STARKVILLE – What’s old is new again in Starkville.
That much was clear at Mississippi State’s spring football practice this week, and it became evident when Manny Diaz saw something he didn’t like from one of his players.
Diaz, who has returned to serve as MSU’s defensive coordinator after a four-year absence, was standing near the line of scrimmage at the start of a play during team drills on Tuesday afternoon. As soon as the play ended, a play that saw MSU redshirt freshman defensive back Chris Rayford get beat for a long completion, Diaz sprinted more than 40 yards to Rayford and immediately voiced his displeasure. By the time the next play started, Diaz had sprinted back, showcasing the energy and enthusiasm that helped him mold the No. 19 defense in the country in 2010. It’s that same energy that he is employing this spring as he tries to reshape an MSU defense that’s dealing with the loss of eight starters.
“It’s a lot of fun,” said Diaz. “I am still getting to know them, they are still getting to know me. It’s a process and it’s not happening overnight. What was here was good before, we’re just trying to change it, make it better.”
That process is evolving from day-to-day, and with that evolution comes improvement.
Case-in-point: Eight days ago, Diaz and the MSU defense struggled throughout the entirety of a two-hour intra-squad scrimmage in Davis Wade Stadium, as the MSU offense, including the first string under quarterback Dak Prescott and second string captained by signal-caller Nick Fitzgerald, amassed over 600 yards on the day.
Asked about it days later, Diaz admitted “We got our tails whipped, that’s what happened.”
Flash forward to Saturday, when MSU held its second such scrimmage of the spring. This time, it was the Bulldogs’ defense that administered the lesson. In 12 drives, the first-team MSU defense limited Prescott and company to just a pair of touchdowns, and sacked the senior-to-be six times.
“I thought the defense was outstanding,” said MSU coach Dan Mullen. “Looking back and I’ll have to watch the film, but I don’t think they were bad last week, it was just a different type of scrimmage that may not have been ideal for the defense. Today, we switched the style up a bit to more like a regular game, and the defense was right there.”
That they were. MSU shined at each level of its defense on Saturday, as the defensive line featured strong performances from defensive tackles Chris Jones (two sacks, four tackles-for-loss, one pass deflection) and Nick James (one sack, two tackles for loss) while the defensive backfield saw a seven-tackle showing from safety Kivon Coman, who led the defense in stops.
There were also sacks by freshman Cory Thomas, a defensive tackle, and two from junior college transfer Johnathan Calvin, who will threaten for the starting assignment at defensive end.
Saturday’s outing was evidence of Diaz’s influence on the MSU defense, as the Bulldogs showed much more life, much more enthusiasm than it did a week prior. For MSU’s new defensive boss, it was not a moment too soon.
“It’s all coming together,” said Diaz earlier in the week. “Nothing happens overnight but the guys are working hard and we are getting better every day.”
Leaders are emerging. As Diaz enters the third week of his first spring practice since returning to MSU after two years at Texas and one at Louisiana Tech, he was asked which players have moved into leadership roles, spots once patrolled by former middle linebacker Benardrick McKinney and defense end Preston Smith. Both McKinney and Smith are projected to be early-round picks in the upcoming NFL Draft.
“I look at a guy like Beniquez Brown, who is becoming that guy,” said Diaz. “Well, he already is that guy. If you watched him play last season, you already know how good he is. But when you coach him, you really get the sense of just how special he is. There’s the physical part, which is obvious, but he’s got an incredible mental capacity for the game. He’s able to take coaching, retain it and pass it along to the other guys. He’s certainly someone our defense looks to.”
Brown finished second on MSU’s team with 71 tackles as a sophomore in 2014, and he is at the forefront of a linebacker group that Diaz says “If full of talent.”
There’s also junior-to-be Richie Brown, who will inherit a starting spot for the first time, as well as redshirt freshman Gerri Green, the 6-foot-4, 230-pound linebacker who has turned heads with his performance this spring.
In Saturday’s scrimmage, Richie Brown had five tackles and Green had two tackles for loss.
As the spring wears on, MSU’s weaknesses defensively have been the center of attention, for both outside observers and for Diaz.
Along the defensive front, MSU is replacing Smith, who led the team in sacks with nine, at defensive end and lost a trio of experienced defensive tackles — P.J. Jones, Kaleb Eulls, Curtis Virges. In their places are a number of young, emerging players who have waited their turn.
In Saturday’s scrimmage, MSU’s talented corps of young defensive players was on display. Thomas, a 6-foot-6, 270-pound defensive tackle from Bessemer, Alabama, was particularly good. Lining up at defensive tackle in MSU’s second unit, Thomas was in the backfield on nearly every play early, as he made four tackles for loss and deflected two passes at the line.
Asked earlier this week about his defensive line, Diaz was optimistic.
“Any time you lose the quality of players we lost, there’s going to be a learning curve,” said Diaz. “And there is. But the young guys here are so talented and so eager to get better. I am excited about the job coach Turner is doing with those guys and about the future.”
The future for MSU’s defense is simple; With Prescott back for his senior season and plenty of playmakers back offensively for the Bulldogs, any improvement brought forth by Diaz gives MSU a chance at a special season in 2015.
But first things first.
“We are just trying to slow those guys down in practice,” said Diaz. “We will worry about the rest later.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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