What Nick Saban already likes about Mississippi State football offense under Jeff Lebby

Jeff Lebby’s first SEC Media Days as Mississippi State football’s coach has been about selling his Bulldogs program as much as it has been about receiving affirmation from peers.

On Tuesday, Oklahoma coach Brent Venables, for whom Lebby was the offensive coordinator the past two seasons, gave a strong endorsement of Lebby at Mississippi State. On Wednesday, retired legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban banged the drum for Lebby, too, during the SEC Network broadcast of Media Days.

Saban even confirmed 2023 reports that he tried to hire Lebby to be Alabama’s offensive coordinator last season.

“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. Blake Shapen, I think that’s how you say his name, is the quarterback and he was very effective. They’ve got some really good transfer receivers in there. They looked like an SEC offensive team.

“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.”

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Lebby was then asked later on the main stage podium about turning down the Alabama job.

“Coach Saban, just an honor to have conversations with him as we went through some things,” he said. “(I) could not be more thankful for the opportunity. At the time, it was something where I felt like I needed to be exactly where my feet were. He did pretty good.”

Oklahoma’s offense under Lebby in 2023 averaged 41.7 points per game. Mississippi State averaged just 21.8 points per game last season under former coach Zach Arnett.

Greg McElroy, a former Alabama quarterback, agreed with Saban on the SEC Network panel that Mississippi State could "spoil someone's season," but also expressed concerns about the offensive line. Saban responded saying he thinks Lebby's offense will translate well into the SEC.

“They want to be physical, but this whole offense is geared toward not having to have a dominating offensive line," Saban said. "There is a lot of advantage throws built into the run game. You don’t have to knock people off the ball as much. Even though if they can do that, it makes it impossible to stop this kind of offensive team."

Sam Sklar is the Southern Miss beat reporter for the Hattiesburg American. Email him at ssklar@hattiesb.gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.

This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: What Nick Saban already likes about Mississippi State football offense under Jeff Lebby