How Mississippi State football has transformed special teams since debacle at Arkansas
STARKVILLE — A trip to Fayetteville, Arkansas, last season was the low point in Mississippi State football’s special teams saga.
It was where Mike Leach, after a three-point loss featuring three missed field goals, called for open kicking tryouts in Starkville. It’s where Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said he knew MSU kicker Nolan McCord would miss the tying kick as time expired.
Mississippi State’s kicking woes were at the forefront, but throughout the season the third phase had breakdowns in coverage, a muffed punt and untimely penalties. There wasn’t much good outside of kick returner Lideatrick Griffin.
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Entering the matchup Saturday (11 a.m., SEC Network) with No. 25 Arkansas (3-2, 1-2 SEC), that is no longer the case. No. 23 Mississippi State (4-1, 1-1) is tied with Alabama for fifth-highest graded special teams unit in FBS, according to Pro Football Focus.
This season has featured a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown, a 53-yard field goal and an average of nearly 40 yards per punt. Griffin and freshman punt returner Zavion Thomas are also due to break open a return soon.
The Bulldogs have put together one of the most drastic special teams improvements, and it’s the result of a heavy focus on that phase in the offseason.
It started in late January when Leach promoted Drew Hollingshead to inside receivers coach and shuffled much of the rest of his staff. Among those moves, Eric Mele shifted from coaching running backs to special teams — replacing Matt Brock, who took full control of linebackers.
Mele coached special teams from 2014-2017 in some capacity for Leach at Washington State. At MSU, he’s aided by Shane Gallant, who works as special teams quality control.
Despite last season’s struggles, Mele found solace in the errors being self-inflicted and correctable.
“As far as a starting point goes, this is a lot higher than I’ve had in the past,” Mele said in March. “To have film that we can coach off of and correct some things we control to help an outcome of a game. That’s what special teams does. Nobody notices when you go through and have a clean football game. But they will notice some of those mistakes and some of those errors.”
Mississippi State also utilized the transfer portal to address holes.
Kicker Brandon Ruiz left to pursue a professional career. Freshman Nolan McCord transferred out. Linebacker Rodney Groce Jr., who had a critical penalty in punt coverage in a loss against LSU, didn’t take a snap the rest of the season and transferred.
MSU added Massimo Biscardi from Coastal Carolina as the projected starting kicker. The Bulldogs also added Ben Raybon from Northern Colorado. The desire to add multiple candidates proved worthwhile with Biscardi’s early struggles.
The movement filled offseason talk. That has continued into the regular season, but it comes with a positive tone.
“As good a special teams group as I've seen this year,” Pittman said Monday.
Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @skrajisnik3.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: How Mississippi State football transformed its special teams play
