Mississippi State’s Malone, Senior in battle to replace injured Robinson
STARKVILLE – Five seats are in the front row of John Hevesy’s meeting room. They’re reserved for the starters on the offensive line.
Sitting in one of those spots is a goal for those working in Hevesy’s unit.
“There’s a level of expectations to play in that first five,” Mississippi State’s offensive line coach said. “I say that to them all the time: ‘The front row of my meeting room is the first five. That’s your fight.’”
The season-ending injury to Damien Robinson during last Friday’s scrimmage opened a seat. The senior tore his ACL.
During Tuesday’s practice, junior Justin Malone and sophomore Justin Senior rotated at right tackle. Malone has sat in the front row before. He started the first game of 2013. Senior’s eager to move into that spot now.
“Before you pretty much felt like you had no chance of becoming a starter just because the guys have been there a while,” Senior said. “But now it feels like a competition every single day.”
Senior practiced with the reserves for most of fall camp. Tuesday marked the first day Senior worked primarily with the first team. It was also the first day Malone saw time at tackle. The 6-foot-7, 320-pounder started last season at guard before breaking his foot in the season-opener.
“They’re very similar,” Malone said. “As a guard, you’re going to be hitting bigger guys. They’re not as fast, bigger and stronger. At tackle they’re faster … so they’ll try to run by me; they don’t want to get directly hit.”
MSU coach Dan Mullen said on Monday in a perfect world Senior would play a backup role this season. Injuries may prevent that. Senior returned for his third year in the program in the best shape during his time in Starkville — at least for an offensive lineman.
He played anywhere from 250 to 270 pounds last year. This season, he’s up to 300.
“I used to get bull-rushed. I was too small,” Senior said. “And to go against people 300 pounds, running the same speed I am, it just isn’t going to work out.”
The increased size resulted in his teammates and coaches believing Senior can fill Robinson’s spot without much dropoff.
The Canadian-born Senior doesn’t concern himself with what others think. He said he needs to work on his timing off the snap and hand placement.
In his third season in Hevesy’s meeting room, Senior wants to sit in the front row.
“I just want to be perfect,” Senior said. “So until I’m perfect, my fall camp was OK.”
Contact Michael Bonner at (601) 961-7289 or mbonner@gannett.com. Follow @MikeBBonner on Twitter.