Jeff Lebby’s era of Mississippi State football has arrived.
The Bulldogs are on their third coach in as many years as Mike Leach’s tragic passing opened the door for defensive coordinator Zach Arnett’s debut as head coach last year. That experiment failed before the year even ended for State and now it’s Lebby’s turn to take the wheel.
While there is always a risk in hiring first time head coaches, Lebby brings to Starkville an exciting offensive scheme that has been productive everywhere he’s been. The coach has also brought with him some swagger that has the fanbase ready to see what’s next.
Over the course of the next 100 days, we will take a look at Lebby’s roster and even some fun historical rewinds that will bring back memories for Dawg fans of all ages.
Today, we take a look at arguably the most important defensive lineman for the Bulldogs this fall.
100 Day Bulldog Countdown: 91 Days – No. 91, Jr. DE Deonte Anderson
The Bulldogs grabbed themselves a good one back in 2021 when State was able to dip into the state of Florida and secure Anderson.
During the difficult recruiting process of the COVID-19 season of 2020, MSU had no problem evaluating Anderson. He was a four-star recruit in Fort Meade, Fla., that had plenty of projection. He was an athletic EDGE with some room to grow in his 6’3, 225 frame.
Offers around the country came for Anderson in high school as he picked up verbals from Michigan State, Nebraska, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, West Virginia and many others by his senior year.
Anderson came through with 32 tackles, 7.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, two forced fumble and two fumble recoveries his final year of high school ball and he was named to the All American Bowl. Before the game Anderson would announce his college intentions and the Bulldogs would be the choice.
In his first two seasons in Starkville, Anderson was slowly developing. He redshirted in year one with the Bulldogs in 2021, but he got five games of action as a redshirt freshman in 2022.
After grabbing two tackles that first year of action, Anderson’s work picked up last year on the line. He played in all 12 games as a sophomore with 38 tackles, had four pass deflections, made 3.0 TFL, 0.5 sack and forced a fumble.
As he heads into year four in Starkville, Anderson has developed into a great player, but he’s also a leader on the defense. The Florida native enters the season as one of the Bulldogs’ most talented and experienced defenders and they need him to have a big season.
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