Defensive coordinator Coleman Hutzler takes inventory of new look Bulldog defense

A season after Mississippi State struggled mightily on the defensive side of the ball, head coach Jeff Lebby and defensive coordinator Coleman Hutzler believe things are changing.

The Bulldogs went out to the transfer portal and drastically changed the roster at nearly every position. State has real depth and size across the board and it starts on the defensive line.

Hutzler had a chance to meet with the State media on Tuesday as the coach is preparing for his second training camp as a Bulldog assistant. The coach talked about the challenges in year two, his defense’s improvement and more.

Q: What’s your outlook on the defense this year?

CH: “Very excited. Excited about the additions we were able to make in January and in the recruiting cycle both in the portal and in high school. You get those 15 practices in spring ball and get a feel for where you’re at and what you have. We’ve got a ton of improvement to make in fall camp, but very excited.”

Q: What’s the biggest difference in this defense this season?

CH: “I think it starts up front. In this league and in the game of football in general, you’ve got to be able to win up front. Big people beat up little people and it starts with your d-line. We were able to add a ton of depth and a ton of great pieces on the interior as well as edge players and pass rushers so excited about that.”

Q: What were some of the issues that you saw with last year’s defense?

CH: “We talk a lot about effort, technique and execution – those are our core values as a defense. I was proud of our effort throughout most of the year. You look at game one to game 12 and our effort never wavered. To be able to do that through a tough season says a lot about our players, their identity and what they believe in. The technique and execution is where we have to make those improvements. That’s been our focus through the offseason. The offseason is a chance to reflect on the season before and attack the things you need to attack and the technique and execution were the big part.”

Q: How does Paul Rhodes and Mike MacIntyre factor in for your defense?

CH: “Great resources for me. Former head coaches, former defensive coordinators, great minds in the game of football and have been doing it for a long time. For me, they’ve been great resources to lean on as well as our staff and players in general. They’re able to coach the players and interact in all three levels so they’ve been a great addition.”

Q: How do things change with Vincent Dancy and David Turner splitting up duties on the defensive line?

CH: “The way we’ve split it is coach Dancy has the defensive ends and the Jack for us and coach Turners has the interior guys. They work well together. Coach Dancy has been a great addition. He’s done a great job with our players and had a great spring. We saw great improvement from a lot of guys that we’re going to need to take a big step forward this fall and we saw a jump in our pass rush. Excited to get coach Dancy back home in Mississippi and be a part of our staff.”

Q: Is there anything you feel more confident in this season opposed to last?

CH: “You learn every year that you do this. When you look at one year to the next, you evaluate what you did well and what your struggles were so you constantly learn. Definitely things that I took away and definitely things that our defense and the players are excited to improve on from last year.

Q: What’s your defensive alignment this year and do you expect to see more four-down linemen?

CH: “I think that we have the ability with our Jack linebackers like Branden Jennings, Malick Sylla and guys we’ve added to play three down or four down. You sit in one front all year long and you’re a sitting duck. We’ve got to be able to change the front up on the offensive line and the quarterback. You’ve got to be able to change the picture so we’ll continue to be multiple.”

Q: It looks like the speed has gotten better for your defense. Is that physical or more knowledge of the system?

CH: “It’s growth through everything. You grow through the additions we made in the portal, you grow through another winter and summer conditioning with coach Shaud (Williams) and his guys in the weight room. It’s hard to say just one thing, but we’ve gotten bigger and gotten faster.”

Q: How do you feel about the pass rush progress?

CH: “Very excited about our ability to get to the quarterback and affect the quarterback. We brought in several guys that have those natural skill set both on the edges at defensive end and Jack linebacker, but also interior rushers. All four guys when rushing the quarterback have to work together and we can create pressure from both inside and outside.”

Q: What’s the health like for your group?

CH: “Good. We feel like we’re in a really good spot and hopefully we stay that way. That’s going to be huge going into fall camp and how we’re going into the season so we’re excited about that.”

Q: You’ve got quality depth and a lot of experience with it, but is there an opportunity for some of the freshmen to get on the field?

CH: “I’ve told freshmen everywhere I’ve been that if you can help us win, you’re going to play. I don’t care how old or young you are, if you have the ability and show the ability through practice to help us win football games, why wouldn’t I play you? Age is just a number and if a guy continues to show through spring ball that he can help us win, we’ll do whatever we can to help them do so.”

Q: Is there anybody that has stood out there to you?

CH: “Anybody that got here in the spring, that’s a great start for them. The opportunity to get a winter workout and get 15 practices under your belt, get the installs and all those things, that puts you in a position to have a chance. The guys that got here this summer, we’ll see how they do. They had a great summer, how do they take on all the things when you start putting the pads on and installing and all of that.”

Q: The guys in the spring said that you stressed to them that they can’t go 2-10 again. Is that what you’re pushing to them?

CH: “The offseason is a time through winter and spring to reflect on the season before. The message today and going forward is all about going forward. We’re not looking back. We did that and evaluated the good and the bad from a year ago and made the corrections we needed to make as coaches and players. Now, it’s about 2025 and going forward.”

Q: Who are some guys you think will have big impacts on pass rush?

CH: “There’s guys that are returning like Branden Jennings and Deonte Anderson and then you look at the guys we added in the Syllas and Navaeh Sanders, Jamil (Burroughs), Jaray Bledsoe, Red Hibbler, Will Whitson – there are a lot of names and that’s a good thing. Excited to see who goes out and earns the starting jobs but also, with that depth, how we can roll guys in and affect the quarterback.”

Q: How tempting is it to overwork Isaac Smith?

CH: “He’s a workhorse – he loves it. Loves the game, plays the game the right way, practices the game the right way. We have to be smart in terms of workload and capacity because he’s not going to stop. That’s on me, and he’s also a year older and maturer and knows how to communicate when he’s sore or something’s going on. Excited for him going forward and the season he’s going to have.”

Q: How much were you and the defensive staff aware of Stonka Burnside’s ability in high school on that side of the ball?

CH: “I recruited Stonka out of high school at another place and I told Stonka from day one he’s born to be on the defensive side of the ball. Even last year when he was playing wide out, he was running down on punt and making every tackle for us on special teams. He’s got a bright future and has done a great job of making the transition. It’s an unselfish thing for someone to do that. Look forward to a great camp from him to take another step forward for the defense.”

Q: What have you seen from Tyler Lockhart?

CH: “He had a great spring. And if you look at his spring, every day he got better and better. Went out and had a great spring game and had a good scrimmage before that. More and more comfort for him in the system and spring which might be a little different from what he did at Winona. Excited about his future. What his future looks like in immediate playing time is up to him and his ability to show it not only to me but his teammates as well.”