STARKVILLE — Jeff Lebby is nine months into being the Mississippi State football coach, and fans are beginning to learn about him just as much as he is learning about the community.
He's a first-time head football coach, an ascended offensive wizard that legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban even tried to hire at one point . He's no Lane Kiffin on social media and has a very business-like approach at the press conference podium where the 40-year-old almost always wears a baseball hat with a bulldog outline. Players have lauded Lebby's attention to detail and ability to teach while also sprinkling in some fun.
The one thing yet to occur is an actual football game.
"Hopefully everyone that has had the opportunity to come in contact with me, your family knows how thankful we are to have the opportunity and to see us try to connect," Lebby said Monday. "That’s one of the coolest things about where we live and where I get to work every single day is there is this incredible amount of connection, an incredible amount of community."
The season opener against Eastern Kentucky on Saturday (5 p.m., SEC Network+) will be the first time Lebby leads Mississippi State down the tunnel and onto the field of a packed Davis Wade Stadium, cowbells ringing into oblivion.
Wins are expected, but how quickly they will come remains to be seen.
“For us, I'm never a big believer in putting a win total,” athletic director Zac Selmon said. “You can't predict the future. You can't predict what the season will do with the twist and turns, the injuries, whatever it might be. But for us, it's, how do you get your stock going high? How do you start from fall camp to the end of the season, and you're trending in the right upward trajectory? I think that's a healthy way to look at especially at a first season.”
How Jeff Lebby can have a successful first season at Mississippi State
Lebby inherits a program that had a 5-7 record in Zach Arnett's only season as coach — its second-fewest wins since 2009. The offense was bad, pathetic at times. He’s expected to rejuvenate that while bringing the Bulldogs back to prominence in a conference that added Texas and Oklahoma.
Explosive plays are one of Lebby’s offensive trademarks.
In the last five seasons — where Lebby was an offensive coordinator at UCF, Ole Miss and Oklahoma — his offenses have ranked inside the top 25 for plays of at least 20 yards. Three of those seasons have been inside the top 10.
No players that started at least six games from last season return on offense. The Bulldogs added transfers at every offensive position, including Blake Shapen at quarterback.
The defense, led by coordinator Coleman Hutzler, is revamped too with just three starters back for 2024.
Lebby faces a challenging schedule for his first season with road games at Texas, Georgia, Tennessee and Ole Miss — all teams with legitimate College Football Playoff aspirations.
“I think it’s important that people say, ‘Mississippi State is trending the right way. They got the right guy. They play with great energy, passion and toughness and they love playing for each other,’” Lebby said. “That’s what I want people to see about our football team and our program in Year 1. I don’t think there’s a game total or a number you can put on that.”
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What have the impressions been of Jeff Lebby so far?
Selmon said he thinks Lebby has constructed a strong coaching staff. Only two of the assistant — defensive line coach David Turner and wide receivers coach Chad Bumphis — were retained from last season.
In a world of the ever-changing transfer portal and the necessity to raise NIL money, coaches can no longer just be scheme gurus.
“Even some of the departing players that I've talked to, or players that aren't even here anymore that have gotten to know Coach Lebby, he's been able to connect with all of them,” Selmon said. “So, I think that's the No. 1 goal. You can play this game (with) poor connection, or you can play this game together. And I think if you talk to our team, you'll see that there's connection, there's energy for guys that want to be here and want to get better, and I think that starts at the top.”
Ask around the players, and the simplicity of injecting fun energy can be a difference maker.
“I feel like Coach Lebby, him and his guys, they bring great energy to the building,” junior linebacker Nic Mitchell said. “They make it real fun. You want to go out there and play hard for a coach like that. They bring good energy, always got a smile on his face and making it fun for you.”
Sam Sklar is the Southern Miss beat reporter for the Hattiesburg American. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Mississippi State football coach Jeff Lebby not flashy, but if offense is, he can be a winner
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