Gamecocks' Week 2 foe dealing with similar quarterback quandary
HOOVER, Ala. – Like South Carolina and a few other SEC schools, Mississippi State faces a difficult decision in August selecting a starting quarterback.
After relying extensively on three-year starter Dak Prescott, who was drafted in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys, Dan Mullen and Bulldog offensive coaches spent spring practice sorting through and evaluating four candidates to succeed him at the most highly visible position in football.
As with the Gamecocks, the close competition between Damian Williams, Nick Fitzgerald, Elijah Staley, and Nick Tiano will extend into August when Mississippi State’s preseason camp opens. The four-way battle should be the most closely watched late summer skirmish in the northeast corner of the Magnolia State.
“(It’s) going to have an interesting quarterback battle,” Mullen said Tuesday at SEC Media Days. “We had four guys competing for the job in spring ball. All of them are still in contention for the job. No one really separated themselves or pulled away from the other guys at that position. I'm hoping over the summer that someone does that. I will be a happy guy to name a starting quarterback and find somebody that has separated themselves from the other three throughout the summer.”
When the Gamecocks head to Starkville, Miss. for a Week 2 matchup on Sept. 10, the quarterback dynamic promises to be a dominant storyline on both sides.
Williams, who started one game as a freshman in 2013 and redshirted in 2015, is a junior and has spent the most time of the four QB candidates on the Mississippi State roster. Fitzgerald served as Prescott’s backup in 2015 and completed 11-of-14 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns.
Staley, a sophomore, appeared in two games last season, while Tiano redshirted in 2015 as a true freshman and looks to attain his first game action at Mississippi State.
Whoever wins the job has enormous shoes to fill and faces endless comparisons to Prescott, one of the most decorated players in school history. As a senior, Prescott threw for 3,793 yards and 29 touchdowns with just five interceptions, completing 66.2 percent of his passes, in leading Mississippi State to a 9-4 record. He was also MSU’s leading rusher with 588 yards and 10 touchdowns on 160 carries.
In short, Prescott did everything.
“It has definitely been different without Dak,” said Mississippi State wide receiver Fred Ross, who caught a school record 88 passes and led the SEC in receptions per game (6.8) in 2015. “All of the quarterbacks have been working hard and doing things the coaches have asked of them.”
Mullen added: “The most important thing for me in looking at quarterbacks is finding a winner, finding a guy that just has that "it" about him. That's one of the hardest things to find when you're out there recruiting (quarterbacks) is that guy that has that "it" personality, and Dak certainly had it.”
Inexperience at quarterback could place additional pressure on the Mississippi State running game in 2016. The Bulldogs return all four running backs that saw meaningful action last season led by Brandon Holloway (413 yards on 92 carries), the Bulldogs’ second leading rusher last season.
“We'll be a little different on offense this year,” Mullen said. “We're going do that because we're playing with a different quarterback and we’ve got a lot of good players coming back on the offensive side of the ball. All our running backs are back. We have some starters coming back on the offensive line. We have to depend on the running game a little bit more this year than we did last year.”
Holloway, who started the final eight games last season, was one of only three FBS players in 2015 with at least 400 rushing yards, 300 receiving yards and 500 kick return yards, joining Stanford’s Chris McCaffrey and San Jose State’s Tyler Ervin in the exclusive club.
NOTES
-- As expected, Mullen faced tough questions Tuesday regarding Mississippi State’s controversial decision to admit five-star defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons into school following a domestic violence incident caught on video. According to a Mississippi State press release, Simmons “in an effort to break up a domestic fight between his sister and another adult woman, he used physical force against one of those involved in the altercation.” Simmons will serve a 1-game suspension, meaning he will make his highly-anticipated Bulldogs debut against the Gamecocks Sept. 10 in Starkville.
-- Mullen on Simmons: “It was a university decision (to suspend Simmons for one game), but I was just thrilled that we're having Jeffery as part of our family coming in. I take a lot of pride as a coach on developing young men to be champions, not just on the field but off the field, and in every part of their life to be successful in whatever it is they do. That's not an easy process.”
-- After opening the 2016 schedule with consecutive home games against South Alabama and the Gamecocks, Mississippi State plays four of its next five games on the road – LSU, UMass, BYU and Kentucky. The lone home game during that stretch is Auburn on Oct. 8. The road contest against UMass will be played at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA, home of the NFL’s New England Patriots.
-- Besides quarterback, Mississippi State saw another key role change hands as former NFL linebacker Peter Sirmon (played for Tennessee Titans from 2000-06) was hired as defensive coordinator. Sirmon spent the past two seasons on the Southern Cal staff as Associate Head Coach, linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator. Mullen insisted Mississippi State’s defensive philosophy will not change under Sirmon. “We have 11 guys running the ball, a very attacking style of defense that we have played since I've been the head coach and will always play while I'm the head coach at Mississippi State,” Mullen said.
-- Mississippi State LB Richie Brown on Sirmon: “He has done a lot for our defense already. He relates really well to the players. NFL guys tend to relate to us a lot better because they kind of know what we have been through. He is bringing new things to the table, but we are still a Mississippi State defense. I’m really excited for this season.”
