Bulldog football fans can hear the faint sound of cowbells approaching Davis Wade Stadium. That’s because one of the unofficial marks of the approaching football season is the SEC Media Days, which occurred last week in Dallas. Thus, the excitement begins toward State’s opening game with Eastern Kentucky on August 31. New head coach Jeff Lebby brought former Baylor quarterback Blake Shapen, Bulldog veteran offensive lineman Albert Reese IV, and another State vet, fourth-year linebacker John Lewis. Together, they painted a picture of the future for Mississippi State at the SEC Media Days.
Lebby begins his first head coaching job on the heels of being a highly effective offensive coordinator, last year at Oklahoma. There, he boasted the fourth-leading scoring offense, averaging over 41 points per game, something Bulldog fans could only dream about last season. This year’s SEC Media Days welcomes newcomers Oklahoma and Texas to the family. State will get the pleasure of taking on the Longhorns in Austin this year and in Starkville in 2025. Lebby might get to play his former Sooner team, possibly in 2026. Those schedules have not been decided yet.
Shapen, the Answer to Prayers?
Lebby inherits, what was one of the SEC’s worst offenses of 2023. No team scored fewer points or first downs than the Dawgs. They finished 13th out of 14 teams in passing yards per game, and that was with the second-all-time leading SEC passer in yards, Will Rogers. Rogers transferred to Washington at the end of last season. The second-stringer, Mike Wright transferred to Northwestern following the Spring game. That made way for Shapen, who came in after a stellar career at Baylor. Over the last three seasons, he chalked up 5,574 yards, and 36 touchdowns in 27 games. That alone should give fans hope for 2024.
Lebby concurred with that sentiment speaking at SEC Media Days. “I think the confidence comes in the preparation and the guys that we have from the standpoint of having Blake being our QB,” Lebby said. “A guy that has great experience, he’s a Big 12 champion. He knows what it’s supposed to look like. So that piece of the puzzle was huge for me and for us being in Year 1.”
In the Spring camp, Shapen was shielded from the press, as were most of the practices. However, he opened up at Media Days. “I think the fans and the people, they kind of understand coach Lebby’s history and what he’s done offensively,” Shapen said. “So I don’t think it’s going to be a huge surprise, but I think when we’re able to put up some points and change the outcome of some games, I think that’ll be a big surprise.”
Meeting the Old Bosses
Lebby made a lot of friends in his journey across college football, not the least of which were former bosses. State will travel to Knoxville on November 9th to take on Tennessee and his old UCF boss Josh Heupel. It was there Lebby got his first gig as offensive coordinator.
Likewise, the Egg Bowl, Mississippi State at Ole Miss this year, features a matchup with his former boss Lane Kiffin. Lebby was his offensive coordinator for their first two years with the Rebels. The matchup of these two offensive minds, in their second year, created an offense that ranked third nationally and first in the SEC.
Last November, after Lebby’s appointment at State, Kiffin published a meme on X (formerly Twitter) that pictured Lebby on Kiffin’s shoulders. Last month, Kiffin was asked about his significant weight gain from a 2020 video, and he said that he had been hanging out with Lebby. The State head coach was asked about this at SEC Media Days. “Little childish,” Lebby said. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t respect him. Respect the heck out of who he is, what he’s done, the job he’s done, and the energy that he’s created up the road,”
Lebby seems to be taking the high road for now. Needless to say, it should be an interesting week before the Egg Bowl with trash talk possibly reaching a new level.
A Word About the Defense
Lebby relied heavily on the portal to fill gaps in helping replace an offense where no starters were returning, and only two on defense. He transferred 19, 11 of which were on offense. That left a question mark about defense. “The portal cycle that ended in December was a huge part of us having a chance to have success in year one,” Lebby said. “We’re talking about our starting quarterback, three of the five starting O-linemen, two receivers, starting running back, and on the defensive side we’ll have three starters from the portal, as well.”
State also lost two major players on defense, linebackers Nathaniel “Bookie” Watson and Jett Johnson. Together they were alternating as the number one and two leading the SEC in tackles the last two years. Lebby was asked about John Lewis filling that void. “Yeah, J-Lew has done that, that’s why he’s here today representing us,” Lebby said. “There’s multiple guys inside that room that are going to give us a chance to create depth, but a guy that, again, comes to us from another SEC school, Stone Blanton, has played at a really high level, has played inside this league. He’s another guy, along with some others, that will help us fill that void.”
Praise and Maybe a Spoiler
Pundits in preseason analysis don’t give the Bulldogs much of a chance to even break .500. Some even predict State won’t make it to a bowl this year. But some respected names think that might not be the case.
Oklahoma’s Brent Venables said this his former OC at the Dallas conference. “Jeff is one of my favorite people on this planet,” Venables said. “In the locker room, real juice and energy and genuineness and positivity. He’s a coach’s kid. So, the game and the locker room have always been a sanctuary for him, which helps him be a successful coach.”
Alabama’s Nick Saban thinks State might surprise people this year. “I think Jeff Lebby is one of the best offensive coaches in college football,” Saban said. “We tried to get him to leave Oklahoma to come to Alabama. I actually watched the spring game and their offensive team looked really good. Now, I think they have a lot of work to do on defense in terms of personnel and players, but I was really, really impressed with them. This is going to be a team that sneaks up on somebody this year.” SEC Network commentator and former Alabama quarterback, Greg McElroy concurred that State could “spoil someone’s season.”
Lebby was a little more philosophical. “I truly think when you walk in the double doors every single day if you enjoy who you do it with and how you do it, then you’ve got a chance to pour into it just a little bit more,” Lebby said. “That culture to me matters. People want to be inside the building when they enjoy being inside the building.”
