Mississippi State football's top issues heading into coach Jeff Lebby's first fall practice

STARKVILLE — First-year coach Jeff Lebby begins Mississippi State football practice Thursday with the season opener against Eastern Kentucky on Aug. 31 quickly approaching.

Not only does Mississippi State have an almost entirely new coaching staff, but it’s also a new-look roster that lost a lot from last season’s team. That includes Baylor's Blake Shapen arriving as the new starting quarterback replacing Will Rogers while holes at other positions such as running back are waiting to be filled.

Here are five goals for Mississippi State to accomplish during preseason practices after assistant coach press conferences on Tuesday.

Mississippi State needs running back to emerge, starting with Davon Booth

Mississippi State lost its top three rushers from last season, including Jo’Quavious Marks . Lebby said at SEC Media Days that the position will likely be a committee, but he’s looking for some separation at the top.

Davon Booth is one of MSU’s most intriguing options as a transfer from Utah State. He rushed for 805 yards on 102 carries with six touchdowns last season. However, he was a spring transfer, meaning he will have to assimilate a little quicker than some of the other transfers.

“There's some speed and stuff in there,” running backs coach Anthony Tucker said. “And just the experience level, he's a mature guy, so you like bringing in guys that have some experience and some maturity.”

TICKETS: How to buy Mississippi State football tickets? See prices for games on 2024 schedule

Merge Blake Shapen with talented wide receiver room

Mississippi State hasn’t had a wide receiver drafted by the NFL since 1996. Wide receiver coach Chad Bumphis said he texted Lebby during the draft in April, telling him that the streak will be broken in 2025.

The Bulldogs brought in three wide receiver transfers — Kevin Coleman, Kelly Akharaiyi and Trent Hudson — who should play right away. Creed Whittemore returns, and the Bulldogs also signed three four-star wide receivers.

Shapen demonstrated an early level of success with some of those receivers when he completed 18 of his 22 passes for 312 yards and three touchdowns in the spring game.

Continue building cohesion on revamped offensive line

New offensive line coach Cody Kennedy is starting from scratch with all five of last season’s starters departed. It forced Mississippi State to add four linemen via the transfer portal: Makylan Pounders, Ethan Miner, Jacoby Jackson and Marlon Martinez.

All four of them were in Starkville for Mississippi State’s spring practices, and so was four-star freshman Jimothy Lewis Jr. The Bulldogs will be relying plenty on those newcomers, as well as other returners who are expected to take on bigger roles.

“I think you got to recruit the person just as much as you recruit the player because guys are going to come into new situations,” Kennedy said. “You got all these personalities blending together.”

Continue success at linebacker despite key losses

Nathaniel Watson and Jett Johnson were the heartbeats of Mississippi State’s defense, but the Bulldogs are now tasked with replacing the production of the two All-SEC players.

South Carolina’s Stone Blanton was one of the Bulldogs’ top transfer additions while they also signed Branden Jennings, the second-highest ranked junior college linebacker by 247Sports. Otherwise, MSU has mostly homegrown options such as John Lewis and Donterry Russell.

Sort out punting competition

Mississippi State added punter Zach Haynes from the transfer portal, who followed new special teams coordinator Cliff Odom from New Mexico State.

Odom, when asked how he plans to improve MSU’s punting, noted that Haynes is in a competition with senior Nick Barr-Mira. Even though Barr-Mira is technically listed as a kicker, Odom said he was impressed particularly with his leg strength.

“In a perfect world, I'd like to have one (starting punter),” Odom said. “But, if it comes to it, and they have super skill sets that are a little bit different, we'll use both.”

Mississippi State was last in the SEC last season with 40.0 yards per punt.

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: Mississippi State football's top issues heading into coach Jeff Lebby's first fall practice