STARKVILLE — When Lashard Durr saw two senior cornerbacks go down, he had to grow up fast.
A transfer from Copiah-Lincoln Community College last season, the Mississippi State cornerback felt like he had a chance to be a starter. He knew he was going to be in the rotation, but after the injuries he told himself he was going to have to step up and take on more of a role on the field and off the field.
Tolando Cleveland was lost for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and Cedric Jiles is out until midseason, hopefully back for Auburn Oct. 8, with a broken right arm.
In the first three games, Durr has drawn one start and is still figuring out how to play in the Southeastern Conference and at the Division I level.
“I feel like I’ve been playing pretty good,” Durr said. “I haven’t really been tested that much, so I feel like I’ve been playing pretty good at my position in what I’m doing.”
The cornerback position was already a position of concern. MSU lost starters Taveze Calhoun and Will Redmond, who was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers, off last year’s team. So far, the young and inexperienced cornerbacks are learning. MSU (1-2) plays UMass (1-2) 2:30 p.m. Saturday (WCBI) at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Durr, who had 63 tackles (2.0 for loss), 22 pass breakups, three interceptions and a returned fumble for a touchdown in his two-year career at Co-Lin., has six tackles (0.5 for loss) for the Bulldogs.
Along with Durr, junior Jamoral Graham, sophomore Chris Rayford and sophomore Jamal Peters have had to play significant snaps. Graham began his career as a wide receiver and Peters made the transition from safety to cornerback in the last month. Peters is the only secondary member with a turnover. He had an interception against South Carolina.
Graham, who has started three games, has 14 tackles (0.5 for loss) and two pass breakups.
“He’s doing pretty good. We just have to play better on the deep balls,” Durr said.
MSU has allowed 709 yards passing for an average of 236.3 per game. Opponents have thrown for five touchdowns. LSU quarterback Danny Etling hit D.J. Chark for a 37-yard touchdown on the Tigers second series last Saturday in a 23-20 win. Chark was guarded by Graham, but he had a few steps in front of the 5-foot-10, 183-pound Graham. Etling threw the ball into the back of the end zone and Chark ran under it. Etling, who drew his first start, was 19 of 30 for 215 yards.
First-year defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon said the young cornerbacks have handled the situation well emotionally. However, he said guys have to start making plays and winning their matchups.
“When the ball’s in the air, we need guys attacking the ball,” Sirmon said. “Football comes down to a series of one-on-one matchups. There’s a winner and a loser. We need to really stress that personal matchup of doing your job and a little bit more.”
When Cleveland and Jiles went down, senior safety Kivon Coman said the safeties decided to take on a bigger role and put all the pressure on their shoulders. He and sophomore Brandon Bryant, have the most experience of anybody in the secondary.
Coman the young cornerbacks will be good in the future for MSU, but right now they are trying to figure it out.
“Those guys are still learning and they’re still young. They’re still getting better every practice and it’s all about preparation,” Coman said.
Coman said the safeties and the cornerbacks are good friends off the field and that has helped them mesh as a secondary unit.
Safeties coach Maurice Linguist said putting guys in the right position and putting them in a position to make plays has helped mesh the secondary. Linguist, who came to MSU in the spring from Iowa State, said the cornerback position is one of the toughest in college football.
“When you’re playing on the edge it’s a tough job,” Linguist said. “I think people probably undervalue how difficult it is some times in this league with some of the cats that are out there on the edge. Outside of maybe operating as a quarterback, playing man-to-man and playing on the perimeter is one of the toughest things to do in college football. Especially with the uptempo offenses and just the style of play with how college football is now.”
Linguist said the cornerbacks have battled and have shown promise of what they are capable of.
Bryant showed his worth as a redshirt freshman last season. He led MSU with three interceptions and seemed to be around the ball often. Bryant has nine tackles and one pass breakup so far this season.
Linguist said he’s not worried about Bryant and said he would be more worried if Bryant had to become more involved because of a breakdown up front.
“He’s in the right state of mind mentally,” Linguist said. “He’s positive, he’s bouncing around and he’s high energy. I haven’t had a single issue with him at all. The kids respect him and he respects his teammates. The energy is good.”
Durr said the cornerbacks and safeties have to continue to communicate if they are going to have success on the backend. Durr feels like the communication has helped them mesh and gel as a unit.
With each game, Durr will learn something new and realize there is something else he needs to work on. Also, he will continue to get more comfortable with each game.
“It’s becoming a lot better. I’m picking up on the pace of the game, so I’m just out there having fun,” Durr said.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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