STARKVILLE — The question of who will be the Mississippi State football team’s next quarterback remains unanswered.
With Dak Prescott graduating and getting ready for the NFL draft, four players had a chance in spring practice to make an impression on coach Dan Mullen and an opportunity to win the job. But after a month of practice and the team’s Maroon and White Spring game on Saturday, Mullen didn’t name a starter or give any inclination there is a leader.
In fact, Mullen might not announce the starter until the week of MSU’s opener against South Alabama on Sept. 3.
Even though that might be a long time to deal with uncertainty, the offense is fine with that possibility.
“I don’t think it’s necessary, especially at this moment,” rising senior running back Brandon Holloway said. “We still have a long time before the season comes.”
Redshirt junior Damian Williams, rising sophomores Nick Fitzgerald and Elijah Staley, and redshirt freshman Nick Tiano split repetitions in the spring. Mullen said he will meet with quarterback coach Brian Johnson in the coming weeks and break down each player.
Tiano, who was redshirted last season, is the only one without game experience. Fitzgerald appeared in eight games and Staley in two games last season. They’ve combined to throw 19 passes.
Williams, who was also redshirted last season, has the most experience. He played as a freshman with Prescott and Tyler Russell battling injuries. His only start came against Ole Miss that season. He backed up Prescott as a sophomore. The Metairie, Louisiana, native has appeared in 12 games and completed 70 passes.
“(He has) the mental aspect of it, all because he’s been in the system longer,” Mullen said. “I thought he did some really nice things (Saturday). But it’s who is going to put in that grind, that extra mental time to get that mental edge between now and the start of fall camp.”
Williams was 14 of 20 for 165 yards and two touchdowns for the White team, which lost to the Maroon team 34-21, while Fitzgerald was 10 of 20 for 127 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. On the Maroon team, Tiano was 8 of 13 for 99 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Staley was 5 of 11 for 48 yards.
Entering the spring, fans and media believed Fitzgerald and Staley were the primary contenders to be the starter. Even with Williams’ experience, the young duo showed flashes of how good they could be last season.
Fitzgerald said he was pleased with how he competed and believes he put himself in a position to compete for the job in the summer and fall. The Richmond Hill, Georgian, native said he is going to watch as much film as possible this summer and work with the offense.
Fitzgerald said he also will watch film of the other quarterbacks because of what Johnson told him.
“You don’t want to make the same mistake someone else made,” Fitzgerald said. “Make a mistake, that’s fine, but you can’t make the same mistake twice, and you definitely can’t make the same mistake somebody already made that coach corrected.”
Mullen said the quarterbacks should use the summer to emerge as leaders in the weight room and on the practice fields. He said how the quarterbacks use that time could separate them.
Staley, who was limited last spring with a torn patella tendon injury, gave up basketball to focus on football. The Marietta, Georgia, native said he matured a lot this spring.
“You’ve got to stay focused and get as many reps as you can mentally and then physically when you’re out there,” Staley said. “You’ve just got to focus, see what other people do, correct each other’s mistakes, and then don’t make the same mistake somebody else made.”
Tiano said his approach was to be consistent and to learn as much as he could from the other quarterbacks and the coaches. He surprised many with his play.
Fitzgerald said he never has been in a four-quarterback race, but he was in a three-quarterback race in high school. He said all four quarterbacks have a selfless attitude and want to help each other get better for the sake of the team.
Like the running backs, the quarterbacks have different styles, which Holloway believes is a positive.
“I think they’ve all done well,” Holloway said. “They all have their own style. Maybe run a little bit more or throw a little better in the pocket, but they all stick out to me.”
The quarterbacks struggled in the first spring scrimmage with six interceptions, but they played better in the second scrimmage. Mullen said the biggest thing he evaluates is how they respond to the lows.
When asked who was the most consistent, Mullen said they were pretty equal.
“I saw all of them different days, guys performed at a different level,” Mullen said. “One day you’d say, ‘OK, this guy really did a great job. Next day, he wasn’t as consistent and somebody else had a great day.’ ”
In 2013, Prescott and Russell were announced as starters before several games and used in a rotation.
That could happen this season.
“There’s always a chance he could rotate out different quarterbacks going into the beginning of the season or maybe all the way through the season,” Fitzgerald said. “I guess it depends on what they think is best for the team and who they think is playing better.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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