STARKVILLE — Mississippi State University officials confirmed Wednesday two members of the 2012 football recruiting class will not be on the fall roster.
Quarterback Nick Schuessler, a 6-foot-4 and 190-pound prospect from Loganville, Ga., was rated a three-star prospect by 247Sports.com.
“It’s very tricky because I’m very picky in quarterbacks because what I look for in a quarterback, you can’t see on film,” Mullen said on signing day. “When you get to Nick, the first thing everybody at his high school described him as was the ultimate winner. Physically (he) reminds me of a guy I coached a long time ago in (current San Francisco 49ers quarterback) Alex Smith, who was a guy that didn’t put up huge stats but led his team to state championships. (He) then filled out his body, and I see a lot of (those) characteristics in Nick.”
After he led Grayson High School to a perfect 15-0 record and a Class 5A state championship his senior season where he threw for 1,853 yards and 20 touchdowns, Schuessler picked MSU over Middle Tennessee State among others.
“For a simple $35 fee and a tank of gas, Nick came to our camp and wowed us this past summer,” MSU offensive coordinator Les Koenning said. “He comes from a winning program and can really throw the deep ball extremely well.”
MSU will be back to two scholarship quarterbacks (projected starter Tyler Russell and backup Dak Prescott) for the entire 2012 season after last year’s third-string signal caller Dylan Favre made the decision to transfer and signed with Pearl River Community College last December. The unexpected move forced the MSU staff to speed up the process to find another signal caller this winter.
Mullen is on vacation with his family this week and unavailable for comment.
That recruiting search seemingly began with East Mississippi Community College quarterback Bo Wallace after the junior college All-American helped EMCC to the NJCAA championship. Wallace set NJCAA single-season records for passing yards (4,604), total offense (4,810) and most touchdowns thrown (53).
The problem for MSU in landing Wallace was EMCC coach Buddy Stephens getting notified before Christmas that the Bulldogs wouldn’t be interested in offering his quarterback a scholarship. Of course, MSU changed its mind when Favre left.
Wallace eventually reunited with former Arkansas State coach Hugh Freeze by signing with the University of Mississippi and will compete for the Rebels starting quarterback job.
“We look for Bo Wallace to compete, or at least bring great competition to that quarterback room, along with the kids we already have here,” Freeze said. “We expect him to raise the competition level there and the expectations of that room.”
Another option for MSU was in-state prospect Jeremy Liggins from Lafayette High School. The 270-pounder had offers from the Bulldogs, Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss and Louisiana State University.
The three-star prospect was rated the 19th-best quarterback in the nation by Scout.com picked LSU in a ceremony on the square in Oxford the night before signing day. However, Liggins has now signed with Pearl River Community College despite LSU officials saying they’re still confident he may still qualify before the beginning of the fall term.
Perkins, listed at 6’1″, 207 pounds, was a three-star prospect from Hattiesburg, according to Scout.com and Rivals.com. He attended and worked out at MSU’s Big Dawg camp last July. The state of Mississippi’s 12th-best prospect who projected to be low on the receiver depth chart. Perkins, who chose MSU over the University of Southern Mississippi and Ole Miss, rushed 31 times for 193 yards with six touchdowns and caught 22 passes for 475 yards and six more scores in his final season at Forrest County Agricultural High School.
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