The Mississippi State Bulldogs ascended to the 10-win mark in 2014 for the first time since the 1941 season, indicating just how transcendent last year’s team was compared to the last 70-plus years of Mississippi State football.

However, the Bulldogs have since lost more than half their starters on both sides of the ball from last season, forcing Dan Mullen’s squad to regroup quickly if it hopes to build off last year’s success in the unforgiving SEC West.

If this year’s team is to repeat or even outdo last year’s accomplishments, it’ll be thanks in large part to returning starting quarterback Dak Prescott, the SEC’s first-team all-conference quarterback a year ago. He and Mullen began to resemble Mullen’s deadly coach-quarterback tandems with the likes of Alex Smith, Chris Leak and Tim Tebow, and one more year together could push MSU over the top in the West.

Teams like LSU, Auburn and Texas A&M won’t be caught off guard by Mississippi State this time around, meaning the Bulldogs will need to be even sharper than they were a year ago to remain one of the league’s contending teams. The recent spring practice season gave Mullen and MSU a chance to develop consistency on both sides of the ball, and that remains a work in progress as we reenter the offseason.

Nevertheless, here are a few of Mississippi State’s most pronounced strengths and weaknesses following spring practice as it prepares for a pivotal season this fall.

STRENGTHS

  • Quarterback depth: Prescott is the SEC’s premier returning quarterback this season, and he’ll have another chance to become Mississippi State’s first-ever Heisman winner if he can duplicate his numbers from last year (more than 3,000 passing yards and more than 950 rushing yards). However, Prescott isn’t the only capable quarterback on Mullen’s roster. Redshirt freshman Nick Fitzgerald shined as the team’s primary backup throughout spring ball, and although he didn’t see much action in the spring, Damian Williams has plenty of live-game experience as MSU’s backup last season and as an injury fill-in in 2013. The offense would certainly regress with someone other than Prescott taking snaps, but compared to other backup situations throughout the SEC, Mississippi State may have two backups better than the primary No. 2 at most other SEC schools. That could prove to be a blessing should Prescott get injured.
  • Experienced linebacking corps: The Bulldogs bid farewell to their top linebacker from a year ago in middle linebacker Benardrick McKinney after last season, but the return of linebackers Beniquez Brown and Richie Brown should do more than simply keep the linebacking corps afloat this fall. Beniquez was second on the team last year with 62 tackles, and he’ll have a chance to wrack up 100-plus tackles this fall as the team’s primary tackler at the heart of the defense. Richie was sixth on the team with 50 tackles, and more of his value can be found in his three interceptions and three pass breakups in pass coverage. In a league with a number of talented tailbacks and a few emerging receiving threats at tight end, both Browns should shine in Manny Diaz’s first year back at the helm of the Bulldogs defense.
  • Familiar pass catchers: De’Runnya Wilson is back for another year in tandem with Prescott, and not only is he MSU’s top wideout, but he’s among the five most explosive playmaking wide receivers in the SEC, along with the likes of Auburn’s D’haquille Williams and Ole Miss’ Laquon Treadwell. Wilson is a former basketball star who is long and powerful with great leaping ability. He is a big target on the outside with plenty of explosiveness running after the catch, and he can run through defenders or make them miss with an array of open-field moves. Behind Wilson, returning wideouts like Fred Ross, Joe Morrow, Fred Brown and Gabe Myles should take another step forward after building rapport with Prescott a year ago. Myles has a chance to be lethal in the slot, and Prescott began finding Ross and Morrow on deep patterns late in the year, perhaps foreshadowing a few big plays to be made this fall.

WEAKNESSES

  • Shakeup along offensive line: Any team that loses three starting offensive linemen in one offseason is bound to regress up front the following season, at least early in the season as the new linemen in place build chemistry alongside one another. Mississippi State finds itself in the worst-case scenario for any team losing three linemen at once, bidding farewell to its three most talented offensive linemen, including a bookend left tackle and one of the SEC’s most veteran line anchors at center. Jamaal Clayborn has never played center at the college level, but he’ll start at that spot when MSU kicks off its season in Week 1. Rufus Warren (left tackle) and Devon Desper (right guard) are also new to the lineup, adding inexperience on both sides of the line, including that left tackle spot. With a commodity as valuable as Prescott in the backfield, and in an offense that has been consistently successful running the football, the lack of a proven offensive line could kill MSU’s chances at 10 wins.
  • Lack of reinforcements in secondary: Mississippi State’s starting secondary is actually in better shape than it should be after losing three starters from a year ago. Taveze Calhoun is the team’s only returning starter at corner, and he’ll be joined by former nickel corner Will Redmond, who brings plenty of experience to the lineup. Safeties Kivon Coman and Deontay Evans are both new to the starting lineup, but neither spent much time stashed away on the bench as member’s of former DC Geoff Collins’ 22-deep psycho defense. However, it’s the depth behind those first-time starters in the secondary that’s concerning. Other than corner Tolando Cleveland, Mississippi State lacks experienced second-teamers in the defensive backfield, relying on guys like Jamoral Graham, who spent most of his freshman year returning kicks, Chris Rayford and Brandon Bryant to provide depth to the back-end of the defense. Those players are all exceptional talents, but any growing pains they may suffer early in the year could harm a defense that allowed more completions of at least 30 yards than any other defense in the SEC last year.
  • Too many unproven defensive linemen: Former five-star recruit Chris Jones enters his third year in Starkville, and after somewhat of a sophomore slump a year ago he’s the team’s only returning starter along the defensive line in 2015. He’ll have an even greater burden placed upon him as newcomers A.J. Jefferson, Nelson Brown, Ryan Adams and others step into starting roles for the first time, and Jones will be asked to occupy multiple blockers regularly to free up his less-experienced teammates. He has first-round NFL draft upside in the eyes of a number of experts, but must generate a consistent push up front with little help to keep MSU from being abused in the trenches. If he can’t live up to that role, or if his new supporters in the starting lineup don’t meet expectations, the entire unit will struggle as a result.