Surprise! Sunday Football Practice Notes

[caption id="attachment_143466" align="alignnone" width="500"] Coach Eliot embraces one of his daughters after the Tuesday-like practice, a practice that is always followed by a meal with the coaches' families.[/caption] Bet you didn't expect to see this. With a Thursday night game approaching, the practice schedule has shaken up a little this week. Here's a little Sunday Funday update from the defensive side of the ball. - Miss. State's offense is pretty similar to the one the Cats' defense faces everyday in practice. Running an uptempo spread offense that features a lot of read option run plays, the Bulldogs have consistently started games fast, scoring the majority of their points in the first quarter. While Eliot's main point of emphasis over the week was improving fundamentals, Avery Williamson knows that his unit must play fast if they expect to keep up with the uptempo offense, "we have to make sure we're getting our calls in fast, make sure we get lined up fast and we have to read our keys fast as well, because they're going to try and gas us." The best way to help the defense is by having good offense. It's hard to get gassed if your offense is staying on the field for long sustained drives. -Yesterday was a crazy day in the SEC, with Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina and Texas A&M all falling to lower-tiered teams that are often placed in the same category as Kentucky. It's reassuring for some of the guys on the team. Avery Williamson said today, "it was crazy, I didn't expect any of those teams to win. I was still mad Tennessee won. One of the coaches was saying today, 'you never know who's going to win those games, it's about who comes out ready to play.' We just have to stay positive and keep coming out here everyday grinding." Bud Dupree joked around a little saying, "I wish we could've played yesterday, we probably would've upset somebody really big." - Za'Darius Smith was VERY close to playing for the opposing team. His former school East Mississippi Community College is only about 45 minutes down the road from Starkville. He was in constant contact with the Bulldogs throughout his recruitment, attending nearly every home game last year. However Za'Darius is more eager to finish plays in the pass rush than playing up his return down South Boone's Butcher Shop Injury Update Did the Bye Week actually help the team get healthier? According to DJ Eliot the answer is YES, saying the team is 'significantly healthier'. Bud Dupree performed the most physical work since straining his pec, wearing a strap to prevent his strain from turning into anything worse. Za'Darius Smith puts on his million dollar smile any time someone mentions Bud's return. Not only does it free him up some in the pass rush, but being able to work with Bud after practice on a variety of things gets Z excited for the return of his P.I.C. (that's short for 'partner in crime' folks). Avery Williamson finally has his bulky cast removed, adorning a plate that is wrapped up, allowing his fingers to be free to grab onto opponents.