Hudspeth happy to be back with the Bulldogs
Who says you can't go home? Not Mississippi State's new associate head coach/tight ends coach Mark Hudspeth, who, after seven years away, is back in his home state coaching with the Bulldogs.
“I've done a lot of time in this state,” Hudspeth said last month. “I grew up here. I went to college here in the state of Mississippi (at Delta State) and already did one tour here (as a coach at Mississippi State) during (former head coach Dan Mullen's) first two years, so I have so many friends and family here in this state.”
Hudspeth has returned to Mississippi an older, wiser coach than he was the last time he was here. For the last seven seasons, Hudspeth was the head coach at Louisiana-Lafayette and led the Ragin' Cajuns to unprecedented success. Hudspeth led his team to five New Orleans Bowl appearances during his stint at Louisiana-Lafayette, won four consecutive bowl games and had four straight nine-win seasons before things hit a downturn the last couple of years.
All this came after Hudspeth served as Mullen's passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach with the Bulldogs in 2009 and 2010. Though Hudspeth is now back in Starkville, he admits he's not the same guy as he was his last time at MSU.
“I've learned an awful lot,” Hudspeth said. “Anytime that you sit behind that (head coach's) desk for seven years, you learn a lot. It's not just the football part. It's dealing with players and dealing with teams. When you're a head coach, you're dealing with alumni. You're fundraising. You're recruiting. It's just so many hats that you wear as a head coach. You've got to get really good at delegating things. I've always been one that tries to do everything myself, so I had to learn to delegate a little bit and trust my staff. We had an outstanding staff and had some really good years.”
Hudspeth is hopeful to have a few more successful seasons now with the Bulldogs. He has a fellow Louisville native to thank for the opportunity.
After Joe Moorhead was named MSU's new head coach late last year, Moorhead met with State's director of player personnel Brad Peterson. Peterson, knowing Hudspeth was available, threw Hudspeth's name in the hat.
“I think Brad was recommending some guys that could come in and help recruit the state of Mississippi,” Hudspeth said. “He got us in touch and we got together and hit it off. I was really blown away and very impressed with coach Moorhead. That's one of the main reasons I came back.”
Hudspeth brags about Moorhead's leadership ability. It's not just on-thefield coaching that has caught Hudspeth's eye either. It's the total package of what Moorhead brings.
“You don't have to see him or meet him to know how he has done in his career offensively,” Hudspeth said. “All that is pretty well documented, but when you meet him in person and see what kind of person he is and the way he treats people, I just thought he was very genuine, very organized and very detailed. I thought he had a great vision for our program here at Mississippi State. I thought it'd be a great situation for me and my family.”
So now, here Hudspeth is, working under Moorhead and at home again. The coaching lifestyle can lead people down any number of roads. For Hudspeth, it has led him right back to his own stomping grounds.
“Anytime that you have a chance to come home and coach at a place that you love, you don't get many chances to do that – not at this level,” Hudspeth said. “It has been pretty neat.”