2024 SEC Media Days: Eyes on Mississippi State, Jeff Lebby

New Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby was introduced at the Southeastern Conference Media Days in Dallas, and he wasted no time letting everyone know exactly how he wanted to run the Bulldogs’ program. Last season, he was the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma, which just happens to be his alma mater. While he is a first-time coach, Lebby enters the world of the SEC with experience under his belt from his time as the OC for the Ole Miss Rebels in 2020-2021.

During the media days, Lebby discussed his excitement to coach Mississippi State. After MSU posted a 5-7 record last season, he looks to point the program in the right direction.

Lebby Builds His Culture

Anytime a new coach is hired at a school, it is no small change for anyone. Sometimes, a coach can change the entire identity and makeup of a program. When it comes to MSU, Lebby wants his group to have fun, play with toughness, and be competitive while holding themselves accountable.

“We break those things down in different ways, but for me, having fun in the doing, that matters,” Lebby said.

Lebby told the media he believes that in order to get the best out of his players, they have to genuinely love where they are and what they do. Any coach wants their team to be tough and competitive, but when it comes to the monster that is the SEC, those words mean something else.

“This is a league that is built on toughness. Always has been, always will be,” Lebby said in regard to the SEC.

Lebby said being tough doesn’t start on the football field in Week 1—it starts way before the team puts on the pads in the summer.

“Having competitive situations inside of everything that we’re doing is a huge part of our program and our culture,” he said.

This means the warmups, workouts and practices all need to be competitive to build a team on toughness, according to Lebby.

Lebby said, as a new coach, it is important to get this rolling early.

“For us, it was the guys knowing exactly what we expected of them as they walked in the building,” Lebby said.

He said he felt it was important to make his basic principles known early to not only have a competitive Year 1 but to build a great foundation for the future.

On Transfer Portal, Lack of Returning Guys

Come 2024, the Bulldogs will have zero returning starters on offense and two returning starters on defense. That leaves a lot of holes to fill and the transfer portal was an easy way to do that. MSU had to build almost an entire roster, so both sides of the ball will mostly be composed of new faces fans may not recognize.

“We’re talking about our starting quarterback, three of the five starting offensive linemen, two receivers, starting running back, and on the defensive side, we’ll have three starters from the portal as well,” Lebby said.

However, this is not something Lebby wants to do often. In this era of college football, it is not uncommon for a team to go portal hunting and recruit great talent. But Lebby said "that's not who we want to be."

"We’re going to create an edge, and we’re going to be able to sustain as a program because we’ve got great proximity to players," he said. "We’re going to be a developmental program.”

Lebby, Mississippi State Like Blake Shapen

One of the players added in the portal for the Bulldogs was former Baylor quarterback Blake Shapen. Last year, Shapen threw for 13 touchdowns and 2,188 yards. In Year 1, Lebby gets someone with experience to run his offense.

“I think for all of us, we understand, being a QB guy, calling the plays, getting the right quarterback was something we had to get done, and we’ve got our guy,” Lebby said about Shapen.

After spending three years at Baylor, Shapen said he is excited for his new start at Mississippi State in the SEC.

“This is where everyone wants to play, this is where the best of the best play,” Shapen said.

He said that in preparation for the season, he has trained with former Mississippi State and current Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott.

“Anytime you can take information from a guy like that who’s played in a lot of big-time football games, in the NFL, it’s pretty special,” Shapen said.

Expectations for the Season

For Lebby’s first season as the Bulldogs’ coach, he expects to be coaching a team with all the attributes he discussed earlier: toughness, competitiveness, accountability and being able to have fun. This will likely take place over the whole season, with plenty of learning curves. That is just how building a culture works— it doesn’t happen overnight.

When asked about Week 1, Lebby said, “I think you’re going to get a football team that’s excited to play. A team that you’re going to be able to tell is prepared and loves to play the game of football.”

With so many new players and coaches, one thing is for certain: Mississippi State’s offense is going to play fast. As an OC, Lebby has historically coached fast offenses, and he looks to continue that with the Bulldogs.

Shapen said the biggest difference between Baylor and Mississippi State is that now has to get the ball out much quicker than he did his previous offense.

When asked about tempo, Lebby said that “being the aggressor and being pedal down will be who we are.”

With all the new faces and weapons joining the Bulldogs, they should be a fun team to watch. If Lebby’s competitive mindset sticks, the team could play some nasty games in the SEC. According to Vegas Insider, the win total for the season odds is currently set at 4.5 for the Bulldogs. While Year 1 might not be all fireworks, with Lebby at the helm, this team could be dangerous in the future.