When MSU opens up its practices to the public this week in preparation 

for the 2013 Gator Bowl, fans can expect a lot of new faces seldom seen before in prominent roles on the field. 

Typical of its routine in bowl preparation, MSU head coach Dan Mullen suggested a lot of the freshman and first-year players will receive a lot of the snaps in order to get them prepared for increased playing time during the 2013 season. 

"A lot of the freshman that have some talent are going to have that opportunity to get out there on the field," Mullen said Friday when asked who to look for out at the practice field. "Some of the younger offensive lineman." 

The highlighted battle will be the backup spot behind MSU junior tailback LaDarius Perkins as  Nick Griffin, Josh Robinson and Derrick Milton look to get a lot of touches with the first-team offense behind quarterback Dak Prescott. 

"I want to see really those young running backs jump up onto the scene. We're going to hand them the ball, time after time at practice and see them respond." 

Mullen suggested Prescott will get a majority of the early snaps to get him more comfortable with the whole spread-option offense and not just the specific packages he was running this season in short-yardage situations. 

"With Dak, we'll have some packages and stuff ready for him but Dak has done a pretty good job for us this year with the reps that he's gotten," Mullen said. "It's comforting. This is a great week right now to really let him to take another step forward in his career." 

Fans can watch practices starting Wednesday and Thursday at 3:45 p.m. 

The open practices continue through the week with a 12:45 p.m. practice Friday and a 9 a.m., practice Saturday before a open scrimmage at Davis Wade Stadium at 2 p.m. Sunday. 

MSU open practice schedule 

Wednesday, December 12 

3:45 p.m. - Practice (Open to media and public) 

Thursday, December 13 

3:45 p.m. - Practice (Open to media and public) 

Friday, December 14 

12:45 p.m. - Practice (Open to media and public) 

Saturday, December 15 

9 a.m. - Practice (Open to media and public) 

Sunday, December 16 

2 p.m. - Scrimmage at Davis Wade Stadium (Open to media and public) 

All of the Dispatch MSU Sports Blog readers: feel free to follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/matthewcstevens for up-to-date Mississippi State coverage. 

Best of the Triangle 2012

Home & Garden
Guide 2013

Dining Guide 2013