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Mississippi State

100 Day Bulldog Countdown: 52 Days - No. 52, OT Zechariah Owens

3rupauk8_400x400by: Robbie Faulk07/09/25RobbieFaulkOn3
Zechariah Owens
EJ Holland/On3

Year two of the Jeff Lebby era has arrived and the Mississippi State coach is back to work.

After a disappointing first season, the coach and his staff are doing what they can to get things back on track in Starkville. The players on the field will be the difference for State this season if they are to make a return and we’re going to discuss every single one of them over the course of the next few months.

As we do every year, we’re counting down 100 days until State’s first game at Southern Miss in Hattiesburg on August 30. Over this period of time, we’ll breakdown every scholarship player on the roster, look back at great moments in MSU history and even talk about legends that have come before the current Bulldogs.

Today, we look at a transfer lineman with tremendous potential.  

52 Days: No. 52, Sophomore OT Zechariah Owens    

It caught most of the Bulldog faithful by surprise when Phil Loadholt was able to pull a promising young offensive lineman from his former stop at Colorado.

Loadholt came in from coaching with Deion Sanders as the offensive line coach of the Buffalos and he needed to overhaul some things up front. Along with several other transfer portal linemen that should help the Bulldogs’ two deep, Owens was a part of those plans.

The 6’6, 340-pounder from McDonough, Ga., Owens starred at Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy and was one of the top prospects in the class of 2023. The On3 Industry Ranking had Owens as the No. 277 player in the country and the No. 20 tackle nationally. He was also 25th in the talent-rich state of Georgia.

Just about everyone came after Owens during his recruitment with top offers coming from Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, Miami, Florida, Alabama, LSU, Penn State, Oregon, USC, Michigan, Ole Miss, Auburn. The Under Armour All-American would commit to Clemson initially before opening his recruitment back up, but he would sign with the Tigers to play college ball.

After playing in two games and redshirting as a freshman, Owens hit the transfer portal and he would land at Colorado. Owens got a little more playing time as a regular in special teams with the Buffs as he played in 10 of the team’s games. A new role was budding for him in year two with Colorado and he was getting good run during the spring, but Owens decided to enter the portal for a second time and he followed Loadholt to Starkville.

Despite missing the spring at State, Owens is a wildcard to compete for a starting spot. It’s year three in college and the big and talented blocker should be prepared to start earning some reps up front. There will be a lot of competition at different positions and he should play a factor.  

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