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Miss St. rests hopes on QB's head
Mississippi State's Wesley Carroll, left, speaks during the Southeastern Conference football media days in Hoover, Ala., on Wednesday, July 23, 2008.
Butch Dill/AP
Written by SETH EMERSON
semerson@thestate.com
Posted on 07.31.08
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AUDIO: Sylvester Croom at SEC media daysAbout the Bulldogs
2007 RECORD: 8-5 overall, 4-4 in the SEC
COACH: Sylvester Croom (17-30 in four seasons at Mississippi State).
PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Wesley Carroll (1,392 passing yards, 9 TDs, 7 INTs in 2007), RB Anthony Dixon (1,066 rushing yards, 14 TDs in 2007), FS Derek Pegues (first-team All SEC pick in 2007), LB Jamar Chaney (preseason All-SEC second-team).
THE SKINNY: It may be too soon to expect the Bulldogs to take the next step after going to Croom’s first bowl last year. The defense has a new coordinator, and the offense will improve if it’s just average. But the Bulldogs have enough talent to go back to a bowl, and fourth in the SEC West — where they were picked by the media — seems reasonable.
SCHEDULE
| Aug. 30 | at La. Tech |
| Sept. 6 | SE Louisiana |
| Sept. 13 | Auburn |
| Sept. 20 | at Ga. Tech |
| Sept. 27 | at LSU |
| Oct. 11 | Vanderbitl |
| Oct. 18 | at Tennessee |
| Oct. 25 | Middle Tenn. |
| Nov.1 | Kentucky |
| Nov. 15 | at Alabama |
| Nov. 22 | Arkansas |
| Nov. 29 | at Mississippi |
Wesley Carroll raised a few eyebrows two years ago when he committed to Mississippi State. It wasn’t just because a south Florida kid was going to Starkville; others wondered whether he wanted to commit to coach Sylvester Croom, whose job security was in question.
Now that Croom’s job is safe, keeping it that way depends largely on Carroll, who is the latest quarterback to take the reigns of the Bulldogs’ offense.
In Croom’s four seasons, the passing game has been a glaring weakness. The defense has been solid, previously coached by new USC coordinator Ellis Johnson. The offense has relied on the running game, and sometimes it has worked — especially last year.
Carroll, meantime, helped lead the SEC’s lowest-rated passing offense. He was a true freshman who played 13 games after preseason starter Michael Henig was hurt. Another quarterback, Josh Riddell, made three appearances.
This season there seems little question Carroll is in charge, although junior college transfer Tyson Lee also might play. Croom showed how much weight he is putting on Carroll by making him one of the players brought to SEC media days. It’s rare a sophomore receives that honor.
“I’d be lying if I said a year ago that I thought I’d be here,” Carroll said in Hoover, Ala., surrounded by reporters. “I didn’t expect everything to happen so fast.”
Croom said Carroll “doesn’t have a great arm,” but he has been “amazed” by his quarterback’s decision-making. That is part of the reason Croom is opening up the offense, including more checkoffs.
The Bulldogs will run the West Coast offense, which requires quick reads and lots of passes to tailbacks. Croom also thinks the team has better speed at receiver, allowing Carroll to try more deep passes.
“We’ve given him the green light to take those shots,” Croom said. “If it doesn’t work, we feel like, with our running game, we can come back and make it up on the next play, whereas we didn’t give (Carroll) those kind of options last year.”
Carroll has heard the talk that he is a solid quarterback with a weak arm, but he doesn’t seem to be offended.
“In the West Coast offense, you don’t have to have that gunslinger arm,” Carroll said. “You just have to be able to make those reads. More than anything, it’s mental as a quarterback playing in this system.”
Carroll and Croom both talked last week about competing for an SEC championship. It’s a big step, but the next one for a program that last year reached its first bowl under Croom.
Whether that happens depends largely on one thing.
“We definitely need more balance on offense to be more consistent,” Carroll said.
Reach Emerson at (803) 771-8676.
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