STARKVILLE – It was an unsolicited and bold proclamation Pernell McPhee made after practice Wednesday, as darkness fell on the third day of Mississippi State’s preseason camp.

“We’re going to lead the SEC in sacks this year,” said McPhee, a transfer from Itawamba Community College. “And that’s a true statement.”

A team official then urged McPhee to qualify his claim with a “hope to” or “try to,” but the 6-foot-4, 275-pounder from Pahokee, Fla., wouldn’t soften his stance. He’s got big plans.

If MSU fails to fulfill McPhee’s vow, it probably won’t be his fault. A sack master at ICC, his presence gives State’s defensive line something it sorely lacked last season – a pass rush.

The Bulldogs made just 19 sacks last season, last in the SEC and a half-sack less than McPhee had his freshman year at ICC. One of the burning questions this offseason is whether MSU can find a pass rush and up that total significantly.

“We’re focused a lot on it,” defensive line coach David Turner said. “You guys bring it up, so it’s something they hear all the time. I bring it up.”

Turner, a holdover from the Sylvester Croom era, has seven players back with game experience, and three of them made at least two starts.

Among the departed are end Tim Bailey and tackle Jessie Bowman.

So much about this group remains the same. But it’s not.

“It’s funny. It’s the same guys, but a new attitude,” senior tackle Kyle Love said. “Our D-ends are working hard, a lot harder – not to say that they never worked hard, but they’re working a lot harder.”

That work ethic comes from new coach Dan Mullen and is reinforced by new defensive coordinator Carl Torbush. He’s got them focusing on being quicker, on making the right moves to shed blockers.

Linebacker K.J. Wright, a junior, said Torbush is installing a blitz package he’s never seen before.

“It’s hard to explain,” Wright said, “but it’s just this certain blitz that he put together that I know it’s going to work probably every time we run it.”

Moving McPhee around

Besides Torbush and his schemes, MSU’s greatest pass rush weapon will be McPhee. A defensive end in junior college, he’s been moved inside by Mullen.

That’s not to say he won’t occasionally move outside in certain situations, but his size and athleticism will make him a nightmare for interior linemen.

“It’s real valuable because we can rush him at nose tackle on a three-man front, and also put him at the end in a three-man front, or vice-versa with the four-man front,” Love said. “We can put him anywhere, and he’s going to play hard.”

McPhee is probably the only Bulldog locked into his spot, with Torbush saying he “could be a marquee type player.” Mullen said that McPhee having gone through spring practice with the team gives him the mentality of a returning player.

Everyone else is in a fierce competition to fill out the starting lineup. As a group, the linemen are a bit undersized, but the coaches like the overall athleticism.

Whoever starts, Torbush and Turner expect to throw a lot of bodies out there on game day. A deep rotation, not to mention the demanding offseason workout program the Bulldogs have gone through, should give the line enough collective energy to keep quarterbacks wary for four quarters.

With McPhee sure to provide a push in the middle, the next question is who will bring pressure from the edges. Sophomore Sean Ferguson, who made five starts last year, is looking at himself as a difference-maker.

The 6-3, 245-pounder from Miami has a sour taste in his mouth from last season.

“Last year I finished the season with zero sacks. For me, that was a big upset,” Ferguson said. “And then we lost the majority of our games, so that was a big upset for me.”

Love said Ferguson has outshined the other ends during preseason drills. The big key for him has been increasing his lower body strength.

“We kind of laugh and joke that recently his squat just surpassed his bench, so finally his legs are stronger than his upper body,” Turner said.

Ferguson is clearly working to back up his talk of getting better. McPhee is doing the same in regards to his promise of MSU leading the league in sacks.

It might not be wise to doubt McPhee, who in January said he stuck with his commitment to MSU during the coaching change because, “I’m a man of my word.”

And that’s a true statement.