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Mississippi State

Senior guard Jacoby Jackson points to improvements on State's offensive line

Paul Jones Mississippi State Bulldogsby: Paul Jones7 hours agoPaulJonesOn3
jacoby jackson
Mississippi State OG Jacoby Jackson (Photo by Mark Rebilas, USA Today Sports)

Mississippi State’s offensive line has featured a lot of rotations just three games into the season. Unfortunately, a lot of that rotating has been due to multiple starters missing time due to injuries.

Outside of Blake Steen who is lost for the year, the Bulldogs should be relatively healthy this weekend when Northern Illinois visits Davis Wade Stadium for a 3:15 p.m. kickoff on the SEC Network.

Earlier this week, Bulldog veteran guard Jacoby Jackson spoke with the media about those rotations and what improvements are needed up front. Jackson has been a mainstay on the line since transferring from Texas Tech last season:

Q: How have you handled the musical chairs situation on the offensive line?
Jackson: I am kind of used to it because during camp we did a lot of rotating, guys played on different sides at different positions. So honestly, I already had a lot of experience playing with everybody I play next to – Albert (Reese), Jayvin (James) and Jimothy (Lewis). So really it wasn’t that bad of a transition or whatever. It’s been smooth and I am already used to playing next to those guys.

Q: What was it like for you and the line to see Fluff Bothwell play well last week?
Jackson: Oh man it was great. I know what type of player Fluff is and I know also what type of players we have in that running back room. So with our offensive line, all we are thinking about is opening up these holes and doing our job. When we get the ball in their hands and they get out in space, good things happen.

Q: What do you think the key has been to the fast starts by the offense so far?
Jackson: Just going out and everybody focusing on their individual job. No matter who we’re playing, no matter what we have to do or whatever the call is, a big emphasis as an offense is to just do your job and things are going to go well. We trust in Coach (Jeff) Lebby. We trust in everybody that is on the field. As long as everybody does their part, we know good things are going to happen. That’s been a big thing us coming out at the start of games.

Q: What are your impressions of Northern Illinois run defense?
Jackson: I really like what they bring on the defensive line. They’re really experienced, some great players on there. They do a lot of things and the big thing is they are really disciplined. They are big on their gap control, doing their job. They are going to run a lot of games so we’re going to have to bring it. We’re going to have to be ready for that. I know we are going to get a bunch of reps for them on the defense they run. So it is going to be a good game and I am excited for it.

Q: Your thoughts on the offensive line’s run blocking?
Jackson: I think we’re definitely making progress. We just got to keep building that as Coach Phil (Loadholt) says with that ‘not my man’ mentality. Just keep running off the ball with great leverage and great technique. Once again, I feel like we are getting better at it and we will keep getting better at it moving forward.

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