Even though Mississippi State finished 8-5 last year and won the Liberty Bowl, it often had to make do with a limited offense that suffered from the lack of consistent pass production and big plays.

The spring game didn't exactly look like a step forward for the Bulldogs as they stumbled through a sloppy performance, but coach Sylvester Croom took stock of the entire spring and insisted the offense had taken a big step forward.

"No question," Croom said. "We have worked extremely hard on our play-action passing game and throwing the ball up the field. We intend to throw the ball down the field this year."

The Bulldogs had to throw quarterback Wes Carroll into the fire as a true freshman last season and he made significant progress in his first spring. ...More