2011 SEC Media Days: Mississippi State Looks To Take Next Step To Win SEC

In recent years, Mississippi State has been good and at the 2011 SEC Media Days head coach Dan Mullen anticipates the Bulldogs making the transition from good to great.

The Bulldogs have the majority of their starters returning on offense including their leading passer, rusher and receiver. They capped off a memorable 9-4 season with a 52-14 Gator Bowl victory over Michigan.

“We came in last year finishing the year on a high note, ranked 15th nationally, winning a New Year’s Day bowl game for the first time in a long time, and coming into this season with season tickets selling out the earliest in the history of the school,” Mullen said.

Senior quarterback Chris Relf said that last season is over, and it’s time for the Bulldogs to take the next step.

“That was last year,” Relf said. “We want to be better than we were last year, like Coach Mullen said,’From good to great.’”

Joining Relf in the backfield will be senior Vick Ballard who made the Coach’s Preseason All-SEC team along with Relf. Ballard said that they don’t want to get complacent and it’s tough playing in the SEC.

“It’s a league of men,” Ballard said. “You’ve  got  to come ready to play each week, and if you can finish at the top, then you’ll be one of the best teams in the country.”

Mullen had nothing but high praises for his running back and credits Ballard’s hard work for being the player he is today.

“I think Vick plays with a chip on his shoulder, that he wants to go out there and prove everybody wrong, that he should have been recruited of high school, he should have been more heavily recruited out of junior college,” Mullen said.

Mississippi State has eight returning starters on offense and seven on defense. Junior defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and junior defensive back Jonathan Banks join Relf and Ballard in representing the Bulldogs on the Coach’s All-SEC team. Cox talked about the defensive coordinators  getting in players faces and being vocal on the field.

“Coach (Geoff) Collins and Coach (Chris) Wilson both run around in practice,” Cox said. “Both get after you. I can do something wrong, or someone else, and it not even be their position and they’ll get after you.”

On the offensive side of the ball, Relf plans on continuing being a dual threat at quarterback and has put in the extra work needed to be a better quarterback.

“I expect to do both (run and pass). I’ve got a good running ability and good throwing ability,” Relf said. “I stayed up there in May instead of going home just working on my quickness to develop myself as a quarterback.”

“What impresses me with Chris is the maturity he’s taken at the position, the extra things, the extra time, the extra investment that he puts in,” Mullen said. “He’s done a great job of managing the game while he’s out there, improving himself as a consistent passer.”

Ballard said that defenses will have to keep an eye out for everyone in the backfield when facing the Bulldogs as he, Relf and sophomore LaDarius Perkins will all be threats in the backfield.

“You don’t know who’s going to get the ball in their hands,” Ballard said. “Chris can run it or throw it, Perkins is fast as lightning and I try to bring a balance to the game. We had pretty good numbers last year, and I think we’re going to have even better numbers this year.”

The Bulldogs face stiff competition early when they play at Auburn week two of the regular season and then come back home the following Thursday to host the LSU Tigers. Mullen thinks the key to this season is establishing a home field advantage and winning every home game.

“If we can win all of our home games this year, find a way to win a couple tough road games, you’re going to find yourself in Atlanta,” Mullen said.

“I think we have the talent to do it. The question is, are we that team that is going to come together this year, that is going to gel, work a little bit harder, believe in themselves, believe in each other a little bit more than everybody else out there and reach our potential to be the best that we can be?”

The Bulldogs kick things off September 1 against the Memphis Tigers.

Jake Martin is a Member of Bleacher Report and a sports writer for the Concordia Sentinel in Ferriday, La. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand or from official interview materials from the Concordia Sentinel.