Mississippi State’s receiving room is built to stress a defense in a hurry, and Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said Monday he knows exactly what’s coming.
“They’ve got multiple guys that have documented 10.2, 10.3 speeds whether it was coming out of high school or whatever,” Wommack said. “Obviously with GPS and all of those the things you can get, they’re putting up some very high numbers.”
That kind of speed is part of the identity Jeff Lebby wants his offense to keep leaning into. Speaking with David Pollack on “See Ball Get Ball,” the Mississippi State coach was direct about what his Bulldogs are trying to do on the perimeter.
“If you didn’t know it, we do like speed, and we have for a long time, and that’s not ever going to change,” Lebby told David Pollack on “See Ball Get Ball.” “You can’t tackle what you can’t touch, and that’s reality.
We need fast guys and proud of this group. We need those guys to go play their butt off on Saturday and play the game that we play.”
The numbers back up the look. Four Mississippi State receivers are averaging more than 14 yards per catch, and two of them are over 17. That explosiveness is paired with quarterback Kamario Taylor, who has helped turn those vertical chances into production.
Wommack had plenty of praise for Taylor and said Alabama’s staff views him as one of the toughest quarterbacks it has seen.
“Kamario Taylor is a fantastic quarterback,” Wommack said. “He may be the best we have faced in the last three years, since I have been here.
His ability to create explosives in the passing game and find throws in the RPO game and the off-schedule plays that he makes. That’s not only with his feet, but he does a great job of keeping his eyes downfield and creating explosive passes through extending plays with his feet as well.
I think he’s had three touchdown passes in every game that he has played. He’s created an explosive pass for a touchdown in every game.
He is playing about as well as I have seen a guy play, especially in the last three years.”
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