Gameday and portal season arrive for Lebby, Bulldogs in pivotal start to 2026

As Jeff Lebby and his Mississippi State closed their eyes on Thursday night, the staff was simultaneously preparing for a final game of the season and for transfer portal madness.

The Bulldogs are currently hours away from taking the field in Charlotte, N.C. to play Wake Forest in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in a game that could both showcase the young talent in their arsenal, but also give State a sixth win to close the season. It was a goal to get to a bowl game throughout the season, and now State has it. But Friday is also the official start to roster building for 2026 through the portal.

“It’s been every single day, working towards that,” Lebby said. “Making sure these guys who have announced they’re going in, having the ability to make sure on the 2nd and the 3rd that we are getting the right guys here. We’re working on that every single day. For me there is this great amount of focus on being able to go end the season the right way, go win a bowl game, and start 2026 in a great way. Then understanding the importance of those next 10-12 days to be able to get our ’26 roster the exact way that we want it.”

The start of the process for Lebby has been putting together the staff that he needs to make all of this happen. Of course, there are still a whole lot of familiar faces still in the building that have been working on the roster and developing players for the last two years, but he’s also had changes on the staff with more to come.

Defensive coordinator Coleman Hutzler and wide receivers coach Chad Bumphis were fired shortly after the regular season ended against Ole Miss. Zach Arnett was brought back to lead the defense along with former linebackers coach and defensive coordinator Matt Brock and new defensive line coach Ty Warren. There have been big offensive additions in Bush Hamdan and Kevin Johns in undefined roles as well as assistant position coaches like Kevie Thompson and Desmond Lindsey.

State still has to announce a wide receivers coach and there’s more potential movement with the defensive staff after the bowl game. With all that, Lebby has been structuring exactly how his coaches will recruit and trying to navigate the best way to maximize the program’s efforts.

“I think it is so important to get the right 10 coaches on the road. I think that is going to be a huge piece of it,” Lebby said of his staff. “The development for a bunch of portal guys as they come in being with some specific coaches in January and those guys not being on the road. I think that will be a huge benefit. What our administration has done for us to be able to beef our staff up the way we need to and the commitment. Our additions are going to be huge upgrades for us and excited about it.”

Support staff putting in the work during bowl game

Like everyone else in the country, the ground work was already being laid by the State staff before the portal even opened. While Lebby and his team is getting set to kickoff, several staff members remain at the Seal building on campus preparing for the madness that awaits the coaching staff when they return on January 3.

Several visitors are expected on campus on Saturday with Lebby initially expecting five or six at this point last week. That number will fluctuate based on the ebb and flow of the portal, but State knows what it wants at this point.

“We knew really where we were and what we wanted to get done as we got into Egg Bowl week and that week following with some conversations,” Lebby said. “As we continue to be able to evaluate, it’s always important. It’s been huge for Arnett to be here and evaluate on the defensive side of the ball, watch these guys practice 12 times instead of just watching on tape.”

As important as the portal and roster building is over the course of the next few weeks, Friday night is equally big for State’s jump in 2026.

Freshman quarterback Kamario Taylor will lead his team out on the field with a chance to build more momentum heading into Lebby’s third year. It’s already been a massive benefit for the team to get an extra month of practices and players are excited for the opportunity – especially ones whose roles will grow next year.

“I think the biggest is just some of these guys getting these extra reps,” Lebby said of the bowl prep. “I think there’s been great development in the weight room, 15 extra lifts that we wouldn’t have been able to get in as a team.

“All the meetings and the extra reps on the field, guys obviously like KaMario. But some of these young guys, offensively, guys like Gracen Harris, Sanfrisco (Magee) and (Isaiah) Mitchell, that you didn’t see get a lot of work, they’ve gotten a ton of work and it has shown up. That’s been fun to watch because these guys have a bunch of ability but they haven’t gotten a ton of work. So if their number gets called in the bowl game, I think they’ll be ready to roll.