STARKVILLE — For what Mississippi State’s 2020 wide receiving corps lacks in experience, it makes up for in size.
While the Bulldogs boast the towering twosome of senior Osirus Mitchell and junior Alabama transfer Tyrell Shavers, it’s the broad-shouldered trio of converted tight ends Geor’quarius Spivey, Brad Cumbest and Dontea Jones that the Bulldog coaching staff are eager to experiment with come game time.
“I’m excited about the aspect (of having) big guys out there,” first-year head coach Mike Leach said. “Guys like that in the past were playing (defensive) end for me, but we had enough (defensive) ends here, so it’s a luxury and one that I think is going to be really good for everybody.”
Both standing 6-foot-5 and at least 240 pounds, Spivey and Cumbest are perhaps the most logical additions to an offense not lacking in stature. A dynamic receiving threat during his high school days, Spivey spent the better part of his time at Richwood High School in Monroe, Louisiana, terrorizing opposing defensive backfields en route to 69 catches for 1,406 yards and 16 touchdowns receiving over his junior and senior seasons.
Cumbest’s high school track record proved similar, as he corralled a combined 66 catches for 1,459 yards and 15 touchdowns for East Central High School while doubling as a Division I baseball recruit between his junior and senior years — a talent he now uses to pull double duty between Davis Wade Stadium in the fall and Dudy Noble Field in the spring in Starkville.
“Well they’re not really wide receivers; they’re tighter receivers,” Leach quipped of their positions Saturday. “But no, they do a good job. Both of them, when they play their best, they’re not coverable, really. Both are strong enough to move the defenders around a little bit as they’re running their route.”
Jones also figures to add another massive body to MSU’s already bulky contingent of converted tight ends. Not as athletic a pass-catcher as Spivey or Cumbest, he has profiled more as a blocker throughout his career, though he’s caught 10 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown in his career.
Speaking with the media Tuesday night, outside receivers coach Steve Spurrier Jr. said Jones estimated he’s weighed as much as 280 pounds during his time in Starkville but has gotten into the 220-pound range ahead of this fall in anticipation of his added route-running responsibilities.
“I call ’em ‘trees,'” Spurrier Jr. said. “We’ve got some guys that can run there. And again, as long as those guys play to their strengths, that’s good. Big guys have got to know what their role is, and it’s being big and fighting with people and fighting to come down with the ball.”
While MSU’s stable of converted tight end targets is deep, the pairing of Mitchell and Shavers should also offer the Bulldogs ample size in those players who’ve spent the bulk of their careers actually playing wide receiver. Mitchell enters this fall after leading MSU in receiving yards and touchdowns a season ago despite not catching more than two passes in the final five games of his 2019 campaign.
A more prolific athlete than Mitchell, Shavers arrives at MSU from Alabama with high expectations. Rated a top-100 recruit in the class of 2017 out of the greater Dallas area, the former Crimson Tide receiver spent the bulk of his time in Tuscaloosa on special teams and battled a number of nagging injuries. But now a member of an offense that necessitates a mass of pass catchers, he’s expected to play a major role this fall.
“I told him, ‘The pressure’s always on you because of your track record; because of your background; because of your history; because of your high school; because of your ranking; because of your size and speed; and everywhere you go, people expect you to be the best player out here,'” Spurrier Jr. said. “So he’s doing well. He’s still learning the ropes a little bit — what we do and how we do it — but he’s a talented guy that’s quick and can run and has got good hands, and we expect big things from him.”
Now heading into the second week of fall camp, Spurrier Jr. estimates he and inside receivers coach Dave Nichol are still working their way down from 11 or 12 receivers to the eight or nine who will be in line for major reps during game week. And though it’s not altogether clear who will be the eight or nine players slated for time when MSU opens its season against LSU on Sept. 26 in Baton Rouge, that number should include several sizable targets.
“This offense allows big guys to play too,” Spurrier Jr. said. “It’s not all just a bunch of skinny guys that run all over the place. We find a place for those inside, big guys.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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