STARKVILLE — The tight end classroom at the Mississippi State University football team’s practice facility doesn’t have many people in the seats.
However, just because position coach Scott Sallach doesn’t have a lot of bodies doesn’t mean player development has taken a dip.
“It’s a tough spring when you look at your position room and there’s walk-on, walk-on, redshirt (freshman), and sophomore staring at you,”
Sallach said. “It changes how you view things and take a step back in the immediacy. (There is) no old guy reminding them about the process.”
When asked by The Dispatch if more learning is taking place in the film room and on the white board than on the football practice field, Sallach joked Thursday and responded “yes.”
Sallach has only three scholarship players to coach at the tight end, but he makes a quality versus quantity argument.
“It’s like when you’re a little kid, your birthday doesn’t come fast enough,” Sallach said. “Nothing comes fast enough in terms of learning for my young guys, but they’re making progress in all areas.”
On Thursday, MSU held a coaching clinic practice for hundreds of high school and junior college coaches to review drills and player development, Sallach takes a simple approach to what he’s doing at the coach of the team’s tight ends.
“You can’t simulate what’s going to happen in a classroom, and don’t want to have to in all honesty,” Sallach said. “They’re very talented individuals, and I tell them you’re a big wideout and running back. Tight end is just the name of what people refer to you as.”
Even with plenty of experience returning at wide receiver, MSU is trying to incorporate more multiple tight end sets into its offense this spring. It will do that in an attempt to use the athletic abilities of sophomore Malcolm Johnson and redshirt freshman Brandon Hill, a former standout at West Lowdnes High School.
“Every day my goal is to grasp something, just one thing, better than when I was out here the last time,” Hill said. “That may sound like an easier goal to reach, but I’m a better player if I focus on that this spring.”
ESPN.com rated Hill a four-star prospect coming out of high school. He was listed as the No. 24 athlete in the nation by that recruiting service, but he had to decide which position he wanted to play. The 240-pound Hill worked out at wide receiver and linebacker before he found a home at tight end last season.
“I knew it would be a challenge, and I really gained some confidence in the plan the coaches had for me starting with how I performed at high school camps right here at Mississippi State,” Hill said.
Despite the shock in the jump from small school Mississippi high school football to the Southeastern Conference, Hill hasn’t been fazed and may have the perfect coach to lead him in Division I.
“He’s a lot better than he was, but coming to big-time ball, that’s hard,” Sallach said. “Coming from a guy that played in the smallest classification in the state of New Jersey, you don’t have to put your foot on the gas all the time. Sometimes on Friday nights at that level, you’re just better period.”
Johnson was the fourth-leading receiver on the team (11 catches for 206 yards and three touchdowns) last season.
“We’re soaking up the knowledge in that room and willing to do the extra work with guys like Tyler (Russell) and Dak (Prescott at quarterback),” Hill said. “That connection with the quarterbacks is because we run routes with quarterbacks so he feels comfortable with us.”
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