Bulldogs desperately needed this break to heal up and regroup. For MSU to turn things around coming out of the bye, they're going to need to see some breakout performances on both sides of the ball.

Here are three Bulldogs set to breakout coming out of the bye week...

Running Back Johnnie Daniels

Mississippi State's running game struggled the first three weeks of the season. Much of that can be attributed to lackluster and, at times, poor offensive line play, but there's also no question that the Bulldogs were in need of a playmaker to emerge at running back. These last two games, the MSU rushing attack has been much better, and a big reason for that is because of Johnnie Daniels. He ran hard in the second-half against Toledo, and has now put together back-to-back 75+ yard performances. He's clearly become the top RB, and with an inexperienced QB now leading the offense, Daniels will be leaned on more heavily going forward.

Wide Receiver Mario Craver

We now have a pretty good idea of who the go-to players are in the receiving corps. The explosive Kevin Coleman is clearly the player who will targeted the most. But most of his touches are going to come underneath. The guy who's meant to take the top off the defense is true freshman Mario Craver. Craver is second on the team in receiving with 238 yards and a pair of scores, and he leads the team with 26.4 yards per reception. He's been targeted deep in every game this season and will continue that role. But don't be surprised if you see more underneath targets as well to get him even more involved.

Linebacker Zakari Tillman

If State's defense is going to make any strides coming out of the bye week, it's going to be because younger players step-up into playing impact roles. One guy who looks poised to factor in more on defense is LB Zakari Tillman. The former 4-star sophomore drew a start last week against Texas, and made some nice plays early in the game against the Longhorns. He's one of the more athletic guys in the LB room, and with attention already starting to turn to the future defensively, you'll be seeing a lot more of him going forward. And I expect he'll impress.

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