STARKVILLE — The Southeastern Conference suffered plenty of growing pains at quarterback in 2016.
In a year in which 10 league schools broke in new starters the average quarterback rating for the conference, 131.35, would have ranked 65th in the nation.
The SEC is seeing a return on its investment this season. Midway through the season, the SEC’s quarterback rating has jumped to 138.57. The SEC has two teams in the top 20 nationally in quarterback rating and four in the top 30 a year after having only top in the top 30.
Mississippi State’s Nick Fitzgerald and Kentucky’s Stephen Johnson have played key roles in the SEC’s improvement in that area. They will be on center stage in Starkville at 3 p.m. Saturday (SEC Network) when MSU (4-2, 1-2 SEC) plays host to Kentucky (5-1, 2-1) at Davis Wade Stadium.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart said on the SEC teleconference he thinks the improvement is cyclical. Others think the offseason beating SEC quarterback play took added fuel to a fire.
MSU coach Dan Mullen wonders why the play of league quarterbacks was criticized.
“It wasn’t good last year?” Mullen said.” I don’t see everybody lining up to play us in the SEC. I think there’s some pretty darn good players in this league.”
Arkansas quarterback Austin Allen said in July at SEC Media Days that quarterbacks in the league hear the criticism throughout the spring and summer, but they also benefit from the experience they gained the previous season.
“If things don’t go well, you’re the blame,” Allen said. “It might not always be on you or anything like that, but you can’t deflect things. That’s what you get for being a quarterback.”
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops can relate. Johnson is in his second season as starter. Watching Johnson develop and seeing the improvement Fitzgerald has made has provided a great frame of reference.
“From looking at the quarterbacks in conference we’ve played, they’ve looked very good, very well-coached and very talented,” Stoops said on the SEC teleconference. “Nick Fitzgerald is playing very good football, and (we) have a lot of respect for him. He does whatever he needs to do to put his team in a position to win. He very rarely takes negative plays and he’s throwing the ball exceptionally well.
“It definitely has for Stephen Johnson. You can see the more he plays, the more he feels comfortable back there.”
Last season, Johnson, Fitzgerald, and Alabama’s Jalen Hurts were part of a group of SEC quarterbacks that did the majority of their damage with their feet. With a year’s experience, they are becoming more efficient passers. That’s what Mullen sees in Johnson.
“He’s a great athlete and can make plays with his feet, but also the maturity of knowing when not to, when to make plays with the arm,” Mullen said. “I think younger guys sometimes want to make plays with their feet first and then they learn not to throw second. He’s learning that balance.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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