State special teams coordinator Cliff Odom holding high expectations for Bulldog specialists

Mississippi State special teams coordinator Cliff Odom has a mixture of veterans and new faces within his room this season. But there is also proven talent in all phases of State’s special teams’ group.

Last Tuesday, Odom met with the media to discuss his group heading into training camp, which begins on Thursday:

Q: What are your impressions of your unit heading into camp?
Odom: I’m as excited as I’ve ever been going into a fall camp, just because of what they’ve done this summer, the work they’ve put in whether it’s been at other positions and positions on all of our special teams’ units. We’re bigger, stronger, faster, and they’ve worked their butts off this summer to allow us to go out there in fall camp.

Q: We noticed your group always has an annual offseason golf tournament. How close is this group?
Odom: It’s been really, really fun. So after spring we have the ‘Mob Masters’ and then the ‘Mob Open’ going into fall camp. It is just fun, a different way to connect. They all play way more golf than they should (laughing) and they are better than me and I am horrible. So it is a chance for them to see me in a bad light. But this group, this special teams’ group is really close.

We’ve added a few guys and we have a couple of guys that have been here. So they’ve done a good job of meshing and once again, the work they’ve put in is really where the relationships have been solidified in that room. I am excited and I am not going to tell you my score. It was really bad.

Q: We’ve heard about the improved depth of this team. How does that impact the special teams?
Odom: If you look at it athletically, size-wise. Now you are talking about guards and tackles on punt or kick return, or talking about gunners coming down on kickoff. It is not just having 11 guys. Now we have 22 guys that we feel really, really good about that can go win their 1-on-1 in space, which is essentially what special teams is.

Q: You have some guys with speed and some guys with experience returning kicks. Who are some guys in the mix in the return game?
Odom: Punt return is definitely wide open because we have Brenen (Thompson) and Anthony (Evans) who can go and they are dangerous with the ball in their hands. Davon Booth is going to be hard to beat out because he is one of the best kick returners in the country. But we have some young guys. Kolin (Wilson) has done a really good job in the punt return game. So it is going to be a lot of fun at that punt return spot. But it is going to be hard to beat out Davon Booth. I was as equally fired up when we found out he was coming back.

Q: With guys like Kolin and Xavier Gayten that play in a room with a lot of depth, how important is it for them to also find a role on special teams?
Odom: It is extremely important. Take a guy like Xavier where he showed up and earned respect from his teammates. We saw what he did at running back whether it be getting reps with the 1s or 2s or on scout team. But he really earned respect by running down covering kick on punt and kickoff. So highlighting him in that space last season and letting that be an example and point to the next freshman. Hey, you want to be like Xavier or Stonka (Burnside) or Cyrus (Reyes), now you can come in and do that.

Did you sign to come down on kickoffs? No. But you can have a leading impact as a freshman playing on special teams. That solidified it from a culture standpoint and having those guys last year. So now incoming freshmen know what they are in it for me but more importantly, they are in it for the guys that have been here. They know it is a big deal for you to have a role to make an impact early when you get here.

Q: How has punter Ethan Pulliam been since going football full-time?
Odom: I could seriously just copy and paste what I said about him last year. His work ethic has been unbelievable. He flipped a switch and is up here more than anyone else. He works his butt off and is as hard of a working player that I have ever been around regardless of position in my coaching career. I am excited for what he’s done and it has allowed him to have the opportunity to show what he can do in fall camp.

Q: From a talent standpoint what do you see from Pulliam?
Odom: The sky is the limit. He has a huge leg. For him, it is being more consistent placing the ball. But as far as distance and hang and what he’s done this summer when he made the decision to go solely football, he has been phenomenal. He literally has an NFL leg. It is our job to hone him in and be consistent with him.

Q: What are you expecting from kicker Kyle Ferrie this year?
Odom: Be himself, be who he’s been. Continue to take his work ethic. He did not like how he performed this spring and that really channeled him in to getting in more kicks this summer. So just that work ethic and apply it to fall camp and be who he’s been. I expect him to be a high 85% guy (on field goals). The one thing about Kyle when I talk about him being himself, I learned from golf that he wants to make that shot to go in. He wants to be aggressive and all eyes on him to go make the kick to go win the game. That’s who he’s always been as long as I’ve known him. So he just has to be that.

Q: We saw Stonka Burnside make big plays on special teams last year. You see him playing that same role this year?
Odom: Absolutely I do. I think that kind of flashed (last year) and yeah, I think we should move him to safety because he is running down making special teams’ tackles. It kind of took us learning each other and waiting for the light to turn on for him on special teams. But once it did, now he is in more of a leadership role. He will be more out on the edge in a position to go make a play and go win in space. But absolutely, I expect him to have another great year on special teams.

Q: Is a guy like former State player J.T. Gray a guy you can point to that has made a living in the NFL on special teams?
Odom: 100%. We put him and Logan Cooke, we put those guys in front of our team as much as we can. He was actually here for the spring game. I gave him a hoodie that has our Mob custom logo on it. I said J.T., we don’t know each other that well but you are a legend on special teams unit. We talk about him and just his impact. We show his defensive reps and show what he’s done in multiple years being a Pro Bowler. That is where all the guys want to go. A guy that sat in this room, this is him doing it and you just have to follow his path. The cool thing about J.T. is he doesn’t say a lot of words but his presence speaks very loud. He’s spent time here with our guys so it has been really good for me to piggyback off of him and what he’s done, and point to here is a different way to go and do it.