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Bulldogs' Tyson Lee ready to post big senior season in Dan Mullen's offense

Mississippi State quarterback Tyson Lee had a rough go of things during his junior season with the Bulldogs, as Sylvester Croom's club dropped to a disappointing 4-8, just one year after a promising eight-win season.

Lee took much of the heat, as the offense never seemed to be able to gain momentum at key moments and cost the Bulldogs several opportunities to win games.

However, things are looking up for the senior quarterback from Fulton, Mississippi. After Croom resigned, the hiring of new head coach Dan Mullen was announced. Mullen comes to the Bulldogs after leading a hugely successful stint at Florida, during which his offenses led the Gators to two National Championships.

With him, Mullen brings a wealth of experience and a wealth of knowledge. When Mullen arrived in Gainesville, he took Chris Leak, who had been under three different offensive coordinators, and molded him into the leader of a National Championship caliber offense.

Now, no one will confuse Chris Leak with Tyson Lee any time soon, but there are some similarities that are promising for Bulldog fans.

First off, both quarterbacks are relatively short. Mullen counteracted this with Florida in 2006 by moving Leak around in the pocket to get him open looks at wide receivers. He also spread the field wide with receivers to prevent too many defenders from hovering around the box and affecting Leak's view.

Mullen will likely do some of the same type of maneuvering with Lee, but he has one key advantage that he didn't have with Leak. Lee was built to run.

Lee was clocked as low as 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash as a high schooler and can flat-out fly for a quarterback. Mullen's strategy of spreading the field and letting his quarterback take off if nothing is open will work wonders for Lee.

All he needs is for Lee to develop a rudimentary understanding of when to take off and when to throw the ball out of bounds to avoid taking a brutal hit.

If Lee can master that skill, he will have a terrific chance to be very successful under Mullen's system. In fact, the system is designed to give the quarterback as many options as possible, something that didn't happen much under Sylvester Croom.

Mullen proved at Florida, multiple times, that the right chemistry between an offensive coordinator and a quarterback can be a powerful combination.

Lee appears to fit the mold for Mullen's system. All he needs to work on now is the chemistry.

This article and many others like it can be found at SEC Sports Hub.

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