Mississippi State foresees better days

Mississippi State quarterback Michael Henig doesn’t remember much of last year’s season opener. Consider that the bright side to a concussion.

Henig suffered a concussion on the first play of last year’s season opener against South Carolina in a nationally televised game Thursday night. What happened after that is all too clear to the rest of the Bulldogs.

Mississippi State’s offense never rose above a whisper in a 15-0 defeat in Starkville, Miss. The disappointing opener set the tone for a third consecutive three-win season for coach Sylvester Croom, who heads into his fourth year as a head coach with a 4-20 record in SEC play.

As deflating as last year’s opener was, this one could be even worse.

It’s another Thursday night conference game at home on national television. But instead of South Carolina, the Bulldogs will face LSU, a consensus pick to win the SEC and finish in the top three nationally.

“It’s always nice to start off good,” Croom said at SEC media days. “I’m more worried about how you finish.

“If we could have won the South Carolina game last year, it would have made a tremendous difference in our season, because we had a young team that had no confidence.”

This year’s opener won’t have that kind of impact, Croom said.

“Our team believes in itself right now,” he said. “Regardless of the outcome against LSU, we’re still going to be a good football team before the year’s over.”

Based on the Bulldogs’ track record — 54 losses in the last six years — and their schedule, you might question his optimism. Mississippi State must play Tennessee and South Carolina (in Columbia) from the SEC East. As if the conference schedule isn’t challenging enough, Mississippi State has a non-conference road game with national-championship contender West Virginia.

“A lot of people say we have one of the hardest schedules in the nation,” Henig said. “But this is the SEC. Anybody can beat anybody on a given day. I think we proved that by beating Florida a couple of years ago and by beating Alabama in Tuscaloosa last year.

“We lost four games by three points (last year), and a lot of people do not look at that. If we make one play, we win seven games and go to a bowl. That is what we are looking forward to this year.”

Keeping Henig healthy would help. In addition to the concussion in last year’s season opener, he has suffered a toe injury and a broken collarbone.

“I think he has worked a lot more in the weight room,” Croom said. “He’s gained some weight. … We got him a little extra training with our ROTC on how to take a fall, so I hope that will help as well.”

Henig certainly should have more offensive support. The Bulldogs return nine offensive starters, including 6-foot-4 wide receiver Tony Burks, who had 35 catches for 850 yards last season, and 240-pound tailback Anthony Dixon, who rushed for 668 yards as a freshman.

The offensive line, which returns four starters, is the most talented and experienced of the Croom era. The Bulldogs also are set at tight end with third-year starter Eric Butler and fellow senior Dezmond Sherrod, who has nine career starts.

The Bulldogs could get another boost from their incoming recruiting class. Wide receiver Co-Eric Riley was a first-team junior college All-American, and running backs Robert Elliott and Marcus Green were two of the top five prospects in Mississippi, according to the Jackson Clarion-Ledger.

The Bulldogs’ defense lost three players from a solid front four, but returns end Titus Brown, a second-team, All-SEC pick last season, and safety Derek Pegues, who made second-team all-conference last season as a cornerback.

The development of sophomore cornerbacks Anthony Johnson and Marcus Washington will be crucial to the secondary. Newcomer Jessie Bowman, a junior All-American, will be counted on to solidify the middle of a rebuilt defensive front. Gave O’Neal and Jamar Chaney will give the Bulldogs two returning starters at linebacker.

Apparently, there’s enough returning talent on both sides of the ball for the Bulldogs to follow their coach’s optimistic lead.

“This is a huge year for us,” Henig said. “I think we have been peeking around that corner, and this is the year we turn that corner.”

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.