After a disappointing 2003 season, the Mississippi State Bulldogs will begin the 2004 one with newly appointed head coach Sylvester Croom.
Croom, the first black head coach in the Southeastern Conference, will attempt to revitalize a program that sank to fifth in the SEC Western Division after finishing 1-7 in conference play last season.
If the annual spring game is any indication of a successful fall campaign, then Croom might have taken a small step toward improving the program.
“I thought overall we didn’t do dumb things today,” Croom said. “We didn’t do the things that beat yourself. I thought we got ourselves lined up pretty well, and I thought the first offense and first defense looked pretty good.”
Although the Bulldogs football program has spent recent years at the bottom of the SEC standings, there may be hope for the 2004 team. The offense returns seven starters, including junior tailback Jerious Norwood.
Norwood rushed for 642 yards on 121 carries after starting only eight games.
In the spring game, Norwood had the most carries of any Bulldog, carrying the ball seven times for 27 yards and one touchdown.
Sophomore Omarr Conner will replace Kevin Fant at quarterback, who passed for more than 2,000 yards in 2003. He will be expected to carry an offense that finished 12th in the SEC and 99th in the NCAA.
The starting receivers, senior McKinley Scott and redshirt freshman Joey Sanders, failed to make a major impact on Bulldogs fans in the spring game. Scott caught one pass for four yards, and Sanders had no catches.
Redshirt freshman Jason Husband had the best game for the Bulldog receivers, catching two passes for 38 yards.
A big advantage for the Bulldogs will be the offensive line. The 2004 group may prove to be one of the more experienced lines in the SEC. Four of the five starters return, including junior left tackle Richard Burch, senior left guard Will Rogers, sophomore right guard Otis Riddley and senior right tackle David Stewart.
The defense will be the strength of the Bulldogs. Croom, who was formerly the running backs coach for the Green Bay Packers, will have to rely on defense to move the team up in the standings this season. The defense will also return seven starters, but none as important as defensive end Willie Evans. Evans recorded 54 tackles in 2003 and was second on the team with eight tackles-for-loss. He had three sacks on the year, and his biggest game came against Alabama where he had seven tackles.
Beside Evans, the defensive line will consist of sophomore left end Deljuan Robinson, senior nose tackle Ronald Fields and redshirt freshman Ronald Fields.
Junior Marvin Byrdsong will lead the Bulldog linebackers. Last year Byrdsong recorded 76 total tackles while playing middle linebacker, including two double-digit tackle games in 2003. The Bulldogs will start junior outside linebacker Clarence McDougal and sophomore Brad Horton.
The secondary will feature junior right corner Kevin Dockery. Dockery had 70 tackles in 2003 and finished the season with two interceptions. The Bulldogs will start sophomore Adrian Griffin at left corner, and the starting safeties are sophomore free safety Jeramie Johnson and strong safety Darren Williams. Williams had 33 tackles in 2003 and Johnson finished the year with 32 tackles.
Croom said the team has nothing to worry about.
“I thought we got better as the spring went along,” he said. “I believe we’re going in the right direction.”