‘Our guys are getting it’: How Jeff Lebby evaluated Mississippi State football offense

STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football is replacing all of its offensive starters from last season. 

Is it a cause for concern? Perhaps to a degree, though the Bulldogs had the worst scoring offense in the SEC under coach Zach Arnett. Instead, it’s more likely to be a breath of fresh air under first-year coach Jeff Lebby. 

He and an almost entirely new assistant coaching staff are in the process of installing Lebby’s offense, which possesses more similarities of a spread, up-tempo scheme that Mike Leach constituted.

“We’re being incredibly aggressive with the install,” Lebby said after Wednesday’s practice, the sixth of the preseason. “We want to apply as much pressure as we can, mentally and physically so we can see what guys we can go count on. Our guys are getting it. They’ve taken to it. They’ve done a good job with it.”

Part of what’s helped, Lebby said, is that the Bulldogs had most of their players on the team in the spring. They hit the transfer portal hard and found what projects to be multiple plug-and-play starters at wide receiver and offensive line. Blake Shapen was also added from Baylor and will be the starting quarterback. 

“It was huge,” Lebby said. “Our guys got really good knowledge of what the expectation is, how we want to go play and how we want to do things. There is still a ton of growth to be made at every single position. They’ve got great intent. There’s great energy in the building.”

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What Jeff Lebby wants to see before first Mississippi State football scrimmage

The Bulldogs will hold their first preseason scrimmage on Sunday. It is closed to the media. 

Wednesday was the first day in full pads. The Bulldogs have Thursday off but will practice on Friday and Saturday. 

“Offensively when we look at it, we want to play clean football,” Lebby said. “We’re going to play with a ton of tempo. We’re going to play really, really aggressive. But from a penalty standpoint, from pre-snap penalties, making sure that we are playing really clean football and not shooting ourselves in the foot is really critical while taking care of the ball. 

“And then defensively, it’s all about getting the ball and getting off the field on third down. Those are the things that we will continue to look at. That’s where we want to continue to clean up before we get live on Sunday.” 

Gabe Moore appears out for the 2024 season

Defensive lineman Gabe Moore posted Tuesday on Facebook he will not be playing this season. However, the post was deleted a few hours later. 

“Due to health issues, I will be opting out of football this year,” the post said before being deleted.

Lebby was asked about Moore’s status on Wednesday and didn’t provide much information. 

“No comment on it,” he said. “We’ll keep it internal and in-house but hoping the best, wishing the best for Gabe.” 

Moore is a redshirt freshman from Louisville that did not appear in any games last season, though he was in contention for playing time in 2024.

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_.