STARKVILLE — After recovering from multiple torn ligaments from an injury suffered last year, Tobias Smith will start in the 2012 season opener.
Smith, a former Columbus High School star, has been limited throughout most of fall practices due to the third major surgery of his college career. However, Mississippi State University officials released its preseason depth chart with the senior slated to make just his fifth career start Saturday evening against Jackson State (6 p.m., FSN South).
MSU head coach Dan Mullen said the plan for Smith is to ease him back into his former role, while also trying to prepare themselves for how to deal with possible injuries.
“Right now the plan is that he is going to start for us. I want to let him break himself back in,” Mullen said Monday. “I don’t know if he will play the entire game, but I will see how this week goes and see how he holds up and how he feels.”
At right guard there is questions as to the health status of senior Smith despite the former Columbus High School standout saying he’ll be ready for the start of the season.
“Last summer I started to feel pretty good and now I’m just limited in some things but when it’s time to get back in the swing of things, they’ll have me ready to go,” Smith said on Aug. 5. “If push came to shove, I would get in there because I’m able but right now I’m just limited.”
Smith has started only four other games and missed time in his three previous seasons at MSU because of multiple ankle surgeries and now the completion of rehabilitation from his knee injury suffered in last year’s 19-6 loss to Louisiana State University in Starkville on Sept. 15.
“Tobias is one of the best lineman I’ve ever been around and I’m not going to sit here and try to lie to you because he’s a big key to what we are,” MSU sophomore offensive guard Ben Beckwith said.
The limited status of Smith leaves the depth at that position to sophomore Beckwith and after having at least three starters out of the lineup with injuries last season Mullen isn’t wild about the idea of having to turn to the seventh or eighth option up front in 2012.
“You never want somebody to get hurt but if that were to happen, we’re prepared because we’ve been rotating guys in and out of the lineup in camp,” Beckwith said.
The hope with getting some interior lineman below Smith on the depth chart early playing time is the attempt of Bulldogs coaching staff to not have injuries severely damage offensive execution similarly to last year’s inconsistency.
“We protected (Smith) a lot during training came even though he did just about every drill, but the big thing is how does he react when it is full 100 mph with bodies flying everywhere,” Mullen said. “I want to see where is confidence is. Hopefully we will get some solid play out of him, but we don’t know how far he will go.”
Without Smith, the current first-team offensive line group for MSU has 39 combined starts but none on the right side and 26 of them coming from a Outland Trophy watch list nominee in left guard Gabe Jackson.
“The chemistry is the one big thing that’s different with this offensive line this season,” sophomore left tackle Blaine Clausell said. “We are feel like we’re more together than in past with guys moving in and out all the time.”
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