STARKVILLE — Quarterback Dak Prescott was disappointed Saturday following the Mississippi State football team’s spring game.
His backup, freshman Nick Fitzgerald, was all smiles.
The reason for Prescott’s disappointment and Fitzgerald’s happiness was simple. The stakes of the game stated that the losing team in the matchup between Prescott’s Maroon squad and Fitzgerald’s White unit would have to show up at Davis Wade Stadium early this morning and perform cleaning duty.
So when Fitzgerald’s team earned a 28-24 win and saved the freshman the trouble, he was understandably excited.
“I’m ready to sleep in tomorrow,” Fitzgerald said, “but I might wake up around 9:30 just to call Dak and see how they’re doing at the stadium.”
Prescott will have to perform janitorial duties even though he sat out all but the first drive of the second half.
“I was really looking forward to sleeping in,” Prescott said. “But now I have to be here. That’s all right.”
Both quarterbacks enjoyed time in the spotlight, which is nothing new for Prescott, a fifth-year senior who led MSU to its first No. 1 ranking in 2014.
In seven drives, Prescott was 20 of 29 for 231 yards and three touchdowns. He completed passes to four receivers and tossed touchdowns to three. His first was a 17-yard back-shoulder fade pattern to rising junior De’Runnya Wilson late in the first quarter.
Prescott also delivered a 6-yard touchdown pass to tight end Gus Walley and a 5-yard scoring strike to slot receiver Fred Ross.
“It was fun,” Prescott said. “A good last spring and a really good last spring game. Everything was good overall, and I feel like everyone got better. I led the other guys, but I also made sure they led. I really feel like we are in the right position we need to be at this point.”
As good as Prescott was, the day may have belonged to Fitzgerald. The 6-foot-5, 230-pounder from Richmond Hill, Georgia, emerged as the potential primary backup for Prescott. Taking advantage of the absence of junior Damian Williams and fellow freshman Elijah Staley due to injury, Fitzgerald was able to get more snaps in practice than any other quarterback.
On Saturday, Fitzgerald was 20 of 30 for a game-high 255 yards and two touchdowns. He also had a 7-yard touchdown run.
“It felt good to get out and run,” Fitzgerald said. “I think it was a great day. We had a lot of guys play well, and it was just a continuation of what we’ve seen this spring.”
The performances of the quarterbacks fueled a scrimmage filled with big plays.
Fitzgerald’s touchdown run came on his team’s initial series. The teams combined for six touchdowns and a field goal — a 28-yarder by sophomore Westin Graves — as the Maroon squad took a 24-21 halftime lead. Fitzgerald’s 24-yard pass from to junior college transfer Donald Gray provided the difference.
“They both played well,” MSU coach Dan Mullen said of his quarterbacks. “With both guys, you know what you’re getting. Dak has been through it and you know what the finished product is. Nick is still getting there.”
Freshman Deddrick Thomas led the White team with five catches, while Gray had three for 57 yards.
Wilson had five catches for 93 yards to lead the Maroon team.
Dixon for six
While Fitzgerald was credited with 255 passing yards, his biggest play was the continuation of a spring tradition.
With his team facing a first-and-10 at its 45-yard line, Fitzgerald dropped back and heaved the ball toward the end zone, where former MSU running back Anthony Dixon, the school’s all-time leading rusher, was waiting. Dixon caught the pass and was credited with a 59-yard touchdown catch.
Asked about it afterward, all Mullen could do was laugh.
“That guy, he’s great,” Mullen said of Dixon. “I’ll tell you, about that one, I didn’t even call it, so I wasn’t expecting it. But I saw the pass go up and I was thinking, ‘What are they doing?’ But then I saw Anthony Dixon at the other end, and I knew. That’s a young man who means a lot to this program.”
Mullen said he was pleased with MSU’s spring game, even if he wasn’t directly involved. While MSU men’s basketball coach Ben Howland and women’s basketball coach Vic Schaefer served as honorary coaches, Mullen spent his time directing traffic on the field and providing in-game commentary for the broadcast on SEC Network +.
“We are probably the only sport in the world where the coaches cannot be with the players for the three months leading up to kickoff with a ball on the field,” Mullen said. “You have to have leaders on the team that make sure they are going to improve throughout the summer months.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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