MSU will scrimmage for the first time this camp next week.
Football Picks Up The Pace in Preseason Camp
August 04, 2017 | Football
STARKVILLE, Miss. – With summer term final exams complete, Mississippi State football preseason camp is in full gear as the Bulldogs wrapped up another practice at "The Farm" on Friday afternoon.
Players moved into the hotel on Thursday evening. The next two weeks will feature extensive meetings, installations and practices, mostly at "The Farm." The Bulldogs will go through their first scrimmage of camp next week in Davis Wade Stadium.
"Today, to me, really kicks off training camp," MSU head coach Dan Mullen said. "School is over. Finals are over. We're out at The Farm. We've had some installations. Some of the installations are now a little bit smaller, so it's really the kickoff of training camp today. The mindset has to change for everyone just a little bit. We're getting into a little bit of a grind, but we're taking steps in a positive direction."
MSU opens the season in four weeks when Charleston Southern comes to town for a 3 p.m. kickoff on Sept. 2.
For more information on the Bulldogs, follow the MSU football team on Twitter, like them on Facebook and join them on Instagram by searching for "HailStateFB." All-access coverage is also available on SnapChat by searching for "HailStateSnap."
Below are quotes from Mullen's media session:
Head Coach Dan Mullen
August 4, 2017
On starting training camp early in 2017 …
"First off, there's no school. You don't have to plan around school. You're worried about football, which I think that's huge for the guys. More recovery time, meeting time, installation time and rest time. To me, that's really the biggest part of it is that there's no school for the next 12 more days. So we have 12 days that we can concentrate on football and understanding the game and becoming better players and a better team."
On his teams' response to the beginning of training camp …
"Everybody is so different. Some good, some bad. I like to see our older guys. With older guys, I haven't seen any blank looks on their faces. Even the younger guys have an understanding of what is going on. Carry over from the spring. The majority of our newcomers were here in the spring, so I think that understanding has made it better so no one is clueless."
On freshman kicker/punter Tucker Day …
"I know he was an all-American punter, coming out of high school. We've asked him to really focus on placekicking right now, for this year. I think he has bought into that and has taken a very unselfish team-first approach. He has worked really hard at placekicking. That's probably slowed down some of his punting development, but that's okay. He's out there working for the team. He's trying to compete and win the job to be our starting placekicker."
On sophomore Korey Charles …
"We'll see. He's back to playing some defense now, so we'll see if he can compete there."
On true freshman wide receiver Austin Williams …
"Obviously, getting here in January was a huge advantage for him because he knows what he's doing out there on the field. So he's able to go get viable reps. I think that is such a big advantage for him. He's a guy trying to take advantage of that. He's still adjusting to the speed of the game, has to learn technique and fundamentals, but he's a smart player and has a great work ethic. You'll see him continually improve as he learns the game."
On offensive linemen Stewart Reese and Darryl Williams …
"They're getting there. Darryl was playing some center and guard in the past, so he's okay. Stewart is moving out to tackle, and he spent most of the spring out there too, so he's getting it. If you look at a day like today, we had two freshmen playing our tackle position. They're going to have to grow up in a hurry, which, in the future, I guess is pretty good. For right now, we have to accelerate them and get them prepared and ready to play."
On senior offensive lineman Martinas Rankin …
"He's done a good job when he gets out there at left tackle. He understands the sense of urgency. He only has six months, less than six months left in the program right now. So he has that sense of urgency to go perform at a high level, not just here or there. There's no more 'Hey, you're a guy that has great potential,' but we have to see that. He has to perform at a very, very high level."
On the depth behind Aeris Williams at running back …
"[Dontavian] Lee is healthy, so there's a lot of depth there now. He was injured most of last season. Behind that, it's really the knowledge. Do you know what you're doing? Not can you run the ball, but do you know what you're doing? That's going to be the biggest point: who can figure that out the fastest."
On the leadership ability of Johnathan Abram …
"He spends a lot of time. He asks a lot of questions. He spends a lot of extra time working out. He's always in the office, studying the game and asking questions. I think a lot of the younger guys can learn from him, because a lot of times newer players are nervous to ask questions. John's not. He's going to ask questions to make sure that he's certain of the answers, which is the right thing to do. It is a great example for the younger kids."
On the kicking game …
"It's okay. We haven't put them through a lot. We have guys working and guys competing. I expect us to be a lot better than we were, wrapping up spring."
On what he has seen from the defensive line …
"Good. I see that we're playing better. To me, it's not looking at as much the new faces that are learning, as it is looking at the older faces that are now in new roles. You've seen improvement in Jeffery Simmons, Braxton Hoyett and Cory Thomas and even Gerri Green and Marquiss Spencer. You're starting to see Fletcher Adams. You're really starting to see those guys grow up and they're becoming solid SEC players. That's what I've noticed. The younger guys and newer faces are coming along learning and trying to keep up with the pace of the other guys."
On developing backup freshman quarterback Keytaon Thompson's confidence …
"You've just got to do it. He's force fed. The nice thing is that for him, and his long-term development, he doesn't have a growing curve. He's the No. 2. I think a lot of times, you just forget that he's a true freshman because of the responsibility that he has and his performance and what our expectations of him are. You forget that he is a true freshman. I think a lot of the guys, not just us, but guys on the team, forget that he's a true freshman. So they expect him to be a leader that can be a vocal guy and that can have command of the offense."
Players moved into the hotel on Thursday evening. The next two weeks will feature extensive meetings, installations and practices, mostly at "The Farm." The Bulldogs will go through their first scrimmage of camp next week in Davis Wade Stadium.
"Today, to me, really kicks off training camp," MSU head coach Dan Mullen said. "School is over. Finals are over. We're out at The Farm. We've had some installations. Some of the installations are now a little bit smaller, so it's really the kickoff of training camp today. The mindset has to change for everyone just a little bit. We're getting into a little bit of a grind, but we're taking steps in a positive direction."
MSU opens the season in four weeks when Charleston Southern comes to town for a 3 p.m. kickoff on Sept. 2.
For more information on the Bulldogs, follow the MSU football team on Twitter, like them on Facebook and join them on Instagram by searching for "HailStateFB." All-access coverage is also available on SnapChat by searching for "HailStateSnap."
Below are quotes from Mullen's media session:
Head Coach Dan Mullen
August 4, 2017
On starting training camp early in 2017 …
"First off, there's no school. You don't have to plan around school. You're worried about football, which I think that's huge for the guys. More recovery time, meeting time, installation time and rest time. To me, that's really the biggest part of it is that there's no school for the next 12 more days. So we have 12 days that we can concentrate on football and understanding the game and becoming better players and a better team."
On his teams' response to the beginning of training camp …
"Everybody is so different. Some good, some bad. I like to see our older guys. With older guys, I haven't seen any blank looks on their faces. Even the younger guys have an understanding of what is going on. Carry over from the spring. The majority of our newcomers were here in the spring, so I think that understanding has made it better so no one is clueless."
On freshman kicker/punter Tucker Day …
"I know he was an all-American punter, coming out of high school. We've asked him to really focus on placekicking right now, for this year. I think he has bought into that and has taken a very unselfish team-first approach. He has worked really hard at placekicking. That's probably slowed down some of his punting development, but that's okay. He's out there working for the team. He's trying to compete and win the job to be our starting placekicker."
On sophomore Korey Charles …
"We'll see. He's back to playing some defense now, so we'll see if he can compete there."
On true freshman wide receiver Austin Williams …
"Obviously, getting here in January was a huge advantage for him because he knows what he's doing out there on the field. So he's able to go get viable reps. I think that is such a big advantage for him. He's a guy trying to take advantage of that. He's still adjusting to the speed of the game, has to learn technique and fundamentals, but he's a smart player and has a great work ethic. You'll see him continually improve as he learns the game."
On offensive linemen Stewart Reese and Darryl Williams …
"They're getting there. Darryl was playing some center and guard in the past, so he's okay. Stewart is moving out to tackle, and he spent most of the spring out there too, so he's getting it. If you look at a day like today, we had two freshmen playing our tackle position. They're going to have to grow up in a hurry, which, in the future, I guess is pretty good. For right now, we have to accelerate them and get them prepared and ready to play."
On senior offensive lineman Martinas Rankin …
"He's done a good job when he gets out there at left tackle. He understands the sense of urgency. He only has six months, less than six months left in the program right now. So he has that sense of urgency to go perform at a high level, not just here or there. There's no more 'Hey, you're a guy that has great potential,' but we have to see that. He has to perform at a very, very high level."
On the depth behind Aeris Williams at running back …
"[Dontavian] Lee is healthy, so there's a lot of depth there now. He was injured most of last season. Behind that, it's really the knowledge. Do you know what you're doing? Not can you run the ball, but do you know what you're doing? That's going to be the biggest point: who can figure that out the fastest."
On the leadership ability of Johnathan Abram …
"He spends a lot of time. He asks a lot of questions. He spends a lot of extra time working out. He's always in the office, studying the game and asking questions. I think a lot of the younger guys can learn from him, because a lot of times newer players are nervous to ask questions. John's not. He's going to ask questions to make sure that he's certain of the answers, which is the right thing to do. It is a great example for the younger kids."
On the kicking game …
"It's okay. We haven't put them through a lot. We have guys working and guys competing. I expect us to be a lot better than we were, wrapping up spring."
On what he has seen from the defensive line …
"Good. I see that we're playing better. To me, it's not looking at as much the new faces that are learning, as it is looking at the older faces that are now in new roles. You've seen improvement in Jeffery Simmons, Braxton Hoyett and Cory Thomas and even Gerri Green and Marquiss Spencer. You're starting to see Fletcher Adams. You're really starting to see those guys grow up and they're becoming solid SEC players. That's what I've noticed. The younger guys and newer faces are coming along learning and trying to keep up with the pace of the other guys."
On developing backup freshman quarterback Keytaon Thompson's confidence …
"You've just got to do it. He's force fed. The nice thing is that for him, and his long-term development, he doesn't have a growing curve. He's the No. 2. I think a lot of times, you just forget that he's a true freshman because of the responsibility that he has and his performance and what our expectations of him are. You forget that he is a true freshman. I think a lot of the guys, not just us, but guys on the team, forget that he's a true freshman. So they expect him to be a leader that can be a vocal guy and that can have command of the offense."
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