STARKVILLE — Cameron Dantzler’s redshirt year had a different feel than most — and not by design.
Most redshirts spend the fall on the scout teams to advance their development and to prepare the starters for that week’s opponent.
Dantzler’s time in that role lasted less than a week.
Days into his first season with the Mississippi State football team, Dantzler got locked up in at tight end’s block in practice. The tight end fell on top of him and severely sprained Danztler’s ankle. The ensuing surgery kept him out until December.
From there, Dantzler used his redshirt season to learn. Now smarter and stronger, Dantzler is competing for a starting job at cornerback.
“I feel like it was God’s plan for that to happen,” Dantzler said. “I have a better football IQ, I’m a smarter player, I got bigger, stronger, and faster. I feel like that redshirt helped me a lot.”
In addition to consistently treating his ankle, Dantzler said he focused on academics so he “didn’t have to worry about that when I came back.”
Learning how to play cornerback complicated his return to practice. At St. Thomas Aquinas in Hammond, Louisiana, Dantzler started at free safety as a freshman and sophomore on playoff teams for coach John White. As a senior, Dantzler played quarterback and earned All-State honors after rushing for 1,901 yards and 26 touchdowns and throwing for 1,381 yards and 11 scores.
Now nearly a year into the process, Dantzler admits there are a lot of techniques to master at a position he never played before coming to MSU.
White has no doubt the athleticism Dantzler displayed at St. Thomas Aquinas will help him make the transition. Dantzler also played basketball and competed in track and field in high school. He qualified for the state meet in the long jump and triple jump as a senior.
“I think it’s a great fit for him,” White said. “He has elite speed, quickness, agility, a great vertical, great instincts. Cameron’s going to help Mississippi State, whether it’s at dime, corner, kick returner, or wherever.”
Dantzler is playing boundary cornerback in new defensive coordinator Todd Grantham’s system, which often uses five defensive backs. A boundary corner plays on the so-called short side of the field, where there is less space in between the ball and the nearest sideline.
Dantzler, a 6-foot-2, 174-pounder, said he has enjoyed working at the position and finds his length gives him an advantage. He said he has been playing with the second unit and is battling for a spot.
The only question left unanswered is the development of Dantzler’s technique. Since the ankle injury took away his practice time in the fall, he has taken a serious approach to learning the position. The attention to technique was new to Dantzler after playing in White’s self-proclaimed instinct-based coverage system. He said he quickly learned playing cornerback requires certain movements not expected from free safeties or quarterbacks.
“As a corner, you have to have good feet, and I worked on it when I was in high school before I got here,” Dantzler said. “When I first went to corner, I was really tight and afraid to move my feet because I wasn’t used to doing that. I was always used to running the ball, throwing the ball. It was hard to adapt, but I just kept working and got better and better.”
As Dantzler improves, White believes Dantzler can work his way into the conversation for a starting position.
“Once he gains that position, he’s not going to give it up,” White said. “That’s the kind of competitor he is.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter, @Brett_Hudson
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