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Assistant coach Matt Barnes confident in Mississippi State safeties

Paul Jones Mississippi State Bulldogsby: Paul Jones08/01/25PaulJonesOn3
matt barnes
Mississippi State safeties coach Matt Barnes

Regardless of the position group, it was not a pretty scene last year with Mississippi State’s defense. But at the safety position, there’s been an influx of talent on the back end of the defense and that has increased expectations for that group.

Bulldog safeties coach Matt Barnes met with the media Tuesday to discuss his group and the efforts to fix last year’s issues:

Q: How has the work load changed with the influx of new guys that got here in the spring?
Barnes
: Definitely, some things we need to get cleaned up on defense. It is a Jimmy and Joes game and not an Xs and Os game. So getting the right guys in the right places is the name of the game. I think we did a nice job. Coach (Vincent) Dancy, Coach (David) Turner and Coach (Coleman) Hutzler and everyone involved did a nice job bolstering the front in the offseason, which is what we needed to get done. When they don’t have long to throw, we tend to cover better on the back end.

Q: Isaac Smith said he wants to have less stats this year for obvious reasons. How do you keep his impact on the game high while having fewer tackles per game?
Barnes: Isaac will always be right in the middle of it. The thing from a coaching standpoint and those of us that are living it day to day, there’s so much value you can add beyond just the production sheet that you see Saturday after the game. I think that is at every level. There’s a safety or linebacker that’s out there that maybe he didn’t make nine tackles but he’s making sure everyone is lined up in the right place and he’s learning what the offense is likely to do. There’s so many ways to be a productive player without it translating to statistical categories.

Isaac will always have that benefit. He is such a cerebral player, works really hard at the game, always well prepared. He is the quarterback of the defense.

Q: What kind of role do you see Isaac having this year, position-wise?
Barnes
: I think it is versatile, different spots. The name of the game on defense is to try to make the offense left-handed. When we can put Isaac in a position that tilts things in our favor, that is what we’re going to do. It’s all speculative at this point as we have to go to training camp to see what shakes out at the end of the day. Coach Hutzler leads the charge with it and it is our job as a staff to make sure we have the best players on the field doing what they do best.

Q: Isaac talked of being accountable when he was at SEC Media Days. What have you seen from that standpoint?
Barnes: It’s been cool to watch the players really take charge with that. Every coach would tell you across any sport that the best teams are the ones that are player-led and not fed by the coaching staff or coach-fed. So the guys taking the reins on that is a huge deal. When your best players are your best leaders, good things should happen.

Q: What kind of player is Jahron Manning and how do you see his role being this year?
Barnes
: A great one, he’s a great player. He was a great player at his previous school. You see it and know why he is. He is highly intelligent with also a great work ethic that works at the game. I tell the guys all the time that everyone is fast, everyone is strong, everyone can jump, everyone can cover, everyone can tackle. Your advantage moving forward is six inches from ear to ear. If you can recognize formations and understand situational football and have a good idea of what’s coming in whatever defense we have called and how you need to get us adjusted to having a successful down, those are the guys that play a long time.

Forty times and combine times are fun and don’t get me wrong. But at the end of the day it’s 11 on 11 football. The guy that knows what is going to happen and communicate that to the defense is invaluable. That is the kind of thing that Jahron brings.

Q: Jabryis Stewart is a unique kind of player. What do you expect from him?
Barnes
: Time will tell. It is hard to say exactly what you anticipate from a guy just from the spring. We reserve the right to form another opinion after training camp. But he is definitely a run-and-hit guy, super coachable, awesome young man. Extremely explosive. I mean right away, if I was going to pound the table and say what I expect, I expect him to be a demon for us on special teams, at the least. Obviously, the more you prove on special teams then ultimately you are getting an additional role on defense or offense. But he is a definite run-and-hit scud missel.

Q: What kind of progress has Stonka Burnside made since moving to safety?
Barnes
: Huge strides. But I would say, I don’t care who you are. If you spend your whole life playing one position at a certain level and now you are essentially at the highest level of collegiate football and you’ve made a major change in what you’re playing, there’s going to be a learning curve. Where he went from Day 1 to whatever day it was when we left this spring, he made enormous leaps and bounds. I like to think that progress has continued over the summer. I know it has in the meeting room and things like that.

So looking for a big training camp from him. We just all need to understand at safety and linebacker and at some of the higher-processing positions, there is no substitute for a guy that has 10,000 hours and then one hasn’t become a master of anything. When you don’t have as many hours or reps under your belt, there is no substitute for those reps. But we are very pleased with the progress he has made and extremely excited about his future.

Q: How much more comfortable does Brylan Lanier look now that he’s back at safety?
Barnes
: Really comfortable. He played outside last year for us out of necessity. That was another position Coach (Jeff) Lebby, Coach (Corey) Bell and Coach Hutzler have done a great job of making some additions to the corners room as well as bringing along some younger players and some guys that were here for us last year. So I feel good about that as well.

Q: What have you seen from Tony Mitchell?
Barnes
: A lot. He’s an instinctive player. He’s another guy that has position versatility somewhere between a linebacker and a traditional safety. It comes pretty natural for Tony. He’s got to stay healthy and that is something he has battled at other schools and just staying on the field type of thing. But we are looking for a great training camp for him, as well.

Q: You mentioned the impact special teams can make. Is Stonka a good example of that?
Barnes
: Absolutely. I think the first time I met with Stonka about changing to safety was when he put a couple of clips on him and he had a big hit on a punt covering against Georgia last year and another one against the team up north. We just kind of watched those clips and said ultimately the goal is to get you to play as fast on defense as you are here on special teams. The advantage of special teams is in some areas.

But most areas it is less thinking and you don’t have to learn as much. There’s just less moving parts. That goes back to those 10,000 hours thing. If you have 10,000 hours at safety, those moving parts are not moving as much and you are used to seeing it. What we saw with the violence from Stonka on special teams is exactly what we’ve seen in flashes from him at safety and what we look forward to seeing in the future.

Q: What do you want to accomplish with the safeties in training camp?
Barnes
: Learning and accomplishing, I am trying to learn who gives us the best opportunity to win and how can I help them on Saturdays when we are on the field. There’s so much work that goes into this profession and that is on every aspect – for a player, for a coach, for a weight staff, for a nutrition staff. There’s so much work and ultimately the job is 3-4 hours every Saturday in the fall. Just be as pointed as we can and understand that it is a big deal to put you on the field. It means we really trust you. Because believe me, as coaches we have a lot riding on it, as well.

So just looking to learn who is ready to play, who can we trust on the field. Then what can we do to support them and give them the best chance to be the best version of themselves.

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