Mike Leach: Mississippi State Has About 40 People Interested in Open Kicker Tryout

Mississippi State head football coach Mike Leach divulged Wednesday that his call for an open kicker tryout has generated a ton of interest.

According to Andy Kostka of the Mississippi Clarion Ledger, Leach said about 40 students have expressed interest in taking part in the tryout, which is scheduled for "next week sometime."

After a 31-28 loss to Arkansas this past Saturday in which the Bulldogs missed three field goals, Leach announced his plans for an open tryout at the kicker position.

The kicking game has been the Achilles' heel for Mississippi State this season, as the Bulldogs have missed eight of their 17 field-goal attempts.

Senior Brandon Ruiz is 5-for-9 on the season with a long of 44, while freshman Nolan McCord is 4-for-8 with a long of 39.

On Saturday, Ruiz missed 23- and 46-yard attempts, and McCord missed from 40 yards out on a kick that would have forced overtime had it been good.

Ruiz, who began his college career at Arizona State, had been a solid kicker prior to this season.

He went 19-for-27 and 18-for-22 on field goals in his first two seasons with the Sun Devils, and he made 10 of his 12 attempts for Mississippi State last season.

Ruiz has missed some time because of injury this season, however, which could partially explain his dip in effectiveness. As a result, special teams coordinator Matt Brock said he is taking it "day-by-day" with Ruiz in terms of whether he will be available to kick field goals.

While Leach is keeping all of his options open at kicker, it seems likely Ruiz and McCord will be the top kicking options Saturday when the 5-4 Bulldogs face the 6-3 Auburn Tigers.

Mississippi State won't be able to add any new kickers to the roster until next week at the earliest ahead of the Nov. 20 game against Tennessee State.

Given the kicking conundrum, Leach could be more inclined to go for it in fourth-and-manageable situations Saturday, as the Bulldogs look to pull off a road upset against No. 17 Auburn.