Mississippi State tight end Malcolm Johnson could be the Bulldogs’ most important player that no one is talking about.

Johnson is a 6-foot-2, 230-pound tight end coming off his best season as a collegiate in 2013. The MSU tight end caught 30 balls for 391 yards and two touchdowns last season, more than doubling his career totals in most statistical categories after a pair of quiet seasons in 2011-12.

Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen was asked about Johnson in Wednesday’s SEC coaches teleconference, and one of the first words out of Mullen’s was “mismatch.”

“We’re trying to create mismatches out there on the field. That’s what our spread offense is about is trying to get guys in advantageous situations out there,” Mullen said, referring to Johnson’s versatile skill-set at the tight end position. “Having a guy like a Malcolm Johnson that creates mismatches … You don’t want to put a small guy on him because of the size he has as a tight end and the ability to block, but it’s hard to put some bigger linebackers on him because of his pass-catching skills.”

Johnson showed last season he can succeed as a consistent receiver in the Bulldogs’ spread offense, attacking the middle of the field while his more athletic teammates posed threats on the perimeter. However, with a large frame and above-average strength, he has also grown into a tremendous blocker during his career, both in pass protection and in the run game.

Mullen has engineered more than a few successful rushing attacks during his coaching career, and Johnson’s size and exceptional blocking abilities should help his teammates, namely tailback Josh Robinson, get the edge against opposing linebackers and safeties.

Playing in front of a mobile quarterback in Dak Prescott will add even more value to Johnson’s blocking abilities, especially in the open field or on broken plays where inexperienced players often commit costly holding penalties.

Put a defensive back across from him? Johnson will plow him over and give Robinson or Prescott an accessible avenue up the field. Try and put a linebacker across from him one-on-one? He’ll run right past most of them, especially in play-action situations.

The Bulldogs’ head coach knows he can use Johnson in a number of ways, and admitted he will allow opposing defenses to decide how he will use his tight end throughout a game.

“What we want to look for is how you’re going to play him and how we can possibly take advantage of that,” Mullen said.

Whether it shows on the stat sheet or not, Johnson is poised to be an integral part of the Mississippi State offense in 2014.