3 problematic Mississippi State players vs. Texas

Kevin Coleman, WR

Mississippi State's biggest weapon and most consistent playmaker in the receiving corps is junior Kevin Coleman Jr.

Coleman is the go-to target in Lebby's pass-heavy, veer-and-shoot offensive system that was originally installed based on Art Briles' scheme from Baylor in the late 2000s. He leads Mississippi State in targets, receiving yards, touchdown catches, and yards after the catch.

Texas had mixed results against Lebby's veer-and-shoot offense when he was Oklahoma's offensive coordinator in the previous two seasons. The first matchup between Pete Kwiatkowski and the Longhorns against Lebby's veer-and-shoot offense at OU was in 2022 when Texas dominated the Sooners 49-0.

When OU had quarterback Dillon Gabriel healthy in 2023, the Longhorns' defense fared much worse in Red River in a last-minute 34-30 loss. Oklahoma did a nice job utilizing Gabriel's dual-threat ability and up-tempo offense to keep Texas's defense on its heels against the Sooners last season.

Texas will need to tackle much better in space when defending the short passes and underneath crossing routes with the secondary and the linebackers against Lebby's offense. But this is a much improved Texas secondary and linebacker corps in the SEC this fall compared to what Lebby faced the previous two seasons for the Longhorns at OU.

Mississippi State likes to get Coleman involved in the short passing game to get the ball out quickly and take advantage of his speed and elusiveness out in space to pick up big gains after the catch. Coleman is extremely dangerous when he gets out in space from those short routes in the Mississippi State offense.

Coleman is the only SEC receiver this season in the short passing game with over 200 receiving yards on those short routes (per PFF).

But it's not just the receiving game that Coleman can threaten the Longhorns. He also returns punts for the Bulldogs. Coleman is a dangerous punt returner thanks to his combination of speed, acceleration, and field vision at receiver. He averages nearly 20 yards per punt return this season.

Check out our latest Texas football articles on Hook'em Headlines