Name: Maroon-White Spring Football Game
Time: 11 a.m. CT, April 18
TV: SEC Network Plus
Location: Davis Wade Stadium (Starkville, Miss.)
Format: Intrasquad scrimmage

On the heels of a historic 10-win season in 2014, Mississippi State will conclude its 2015 spring practice season with its most highly anticipated spring game in recent memory.

The Bulldogs return All-SEC quarterback Dak Prescott and Coach of the Year Dan Mullen, but also must compensate for departed talent at virtually every other position on the roster. Saturday’s spring game will be the coaching staff’s best chance to evaluate the 2015 roster, and this game should give the players, coaches and fans a taste of what to expect this fall.

Here are five things Mississippi State should aim to accomplish before it closes the book on this spring:

1. EVALUATE THE OFFENSIVE LINE

Mississippi State has had to replace its top three offensive linemen from last season throughout this spring, and not only has it worked new faces into the lineup, but it’s forced guys to change positions in the matter of one brief offseason.

Tackle Justin Senior and guard Justin Malone are the team’s lone two returning starters up front, but tackle Rufus Warren and guard Devon Desper are preparing to start for the first time at the FBS level this fall. Jamaal Clayborn faces the greatest challenge this spring in moving from guard to center as he prepares to start for the first time at the college level.

The more MSU can test this unit on Saturday, the better off the unit will be this fall. You can’t manufacture experience, and the Bulldogs will have to endure growing pains along the line throughout the early portion of the season no matter what they do this spring. Still, Saturday’s live action should serve as a great chance for MSU to develop its line and build cohesion up front, and it must capitalize on the opportunity to do so.

2. FIND PLAYMAKERS ON OFFENSE

Mississippi State lost its top tailback, a starting wideout and its starting tight end from last year’s team, and while it returns dynamic wideout De’Runnya Wilson, it also lacks any other established playmakers. The Bulldogs must find new weapons to employ around Prescott in the Mississippi State offense, and Saturday’s spring game will be as good an opportunity as any for MSU to discover those weapons.

Wideouts Gabe Myles, Fred Ross and Joe Morrow all showed flashes of their talent last season, but lacked consistency from week to week. A big game on Saturday out of any of those three could earn them a starting job on the outside opposite Wilson. Myles played his best when lined up in the slot, and he could make some noise from that position this spring and again come the fall.

And in the backfield, Ashton Shumpert and Brandon Holloway, last year’s co-backups to Josh Robinson, will have one final chance to separate themselves from one another before the fall. There’s a chance both are used in a tailback-by-committee system this season, but if one wants to seize the job, or if another back like Aeris Williams or Dontavian Lee wants to work his way into the rotation, Saturday’s game will be as great an opportunity as any.

3. INTEGRATE NEW STARTERS ON DEFENSE

Last year’s “Psycho Defense” has since been broken up upon Geoff Collins’ departure for Florida, the early departure of Benardrick McKinney for the NFL and the graduation of a number of other impact starters. The Bulldogs must replace seven starters on the defense this spring, including three along the defensive line and three more in the secondary.

Defensive tackle Chris Jones will anchor the defensive line, and cornerbacks Taveze Calhoun and Will Redmond will be asked to carry a much heavier burden this fall. Linebacker Beniquez Brown and Richie Brown should be fine at the heart of the defense, but with new faces surrounding them at virtually every other position, they’ll have to adjust their games accordingly as well.

Like with the offensive line, this is all about building cohesion as a unit. The Collins’ defense last year was predicated on depth, and many of the players taking on starting roles have experience playing in the SEC. They just don’t have experience playing with the returning starters like Jones, the Browns and Calhoun. Building that chemistry as a unit should help the MSU defense hit the ground running this fall, something the team could leverage into victories with Prescott leading the offense for one last season.

4. REBUILD DEPTH ON DEFENSE

To piggyback off the last item on this list, where MSU must really focus its attention this Saturday is on its second-team defense. Most of last year’s second team has moved into the starting lineup, and its along the reserve unit that MSU must integrate a number of new, inexperienced faces.

The Bulldogs’ defense has been predicated on depth in recent years and the ability to substitute frequently without fearing a drop in talent on the field. Now that luxury is not quite as prevalent, not unless Manny Diaz can follow Collins’ path in developing a savvy, experienced second unit that renders potential injury troubles or fatigue irrelevant.

This is not something that can be completely accomplished in Saturday’s spring game, but that live game experience is certainly a start. The faster Diaz and his assistants can build depth on the defensive side of the ball, the better off MSU will be by midseason.

5. CONTINUE PUSHING DAK

Prescott was last year’s first-team All-SEC quarterback, and he finished eighth in the Heisman voting after leading MSU to 10 wins, a stint at No. 1 in the polls and a New Year’s Six bowl berth. However, after losing a wealth of talent around him on the offense, the coaching staff must continue pushing Prescott to improve in order for him to carry a less-dynamic offense in 2015.

Prescott returned to school to enjoy his senior season, achieve what he could not last year in Starkville and to improve his NFL stock. In order to achieve the latter two items on that list, he must continue pushing himself to improve as if he was a true freshman again trying to make a name for himself within the program.

This is not to say the coaching staff should treat Prescott like a scrub. In fact, it’s the exact opposite. Grant him more freedom within the offense and allow him to take more control of the unit. But with those freedoms come great responsibility, and if Prescott does not take that responsibility seriously or is not prepared well enough by his coaches, he’ll show a regression that will have most thinking he should’ve left for the NFL last year.

Prescott is the face of this program, and his improvement this spring, which will be measured on Saturday, could determine a lot come the fall.