It’s a strange spring for the Mississippi State football team.

The Bulldogs took a lot of positive momentum into the offseason after an Egg Bowl victory over Ole Miss and a win over Illinois in the ReliaQuest bowl to finish 9-4.

The program appears headed in the right direction.

And yet, this spring also represents the first on-the-field work since the shocking death in December of head coach Mike Leach, the man who pointed the program in the right direction.

The team, the university and the Starkville community have had 4 months to grieve and move on.

But the positive momentum is tempered by the uncertainty of a new beginning.

Here are the 5 biggest storylines for the Bulldogs heading into the Maroon and White Spring Game at 1 p.m. ET Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium:

1. The kicking competition

This is a repeat of a storyline from last spring.

State brought in 2 transfer kickers a year ago to try to improve the worst kicking game in the SEC in 2021.

The change produced marginal improvement, as State finished 11th in the SEC in field-goal accuracy (making 12-of-17) and missed 4 PATs. Both Massimo Biscardi and Ben Raybon have moved on, and the Bulldogs are in search of continued and more dramatic improvement than they saw last season.

Redshirt senior Nick Barr-Mira and redshirt freshman Jordan Kennedy are competing in the spring. Whether one or the other handles all the kicking duties or they handle them as a tandem, the Bulldogs are hoping kicking is no longer a liability.

2. Adjusting to a new staff

State has a new head coach in Will Arnett, but it has continuity because Arnett was the team’s defensive coordinator for the past 3 seasons.

Arnett’s staff features 6 coaches who weren’t on last year’s staff, but it has State veterans sprinkled throughout the program.

Veteran college assistant David Turner, who has spent 6 of his 37 seasons in Starkville, returns as defensive line coach after a 7-season absence.

Running backs coach Tony Hughes begins his 11th season with the Bulldogs and 4th in his 2nd stint as he switches from nickelbacks coach and remains associate head coach.

Former State wide receiver Chad Bumphis (2009-12) is coaching the receivers.

Senior offensive analyst Greg Knox has returned to Starkville, as have 3 others — Brad Peterson, Joey Jones and Steve Campbell — who have assumed behind-the-scenes duties.

One of the most important developments during the spring is how well the new coaches and their players get to know and trust one another.

3. 3 new starting safeties

All of the starting safeties from last season — Jalen Green, Collin Duncan and Jackie Matthews — have moved on, and the spring is important in establishing a pecking order for potential successors heading into the summer.

Defensive coordinator Matt Brock, who was promoted from linebackers coach and called the defensive plays against Illinois, and safeties coach Brett Dewhurst have a lot of viable candidates to evaluate.

Brock praised Marcus Banks for his transition from cornerback, and he also cited veterans Corey Ellington and Shawn Preston Jr. as well as Kentucky transfer Ja’Kobi Albert as contenders for playing time. Freshman Isaac Smith, who enrolled early and is participating in the spring, also is in the mix.

4. No “Air Raid” offense

Leach’s teams were most closely identified with his Air Raid offense. New coordinator Kevin Barbay brought a very effective pro-style system with him from Appalachian State.

One of the more significant elements of spring has been record-setting quarterback Will Rogers, who’s entering his 4th season as a starter, and the rest of the offense’s adjustment to the new scheme.

But the adjustment isn’t a one-way street, because Barbay has tweaked his scheme to accommodate his new players’ skill sets in addition to guiding them through their transition from Leach’s scheme.

Barbay said he has taken the offensive installation “really slow” and “detailed with every little piece of the game” to make sure everyone is up to speed mentally when preseason camp begins.

The new offense features more shifts and motion to create mismatches, increasing the running game presence with backs and receivers, restoring the tight end position and occasionally placing the quarterback under center.

5. Arnett’s 1st team

Of course Leach’s legacy remains a big part of the State program, and his name will be invoked over the course of this 1st season without him.

But this is Arnett’s team and program. Like any 1st-year head coach succeeding a well-respected predecessor, Arnett has to find a delicate balance between maintaining what was successful previously and creating his own culture.

Arnett set the tone for this by assembling a staff with so much history in Starkville while being bold enough to move on from Leach’s signature offense.