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Mississippi State football, Zach Arnett expected to part ways with multiple assistants | Source

stefan krajisnik, mississippi clarion ledger
·2 min read
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TAMPA, Fla. — Fresh off a ReliaQuest Bowl win against Illinois, Mississippi State football coach Zach Arnett is expected to shake up his coaching staff according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

The moves come as Arnett was promoted from defensive coordinator following coach Mike Leach's death on Dec. 12.

Outside receivers coach Steve Spurrier Jr. and inside receivers coach Drew Hollingshead are among those leaving the program, per the source. Matt Dudek, who worked in the recruiting department, and Brittany Thackery from the personnel department are also expected to leave the program. Thackery is expected to join Lincoln Riley's staff at Southern California.

According to 247Sports, Brad Peterson will return to MSU in a role similar to chief of staff. Peterson, a former Mississippi high school coach who coached Gardner Minshew at Brandon High, served as director of high school relations at MSU for five seasons before leaving in 2021.

Spurrier has been at Mississippi State since Leach was hired in 2020. He worked with Leach for two seasons at Washington State.

Hollingshead also came over to Starkville after working with Leach at WSU. He joined Leach's staff in 2016 as a graduate assistant and then worked as a quality control coach before being promoted to inside receivers coach last year.

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Mississippi State inside receivers coach Drew Hollingshead with quarterback Will Rogers.
Mississippi State inside receivers coach Drew Hollingshead with quarterback Will Rogers.

More changes are expected on MSU's staff. Arnett has not announced whether he intends on hiring an offensive coordinator who runs an Air Raid system. He declined to comment when asked following the ReliaQuest Bowl whether he plans to continue calling plays on defense.

Linebackers coach Matt Brock called defensive plays vs. Illinois.

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: Mississippi State football parting ways with multiple assistants | Source