STARKVILLE — Tommy Stevens’ instructions were simple.
A text from quarterbacks coach Andrew Breiner asked him to meet around 2:30 p.m. Thursday.
When the time came, the former Penn State signal caller strode into Breiner’s office. Breiner quickly posited how Stevens thought camp went. He responded in the affirmative.
“I still think it was my best camp, all-in-all. I think I closed it out that way,” Stevens said Tuesday. “I think I continued to play at a high level, higher than I have played before. I guess that goes to being in the system longer. I was able to play more comfortably.”
As the conversation meandered, Breiner finally broke the news. Stevens would be the No. 1 quarterback.
“Obviously it is what I wanted coming here,” he said. “I don’t want to say it’s relieving because there is obviously competition in every aspect of life and this isn’t the end of the road either. I have to continue to progress but I am very happy that this is where we are at. I have to continue to grow from this point on.”
And while the announcement had yet to fully cement itself, Monday brought more major news Stevens’ way.
Following a team meeting Sunday, he was named one of the five team captains — reportedly garnering three times as many votes as the next closest candidate.
“For the team to think that much of him and to vote him a captain and he’s only been here since the summer I think it speaks a lot for him and for his teammates in how they believe in him,” coach Joe Moorhead added.
Though his captaincy is a recent revelation, Stevens’ leadership capabilities has flashed throughout his short time in Starkville.
Senior tight end and Stevens’ roommate Farrod Green recalled the exact moment he noticed.
As the defense dominated a practice early in fall camp, Stevens gathered the offense. Commanding the huddle he kept his message simple — Get it together.
“I was like, this guy is a leader,” Green recalled. “…He had everybody’s attention. Nobody was unfocused. That’s something I salute.”
From a coaching perspective, Moorhead used the first day at a new school as an analogy for the situation Stevens walked into.
Entering the weight room on his first day of summer workouts, there were few, if any familiar faces to Stevens. But through a quiet drive and noticeable work ethic, the former Nittany Lion quickly earned a vocal role.
“A saying I always believe is, ‘Don’t be one of the guys until you’re one of the guys,'” Moorhead said. “And I think early on he let his actions through how he was working out, how he was doing the throwing with the guys speaks for themselves and I think once people got to know him on a personal level, he’s a really laid back guy.”
While MSU has yet to see an opposing defense this fall, Stevens’ on the field performance has also spoken for itself.
Having already spent two years in Moorhead’s scheme in Happy Valley, the learning curve in Starkville was slight. That said, Stevens has impressed his former offensive coordinator since his arrival.
“What I’ve seen throughout camp and heading into practice is a maturation and an understanding of the details where maybe in the past he would not change a protection thinking he could get a ball out if it wasn’t picked up or maybe not go through his reads and improvise,” Moorhead said. “He still has the improvisational skills but he’s doing a much better job understanding the scheme and how it affects his decision making and his productivity.”
Saturday, Stevens will trot onto the field at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome as a captain, the starting quarterback and as a Bulldog. And while just six months ago that premise may have sounded outlandish, Stevens is cautiously eager for his maroon and white-clad debut.
“There is going to be a lot of emotion,” he said of his first start at MSU. “But I just have to continue to remind myself. It is obviously what I wanted for a very long time. It is football. I am excited for the opportunity.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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