Joe Moorhead is currently busy traveling the South raising support and meeting with many Mississippi State alumni and boosters for the first time during his first Road Dawgs Tour as coach of the Bulldogs. Moorhead has already hit Starkville, Tupelo, and Memphis and will visit Meridian, Biloxi, Houston, Huntsville, and Atlanta before the tour finally comes to an end on Thursday.

With so many starting to come around on the high expectations for his first Mississippi State team, it would be understandable, however potentially disappointing, if Moorhead tried to downplay the high hopes many have for the MSU program heading into 2018. Much like his explosive offense, the new Bulldog coach isn’t throttling back anything this offseason, quite the opposite in fact.

Moorhead is currently embracing the hype on his Road Dawgs Tour.

Here’s what Moorhead had to say in Memphis when asked about the growing expectations for Mississippi State in 2018, video courtesy of Sudu Upadhyay of WMC Action News 5:

During the Tupelo stop on the tour, Moorhead shared his thoughts on the progress made by his program following the conclusion of spring practice. Here’s what he said when asked if his team accomplish what he wanted this spring.

“I think we accomplished a majority of the majority of them,” Moorhead said in a YouTube video posted by Logan Lowery. “There are still some bits and pieces that we are lacking that we need to improve on but I think, in terms of laying a foundation and getting a jumpstart on fall camp, I think we did a good job of that.”

Moorhead also touched on Fitzgerald’s progression in his offense.

“I think having the time with him and the other guys in the meetings was invaluable,” he continued. “We did walk-thru periods we the team, he got all those reps. The only thing he missed was when we went 11-on-11 against the defense. He understands the run game and the reads, it’s just a matter of getting him on the field and executing in the fall. Everything in the pass game — 7-on-7 he did — we just got to get him out there.”

While Mississippi State fans like to joke about their team being selected last in the West during the preseason on an annual basis, there’s no chance that happens leading up to the 2018 season. If Moorhead can successful take what he inherited from Dan Mullen and elevate the program to new heights, there’s a good chance MSU is never picked 7th in the West in the preseason ever again under his watch.