Mississippi State football training camp: 5 questions for Mike Leach's offensive depth chart

STARKVILLE – Football. It’s happening in SEC country. For now, anyway.

The Big Ten and Pac-12 have already canceled its fall football seasons with hopes of playing in the spring, but the SEC, ACC and Big 12 have planned to forge ahead and play starting next month amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

That means Mississippi State coach Mike Leach gets a chance to lead the Bulldogs through a formal training camp for the first time since he arrived in Starkville over eight months ago. Preseason camp starts Aug. 17.

Here are five story lines to follow on the MSU offense.

1. Where does Garrett Shrader stand?

Leach didn’t lure graduate transfer K.J. Costello from Stanford for him to ride the pine. As long as Mississippi State is playing in the fall, Costello will be taking snaps from center.

What does that mean for sophomore Garrett Shrader?

Shrader started four games as a true freshman. He appeared in 10 total games on his way to completing 88-of-153 passes (57.5%) for 1,170 yards with eight touchdowns and five interceptions. He also ran for 587 yards and six touchdowns.

Shrader became a fan favorite for his grit, but time will tell if grit is what Leach is looking for from his signal callers. The Air Raid offense tends to favor accurate gunslingers over savvy playmakers. True freshman Will Rogers of Brandon High School could creep up on Shrader during training camp if he proves to be more of the former.

More:Mississippi State football lures transfer quarterback from Vanderbilt

2. What does backfield look like behind Kylin Hill?

Like at the quarterback position, the starter at running back is set. Senior Kylin Hill didn’t skip out on the 2020 NFL Draft to come back to school and see a reduction in snaps or touches.

MSU running backs coach Eric Mele has said he expects Hill to be able to lead the SEC in yards from scrimmage. So where does the leave the Bulldogs’ other backs?

Sophomore Lee Witherspoon got his feet wet with 22 carries for 101 yards and a touchdown as a true freshman. Junior college product and former Michigan Wolverine Kareem Walker was with the team last year but was not able to play in any games because of academic reasons.

Those two backups will be joined by freshmen Jo’Quavious Marks and Dillon Johnson. Marks was the highest-rated recruit in Mississippi State’s class of 2020, according to 247Sports. Johnson ranked sixth. Mele, Leach and company have a lot of talent to sift through in the running back room when drafting a playing time pecking order.

More:Mississippi State running back Kylin Hill given key to his hometown

3. Can Osirus Mitchell lead the wideouts?

Senior wide receiver Osirus Mitchell is the only player returning from last year’s team who ranked in the top five on the roster in receiving yards. He was No. 1 with 430.

Leach’s offense is obviously predicated on getting receivers the ball and letting them go to work. Is Mitchell, who has had problems with both drops and getting separation from defenders, the one to lead that charge?

And if he’s not, then who is?

Training camp will be a time for wide receivers coaches Steve Spurrier Jr. and Dave Nichol, in addition to Leach, to figure out who is up to the task when it comes to playing WR in this scheme. Other options from last year’s team include senior JaVonta Payton and redshirt junior Austin Williams.

Newcomers who could make immediate impacts are junior college products Malik Heath, barring Leach’s review of his DUI case, and Caleb Ducking, Alabama transfer Tyrell Shavers and incoming freshmen Tulu Griffin and Rufus Harvey.

More:What WR coaches Steve Spurrier Jr., Dave Nichol expect from Mississippi State wideouts

4. Who’s the leader on the offensive line?

For years, Mississippi State has had an unquestioned leader on the offensive line.

Last year, it was Darryl Williams. In 2018, it was Elgton Jenkins. Both of those players made shifts from other positions on the line to take the reins at the center spot. A similar shift has to be made again after Williams’ graduation.

East Mississippi Community College product LaQuinston Sharp is a candidate to be the guy in the middle. But even if the vocal presence on the line doesn’t come from center, it has to come from somewhere. Veteran players like redshirt seniors Dareuan Parker and Greg Eiland might be ones to look to.

5. How involved will tight ends be?

Former MSU coach Joe Moorhead always said an effort was being made to get tight ends the ball. It never really transpired during his two-year tenure.

In 2018, Justin Johnson had 17 catches for 238 yards and one touchdown. Last year, Farrod Green had 21 catches for 251 yards and a score. Both of those players have departed from the program. Redshirt junior Dontea Jones is next in line.

It’ll be interesting to see how Leach uses other tight end talents on the roster – sophomores Geor’quarius Spivey and Brad Cumbest, to name two – as pseudo wide receivers out of the slot. Training camp is a time to see what they bring to the table in that regard.

Contact Tyler Horka at thorka@gannett.com. Follow @tbhorka on Twitter. To read more of Tyler's work, subscribe to the Clarion Ledger today!